yurt living

[YurtGirl]

quote:

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Originally posted by JWFITZ

Good morning all.

if a yurt goes 15 to 20 and costs near the same, I'd suggest it's much less respectful of the material costs.

Anyhow, a very wise person once suggested to me that unless one has built a home with their own hands at least once in their life(and that means build, not purchase) one has missed out on a very basic and important human experience. I find that observation profound, and would say go for it, in what ever way you can, the best way you are able.

Good luck!

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Just a note, some yurt companies use recyclable materials for the exterior material. When the exterior material wears out, which many building materials do in 20 years, especially in our climate, then new material can be ordered and easily installed over the original infrastructure. Of course, as you say Jay, any structures can be portable. I think the draws to a yurt are often the "round living", the portability, the beauty of the space and the flexibility of it, i.e. temporary or permanent, home or other uses and quick time frame for set up (about a week usually for basic platform and yurt set-up).

[JWFITZ]

Hey april, thanks for the thanks.

Here's the key to your round structure. You'll see with a tip its easy and fast.

Find your lot, and find a nice dead bugfree tree with few neighbors. In an area with ohia dieback there will be plenty of that.

Build a square deck of say 24 x 24 around it out of 2x6 lumber. Regular standard or better fir is fine. 24 by 24 so you don't waste any lumber, see, as 8 footers work out.

Tie a rope to the tree when you're done, take a pen to the end of it at the appropriate length, and scribe a circle around the tree that will be the footprint of your structure.

Find the circumference of the circle, and start building 2 x 8 foot walls and tacking them around the rim. 2 footers again as an 8 foot sheet of acx will go on, ripped, with no waste. Keep going around the circle until you get the odd spot where the 2 footers wont go--there's your front door. Plan it a bit.

Run 2x6 lumber glued and sistered to make the appropriate length to the tree in the middle, at a sensible height(yurt like, see) You can leave the tree or pull it when your done. Your roof rafters, see? I'd leave it as it's cool. This is where the cost comes in, as to put the plywood sheathing up there involves a lot of waste, as you're cutting wedges, but as you'll be building shelves and such for a round interiour it won't be as bad as you might think. If you're hard at cutting weird shaped peices of wood that fit, don't panic, make patterns of thin sticks with a hot glue gun where the panels need to go. That's a boat builder's trick and you can't miss.

I'd sheath the roof in cedar shakes, as they work well on round, but you could go composite too, or if you want ultimate durability you could use ferrocement.

2 months tops for the shell. Only two sizes and types of lumber, and you're good to go. Hire a local kid to help you hold a board. Plant enough koa that it will grow the volume of lumber of your house in 30 years. Good to go!

[jdirgo]

I understand what you are saying YurtGirl and as I've said many times, yurts have a place and valuable one, for people that make that decision after being made fully aware of both sides.

quote:

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My aim is to accentuate the many positives, pose possible solutions that I have witnessed people succeed with in the past when faced with the negatives

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But when asked about a specific negative, you did avoid the question. That's immaterial at this point. Its clear that yurts cannot be financed for either construction or purchase (again -- unless you can help me find a lender that will and I'd love to know of one).

aprild -- there's nothing wrong with sellers offering to finance a new owners purchase and you are right, they usually can get a better return than they would in a bank. It depends on the person's situation if that's an option for them. For many people that might consider a yurt, the purchase of the land and construction of the yurt might consume the majority of their available money. Then, situations change for whatever reason and they need to get their money back. They may not be in a position to offer to finance the property. With a property that would be eligible for conventional financing, they have more options for selling. With a yurt, their options are more limited. Again, its another case where someone should have all the information before making a decision on what to build or buy.

And although I appreciate the link, Damon, its not my mission to harass YurtGirl and make her life difficult. As I've said a number of times, I just want people (including myself) to be informed about the options and implications of those options. That's all.

If I were YurtGirl's attorney though, I'd advise her that all customers should be made to sign something clearly disclosing that conventional financing is not an option for these building either for construction costs or eventual resale. Otherwise, some customer that was not informed about both the positives and negatives of yurt-building could really cause her problems. And she seems like a genuinely nice person and I would hate for that to happen.

There's a reason why, in the real estate business, we have the axiom "when in doubt, OVER-disclose". Its better to tell someone way more than they wanted to know and document that they were told these things than to have one of them claim "but they never told me THAT." I mean, after all, we still have to disclose there's volcanoes on this island and that should be obvious to everyone, right?

John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com

[StillHope]

quote:

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Originally posted by jdirgo

I understand what you are saying YurtGirl and as I've said many times, yurts have a place and valuable one, for people that make that decision after being made fully aware of both sides.

quote:

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My aim is to accentuate the many positives, pose possible solutions that I have witnessed people succeed with in the past when faced with the negatives

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But when asked about a specific negative, you did avoid the question.

