I had to buy the land along with buying the year?

[Debsbelongjng]

I Am brand new to this process but have been to workshops in yours. One in Texas and one in Colorado. I absolutely love them and feel they are a match for my nature-loving lifestyle. I've been to the Big Island once several years ago and absolutely loved it and a friend of mine recently told me that cool eyes even more beautiful. I want to know if there are yurt communities. And also how does someone without a lot of money, but with enough to purchase a good side yurt, would set up in Kauai? Also will there be a way to get assistance to build your since I am a lone female?

[Bob Rowlands]

You do know Hawaii is mind blowing expensive, right? If you can't afford to outright buy a yurt, you sure won't be able to buy land in Hawaii and build the yurt on it. Imma guess anyway there are no yurt communities in the islands because yurts really aren't warm moist climate amenable. A dry cool climate is way more tent friendly. Even then they don't last like a house. A yurt is a tent.

Sorry to say, finding a lender to loan you the scratch to follow this dream in Hawaii is probably unrealistic. If you drop $30K on a yurt and say $200K minimum un an undeveloped piece of land that needs well and septic, that's 2.5 acres in many locales (probably WAAAY more), get a platform built for 100K, with tap fees and other other misc expenses you're gonna be at a half mil. It's Hawaii. There's lit land and HUGE demand from people that can pay the cost.

No lender gonna even begin to consider loaning money on a dwellling that might be totaled in 10 years. That's my straight forward blunt opinion.

[Debsbelongjng]

I thought maybe it would be less expensive since the volcanic activity. I know there wasn't any on Kauai but on the big island. I understand that a yurt is a tenant but I thought it could be fortified with drywall, Etc. I saw one person do this on YouTube. And I can afford to buy a yurt I have already priced one. I'm just looking to find a place with a yurt community that is near a large body of water because I can no longer tolerate living in the high desert known as Colorado. It's so incredibly dry here. There's got to be some place where I can go that has a relatively mild climate and is close to large bodies of water. Maybe not the ocean but a big lake. I know that anything was natural beauty is more expensive. Even so, when I visited the Big Island in 1993 there was a shaman living in Hilo. It was not ideal living but it was definitely a affordable. But I do thank you for your information and I will keep searching. Perhaps it's not Hawaiian that's just some place I will visit true.

[Bob Rowlands]

If you want to live by water, you'll find places that are WAY more affordable -and realistically doable- than Hawaii, or around the front range of CO, which is getting pretty dang expensive.

The western part of Colorado by Grand Junction, up on the mesa, is packed with small lakes, yet the climate is dry. Keep in mind hot muggy damp rainy overcast climates are bad for yurts, in comparison to dry western US.

If I were you and really considering any kind of warm humid climate, I'd drop the yurt idea and go with another dwelling. In particular, if you are set on yurt, do NOT use a canvas cover on your yurt. Get a fifteen year professionally made cover made from a material that won't rot. In a damp warm environment a canvas cover won't last five years. Imagine setting a pair of blue jeans outside for five straight years. There, you get the picture. Whatever you do, good luck with your plans.

[Debsbelongjng]

Okay glad I found out in time! Nothing worse than having experience after you need it. I will check out areas outside of Colorado Springs and Denver. I also traveled to Washington State and absolutely loved Idaho and Montana. Washington is too expensive is basically Colorado with an ocean so I did find that out. But thank you for that tip on where the lakes are I'm surprised I didn't know that already. I was too focused on living in the Pacific Northwest. Really appreciate feedback and information!

[Bob Rowlands]

LOTS of lakes on the mesa. I wouldn't have believed it either. Been there with family in 1997.

[HawaiiYurts]

I take a somewhat personal offense when I hear people saying that yurts don't work in Hawaii. Bob, I'm pretty sure you've seen me on here before and know that I build yurts in Hawaii. The truth is abundantly clear if a person just Googles 'Yurts Hawaii'. My business will be top of the list on that search because I've spent nearly 15 years proving that yurts work here, getting and keeping permittability, and have built over 250 yurts here.

1) Land in many areas on several islands is extremely expensive. But not in all areas. In some areas it is extremely affordable. I'm not keen on a bunch of people coming over like it's the gold rush over here - Hawaii has it's challenges. It's not the mainland, public services and government work differently here. It is a wholly different culture. Some of us like that. Some don't. If a person doesn't, they shouldn't move here.

2) Yurts work BEAUTIFULLY in our varied climates in Hawaii. The Big Island alone has 80% of the world's climates. Don't like one climate? Drive 10 - 30 miles and it will change. We came through Hurricane Iselle that knocked down most of the massive trees in lower Puna all the way up to Volcano and NONE of our yurts needed a single repair. We went through literally thousands of earthquakes last year. Again, NONE of our yurts had any issues. Mold? My office is in Volcano Village, one of the wettest places on earth with 120" of rain a year. Our office has been up for 8 years and I have not once had a mold issue there.

I've been building yurts here for nearly 15 years and NONE of our yurts made by Colorado Yurt with our recommended upgrades have needed a roof, wall,

dome

, door, or any other major component replaced yet.

If someone wants to know about yurts in Hawaii, I'm here. I know what I'm talking about. I've more than proved that they work and work well here. Give us a call or email us, the info is on the website.

Yurts of Hawaii

-A simple platform won't cost you 100k. It will cost anywhere from $10,000 - $24,000 depending on design and who does the work.

-Hawaii isn't big on wells. We catch our rainwater in most places or get on county water. A 10,000 gallon catchment is most common and costs about $6,000 installed.

-There is land selling in Puna right now for $8,000. 3 acres can be purchased for $15,000.

-Yurts are not tents. No tent withstands up to 120 mph wind. Yurts are an incredibly strong tension, rebounding structure with soft exterior.

-Septic system, yes. Those are about $10,500 installed and inspected.

-


Aloha,
Melissa

[Bob Rowlands]

Melissa, I'm sorry your posts here didn't cross my mind. If they had, I certainly would have suggested they contact you. My bad. Pardon me.

[Bob Rowlands]

I retract my comments about yurts and Hawaii.

[HawaiiYurts]

Thank you, Bob.

I've done a lot of work to bring yurts past basic misconceptions nationwide, but even more so in Hawaii. It's a personal mission of mine to debunk the nay sayings. Unless they're true, that is. So far there isn't anything about yurts that I have found that doesn't work here (and most other climates for that matter). The caveat to that is that it needs to be a very well made yurt. People can't go with someone making a yurt for the 3rd time in their lives and expect all the quality of a yurt made by experts who have built hundreds and found what works.

Thank you for the retraction, all is forgiven.

Melissa