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Renting Options and Experiences
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This page describes our experiences renting in Hilo, Hawaii. A big part of renting (or buying for that matter) is picking the neighborhood you want to live in since they vary greatly in Hilo. In November 2007, we moved to Hilo without a rental lined up, without a contact, without knowing anyone in town. We used newspaper classifieds, realtors, vacation rental organizations, and property managers to help us find a place in Hilo that met our needs and desires. Our search was successful and we now live in a wonderful house in Hilo near University of Hawaii. Here is what we found along the way and other resources to help you find an affordable place to live in Hilo.
The Strange Process of Renting in Hawaii Realtors and Property Managers have a big business in rental leasing and management in Hawaii. They are prominent in large part due to a law in Hawaii that requires a rental have a resident in Hawaii as a legal contact for the property. So any mainlander that owns a home or condo that they wish to rent, must have someone in Hawaii "represent" the property. In most cases they pick a realtor or property manager that is paid to manage the rental. The property managers require that you fill out a very long and very personal application form and charge you for processing the application before speaking with you. They usually won’t talk to you on the phone, but require that you bring the application to their office or mail it. The application requires multiple personal references, job information and contacts for verification, bank account numbers and every place you have lived for the past 5-10 years. Then you wait. While they are "processing" the application, they won't show you any of their advertised properties even to let you determine if you are interested. From what I have accertained, their processing consists of them calling every reference, bank and previous rental that you listed and waiting for a call back. While you wait, assuming you have the patience (which I didn't), the property may disappear. If you want to hedge your bets and apply to several realtors to maximize your options, then your personal information is spread around the town and your references badgered numerous times. Realtors advertise in the paper and on their web pages (usually without explicit addresses) and sometimes show pictures of the property – though never the inside of the rental. I have heard of some lucky folks getting better reception from realtors in advance of their arrival. Some brave ones have even signed a lease sight unseen. In Hawaii, with the "diversity" of home upkeep, I would not recommend it. If you decide to take the realtor route to find a rental, submit your application in the mail a month or so before you arrive to save yourself the frustration of waiting for them to call all your references. We found vacation rental businesses much easier to deal with. They accept phone calls or email and though they specialize in short term rentals, they often represent long term rentals as well. Their web sites usually have pictures of the rental including every room inside. When we called, they gave us the address so we could drive by and were willing to set up a meeting with us to show the property. And this was all without an application or approval process. If we had taken this route, their only requirement would have been a security and cleaning deposit and a credit card number. The best alternative for renting is to deal with rental home owners that live in Hawaii and have local contact numbers. Rental owners are motivated to rent their property and know everything about it. There is no lengthy acceptance process or middle man to slow the process. Local owners are often picky about who they rent to and may be put off by folks different then themselves. We were lucky to find an awesome rental from a local businessman. When we have issues or questions, we can easily get in touch with him and do not have to deal with a company.
How we picked our neighborhood in Hilo Hilo has great variety in neighborhoods, each one quite different with benefits and disadvantages. It is important to know in advance what key characteristics you must have in a neighborhood and those you can give up on. Our requirements for a rental was close proximity to shopping, airport, and the downtown. That narrowed down our search to the area of Hilo town as shown in this Hilo town map. I like this map because it displays the tsumani evacuation areas and one of our requirements was to be above the low lying flood areas. The part of Hilo town near the aiport as shown in this Hilo airport area map is pretty much all in the evacuation area. We focused on neighborhoods directly above Hilo town which we surveyed for noise (airplane and truck routes, coqui frogs, businesses in the neighborhoods, dogs, etc.), traffic, access to town, and views. Areas further out of town in Puna were ruled out by us after timing the drive time to Hilo. There are other issues in Puna regarding road conditions, water service, insurability, flooding, lava hazard, etc. Even if you are focused on Hilo like we were, I highly recommend checking out Puna (Puna Guide) and its residential areas: Kea'au, Hawaiian Paradise Park (HPP), Orchidland, Ainaloa, Tiki Gardens, Hawaiian Acres, Fern Acres, Pahoa, Hawaiian Beaches, etc. We were amazed at the number of people living there and the growing number of businesses sprouting up. Puna is 320,000 acres, almost as big as the island of Oahu, and the fastest growing area on the Big Island. The level of population and business growth impacts the town of Hilo, the use of services, traffic, retail, and business opportunities.
Apartment and Condo rentals in Hilo When considering where to rent, take into account the location. In Hilo you can rent a place close enough to work or school and shopping so that you don't need a car, a great way to save on living expenses. Hilo has some big hills, so consider that when picking a location if you are planning to walk or bike. This UH link has some suggestions for apartments near the University of Hawaii Hilo. We drove around to take pictures of some of the apartments in Hilo. There are lots of them and we don't know what they are like inside. But, hopefully, it will give an idea of what to expect. Most of the apartments do not have AC, so fans will be desirable in the summer or whenever the trade winds die. If you don't mind stairs, it will likely be cooler higher up at well. University Palms is on Kapiolani Street, right across from the UH. They have a web page.
Hale Hoaloha Apartments is a large complex down the street from UH on the corner of Lanikaula Street and Ululani Street. Ululani street is a dead end. They have play areas for the kids and there seem to be quite a few small and older kids living there. There are 5 photos below.
Along Lanikaula Street the apartment has a bus stop.
Along Ululani Street the apartment has a fenced grass area.
In the back is parking and another play area.
Hilo Hale Ohana Apartments is also down Lanikaula Street from UH on Ululani Street (across from the Hale Hoaloha Apartments above). It looks sort of like a motel with two stories of rooms facing the street.
Hale Kawili is above UH on Kawili street and is apparently Adult Student housing controlled by the University.
Options for Low cost living in or near Hilo Hilo has alternative living options that make it affordable to consider visiting for long periods of time. Hilo Bay Hostel in downtown Hilo offers dorm rooms for $25/night and private rooms for $65/night. The hostel has a kitchen where you can prepare your own food and internet access. They also offer interns for students 21 years and older willing to stay at least 16 weeks that includes free rent in the dorm and a weekly stipend for working at the hostel. There are many community and organic farms and retreats near Hilo that have opportunities for interns and work exchanges offering free or low cost housing and food. Here are some examples: Malu'Aina Farm (Land of Peace)
Copyright 2008
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