John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com

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Looks like avoiding questions is the YurtGirl's "forte"
I ask her like 3 times in my e-mails to comment on the statement in the"pricing" section of her website(which is currently being updated):
how I can save "hundreds,sometimes thousands on shipping" if I "opt to wait for" their "container rates"(exact quote).
When the question was being ignored the 1-st time,I thought "well, I asked too many questions(I did,I confess),so this one was simply missed,that's OK.
Second time I decided to wait.
The third time I did ask why the very important question for me is still not answered.
So finally I got the answer(quote):
"We pass our bulk order shipping savings directly on to our customers, so instead of paying $3,000 or more for shipping your yurt, you are more likely to pay between $1,000 - $1,500 for shipping."
I would love to hear from a person who did "opt out for their "container rates" .My guess it would be close to $1500.
So Pacific Yurts quoted $1675.Thousands in savings?
Again,I just mention the facts and have e-mails to prove it.
Avoiding questions and giving the long lecture on the other subject-that the style of the owner of "Yurts of Hawaii"
The good businessmen DISCLOSE all negatives,
as you mention,John.
A smart one would even start with disclosing the negative stuff and then one buy one, would bring all positives.
To-day I saw a realtor SUV on the freeway with the add on:
"I will sell your house in 2 weeks or I buy it myself".
I can imagine how much he offers!
But,again,may be it was a "REALITOR",not a realtor...

[David M]

Lostboystoy

QUOTE... i would hate to come over build a home and dicover in 5 years that i cant hack it living on a island, therfore i could sell the land and take my yurt somewhere else, but if i build a house i herte their are lots of vacant homes on the big island, ...

Are you sure that is true? I think that if you build a permitted structure (yurt included), that it would take more than just removing it to be able to sell the property as vacant land. Somehow that permitted structure has to be "removed" by the county as well? Demolition permit? What about other improvements? I don't know for sure, but I suspect the process may be a bit more complicated than you stated. Maybe more research needed here? Comment from one of our Realtor friends?

BTW, I have seen a yurt living in Hawaii poster on a different Hawaii forum. My recollection is that while he has posted positive on the experience, he also confirmed the downside environmental issues. Too bad you're not getting that benefit of experience here.

Just for a bit of clarification, my only horse in this race is the information. Like you, many have come to this forum with sincere questions. While many answers are often given, from time to time those answers need to be addressed to separate theory from experience. Sometimes a theory is 180 degrees out from living on Hawaii experience.

Personally, I won't buy a Ford from a dealer who drives a Chevy. I too choose an alternative building material, and yes, the guy who sold it to me lives in it also.

Yurtgirl - As for a personal loan being cheaper, let's be fair. If someone can afford to pay off a personal loan in 5 years, it would make sense to payoff a mortgage in that same timeframe. But, the interest rates would favor the mortgage, not the personal loan. and that's without considering tax considerations.
Also, could you provide a bonafide example of a permitted yurt being removed from one property and reinstalled (permitted) on a second property - here on Hawaii of course.

Jay - Liked your round house building plan. I just don't have a suitable tree available

Back when I was considering what to build before my house, I did research the yurt possibility as well as others. In the end, I built a permitted structure, 640sf, for about $30K counting the infrastructure(cesspool, solar, catchment) but not counting the land.

David




Ninole Resident

[lostboystoy]

hey yurtgirl I have put two and two together, I am assuming you have dealings with yurts of hawaii? I thank you for your info, sorry your getting so much slack, I only started this thread so I could get a full spectrum look at the option of a yurt, I had know idea this was going to turn into a yurtgirl bash, shame on puna-web for allowing it, puna-web has been a wonderful place to research and meet new people before my partner and I make our move by this fall, I like the simplicity of the yurt, but until i can reach out and talk to some folks that are actually living in a yurt so i can get first hand,[^]the pros-cons of yurt living, I hear people asking on puna-web why people dont just buy homes that are already built sitting vacant, I for one havent found but a few unpermitted structures on the m.l.s that i could afford, also seems to me their are alot of people just trying to cash in on housing, if their are too many homes that are not being occupied, probablly because locals cant afford to buy them..
We have a similar problem here in Salmon Idaho, over the last 10 years all these californians have moved here with their big city attitude and build outrages homes and bitch about being here, so after a couple winters they decide to go back since they could not change this ranching community into california, but the mark they leave is awful, they jack up our property values, they build homes that no local could afford to buy,
ive learned some good lessons here in a town of 3000 with no other towns or city within 150 miles, I think it has prepaired me for my move to hawaii, I want to leave as little foot print on hawaii, their for the yurt is a great option, I can always sell the land and move my yurt, which probablly wont happen since my heart and soul is in hawaii already, its the only place in this world that makes my heart soul feel true pono.[^]

setting my soul free....

