3 Acres of Ohia Forest, Off-Grid with Fiber Optic — $145,000

Three acres in Hawaii for $145,000. That's the thing that makes you stop. The lot is in Fern Forest subdivision near Volcano, on Ohialani Road toward the top of the neighborhood, and it's planted out with tropical ornamentals, fruit trees, and flowering plants that the current owner cleared and put in by hand. The forest around it is native Ohia. You're looking at green in every direction.

The house is post-and-pier construction, built in 2008, about 1,200 square feet. It has a lanai, a large living and recreation area, and an indoor workshop space. The kitchen is small. The two bedrooms are described as nooks that could be enclosed — meaning they're open right now, more like divided areas than closed rooms. One full bath. Big windows on the sunny side looking into the trees.

It runs off-grid. Solar system, rainwater catchment, on-demand hot water. That's the full setup. No grid tie-in. The solar system is described as small, so you'd want to know what it actually runs before you assume it covers everything you need. What's interesting is that fiber-optic internet is already installed. So you have no utility connection to the grid and full-speed internet. For someone working remotely who wants to be genuinely off the grid, that combination is hard to find.

Volcano National Park is close. The elevation here runs cool and wet, which is why the forest looks the way it does and why the fruit trees planted on the property can grow the way they do. This is not a beach climate. It's overcast a good portion of the time and the rain is real. People who love it here love it a lot.

The agent describes it as a work in progress, which is honest. The bedroom situation alone tells you there's finishing left to do. At this price on this acreage, you're buying into the land and the off-grid infrastructure and doing some work. That's the deal.