11-08-2008, 03:23 AM
Aloha Sam,
If you want a quick answer, please go to the last paragraph in my post. If not, I hope you enjoy my ramblings:
A couple of years back my wife and I decided to buy some land in the Puna area with the idea that we would build on the lot a few years later. This would allow us to spread the expense over several years, and by owning an empty lot, we wouldn’t have to worry about our furniture walking out of our house when we were off island. (We currently have a lot in Hawaiian Acres and so far nobody has run off with any of our ohia trees or uluhe ferns!)
We found a real estate agent and told him that we were interested in looking within HPP. He listened and then suggested that we take a look at some of the other subdivisions also. We agreed. We went through many of the subdivisions in the Puna area. When he finished showing us around, my wife and I went back through the areas that we preferred and we eventually shifted our focus to HA. It seems to us that everything is greener there (HA experiences a bit more rain than HPP) and the temps are a little bit cooler (we’re from Pittsburgh and really not accustomed to very warm weather yet). We initially found a really nice lot located close to the highway. It had a few royal palms, a young monkey pod tree and it had been partially cleared. We made an attempt to talk to the neighbors, but let’s just say that we didn’t feel welcomed. So off we went to look at other lots with our focus on finding something on a paved road (some of the unpaved roads required pack animals and sherpas to navigate!) After a while, all of the lots looked the same. We really couldn’t get a feel for the contour of the land since it was so overgrown and after a while we were becoming a bit befuddled when trying to determine which lot was better than the other. Then we met our current neighbors. They were out working in their yard when I approached them about the lot next to their place. The next thing we knew we were given walking sticks (used to make sure that we didn’t step in a puka) and we were following these people on a tour of our property. They spent the entire afternoon answering our questions, offering suggestions, and filling us in about life on the island. The lot is rather level and has a gentle slope to it, and there are just enough weird lava features on it to make it interesting. We put in our bid before we returned home.
The area has electricity and phone service. We have to come up with our own source of water and a sewage system. Cable TV has been run down 8 Road, but I believe only as far as C Road. Most of the lots are three acres in size, and the lot dimensions are mostly about 150’ by 870’. There are some lots in HA that do not fit this pattern.
In summary, we chose HA because of climate, price, and most importantly, our cool neighbors. Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope everything works out for you.
-Fred
If you want a quick answer, please go to the last paragraph in my post. If not, I hope you enjoy my ramblings:
A couple of years back my wife and I decided to buy some land in the Puna area with the idea that we would build on the lot a few years later. This would allow us to spread the expense over several years, and by owning an empty lot, we wouldn’t have to worry about our furniture walking out of our house when we were off island. (We currently have a lot in Hawaiian Acres and so far nobody has run off with any of our ohia trees or uluhe ferns!)
We found a real estate agent and told him that we were interested in looking within HPP. He listened and then suggested that we take a look at some of the other subdivisions also. We agreed. We went through many of the subdivisions in the Puna area. When he finished showing us around, my wife and I went back through the areas that we preferred and we eventually shifted our focus to HA. It seems to us that everything is greener there (HA experiences a bit more rain than HPP) and the temps are a little bit cooler (we’re from Pittsburgh and really not accustomed to very warm weather yet). We initially found a really nice lot located close to the highway. It had a few royal palms, a young monkey pod tree and it had been partially cleared. We made an attempt to talk to the neighbors, but let’s just say that we didn’t feel welcomed. So off we went to look at other lots with our focus on finding something on a paved road (some of the unpaved roads required pack animals and sherpas to navigate!) After a while, all of the lots looked the same. We really couldn’t get a feel for the contour of the land since it was so overgrown and after a while we were becoming a bit befuddled when trying to determine which lot was better than the other. Then we met our current neighbors. They were out working in their yard when I approached them about the lot next to their place. The next thing we knew we were given walking sticks (used to make sure that we didn’t step in a puka) and we were following these people on a tour of our property. They spent the entire afternoon answering our questions, offering suggestions, and filling us in about life on the island. The lot is rather level and has a gentle slope to it, and there are just enough weird lava features on it to make it interesting. We put in our bid before we returned home.
The area has electricity and phone service. We have to come up with our own source of water and a sewage system. Cable TV has been run down 8 Road, but I believe only as far as C Road. Most of the lots are three acres in size, and the lot dimensions are mostly about 150’ by 870’. There are some lots in HA that do not fit this pattern.
In summary, we chose HA because of climate, price, and most importantly, our cool neighbors. Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope everything works out for you.
-Fred