The Puna District Subdivisons

[hotzcatz]

Oh, good! We aren't connected so I don't keep track of the current rates. Some mainland folks are used to power at ten cents a kilowatt hour or less so they get shocked when they get their first electric bill over here. My new neighbor unplugged his electric water heater and started taking cold showers after his first electric bill.

[islandantoinette]

I have also lived all over the BI. including Kapoho for a few years in the 80's when I went back to buy again in 98 saw Kapoho and it was a mess. Now they have all the tourist stuff going on down there, know the security guard who lives in the Shores; like he said Parking is a mess, hippies and the like leave their babies dirty diapers all over. Trash the weekends are awful. Harry Kim owns a fenced off house down there I know, he uses it for a vacation home for his O'Hana.
I bought at the end of Hawai'ian Beaches in the very small subdivision of Hawai'ian PARKS it is 4 roads from the ocean. No rusty cars, no eye soars etc. Safe to walk etc. However it is still close to the beaches with the same problems if you don't stay to your self and mind your own business.
There are people with dog hunting packs I have heard that just let those darn dogs bark all day and night. Not looking forward to going back to that. Why? Because Hawai'ian Beaches problems are moving father and farther down all the time. Especially with the decline in housing prices.
People who are even thinking of moving to waa waa have to be super millionaires. A group of very rich and people who think they are exclusive bought up all the land and they closed off the ocean front THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE ILLEGAL but they do it! Which is where all the problems come in between the locals and haolies! They ONLY sell to WHOM THEY want and they make sure of that. I was shocked to see the change that took place literally over night in Waa Waa it is sad. It used to be enjoyed by ALL! Not anymore.
We are going home next month. Been gone the past 3 1/2 yrs. to get married and wait for my husband to retire. We are going to look for another house at the end of HPP as I used to own one at 14rh and MaKU U. But wanted to be closer to the ocean so moved to Hawai'ian Parks Subdivision. The lots are SMALL however. HPP's are bigger, so going to see what we can find with more land. We have a typical 3 BR 2fullBR ranch style house. Well I have now read ALL the posts in this thread. Pretty interesting. I'd say peoples comments are pretty right on about the different areas of Puna. I also once owned a house in Mtn. View it was so cold up there 300 ft! And the vog sulphur was TERRIBLE I sold the next day. No electricity in those days up there. Now there is it's a regular subdivision.
A hui ho,
Antoinette

[birdmove]

I live in Puyallup, Wa., and am 56 years old. My daughter and her boy friend lived in HPP for a while (he owns the lot). My daughter is going to have a baby about July 4th (our first grandchild!). Since there isn't a lot of work on the Big Island, he got a good job on Oahu and they moved there. With a baby on the way it was the thing to do. My wife went over to the Big Island for a weeks visit just before they moved to Oahu, and rented a house in HPP. Her and I had never been to the BI before, but had vacationed on Maui maybe six or seven times since 1980 (many changes to the island in those thirty years).

We had always loved the idea of moving to Hawaii, but no way could we afford a place on Maui. While my wife was on the Big Island, she had some real estate folks show her some houses and was surprised at the affordable prices in the Puna area. We actually bid on a house in HPP (I hadn't even seen the place yet). I had a weeks vacation that was in a use it or lose it situation, so I grabbed a week in early May of this year.We were planning, if the house deal went through, to furnish it and rent it out short term to vacationers. So we planned on spending my week off in HPP either 1.furnishing the house so we could rent it, or 2. if the deal went south, finding another place. The deal went bad when it was appraised at $30,000 less than the agreed on price.

So we went over to the BI, and my daughter came and stayed with us in a great house near the water in HPP. We found another place for a lot less than the first place, and it looks like it's going to go through. The last hurdle-the appraisal-went through at exactly what the agreed on price is.And the owners are moving back to the mainland and we are buying all the furnishings from them at a very good price so they won't have to haul much stuff back.They have a very ill parent they have to go take care of.

So for our stay in HPP, other than one day of looking for a house, was almost all spent enjoying the island and visiting with my daughter.Everyone we met in HPP during our stay was great. We even made a friend that is building his own house while living in it, and we got together and had a BBQ dinner of ono and veges and fruit we bought at the farmers market in Hilo.He is going to do some work on the house for us too.He needs the work and we need a new tile floor.

I loved the island and can't wait to go back.We didn't get to Kona yet, but went all over the Puna area, ti Hilo several times,to the Botanical Gardens, Volcano, etc.

We like HPP very much, but did look at houses in other ares also.

It may be 2-3 years until we can make the move. Since we are getting the house furnished, it means we won't have to bring a lot with us. I know jobs are hard to get on the BI, but we will be close to retiring by the time we make the move. Until then, we'll be over as much as we can.

So my wife has stayed in HPP for about 15 days, and myself 9 days. We really have nothing negative to say about HPP, and certainly not about the people we met there. One acre lots can be bought there for about $25,000 to $30,000 and up, and that sounds mighty reasonable to us.

jon and kathy

[jturk]

Leilani is great and crime is low since it's further south. Streets are paved. Lots are 100' X 436'. CC&Rs won't allow farm animals or towers. Lots are in the range of $30K and up depending on whether ready to build or overgrown. I'd suggest finding an existing home since prices are below cost of building. Great community center there and Pahoa is only 5 miles away. Cell service sucks but that's going to change real soon with new towers going in right now.
We bought last fall and will move when I get retired.

[3H808]

I lived in Hawaiian Beaches, 5 mins from Pahoa town in Puna. My parents said they watched an interview of Donald Trump. When asked where the best place to buy land was, he said Puna on the Big island!

From my experience, these places are where I would like to buy land:

d) Ainaloa- Towards the back of the subdivision is a great place to buy. Forested and peaceful.

h) Glenwood / Mountain View areas (Lehuanani, Mauna Kea, N Oshiro, and N. Kulani Roads) - Beautiful and affordable. Some gorgeous houses back there.

Other places I love:

Volcano - some days the vog is not as bad.
Kurtistown- just below Glennwood and 10 mins out of Hilo. My ohana has lived there for a long time.
Ainako- Upper Hilo, all the way up Kawaihae St. near the pastures

Hope this helped.

[alaskangrown]

I've never experienced bad Vog in Eden Roc- is that just my luck, or common? I got a few good whiffs when the wind was blowing at night, but nothing like HOVE or Kona...

[goldensunny]

So which subdivision did you end up buying in? Just curious.

[seikaryusensei]

Did not purchase. Wife took the option off the table when she inherited a condo outside of Sarasota FL. Not sure I am done with it, but we'll see. If I had picked then, it would have been Eden Rock. Might be different when I return to look. Going back to Oahu in July 2012 and plan a 3 day tript o Big Island just to look at Pahoa, and Eden Rock.

[mangodog]

Golly, I wonder why people that have the money send their children to private schools..... I'll probably never guess why.....

[leilaniguy]

Originally Posted by mangodog

Golly, I wonder why people that have the money send their children to private schools..... I'll probably never guess why.....

And just how does this relate to Puna district subdivisions or the price of tea in China or anything else?