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BRITT: You don't have to be rich to live in Hawaii.
You just have to want it.
[ Choir vocalizing ]
MAN: You have your ocean on your right
and you have your mountains on the left.
I mean, really it's like, "Where do you look?"
Hawai'i Life is a homegrown real-estate brokerage
that does more than just sell homes.
WOMAN: What a nice, blue sky.
We connect people with the lives they've always dreamed of.
Some kids have lemonade stands.
There you go.
Hawaii has thousands of properties
across all different types of budgets.
So you can find your perfect home in paradise.
I definitely think we made the right choice to move here.
Yeah, I think you're right.
This is "Hawaii Life."
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
I'm Peter Niess.
I'm originally from Maui, born and raised here in Haiku,
and I'm getting ready to buy my first home.
Good boy. Come on. Come on.
I moved away to go to Oregon State University,
graduated with a planning degree,
but I'd had an aching in my heart,
and I knew it was time for me to move back to Maui.
Peter: Pretty good.
Got some mean ice-cream-beans just came in from Kipahulu,
Oh, yeah.
You just eat the white center part there.
Ice cream.
I'm gearing up to take over Maui Architectural Group.
My dad's getting ready to retire.
But I have a very active lifestyle --
diving, fishing, surfing, paddling.
5 out of 7 days out of the week, I'm gonna get in the ocean.
To live the island lifestyle
is to take advantage of the environment around us.
That's what makes island lifestyle different
than anywhere else.
Yeah.
How's it, Tony?
Pretty good. Good.
BRITT: Today, Peter is meeting with Hawai'i Life agent Tony Sayles.
The two go way back.
So it shouldn't be hard nailing down Peter's wish list.
So, Pete, what are you looking for in a home, sizewise?
Okay.
Maybe three bedrooms. I don't need the house to be perfect.
I actually kind of would like to do some renovations,
just make changes that make it my own.
Mm-hmm.
I need room for my dog, Pono, my cats, my chickens.
So I have room to do my garden. That would be choice.
What part of the island would you, ideally, like to buy.
Born and raised in Haiku.
That's kind of -- That's where my heart's at.
Growing up in Haiku was unbelievable
because it's all about
connection with 'aina, or the land.
And what price range are you looking at?
Okay.
And option two is to hui up with my sister
Okay.
Sit.
Good boy.
Got it.
So, I'll head back to the office and pull up some properties,
and we can start setting up some appointments this week.
Right on. Sounds good.
I'm so ready to live the Hawaii lifestyle.
Having my own place where I can call it my own
or buying land with my sister and designing our homes together --
doesn't get much better than that, I don't think.
BRITT: There's something in Hawaii for everyone.
It's all about location here.
People love visiting Maui
because of the white sandy beaches,
beautiful resorts, and great hikes.
One of my favorite things to do in Maui
is to wake my family up really early in the morning
and drive to Haleakala
to see the most amazing sunrise of your life.
[ Woman vocalizing ]
[ Birds chirping ]
Haiku is a great place for people who love the water,
because it's just up the road from Ho'okipa,
one of Maui's premier destinations for surfing and kiteboarding.
Haiku has that small-town feel,
with a great, close-knit community.
Growing up in a small town like Haiku is all about family,
and family is such a huge part of Hawaiian culture --
We call it 'ohana.
Nice to see you, Pete. Good morning, Sonya.
Peter is bringing his sister Sonya along for a second opinion,
and maybe they'll find a property they can both share.
The first house I'm showing Peter
is in the Kahope neighborhood,
which is located just conveniently
about five minutes from Paia Town,
also close to the Haiku Community Center and Haiku Elementary School.
The home's a four-bedroom, two-bath,
little over 1,600 total square feet.
It's $525,000, and they recently reduced it.
PETER: Yeah, it's got a nice yard, at least, out front.
After you.
Thank you.
As you can see, right when you come in,
it's a really nice, open floor plan.
Great room here flows right into the kitchen.
So, you can see they've done some upgrades in here.
There's some nice trim work, porcelain tiles,
and some crown molding here.
PETER: It's nice, open, can socialize with your friends
while you're hanging out in the kitchen -- always a plus.
Definitely. Let you guys do a little bit of exploring down here.
Let's check it out.
PETER: This looks like the master suite.
It's nice.
It's probably like 400 square feet, wide-open space.
