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Renting before you buy seems to be the consensus but I know many people who didn't do that and it worked out just fine - and they saved themselves thousands of dollars.
You can save yourself tens of thousands of dollars by avoiding the realtors here. I have met many and so far all of them can't even write two sentences without making four mistakes.
Moving here is not really that hard, just use common sense.
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WOW!! great feedback its soo appreciated!
As far as agents or not. My wife and I tend to not like to use one, however we think in this situation where the possibility exists that we would make a purchase without a direct visit, a good relationship with one would be very helpful.
We picked Puna area for 3 main reasons, the lush jungle feel of the area, the general air of freedom, and the inexpensive prices. We recognize that for each positive thing there is some risk. (More freedom/more crime). No CCRS might be good for my place but not for my place if my uphill neighbor is out of control... etc. Which leads to the idea that perhaps in the end we wont be buying a property, even an inexpensive one site unseen.
This thread has caused me to "cool my jets" a little though, and that's a good thing.
Why would we consider purchasing quickly and without a visit to the site? We are concerned about the recent growth, and the subsequent price rise. That would be the only concern about not taking our time and renting/vacationing. I guess we will have weigh that out and watch the prices. The risk of buying something, (even inexpensive) seems to outweigh the benefits..
As far as lava flows and such, we have spent a great deal of time studying maps, historic and current, and watched with great interest the flow that approached Pahoa. We have looked closely at Hawaiian Acres and Orchiland for this very reason. We have studied this topic a great length..
The micro climates does cause us some concern, We read a lot of property descriptions that say, "on the sunny side of the development" etc. Which reinforces that repeated visits, and site visits may be something that we will need to do before purchasing.
All though that is intimidating due to cost of trips from Oregon..
As far as traffic. We don't think that's going to be a problem as We don't expect to commute, and would time trips to Hilo for low impact days/times.... Assuming that exists?
We do really like the idea of multiple visits, just not sure if that is possible.
We really appreciate all of the feedback so far. 
Cant wait to live in Puna!
Cant wait to live in Puna!
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"Why would we consider purchasing quickly and without a visit to the site?"
Don't do it.
Even after several reconnaissance trips we thought we could use Google Earth, the property photographs, and our memories of the area to narrow down 10 properties we just KNEW one of them would be our dream home. Then when we looked at them in person we didn't like ANY of them and we looked at one that wasn't a "winner" from our online research and it was PERFECT. Unfortunately, an offer was already put in on it because we were dicking around looking at all these other properties.
Even knowing the area, we thought we were smarter than the people who were warning us. We weren't.
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We do really like the idea of multiple visits, just not sure if that is possible.
Consider the wet season, so as to see properties (and road access!) at their worst.
does the neighborhood have water or do you need catchment? Power or not?
County water is rare; power is commonly available. Note, however, that there are "SSPP fees" (you basically have to buy an interest in the electrical infrastructure that was built out to the location) in addition to permit requirements (owner-builder is only allowed to do their own framing, must use licensed contractors for everything else).
Note that most lots bigger than 1 acre are "spaghetti" (long, narrow), Hawaiian Acres has the widest lots at 150', Fern Acres are 100', Orchidland varies (corner lots are nearly square, some lots are only 110' wide). Watch how this intersects with grid power...
HELCO includes the first 100' in the base hookup fee. Most people don't want to pay extra to run power to the back of the lot, so suddenly all the houses are right next to each other, with acres of "backyard" jungle. If you can't afford to buy "buffer lots" on either side, consider going off-grid at the end of a long driveway, it's a little more expensive up front but probably well worth it in the long run (grid power is expensive ... not suddenly having a house right next to yours is priceless).
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First post! I was really glad to find this forum a couple months back. Just signed up to let you know I'm doing something similar to you from what it sounds like.
I've been working with Stephen Ridsdale ( http://www.alohacoastrealty.com/agents/stephen-ridsdale) and really like him. He lives in Hawaiian Shores area, and has for years. He has a good feel for Puna I think. He met us, showed us some properties, and then got a feel for what we liked in person. We had him look at many places for us while we were back on the mainland.
I wouldn't buy "sight unseen", but remember you can always get an offer accepted on a place and then make a quick trip over yourself to check it out in person during the 14 day inspection period. That's what I ended up doing recently. I got to meet a lot of the neighbors on the street, and was there for the inspection, etc.
