Real Estate Agent recommendation

[PaulW]

"Generally the seller pays all real estate agent commissions"

The seller doesn't pay anything, it's only the buyer who is laying out money.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

The seller doesn't pay anything

If a house is sold for $100,000, the real estate agent/office takes a 6% commission on $100,000, or $6,000. That is deducted from the sale price when the funds are transferred to the seller.

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard

[PaulW]

... and the buyer raises his or her price to cover that.

[kalakoa]

real estate agent/office takes a 6% commission

More accurately: everyone involved negotiates for and agrees to the commissions (if any), the percentage, and the distribution; sometimes they are split between the buyer's agent and the seller's agent, sometimes the agent discounts the rate, etc.

I have also had an agent suggest that I contact the property owner directly, because a 6% commission on a $20K lot would either be expensive for me or a waste of their time...

[Mimosa]

Some parts of Nanavale has a bad fire ant problem - some areas of the subdivision is extreme high crime area due to the meth situation .
Check always with the Police department prior to purchase of any property to see what sorts of reported crimes are within a mile of your perspective new home.
In addition - rent 1st for at least a year prior to buying your retirement home in Puna .
The commute to Hilo can be a long one as highway 130 is a very long dead end with many different areas all accessing the only highway
( 130 ) into Kea'au town and Hilo .
Also make sure the home you will be buying,has access to good fast internet service and cell phone reception .
By finding a quality R.E.Attorney you can circumvent the high cost of escrow .
Since Nanavale has many small lots - it may be best to buy several side by side lots to ensure future privacy .
Rent 1st for a minimum of a year to get the feel of the culture and the areas best suited for your particular needs.

Mrs . Mimosa

[kalakoa]

Nanavale has many small lots - it may be best to buy several side by side

Note, however, that the Nanavale CC&Rs charge dues per original lot, dues will be charged for each lot even after they have been consolidated.

Additional fine technical point: because the lots have already been subdivided smaller than is allowed by their zoning, it may not be possible to re-subdivide any property that has been coalesced from these lots. The same is true of other high-density subdivisions; there is no legal A zoning with a minimum lot size smaller than 1 acre.

Generally, if there are CC&Rs, read them very very carefully -- for example, Nanavale forbids livestock (including chickens), claims a utility easement through all the lot setbacks (even though utilities are highly unlikely), demands an architectural review before building permits are even filed, etc, etc.

[geochem]

I would strongly second Mrs. Mimosa's recommendations. Hawaii is quite different from your experience on the mainland - socially and environmentally. By far your most prudent option will be to carefully pick some locations of interest to you and plan on renting in one or more of them before committing to a purchase. Rainfall, humidity, and temperature vary dramatically over very short distances. Likewise, some subdivisions are quite comfortable to live in, and others have crime, neighborhood strife, and a spectrum of other social ills. No real estate agent, no matter how "good", is going to give you the complete story.

Mrs. Mimosa mentions fire ants, but there is also the coqui frog problem - not that you can escape that pretty much anywhere on the island - but it would be good to understand what living with the noise levels is like before you commit to that cute little house surrounded by trees and exotic plants...

Finally, you should understand the lava flow hazard zones on the island (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/hazards/FAQ_LavaF...ne/P1.html)
and check out the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (http://dlnreng.hawaii.gov/nfip/floodmaps/) for subdivisions of interest.

In re-reading your original post, if it's a 9-year plan, you could also look for VRBO or AirB&B opportunities in some of the subdivisions of interest and spend a week or so staying in those subdivisions to see whether they meet expectations or not...

[Mimosa]

kalakoa makes excellent points to keep in mind .

What we meant by saying buy several lots side by side was just that,not to consolidate or subdivide - just to have the added privacy so you will have an extra 100 or so feet of privacy in case someone else buys the lot next to you and builds a home looking directly into yours.
In addition - no live stock is good and bad but many in Nanavale have game or show birds ( roosters ) as it is their culture.
Read the fine print extremely carefully on all CCnR's where ever you do choose to buy .

Mrs . Mimosa

[Seeb]

Rent first. And if your planning 9 years out at the current rate of growth Puna is going to be very crowded by then. you might want to consider that in your plans

[DTisme]

Personally, I wouldn't buy south of HPP. I only think that due to the scare of the recent lava flow. It was clear during the flow that should the flow cover the highway, you are going to have a lot more trouble getting to Hilo to buy groceries, etc. Unless you have a boat. Assuming your house survives. Even on southern regions of HPP, you could still be in the way of the next flow. Higher lava zone #s reflect ease of insurance and likelihood of another flow. Here's Puna's lava zones: http://www.punaguide.com/lava-zones-in-puna.html Note Nanawale is in Lava Zone 2; HPP is in Lava Zone 3.

No matter where you decide to settle, make sure you go by the house in all hours of the day and night before you buy. You want to make sure you're far from roosters, fighting neighbors, loud music, heavy traffic, loose dogs, etc.

I, for one, would use an agent, especially when buying in an unfamiliar area, bc an agent is going to make sure all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed, plus a good one will recommend and arrange inspections, surveying, etc. After you're here a while and if you want to buy an undeveloped lot or whatever to expand, then going directly to owner is ok IMO. In that case, after you negotiate a price, title company will make sure the title is clear for you and arrange fund exchange.

I agree with the others who have said that the price of the home, ease of insurance, etc., will reflect its safety, care, etc.

Edited for typos.