There's a shower and the toilet.
Really, really tight.
You know what? I could probably take this wall out
and make it an outdoor shower, like Mom and Dad raised us in.
I definitely would have to reconfigure that
and make it work better.
But I could tell that the garage had been enclosed.
It's bigger than I was expecting.
There's a lot of potential to change things in there
and make it my own.
This was probably its own unit,
with the refrigerator and everything except for a stove.
I don't really know when you would be, like,
eating your dinner in your bedroom or anything like that.
See, if I kept this as a rental, that would be nice
Yeah.
It's something to think about.
This looks like a guest bedroom.
I like the doorway out. You got the window.
Looks like it opens out. This is nice.
This is the interior/exterior living I would want to go for.
Look at this yard.
Yeah, this is nice. This is great.
[ Laughs ]
Your whole farm? Yeah.
Good.
It's kind of funky that they have these dividing walls.
Probably take those out.
Well, it gives privacy to the master, I think, yeah?
But I really like the skylight,
'cause, otherwise, it would be pretty dark in here.
Right.
The lanai space was actually great, and it was covered.
And since it rains a lot in Haiku, that's great.
It makes it useable space.
The backyard -- It'd be easy to maintain.
I could put my chickens back there,
but the neighbors are kind of close around,
and I wouldn't want to start off on the wrong foot with them.
It's a pretty cool spot.
It's nice.
The yard is nice, and it's green,
Sure.
But overall, it's, yeah, pretty great. I liked it.
Yeah, it's got a great floor plan and definitely good bones.
Yeah, that's good -- something to work with.
PETER: What a beautiful day.
Canoe racing is a Hawaiian tradition --
a six-man outrigger canoe,
three a side, the guy steering in back.
[ Choir singing in native language ]
When I moved back from the mainland,
my sister was paddling at Hawaiian Canoe Club,
and I saw that she had this bond, this family,
and I knew I wanted to be a part of it.
[ Singing continues ]
Winning races is part of it,
but that's not really what it's about.
It's about perpetuating this Hawaiian cultural activity,
getting each other's back, and 'ohana.
Whoo!
I think there's 300 people in that club --
young kids, 7, 8 years old, all the way up to 65-plus.
And we all get together and paddle and race.
I love it.
[ Singing ends ]
So, this next place -- kind of excited to see it.
SONYA: It's a little deeper than Haiku,
but at least it's not a bad drive, yeah.
It's pretty beautiful around here.
SAYLES: The next place I'm taking Peter and Sonya to is Kapuai,
located at the Maui Ranch Estates.
When you get to the Maui Ranch Estates, it's more country.
It's more rural, bigger acreage.
You have neighbors that you can barely see.
It's just a tranquil, peaceful part of Haiku,
a little bit more off the beaten path.
Yeah, Peahi?
That wave is fun, and I like just bodysurfing it sometimes.
Yeah, right. [ Laughs ]
And the nearest grocery store -- That's a drive now.
But it's kind of like the price, right?
Like, the price of living on more land --
You have to kind of, like, get away a little bit.
Maybe it'll inspire me to grow more vegetables.
It's as easy as that.
Wow. Look. Here's the house right here.
Kapuai is 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,000 square feet,
and it's priced at $559,000.
SAYLES: We're just a few miles down the road from where we came from,
and this property is significantly larger,
about a full acre over here.
The home was built in 2003.
The price is over your budget,
but it could be negotiable on the asking price.
PETER: Yeah, it's a nice yard.
It's definitely bigger and open -- I like that.
It's fenced, which is great for Pono, actually.
I like that it's all wood -- cedars, the Brazilian wood.
The termites don't like to go at it.
The indoor/outdoor living arrangement up here
on this covered lanai is just a great space
for barbecues and having people over.
I see my barbecue right up over there already.
Definitely. Why don't we head up this way?
The drawbacks at Kapuai is the property cannot be expanded upon
because it's a residential condominium.
PETER: Wow. This is nice.
It's got vaulted ceilings -- nice, open space.
Got the beams. You can see the structure.
I like that, architecturally, because you can see
how it's standing, what's holding it up.
SONYA: I like the tile flooring. That's really nice.
SAYLES: I'll show you around over to the kitchen.
Yeah, the kitchen's important. I really love cooking.
It's a really nice layout in here.