Renting is definitely the safe option though! I'm optimistic that we'll like our house & living in Puna, but it's really a huge risk I'm taking.
Let me know if you have any questions about my experience so far!
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"We are concerned about the recent growth, and the subsequent price rise."
Okay, now I get it, and that is a valid concern. But in 9 years so much could happen - we could have a boom and then another bust.
In any case what I would do in your situation is buy a piece of vacant land in a desirable subdivision (as much as you can afford) so that you can ride the boom, if it really gets going, and sell it when you arrive. Don't involve realtors, they'll swallow up all of the profits and definitely aren't needed for land. Buy oceanfront if you can. IMHO
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since you are looking into "Nanvale" Any word eve Hawaii that has a "w" is suppose to be pronounced a V. Some people do say Havi'i...
Anyway..... you may want to check out a subdivision just one over beaches and shores. Prices are still cheap about 6-8K. Look for lots that have ZERO albizia trees. Also compare that shores and beaches are all paved and don't have any road maintenance fee's. High speed cable / dsl in the area. Net cell tower, mail delivery, private water and no ssp fee's...
You might want to try to get 2-3 lot's together. Also, you may want to find someone that started a dream and has given up for various reasons. You can save yourself a bunch of cash ... Just remember even if you do buy a small lot for 3K, you'll need some heavy machinery for driveway and housepad. Plus you'll need a cesspool and a 10K gallon catchment tank with pump etc...etc... Plus you'll have to go either solar or pay ssp fee's to get power in. All this can add up easily over 25K bucks. Plus there permits and inspections etc...etc... fun just doesn't stop around here. Sometimes you can get a pretty good deal on starter cabin.
Have fun and happy looking! I too would recommend renting for at least 6 months, get a cheap island car like a toyota small car maybe fly into oahu and have one shipped over. finding a "well" maintained car over here can sometimes be a chore. With no wheels or anyone to drive you to go look at cars, don't expect to take the bus much. Make some good friends! 
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I was looking at houses in Kona in 2011. The Great Recession had really hit this island hard. Looked at several above the airport, not too bad, pool, nice view, 300K to 400K. Several were unfinished. Didn't think they were worth 400K. Fast forward to 2016, all those places were bought, are listing close to a million now and they want to build several more developments soon. People are supposed to want to visit, not move here. The strategy to crank up the cost of living so high that only the elite can live in these islands is not working. We must slow down road development, turn down any and all large engineering projects, drive doctors and nurses away. We must do more, of less.
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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quote:
Originally posted by Vic
WOW!! great feedback its soo appreciated!
I have a lot you may like FSBO albeit, it's not as cheap as the areas you're looking at but, 6 blocks from ocean, all services, part ocean view, full Mauna view, No CC's and developed too. e-mail function is broken here so e-mail for info macaw2011-jack at yahoo. and as the others are saying, you, really, seriously, MUST go look, rent and stay in the different locations before you buy anything with modest budged minded search.
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You're not doing too well Tedd, but thanks for your opinion. To list all of the inaccuracies would take all day but you do seem smarter than the average realtor, who often are incapable of getting addresses or even names correct.
For starters:
"The only way for a Buyer to avoid involving a real estate agent is to purchase property that is For Sale By Owner (FSBO) and not listed on the MLS (multiple listing service) by the seller's agent. "
Someone selling as FSBO can be on the MLS, it is not mutually exclusive. I'm surprised you don't know that. I'm sure many realtors wish it weren't the case, but it's still a fact. flatlist.com will list anyone on the MLS for a few hundred bucks.
"Now, if a Buyer wants to buy a property that is listed on the MLS then they will absolutely need to present their offer to the Seller's real estate agent."
Wrong again, hard to present it to the seller's realtor if there is no realtor (see above).
"And in this case it does not cost the Buyer anything extra to have representation via a Buyer's agent versus the required neutrality of a dual agent."
Wrong. Maybe versus a dual agent agreement but they are unnecessary. The idea that it costs a BUYER nothing extra to engage a realtor is completely and utterly false, that $15,000 for a few hours work has to come from somewhere and it's only the Buyer who is laying out the cash.
Hopefully I have informed the Punawebbers too. I have nothing to do with the real estate game (apart from being a buyer/seller sometimes) so remember that old saying: never ask a barber if you need a haircut.
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