[JWFITZ]

I hear you, having grown up in Nampa/Caldwell Idaho. Have you been to McCall lately? Salmon has got off easy!

While I don't think there's much to commend a yurt, there's one positive thing. (Actually, I'd live in one in Salmon before I would in Hawaii) They are very slickly marketed and trendy, and AT LEAST get people thinking that they can live in something other than a California style McMansion, and that in itself is good. We've got to learn to go small.

[StillHope]

Just for a bit of clarification, my only horse in this race is the information. Like you, many have come to this forum with sincere questions. While many answers are often given, from time to time those answers need to be addressed to separate theory from experience. Sometimes a theory is 180 degrees out from living on Hawaii experience.

Yurtgirl - As for a personal loan being cheaper, let's be fair. If someone can afford to pay off a personal loan in 5 years, it would make sense to payoff a mortgage in that same timeframe. But, the interest rates would favor the mortgage, not the personal loan. and that's without considering tax considerations.
Also, could you provide a bonafide example of a permitted yurt being removed from one property and reinstalled (permitted) on a second property - here on Hawaii of course.
.....................................................................
.....................................................................

Back when I was considering what to build before my house, I did research the yurt possibility as well as others. In the end, I built a permitted structure, 640sf, for about $30K counting the infrastructure(cesspool, solar, catchment) but not counting the land.

David
Ninole Resident
[/quote]
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Lostboystoy,David is right.We are sharing information on this forum.
It's a pity that you can not see that we wish you well and noone is "attacking" Yurtgirl here.And ,BTW,she is not "having some dealings with The Yurts of Hawaii,"she owns the business.
When in my post addressed to her I mentioned that "the owner of The Yurts of Hawaii told me..." I was just being polite and I also assumed that she would introduce herself after that.
It didn't happen.Only when Damon "discovered" it,she admitted the fact.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my own experience with personal loans.
When I was about to start putting a yurt process , my"lender",a friend of mine, had some unfortunate medical emergency in the family,which required huge expenses and no longer could help me.
Yurts oh Hawaii doesn't accept credit cards,so I had to get a loan.Construction loan(tried nationwide) was impossible.
Meanwhile I already had a personal loan when I needed extra money to pay for my land.
I live in San Diego and got $19K personal loan (with my vehicle as a collateral) at 6.5%.
In Hawaii I was offered by Wells Fargo 11-16% and my collateral(the land) was twice as much as the vehicle.
Without collateral this figures would be much higher.
And it is with my perfect credit score ,very close to the highest possible.
So depending what you can put as a collateral,you might come up with 30K you need just to pay The Yurts of Hawaii.I believe that YurtGirl will confirm it .My quote with them was about $27K,including drafting and permitting.But keep in mind that your cost can be higher depending on the features of your yurt.My project was "minimum minimorum" .
Now,about $30K -that doesn't include plumbing,electrical,water catchment.
David did his permitted house for the same money,but had everything done.
And don't forget that in 15 years you might need replacement parts.
Include couple thousands for shipping...
So it's up to you to decide.But you will make your decision being completely informed.
That what the whole discussion with YurtGirl,the owner of The Yurts of Hawaii was all about -be clear in her statements,which sometimes can mislead the customers.May be she didn't do it on purpose ,but the facts remain.

[lostboystoy]

thank you for the clarity, maybe i will just look for a 3 acre parcel with a small cabin, until i can build. might have a better chance at a constuction loan after being established on the island for a year and if the land is paid off. shouldnt be hard to get a loan, would help if property already had septic and water catchment, whish i had the cash saw a place on the m.l.s that was a 1 bed 1 bath total solar watercatchment on 2 acres for 57,000. with that i could afford to add on at that price..[8D]
as far as yurtgirl i didnt know she was the owner of yurts of hawaii, I would still like to find anyone really living off the grid in a yurt, I invite anyone with info...
27,000 thats alot to get your yurt put up? isn't it? if you spend 18,000 on yurt, then pad septic watercatchment ect suddenly we are looking at a 100,000 I think i could build cheaper..

setting my soul free....

[JWFITZ]

Hey man, just give up the yurts.

I build for a living, and this what I do, and this isn't a bid, and prices change, and besides I'm booked, but I would be completely willing to build a, ahem, semi-permitted structure of 500 square feet, that would be completely livable and nice, with respect for the footprint of the property and the existing tree(hence the semi, because you can't drop a blueprint on forested ground) with your help holding a board, in 3 months, with no consultation fee(?1?!? who gets away with that?) for under 40000, materials, and paying me for my tools and vehicle. You'd come away with skills, and I'd make a sensible wage, and we wouldn't screw up yet another piece of Hawaii.

Again, no solicitation, no bid, as I'm booked--but fair enough at this moment in history that's a sensible value and what you should plan with good help.