Help...I need all of you to talk to me

[nanasohana]

This is the deal....and Pam already knows us and our story...but I really would like to hear from any and all of you really quick on this. John my husband is 60 and I am 55. We have paid 3 paid for lots there, 2 in Tiki which are ready to build on and one in Greensands uncleared. We sold our home here in Oklahoma and have the funds to build a home there. We sold our window cleaning business to our son and we will have money to live on from that for about a year. We are simple living types, except the golf my husband loves. Our 7 kids are all grown and off on their own lives, all that is fine. John has a teaching degree, and could get his CDL and drive trucks (thanks pam for that idea) and I have been home with the kids mostly but have (art skills and we both have construction skills and knowledge...I think I will prepare myself to be a home draftsperson, no debt, great credit. We both love Hawaii and Oklahoma feels no longer home since we came back. We were there in May and prepared those lots in Tiki, saw permit delays, had our grown son and wife with us whom we were financially resposible, and shouldn't have brought them..oops. They are now settled in here in Oklahoma and happy. Ok the next part...we could open a Greek Sandwich Shop here...invest about $30,000, and be responsible for the year lease of $2100 per month for 1 year, and John does have experience in the area of this. We could be successful in it with lots of hard work, time. Or we could lose about $60,000 if it flops. The other choice we see is coming back and living in a yurt on our property, John buys a dump truck, delivers loads to people or rock etc., and waiting for our permit, building our home, living simply, relaxing and just find our place in hawaii, making friends, being friends, living the last 15 to 20 years of your lives (and we do know our years are limited on this earth). Should we listen to our hearts or to our minds telling us to make money while we can? We can do either but we must make a decision in the next week. I want to hear from all of you willing to talk. Please.

[Glenn P]

I know my vote does not count but if it did I would vote to go with your heart. Things have a way of working out when you do. You can always find ways to make money when it's needed.

[wa2hfi]

Follow your heart because if you do not you may live to regret it. If your husband is a go getter, he should hve no problem finding some kind of work out here such as construction. I followed my heart. I left hard to get kind of job civil service related in Seattle. I barely had any retirement money saved and did not have time in to retire. I knew I had outgrown Seattle and I made my plans, got a loan while I was still in Seattle which I would suggest you do while any of you are still working. If that does not apply make sure you can get a loan approval as it takes alot of time dealing with loan people and approvals etc. They will ask you DO YOU HAVE A JOB? How do you expect to pay for this loan? Sometimes just having a few bucks in bank does not cut it with a loan company. In the case you have enough to build a place on your own and will not require a mortgae then your in better shape.egarding a yurt? There are many factors to consider. Can you rough it pretty well? Think of long you need to stay in yurt and how long it takes to get a building permit which these days can be as much as 6 months wait then upon having permit the time it takes to build house which could be 6 to 9 months then waiting for all inspectors to sign off on the PLUMBING. ELECTRICAL. CESSPOOL or SEPTIC, Pest controll certificate, then once Helco the electric company sees that all inspections have been finalized they will then give you permanent electrical pole nd electricity which could take up to a month to get.Go with your dreams but sit down and go over some figures. Figure out how you will live with no electricity or plumbing. The Greek food is a good idea as I love greek food and theres really nothing out here. Im italian and would love to pt together a small eatery or stand and sell really delicious Italian sausage sandwiches. I know it would sell but of course need money to getit going etc. Go with your dream. I just picked up and left when it was time. I settled all my affaiors in Seattle QUIT MY JOB, COLLECTED MY RETIREMENT MONEY HELD IN ACCOUNT, Shipped out some boxes of my stuff including my vehicle. Lived in shell of house and roughed it until it was complete. Hope that helps!!

frank battaglia

[David D]

Hi Nancy,
I usually don’t like to hand out opinions, but here is my two cents worth:
I would be extremely leery about starting a food business – lots of investment and lots of time are needed – do you really want to spend that much time, effort, and at-risk money? As far as a dump truck that sounds like a good idea, although I have no idea how much work is available. At least the investment in the dump truck would be recoverable.
As far as a yurt (or any temp housing) you need to make sure that the area you will be living will allow that. Does Tiki Gardens (?) allow temp housing?
Also, while yurts look pretty cool, I feel they are expensive as temp housing. Personally, we (my wife and I) are considering a pop-up trailer for temp housing. I think I might even be able to get a few bucks out of it after I don’t need it. I don’t feel a yurt would offer the same re-sale value.
We have 8 acres near Kurtistown that we plan to live on while our home is being built. That will be in about 2 – 2 1/2 years from now. In one sense that is a long way away, but in reality that is just around the corner. We have so much more planning to do!