It's got the nice bay window, which is awesome,
'cause I can definitely see myself
growing herbs and spices here
and just throwing it right into the pan while I cook.
Oh, that's really nice.
And it's got the natural light coming in.
And, again, it's wide open -- You see nature right there.
All right.
This looks like guest bedroom.
SONYA: This is pretty small in here.
That's a good point.
This looks like the master bedroom.
It's nice. It's got the vaulted ceilings, still.
This feels a little bit cozy, though.
Yeah, it's very nice, though.
That's nice -- has a walk-in shower. Easy to get in.
And it has a nice tub. That's a great feature.
It's got a window. It's a nice view if you take a bath.
Wow. That's actually really nice.
It's great that you have both options, too --
like, a shower and then the tub.
There's nice ceilings, nice features,
but it's a little small on space.
It's a little cramped, for sure.
PETER: Pretty nice place. I like it.
Some size restrictions,
but overall, it's got the indoor/outdoor feel.
Having the yard space --
I could easily see my chicken coop down there, out of the weather,
and there's plenty of room to garden, too.
Yeah, there's a lot of potential with this property,
and definitely a lot of space.
So gives you a lot of options.
Do you guys have any more questions before we head over to Awalau?
No. This one's been great,
and I look forward to going up Awalau for sure.
Great. Well, it's right down the road from where you guys grew up.
All right, sounds good.
PETER: Wow! Yes!
Look at that -- wide open views, 180 degrees, ocean.
It's super nice.
SAYLES: The next house I'm showing Peter is Awalau, located in Haiku.
Awalau is country.
You got a lot of pastures,
cattle roaming throughout the area.
Awalau is a 2-bedroom, 2-bath, about 1,000 square feet.
It's also got a big, wraparound lanai,
which makes the home feel significantly larger --
priced at $529,000.
Why don't we go up and have a look around the property
before we check out inside?
Sound good?
All right. Let's do it.
PETER: Wow, yes! Look at that --
wide open views, 180 degrees,
West Maui, ocean.
It's super nice.
And definitely know you're in -- in Maui or in Hawaii.
Wow, this is nice -- wide open.
I think, without all of this existing furniture in here,
it'd feel a lot bigger.
It's got high ceilings.
I like the juxtaposition of dark beams and the light...
Yeah.
So, this is the master.
It's on the smaller side for a master bedroom.
How about master bath?
Oh, that's really nice.
The shower's kind of nice,
but I would want to take this wall out
and just open it outdoors.
So, you get a sliding door --
just walk in and out onto your lanai.
Well, that'd be pretty cool.
Want to take a walk, check out the lanai?
Yeah, we haven't walked all the way around yet.
Yeah, this is the money area of this house.
Very, very breezy.
Something I could get used to.
Yeah.
Hey, guys.
I tell you what --
I just cannot get enough of this property.
It's so beautiful.
PETER: Yeah, this is great.
I can see putting my chicken coop,
probably tucked in by the house, out of the weather,
maybe on that side.
There's plenty of room for Pono.
I got a good start for a garden.
I could -- I could see myself expanding this.
Yeah, expand that a little bit.
I noticed, too, is it's catchment,
so you catch all the rainwater on the roof,
and it goes to the water tank right there,
and that's as good as it gets -- Haiku pure water.
My dad actually designed the catchment for this property,
so I know that that's up to par.
There's no county water,
so if your water system goes down,
you're in trouble out there.
So, knowing that that was designed by my dad is great.
So, underneath the house, you know,
you could stash your surfboards down here.
Yeah. I could see that as a board room, for sure.
Enough space for you?
Yeah, this is great.
The lanais are great.
It's huge, plenty of outdoor space.
It's a little bit hard,
'cause I wouldn't be able to subdivide it
and have my sister on the property, as well.
Right. Yeah, well, they had a really nice parcel in mind,
so it might be big enough for both you
and the possibility of both an 'ohana and the main house,
so that's another option we could look at.
Great.
SAYLES: The next place I'm taking Peter is to a lot over on Holokai.
Holokai is a little bit further out into Haiku.
The full 2 acres, priced at $499,000.
If he does decide to purchase this,
he's gonna need to hui up with his sister Sonya
so they can have some money to build on it.
You can just see --
great views looking up towards Haleakala --
also, looking down towards the ocean.
That's quite a view.
