Hawaiian Ocean View Estates? (Mountain View, Kurtistown: house, neighborhoods, subdivision)

[erikkarma]

Aloha- Anyone have info on this subdivision (HOVE)? I know it's an hour from Kona, but more info? Specifically, weather, crime, drugs, how outsiders are treated, cost and difficulty of building, water, power, septic, etc.? Also looking in Mountain View- can you give us some thoughts on that area as well? Mahalo!

[leilaniguy]

All the stats are available right here on citydata, just punch in hawaii oceanview or try zip 96737. Almost everything there is 1 acre, so can have cesspool, power is spotty, water, you're on your own(catchment). Do the same for Mountainview HI, advice is about the same.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

HOVE is a very diverse subdivision. After all, there are 10,000 lots, ranging in altitude from 2,000 feet to 5,000. So, you can find a very wide variety of homes, all the way from fancy estates to shacks put together with scraps picked up by the side of the road. People even live in lava tubes! Add to that the fact that some of the upper lots are totally off the grid, so anything goes. We used to joke that people who live there were in the Federal Witness Protection Program!

Water is all by catchment. Power and phone lines do not go to all of the properties. Septic is cesspool.

We have friends who live there and love it. There are no covenants, no home owner's association telling you what to do. There is a strong community association, and there are on-going activities at the community center. People who live there are fiercely independent, for the most part.

Commute times to Kona can also vary widely, since you can spend as much as 15 minutes just getting to the highway.

[erikkarma]

Thanks for the info!

[Sorcerer68]

I own a house about 15 minutes north of HOVE. Through a strange twist of fate, I ended up living there when we moved out of our place in Kurtistown. My big piece of advice about HOVE is to figure out if you're very sensitive to VOG because you'll get more there than anywhere else in Hawaii. Ocean View is more than an hour from Kona too...going to and fro from my place just to the north started to wear on me. I loved the sunny weather and the fact that you get sunsets. Appearance and vibe wise, it's polar opposite Mountain View...which is cool and green and misty and rainy. Mountain View is a lot closer to "town" as well. What Ocean View needs more than anything right now is for someone to open up a really good grocery store (I keep hinting to people....)

[erikkarma]

Thanks for the tip. I've read about the VOG- does it occur on a daily basis? Is it more, or less, of a problem at night?

[Jungjohann]

I bought property in HOVE about twenty years ago. Thats the last that I saw of it, may build down there at some point. The VOG can be a real pain, even here on Maui, when it starts blowing Konas, it can look like LA outside, if you have problems with your lungs, I wouldn't recommend it.

Aloha,
Thomas Praetzel

[aloha2003]

I recommend a book called "The Big Island Revealed" -- it has a section on HOVE that explains the history and background. Advice: don't make any decisions sight unseen.

[vsimmons1988]

Jungjohann "The VOG can be a real pain, even here on Maui"

What family oriented areas/neighborhoods do you recommend for a family of 5 on Maui?

[erikkarma]

Thanks again for the info. My wife and I don't have any lung problems, so I don't think the VOG would bother us. I was more concerned if it was a daily problem that would cause the skies to be constantly overcast. With Hawaii's dark skies, I plan on doing a lot of stargazing when we move there, so if it was always voggy, that would be a problem. ...Thanks also about the tip in "Big Island Revealed"- I have read the part about HOVE in the book- good info!