The Puna District Subdivisons (Hilo, Hawaiian Beaches: sale, insurance, crimes)

[IntoTheMystic]

I'm not sure we are supposed to link here?
If you search The Star Bulletin with the words "police Eden Roc" you'll find what you are looking for.

[seikaryusensei]

Hi CynMKohole and IntoTheMystic,
Thank you so much for your inputs. One of the interesting things about the internet IS research! LOL. One can find so many differing pieces of information that it might make you think that someone is wrong or their facts are not right. What DOES seems to be developing from discussions with friends and family who live in Puna, wonderful helpful people like yourselves here and on PunaWeb, and websites proffering everything from a volcano watch, to rainfall averages, to crime statistics... is that it all helps paint a mosaic of a region that keeps drawing mus closer. Puna seems alive and vital, with all the wonders and beauty, as well as the warts and cancers of modern society. Our little piece of Northern California paradise in the Sonoma County wine country had twice as many murders as the County of Hawaii since 2000. Ice and drugs run rampant here, as well as across the nation. We have earthquakes that kill hundreds, the south has hurricanes... gosh, the volcano seems tame comparatively. What I have seen in Puna is a lot of very kind and friendly people, some who keep to themselves, and some who are open to the exchange of life. Please, tell me more about the geography, the people you know in Eden Roc and its environs that actually like living there. What is the weather, rain and temperature like compared to say, Lelani Estates? Whats kind of plants can you grow in and around MountainView? Where is the best place for a good cup of Joe? Who are the characters of the area? What are the events one MUST attend in Puna? The farmer markets: what is the best stuff to buy? When? Where? Last, but not least, who is best resource for off-the-grid info? I can hardly wait to hear what you all have to say!

[cynmkolohe]

Originally Posted by IntoTheMystic

I'm not sure we are supposed to link here?

Hi Mystic,

Sorry if any confusion...the quote in blue isn't underlined--it's not a link. Since the website was so off base, I didn't want to put a link for it!

[IntoTheMystic]

Originally Posted by cynmkolohe

Hi Mystic,

Sorry if any confusion...the quote in blue isn't underlined--it's not a link. Since the website was so off base, I didn't want to put a link for it!

No, I'm sorry for the confusion. I didn't mean you. I didn't put my own links because i thought I remembered seeing some removed.

[cynmkolohe]

I get it!

You can include links...just not to other sites like City-Data. What they also started deleting a while back are the long quotes from outside sources. They want a summary in your own words and a link.

[Mark_P]

Seikaryusensei:

I haven't frequented all the subdivisions but I have been in a few. Also, I own property in Eden Roc so I am biased as far as that goes. Eden Roc is one of the cheaper subdivisions without restrictive CCRs so it has tended to attract people without money who have difficulty following rules. However, this is true to some extent for all of Puna. When I first got my property only one set of neighbors were present next door and they immediately established a hostile relationship, accusing me of having trespassed on their property while cutting along the property line and basically telling me to keep my distance. They are somewhat scary because they are so reclusive. Could they be on the ragged edge of going "postal" (sorry Postal employees, I know you're no worse than anyone else)? I don't know, but probably not. We are of different socio-economic groups and races so there is less common ground and more tendency to let your imagination roam about the motives of those "other" people.

You may reasonably ask why I bought the property. It is because a friend was buying the property on the other side. We egged each other on. Neither of us did any real comparison shopping. The land was very affordable. Up until then I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never be able to afford anything beyond the little one bedroom condo I had on Oahu, so I rather foolishly jumped in with both feet. When I had a bulldozer come in to cut a driveway and housepad the prickly neighbors nearly had a cow, making me wonder again whether this haole boy might be in the wrong place.

In the last four years property values in the area have spiked outrageously and then have begun to return to more sane levels. If I had had any smarts I would have sold while the market was hot and reaped a several fold return on my investment as my friend did. I hung on because I don't like change. I also like owning property and imagining what I could do with it. There are much more desireable properties out there but once again I don't see myself affording them. This is a handicap that will always hold me back but that doesn't mean I can't still enjoy what I've got.

During the real estate frenzy of the last 4 years, many properties changed hands and many houses were built or started in Eden Roc. One was on the property my friend sold and one was on the corner a couple of properties down. Both of these are new houses built to code by people with enough money invested that they will care about their property and neighborhood (huge sigh of relief). They will be full time residents. I am also very good friends with another Eden Roc resident who built his modest home by hand and who sold one of the two properties he owned to someone who is even now building a house in which his family including his daughter will live.

There are many of us here that you would be lucky to have as neighbors. True, there are others that you would not be so lucky to have as neighbors, what has been said about the local schools being bad is I fear true, drugs are pervasive throughout Hawaii and the poorer areas such as Puna are hardest hit, but I think it unfair and untrue to describe Eden Roc only as "skeery".

As you drive through Eden Roc you will see some junked cars. Only a small percentage of the crossroads are paved although they are all passable and I have definitely driven on worse in other subdivisions. There are definitely some shacks and eyesores. On my property the soil varies from bare lava to about 6" deep. My Ohia trees are not the greatest, being small and scragly. In other parts of the subdivision they are larger and more stately. All in all Eden Roc is kind of homely, but I'm still there.

[IntoTheMystic]

Originally Posted by Mark_P

I think it unfair and untrue to describe Eden Roc only as "skeery".
.

true dat..

[seikaryusensei]

Hey Mark P...

Sorry I was away for a bit and hadn't checked this thread for a couple weeks. Thank you for such an awesome and detailed description of Eden Roc. Having a clearer picture from a true insider creates the questions that need to be asked before buying. Sounds like you have settled in on the idea of Eden Roc being part of your life in some way or another.

It seems there will always be some numb-nut who out there who will make a neighborhood less desirable. Some of the neighbors I have had in Kansas, California, and Australia have been both unsavory and ignoramuses. Still, IMHO, the majority of people just want to be happy, live and let live.

In all of the conversations I have had with many of the local Puna "web-ites" it seems Eden Roc is a lower cost subdivision, it has some "colorful" characters in it, there are some junked cars, some drug using denizens, and it does not have paved roads. I have also found that there is a HOA board of directors of sort and that they try to have abandoned vehicles moved, the road rocked and cleared, at least semi-regularly, and that there is some home building activity that is currently going on. As far as I can tell the locations is almost exacly what I am looking for in terms of micro-climate, buildability, lot size and configuration, and proximity to services and Hilo proper. It's Lava Zome 3 status is acceptable and general location within Puna are groovy.

I applaud your daring and adventurous spirit in buying with your friend, and I am a big fan of sticking to plans. It seems the next step is to fly out, drive around and take a look.

Thanks again for your post.

[Mona6381]

I live in Hawaiian Paradise Park. Me and family can't wait to get out of here. Drug neighbors, and some just dump a dead wild pig in front of our gate..

[monkeychi]

Hi there, my mom is considering buying in this HPP area. I would LOVE any info on this location. Schools, jobs aren't relevant for her age but safety is. I appreciate any and all intel you wise folk have. Here's the google map location:
loc: 151786 4TH AVE Keaau HI US - Google Maps

Also, any input on proximity to nearby resources/amenities like theater/shopping/town activity, etc would be most helpful!

Thanks in advance!