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I'd love to live in Hawaii, but I've always wanted acreage. I know that since HI is an island & a very popular place to visit, land is likely to be more expensive there. If it helps- I'm not really concerned with living where there's a bunch of people. I just love gardening, and I would definitely love living in Hawaii, since I could grow pretty much everything my little heart desires... That and I could have some livestock. (not big ones, smaller animals- chickens, goats, etc) And the access to fresh fish. Yum. lol
Anyway.. I guess I'm just asking for some advice on where to look for land and get an idea of the living expenses.
The land doesn't even have to have a house on it. I could build one. (I'm really digging those earth ships HEHE!)
The Big Island "Hawaii" would be your best best for acrage but it aint gonna be cheap anywhere in Hawaii.... Do you homework first as you sound like you're looking through rose colored glasses.....
"inexpensive" is a very subjective notion. Better to ask, what is possibly available in $x price range. Do you have cash or will you need a mortgage? Big Island is probably your best location. Check the various public versions of MLS to see what's listed.
I'd love to live in Hawaii, but I've always wanted acreage. I know that since HI is an island & a very popular place to visit, land is likely to be more expensive there. If it helps- I'm not really concerned with living where there's a bunch of people. I just love gardening, and I would definitely love living in Hawaii, since I could grow pretty much everything my little heart desires... That and I could have some livestock. (not big ones, smaller animals- chickens, goats, etc) And the access to fresh fish. Yum. lol
Anyway.. I guess I'm just asking for some advice on where to look for land and get an idea of the living expenses.
The land doesn't even have to have a house on it. I could build one. (I'm really digging those earth ships HEHE!)
Check out Clarkhawaii.com or even Craigslist.com for land. In the scope of the PNW and Alaska, the land in Puna is extremely cheap (as low as $2.5K/acre!) with 1 to 3-acre lots going for $9K to $30K depending on location/vegetation/etc. REMEMBER, that most of the land available in Puna is zoned Agricultural, so it's set up 125' or 150' x around 300' (depending) and are referred to as "spaghetti" or "landing strips".
I would recommend doing a TON of research, narrow down what you want, and head over there and check it out. Google maps is really helpful for getting an idea of where you want to be; it's one of the main reasons we chose Puna Also, if you're into Earth Ships, that's probably where you'll want to be--lots of people are into alternative building, low-impact living, and such there, especially near Pahoa. After you've got an idea of what is where, head over there for a few weeks, and check it out. We drove literally every road in most subdivisions, but I'm glad we did It's a really good idea to look at land when it's POURING rain, so you can see if your lot becomes a cesspool or river during a storm ;/!
You can get TMK maps, and some drainage maps from realtors, but that's about all they are good for. We didn't find any realtors that were interested in selling us land, or even telling us where to start- they are most interested in pushing condos and homes of the $200K ilk. We literally had a woman tell us that if we both worked two jobs, we could totally afford $350K for a home! In the end, we found a lot on Craigslist, and it was great not going through all the paperwork just to make an offer!
I'm pretty crazy about the BI; cost of living is lower (or CAN be, especially off-grid) and there *are* jobs, and it's a varied place. Depending on where you are coming from, costs might be higher or lower. Check out Safeway and Walmart flyers online at the company websites to get an idea of corporate food prices (if you're going to buy that--but why would you, when you can grow it or get it at farmer's markets?!). Note that original prices are often listen under sales prices.
In addition to the other good advice, I'd like to ad a caution. You're probably interested in a relatively sunny location and would do well to realize that many of our cheaper acreage areas are in the cloudier, rainier mountain areas. If you'd like to spend your days out of doors, gardening, etc. you would do well to consider purchasing at the lower elevations (i.e. below 1,000 ft, preferably under 500 ft.).
After being initially drawn to the Big Island by the promise of low price acreage, my wife and I decided to spend a little more and purchase something we would enjoy much better. We now have 5 acres in the sunny 200 ft. elevation (Puna district).
We didn't find any realtors that were interested in selling us land, or even telling us where to start- they are most interested in pushing condos and homes of the $200K ilk. We literally had a woman tell us that if we both worked two jobs, we could totally afford $350K for a home!
I apologize on behalf of RE agents in general! Hate hearing that kind of thing.
In this economy, I'm especially surprised to hear it. Most agents I know will go the extra mile for any client these days. We've even had a couple of our Waimea agents making the drive to HPP and Orchidland to show property over that way the last few months. I love being in the Waimea office sales meetings when the North Hawaii agents report in after a drive to the East side! they get to brush up on their lava zones and ag disclosures when they work over this way!
That said, we do like it when clients come and take on some of the responsibility of scouting the subdivisions to make the determination of whether or not the "neighborhood" is right for their needs. Those are very personal decisions. We're in the business of providing information, but we can't make those emotional/spiritual decisions for anyone from a distance. I am always a little hesitant to encourage anyone to make decisions about a property sight-unseen. Thankfully, my clients have all either been able to come here first, or they have purchased from a distance but with some previous history and personal experience in the area where they were buying. Sight-unseen is just not a good idea, imo.
The Big Island "Hawaii" would be your best best for acrage but it aint gonna be cheap anywhere in Hawaii.... Do you homework first as you sound like you're looking through rose colored glasses.....
Not rose colored- I know it will be expensive, but I'm not really looking for anything with a house or that is developed. I can build a house. I'm just looking for a nice location TO build a house. If I can find something with a house at a reasonable price, then that's cool, too... But I'm pretty open minded. If that's rose colored, then I guess I am looking at it that way.. But that's not bad. It's optimistic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KonaKat
"inexpensive" is a very subjective notion. Better to ask, what is possibly available in $x price range. Do you have cash or will you need a mortgage? Big Island is probably your best location. Check the various public versions of MLS to see what's listed.
Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Balad1
Got Money?
Why? You looking for a sugar mamma?.. LOL
Quote:
Originally Posted by alaskangrown
Check out Clarkhawaii.com or even Craigslist.com for land. In the scope of the PNW and Alaska, the land in Puna is extremely cheap (as low as $2.5K/acre!) with 1 to 3-acre lots going for $9K to $30K depending on location/vegetation/etc. REMEMBER, that most of the land available in Puna is zoned Agricultural, so it's set up 125' or 150' x around 300' (depending) and are referred to as "spaghetti" or "landing strips".
I would recommend doing a TON of research, narrow down what you want, and head over there and check it out. Google maps is really helpful for getting an idea of where you want to be; it's one of the main reasons we chose Puna Also, if you're into Earth Ships, that's probably where you'll want to be--lots of people are into alternative building, low-impact living, and such there, especially near Pahoa. After you've got an idea of what is where, head over there for a few weeks, and check it out. We drove literally every road in most subdivisions, but I'm glad we did It's a really good idea to look at land when it's POURING rain, so you can see if your lot becomes a cesspool or river during a storm ;/!
You can get TMK maps, and some drainage maps from realtors, but that's about all they are good for. We didn't find any realtors that were interested in selling us land, or even telling us where to start- they are most interested in pushing condos and homes of the $200K ilk. We literally had a woman tell us that if we both worked two jobs, we could totally afford $350K for a home! In the end, we found a lot on Craigslist, and it was great not going through all the paperwork just to make an offer!
I'm pretty crazy about the BI; cost of living is lower (or CAN be, especially off-grid) and there *are* jobs, and it's a varied place. Depending on where you are coming from, costs might be higher or lower. Check out Safeway and Walmart flyers online at the company websites to get an idea of corporate food prices (if you're going to buy that--but why would you, when you can grow it or get it at farmer's markets?!). Note that original prices are often listen under sales prices.
Thank you! This was very helpful and I appreciate it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan.
In addition to the other good advice, I'd like to ad a caution. You're probably interested in a relatively sunny location and would do well to realize that many of our cheaper acreage areas are in the cloudier, rainier mountain areas. If you'd like to spend your days out of doors, gardening, etc. you would do well to consider purchasing at the lower elevations (i.e. below 1,000 ft, preferably under 500 ft.).
After being initially drawn to the Big Island by the promise of low price acreage, my wife and I decided to spend a little more and purchase something we would enjoy much better. We now have 5 acres in the sunny 200 ft. elevation (Puna district).
Sounds like you have a nice piece of property! Way to go! And thank you for the tips- they're very helpful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cynmkolohe
I apologize on behalf of RE agents in general! Hate hearing that kind of thing.
In this economy, I'm especially surprised to hear it. Most agents I know will go the extra mile for any client these days. We've even had a couple of our Waimea agents making the drive to HPP and Orchidland to show property over that way the last few months. I love being in the Waimea office sales meetings when the North Hawaii agents report in after a drive to the East side! they get to brush up on their lava zones and ag disclosures when they work over this way!
That said, we do like it when clients come and take on some of the responsibility of scouting the subdivisions to make the determination of whether or not the "neighborhood" is right for their needs. Those are very personal decisions. We're in the business of providing information, but we can't make those emotional/spiritual decisions for anyone from a distance. I am always a little hesitant to encourage anyone to make decisions about a property sight-unseen. Thankfully, my clients have all either been able to come here first, or they have purchased from a distance but with some previous history and personal experience in the area where they were buying. Sight-unseen is just not a good idea, imo.
Whatever you do, be sure to look at it before you buy it. Some folks bought fifty acres up mountain last year and didn't quite realize what waiwi guava was. They were trying to clear areas by hand in waiwi and it pretty much grew back thicker after they'd cut it down. They had "soil" but it was more along the line of mud and they weren't able to access very far into their property even with a 4WD. They dropped literally tons of rock and gravel into the muck to try to make a road and it wasn't working. They tried building a house or some sort of shelter by carrying all the building materials in, they spent about a year trying to get something workable going and finally gave it all up, sold everything and went back to the mainland. It's a pity since they were such nice, bright, happy folks, too. They weren't lazy or underfunded or anything, they just bit off more than they could chew and hadn't matched their dreams to reality before starting. I think if they had bought five acres or less they would have had a much better chance of success but they wanted to be secluded. Actually, at the end of it all, too much seclusion was one of the reasons why they moved away.
For small farm animals such as chickens, ducks, geese and such, an acre will do. If you want to add in a few goats or sheep, then add in several more acres.
For gardening and growing things, you may want to check to make sure the lot has some soil on it. Not all of them do. Gardening in lava rock can be done, but it is a lot more work than a mainland type of garden.
There are loads of challenges to gardening in Hawaii. My particular bane at the moment is powdery mildew which blighted half the green bean crop this week. My constant bane is guinea grass which grows so much faster than anything else and chokes out almost everything unless it is beat back. Then there are wonderful things such as a variety of different fruit flies to contend with. Sigh! One would think gardening in Hawaii would be a snap, but the reality is much different. Check out the U of H College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources website. You should be able to find it by searching CTAHR. They have loads of information on growing things in Hawaii.
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they get to brush up on their lava zones and ag disclosures when they work over this way!
