07-25-2016, 01:17 PM
My partner stayed in a bunch of different "vacation rentals" all over Puna, Ka'u and Hilo for anywhere from 1-3 months each for 2 years before buying. The market was sky high but just starting to fall when he came over from the mainland, so he waited for prices to drop before buying the house we just moved out of in HPP. He is glad he did, because the area he thought he was going to want to live is not where he ended up the first time, or where we just bought a place together. There is no replacement for living somewhere to get the lay of the land.
I did work trade for rent for years, so until we got together I didn't need to think about buying or renting. I was just keeping an eye on an elderly couple with no family here, and driving them in their car on errands once they couldn't drive anymore, in return for a sweet little private cottage. Don't rule out something like that, I ended up with my current career/job through people I met while playing chauffeur and it was a great place for very little work. If I had been house shopping it would have given me plenty of time to look without spending much on overhead. Do not underestimate how fast the Big Island can empty your wallet when you first move here, it is astoundingly quick, so anything you can do to reduce overhead is a big help.
I did work trade for rent for years, so until we got together I didn't need to think about buying or renting. I was just keeping an eye on an elderly couple with no family here, and driving them in their car on errands once they couldn't drive anymore, in return for a sweet little private cottage. Don't rule out something like that, I ended up with my current career/job through people I met while playing chauffeur and it was a great place for very little work. If I had been house shopping it would have given me plenty of time to look without spending much on overhead. Do not underestimate how fast the Big Island can empty your wallet when you first move here, it is astoundingly quick, so anything you can do to reduce overhead is a big help.