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Renting Options and Experiences
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This page describes our experiences renting in Hilo, Hawaii. An important part of renting (or buying for that matter) is picking the neighborhood which fits your needs and lifestyle. In the Hilo area, like most places, the neighborhoods vary greatly. In November 2007, we moved to Hilo without a rental lined up and without knowing anyone in town. We used newspaper classifieds, realtors, vacation rental organizations, and property managers to help us find a rental house in Hilo that met our needs and desires. Our search was successful and we moved into a wonderful 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in University Heights with an awesome view of Hilo Bay. Here is what we found along the way and some resources to help others find an affordable place to live in Hilo.
The Strange Process of Renting in Hawaii Realtors and Property Managers are a big business in rental leasing and management in Hawaii. They are prominent due to a law in Hawaii that requires rentals have a Hawaii resident as a legal contact for the property. Any mainland owner that has a house or condo rental must have someone in Hawaii "represent" their property. In most cases they pick a realtor or property manager who is paid to manage the rental. The property managers require that you fill out a long and personal application form and charge you for processing the application before speaking with you. They often won’t talk to you on the phone, but instead require that you bring the application to their office or mail it. The application requires multiple personal references, job information with 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 ascertained, their processing consists of calling every reference, bank and previous rental listed and waiting for a call back. While you wait, assuming you have the patience (which we 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 their rentals in the paper and on their web pages (usually without explicit addresses) and sometimes show pictures of the property – though rarely the inside of the rental. I have heard of some lucky folks getting better reception from realtors in advance of their arrival. Some have even signed a lease sight unseen. In Hawaii, with the "diversity" of home upkeep, I would not recommend signing a lease for a rental that you haven't personally inspected. 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 they have no application or approval process; their requirements are 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 their renters and may be put off by folks different than themselves. We were lucky to find our rental from a local businessman. When we had issues or questions, we could easily get in touch with him and dd not have to deal with a company.
How we picked our neighborhood in Hilo Hilo has a lot of variety in neighborhoods, each one very different with benefits and disadvantages. It is important to know in advance what key things you want in a rental and neighborhood and what you are willing to give up on. Our requirements were to have close proximity to shopping, airport, and 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 tsunami evacuation areas and one of our requirements was to be above the low lying flood areas. The part of Hilo town near the airport, as shown in this Hilo airport area map, is mostly 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 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 it is the fastest growing area on the Big Island. Puna's population and business growth impacts the town of Hilo, the use of services, traffic, retail, and business opportunities. Apartment and Condo rentals in Hilo In Hilo you can rent a place close enough to work, school and shopping so that you don't need a car. It is 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. We don't know what they look like inside, but the pictures may help give an idea of what to expect. Most of the apartments do not have AC, so fans will be desired in the summer or whenever the trade winds disappear. If you don't mind stairs, it will be cooler on the higher floors. 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 UHH on the corner of Lanikaula Street and Ululani Street. Ululani street is a dead end. They have play areas for kids.
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 UHH on Ululani Street (across from the Hale Hoaloha Apartments above). It looks like a motel with two stories of rooms facing the street.
Hale Kawili is above UHH on Kawili street and is Adult Student housing administered 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 internships for students 21 years and older willing to stay at least 16 weeks that includes free rent and a weekly stipend for working at the hostel. There are community and organic farms and retreats near Hilo that offer opportunities for interns and work exchanges and free or low cost housing and food. Here are some examples: Back to Top of page
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