Best of Luck!
David D

[David M]

Hi Nancy
Of course the decision is entirely up to you and John... but I think it is already in your post. Bet if you go back and do a plus vs minus for each option of what you wrote, the answer will pop out.

My view of worst case: If you fail at the OK option you are further removed by time, dollars, and the aggravation of delay from what you really want. If you chose to attempt HI and again and fail... well, you might stumble, perhaps even give up, but I don't see failure as a result - worse case you sell the properties at a profit and call it an adventure. Odds of failure at a food business are high.

Not sure about the yurt, same concerns as others have expressed, but perhaps something along the lines Pam is doing?

We are also coming for a period of roughing it. We will be living in our shed as we build - and we couldn't be more excited We are a tad younger then you by less than a handful of fingers total, my wife is permanently disabled from an accident, but our spirits are soaring - Hawaii IS our home.

Best of Luck either option.
David
Ninole in 2005

[loffelkopffl]

the longer you wait to do the things you want the longer it takes. if it's money you want, why come here? with the climate it's easy to live on your lot while you build as long as you have a dry area.

[Lee G]

Nancy,
Here is my wisdom,
There is a time to work hard and make money.
As we get older we realize that the time we have left on this earth is more precious than any amount of money that we could make than it's time to follow your heart.
I liked what Frank said about living here it's a nice place here but lacking in many things so think really hard about it.

Lee

[waipili]

Nancy, may I suggest you first test the waters before jumping in with your Greek food. To see how it will sell, maybe having a food booth on Sat. and Sun at Makuu Farmers Market might help to determine if it will be successful. There is even a fellow who is selling Kava drinks, others regular foods, and of course health foods including carrot juice,noni, wheat grass, etc. They all seem to be doing quite well. Anyway, wishing you well in your venture

Protect Animals Rights:Kindness, Love & Respect

[Vicki B]

Aloha, While you, and many others, may not like what I am going to say, I just must say it. You say you have 7 adult children. What about grand children? It was on CNN today how as women age they NEED the close meaningful family relationships in order to live longer. They need grandchildren. Men, on the other hand, do not NEED that. It is just killing me here with my 2 adult children in Texas. I now have 3 grand children. I am lucky enough to have a daughter who is a flight attendant and I fly FREE. I go to Texas monthly for a week. I also have my grand kids here as often as possible. But, my children have jobs and can't get away. Of course, you think they will come visit because it is "Hawaii", but the expense is prohibitive for young families. And it is not just the money for the trip but the time off. Please consider carefully about distancing yourself by over 4,000 miles from family. And what if something happens to your husband? Then you are here alone. Vicki

[Lee]

Nancy,

I don't live in Puna yet, but I've been following the forum for a couple months now because we hope to move there next year. I'd hadn't even registered to post here because I didn't have much to share or questions to ask ... just yet. But when I saw you question, I had to register so I could respond. I'm a financial advisor for individuals and small businesses, so I have some expertise I guess. My advise is to stay away from the sandwich business! You are so correct, you could easily lose double your investment. The sucessful food businesses I've seen (and I've seen a few the last 25 years) have been ones where the owners were in for the long haul and really, really, knew what they were doing and loved doing it. You would be in for the short-term, don't do it. Follow your heart, take the money from the sale of the business and get back out to HI and get the house finished ASAP. Forget the yurt, they are cool but too expensive for a short-term residence. I like the idea of a pop-up trailer or something else really cheap like that. Cut your expenses as much as possible until the house is finished. You said you had enough to live on for a year, how long could finishing the house take? Please, don't buy yourself a short-term job $30K!