You can see way down the coast.
You really have the best of both worlds, view-wise.
You can have an 'ohana of what size?
Yeah, you can have a main house however big you want,
and a detached 1,000-square-foot 'ohana,
so, you know, room for both of you guys to build.
PETER: We could get at least 2,000 square feet, 1,000 each,
or shared common area with a kitchen and great room.
Yeah.
Well, do you want to check it out over here a little bit,
see the property?
Since that's their 'ohana,
you know they're gonna build their main house there.
I know. I did think about that.
So, the Holokai property has amazing views --
unfortunately, you have neighbors all around you,
which is a bummer.
But if we plant a lot of trees and garden
and making our own private little oasis in there,
for me, that would be ideal.
[ Both laughing ]
So, what did you think?
Oh, it's awesome.
It's nice to have the blank slate.
Open canvas just to do whatever.
Seems a little bit expensive, though --
$499,000 for vacant land.
I know there's a lot to take in,
and I think we've really gotten a nice view
of what's on the market right now.
So I'm gonna give you guys some time to think about it.
Right on.
This decision's especially tough
because I'm picking between a home for myself
and a dream that my sister and I have always had.
It's exciting.
It's a very hard decision to make, though.
And we'll look forward to regrouping in a couple days.
All right. Bye.
See you guys later.
SONYA: So, you have a pretty big decision to make here.
So, there's Kapuai.
Yeah.
Inside has vaulted ceilings --
that's great, but it's a little small.
It's kind of far out in Haiku, so that's a long drive to work.
The yard's pretty good, except the easement driveway
and the running bamboo is a bummer,
'cause I know that's hard to ever get rid of.
There's Kahope, which is in Haiku,
centrally located, kind of close to Paia still.
And there is a backyard, and it is fenced,
so I can have Pono in there right away.
Yeah, I really like how centrally located that spot is,
but those renovations, I think,
take a little bit of time and energy
and definitely some money, so it's something to consider.
Right.
Then there's Awalau.
There's a big yard.
It's got a lot of potential.
It's 1,000 square feet with all that storage underneath.
It's kind of nice.
It's almost like having another room.
Plus, the lanais on that -- ridiculous --
wrap all the way around.
That had really nice views, for sure.
But are you sure you want to be that close to Mom and Dad?
I know it's just down the road.
Maybe get some more home-cooked meals.
That's true. That's true. That'll be good.
But then, there's also Holokai, the vacant lot.
And that's 2 acres,
which would be the combined effort of both of us.
It had incredible views,
but I saw the lot below had a guest house built, an 'ohana,
but it didn't look like the main house was built yet,
so I'm a little curious,
if a big main house went up in the lot right in front,
if that would block all the views.
But we would get exactly what we wanted.
And I would get to design something fun
with you and Sam all there at the table.
And it could come out really cool.
Definitely got to consider everything,
'cause it is a big investment.
I have.
Are you gonna let me know what you have decided?
Maybe.
[ Laughing ] Oh.
Pretty good.
Good. Hi, Sonya.
Nice to see you, too.
So, have you guys made a final decision
on where you want to go from here?
I have. I have made a decision.
So, after talking it through with my sister,
I would have to go with Awalau.
Awesome.
That's definitely the one. It's close to my parents.
I know that neighborhood.
It's a -- It'll be a perfect starter home for me.
Sorry, Sonya.
No, it's good. I'm happy for him.
Yeah, I am, too.
And you know, it's a great community,
and it's really going back to your roots, so that's awesome.
So, I'm wondering, in your professional opinion,
what is a realistic offer?
I think $425,000 is a really good starting point.
Sounds good.
I'm gonna prepare all the documentation,
and we can meet up later this afternoon
and get signatures, Peter.
Right on, yeah. Thanks, Tony.
You're welcome. Take care, guys. Bye.
BRITT: Now that he's found his home in Haiku,
Peter's stoked to get back to his roots
and begin sharing his life with his family and friends.
PETER: Owning my own home is gonna mean so much.
I mean, I will get to own my own little piece of paradise,
which is living the Hawaiian dream.
I know all my neighbors around there.
And my parents are right there.
I would be able to get my mom's home-cooked meals,
which are top-notch.
Having that much of a support or family,
an extended 'ohana around me, is ideal.
I think it's worth it to live here in Hawaii.