Best apartments and housing in Hilo (Pahoa, Honomu: for sale, rental homes, condo)

[xxthinkpinkxo]

I am moving to Hilo in January and looking for a dog-friendly one-bedroom apartment. My dog is coming over from the mainland in April (after the Rabies 120-day wait period is up). So far, I've found like one dog friendly complex: Waiakea Lagoon View Apartments which actually seems OK. Just wondering if anyone knows anything about those apartments? Seems like they're geared toward university students? Also if anyone knows of other apartment recommendations. Is Hilo Val Hala any good? For the first month or two I found a one-bedroom furnished cottage for $1,000 (utilities included) in Honomu. Anyone know anything about that area or how the commute is to Hilo? Mahalo in advance

[smarino]

Well, Val Hala is not a good place to live. Basically welfare apartments that are income capped. We lived in a condo not far from there, and I could tel you some tales! It's also not far from Ohai St, which I consider to be easily the worst street in Hilo. Anything on that side of the iron bridge is going to be iffy, although there ARE some nice homes here and there. It's not all ghetto, but I would never live over there if I was moving back. There is a very large public housing project right by Ohai street, so you get what you get w/ that.

You're right, Waiakea Village, or whatever they're calling that place after multiple bankruptcies, is full of students. The units are small and poorly insulated, so you are going to get a lot of noise. But they are cheap, and in a very good area.

Pets and Hawaii are a problem. Hawaii is generally anti pet. That's my take on it and I'm sticking to it, especially after having to find a home for my wife's dog once when we moved from her place to an apartment and NO one would allow us a dog, even in rental homes. It can be done, but look at the ads for housing. Nearly all of them say no pets, no smoking, etc. When we moved to the mainland we were amazed at how well pets are treated. Grocery stores have people w/ their pets in the carts, many, many restaurants allow them to be on the outside patios if they're leashed and well behaved, and StarSucks has a policy that they will never, ever ask to see your paperwork if you have what you consider to be a service animal w/ you. One of my favorite coffee houses here in St. Pete lets pets come in w/ their companions, and offers water and free treats. I met someone just yesterday that is opening up a Cat Cafe, where you go in and eat or have coffee and get to pet the house cats. All of which is as it should be. Pets, well behaved ones, should be allowed all of this. It's great. You are going to have difficulty finding safe, quiet housing w/ your dog at your rental price point unless you are patient, know someone, or get lucky. The bulletin board at the health food store downtown is a good place to look.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

It might be great for you, smarino, but those of us who are allergic to cat dander or who don't appreciate having dog hairs in our coffee do NOT think it's such a great idea.

Sorry, OP, that there haven't been any other responses. There are a couple of posters here who live Hilo side, so hopefully they will chime in.

[terracore]

I see NO DOGS ALLOWED signs everywhere. The Hilo airport has signs that say all dogs must be in kennels "except seeing eye dogs" (not service dogs... I understand the signage is dated but it reflects the sentiment). Virtually EVERY establishment, public park, causeway, farmers market, has NO DOGS ALLOWED signs. At a recent visit to the Pahoa Farmers Market I saw a security person confront somebody trying to bring a leashed dog in and kick them out. The only farmer's market I've ever been to that isn't vehemently anti-dog is the Hilo Coffee Mill which has signs requesting that dogs be on a leash to protect their chickens. I also understand that its up for sale, so that policy could change in the future.

I've never seen a "Pets allowed with deposit" style rental advertisement. I'm sure they exists but the vacancy rate is low enough landlords can generally find a tenant without a pet so they don't want to deal with them. An old friend of mine had to spend $20k ripping out and replacing a sub floor after some smuggled-in pets spent a year urinating on it (price did not include replacement carpet) so I can understand the reluctance to allow pets if there is no market incentive to.

In our situation, our dog remained in Alaska with friends until we were able to buy a place and bring her over.

[Harpaint]

Since you will be renting, I suggest you leave your dog on the mainland. Hilo rentals are NOT dog friendly at all. They also tend to be small with "thin walls" .

[hotzcatz]

The commute between Honomu and Hilo is a very lovely one. Stunning ocean views, hardly any traffic, no trouble in and out of Hilo. It's a much nicer area, IMHO. Quieter, too, most likely, than Waiakea.

[smarino]

Smuggled in pets??? What's next, smuggled in children? Wow, these posts sure confirm the anti pet mentality in Hawaii, and it's totally strange, to say the least. Abnormal. A pet urinating on a floor is a pet companion issue, not a pet problem, But, I have learned not to worry about what pet haters say. They're a breed (LOL) onto themselves, and I basically just feel sorry for them. Pets make wonderful companions and friends, especially for the elderly and disabled. No one should have to give up their friend to move somewhere. No place on earth is worth that.

To the OP, you CAN find a place that takes pets, it's just not that easy. And if you can get a doctor to write a "prescription" for a service animal, no one can do anything once you move in and the dog arrives. That's what I would do in a last resort thing, but really, not everyone hates pets. Just do a "Want To Rent" ad on craigslist, maybe call the animal shelter there before you come, etc. Hilo is a mixed bag place. Like anywhere else, you can meet some of the nicest people and some of the biggest stinkers there. Don't let the Problem People get you down, just go on to the next thing, and once you find people in Hilo that you connect to, you quickly meet their friends too. Hilo is a totally small town in that regard. I will say that it's easier to have a pet if you own vs renting, but it can be done. I would never move someplace that my pet wasn't welcome.

[leilaniguy]

In Pahoa, both Long's Drugs and Malama Market allow dogs in the store. It's doubtful they are service dogs, I see more poodles and chihuahua's than any other kind.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by smarino

To the OP, you CAN find a place that takes pets, it's just not that easy. And if you can get a doctor to write a "prescription" for a service animal, no one can do anything once you move in and the dog arrives. That's what I would do in a last resort thing, but really, not everyone hates pets.

I see you have a genuine sense of entitlement and complete lack of respect for other people's property.

If someone played that game with one of my properties, you'd never get a lease renewal, you'd wouldn't get your deposit as I would document every scratch, nick, and go after you for much more, you'd never get a reference, you'd never have a grace period on rent, I would do the absolute minimum legally regarding maintenance of the unit and I'd have blogs written with tags and links on social media so that when anybody googled your name the first thing in the search result would say "DO NOT RENT - SCAMMER" and on a small island (or even a heavily populated one like Oahu) it would certainly get noticed.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

I see you have a genuine sense of entitlement and complete lack of respect for other people's property.

If someone played that game with one of my properties, you'd never get a lease renewal, you'd wouldn't get your deposit as I would document every scratch, nick, and go after you for much more, you'd never get a reference, you'd never have a grace period on rent, I would do the absolute minimum legally regarding maintenance of the unit and I'd have blogs written with tags and links on social media so that when anybody googled your name the first thing in the search result would say "DO NOT RENT - SCAMMER" and on a small island (or even a heavily populated one like Oahu) it would certainly get noticed.

He/she has obviously never been a landlord. I am allergic to cat dander, and I would be quite upset if someone smuggled in a cat to my house that I rent out. I'd have to replace all of the carpet (it's in Colorado) and probably the window coverings, and have the furnace ducts professionally cleaned.

I rented my house to some people I knew who had dogs. I didn't realize that the dogs would scratch every windowsill that they could reach. SIGH