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Hi everyone,
I`ll be coming to the BI in March on a preliminary scouting expedition,with the hope of finding an area where I`ll buy a house in `11 or`12,and return for good.I`m hoping I`ll find Ainaloa to my liking,because the prices seem to be better even better than in HPP,which I `m hoping to like as well.I`ve been lurking on this and other Hawaii websites for a couple of months,and haven`t seen much that was favorable re Ainaloa.So if anyone has anything good to say about this sub,whether you`re a resident or not,I`d like to hear from you.BTW,I spent 3 months in Hawaii a lifetime ago(1968),and have always remembered it with much fondness.
Tom
Posts: 507
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Hello and welcome!
I'm surprised you say "prices seem to be better even better than in HPP" because HPP is usually the more expensive of the surrounding subdivisions. Have a look at Hawaiian Beaches, and Orchidland, prices should be lower there. Sorry, don't know much about Ainaloa.
Posts: 345
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we looked around but settled on Nanawale Estates and Eden Roc.
I lke the freedom of Eden Roc ( for a cabin)and the CCR's of Nanawale for our small home
check out the folks aroud your lot. I think thats really important as anywhere. If you can spent a night or two by the area.
peace
Peace
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I have known many people who were quite happy in Ainaloa. The lower parts near the highway are quite settled and suburban feeling, while the back part has fewer homes and bigger trees. It seems like it gets wetter the higher up you go too. The lots are narrow so neighbors can be close together. I think it is mostly families of modest means who work in Hilo and mainland retirees. In some parts there are houses with rows of roosters and/or loose chickens, as well as lots of hunting dogs. Don't expect to be able to change that and get along with your neighbors at the same time, so if those things are an issue for you, Nanawale or Hawaiian Shores Recreation Estates might be better places to look. The roads in Ainaloa are pretty well maintained, and the park and community center are nice to have. We looked there, but I just couldn't see living on such a small lot. If you compare the exact same spec house in HPP and Ainaloa the price difference is now about the same as the difference in value of the lots.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
What if we don't have anything good to say about it?
I think you get what you pay for, and if property is cheap, there's a reason.
The lots are smaller, so less separation from neighbors.
As an exercise in research, to to the Hawaii police Dept search
http://www.hawaiipolice.com/topPages/googleSearch.html
put in Ainaloa, or any other subdivision. Ainaloa returns about six pages of articles, over the last ten years. Some of the mentions only involve residents who got in traffic accidents or other stuff that doesn't matter.
When I went Puna shopping, Ainaloa was never on my short list and my RE agent agreed.
There may be a lot of crime in HPP by the numbers, but HPP is 9000 acres. The question is when you look at it proportionally.
My younger son worked with a local kid raised in Ainaloa and the things he was told about the domestic abuse, the attitude towards haoles as "pickings" for theft, were bad. On the police blotter, when something horrendous happens, often the person who did it just happened to live in Ainaloa.
I wouldn't get too set on anything in advance of coming. You haven't been here for over 40 years, so you essentially haven't been to Puna and need to look at it all fresh. Drive the entire subdivision if you can, before getting serious. But keep in mind how many of the homes you can't see on parcels that are screened by vegetation.
Different people have different standards of living, so you will get a range of opinions. Like with me, there are only a few subdivisions I would live in, whereas others are willing to go to the most marginal places and carve out their homestead. More power to them!
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I agree with Kathy, there are many "nicer" subdivisions in Puna, but as it was said, "one person's garbage is another person's treasure." I think Nancy (moderator of the Gardening Forum) used to live there, so you might want to e-mail her directly. There are lots of good deals in every subdivision now, make sure you work with a knowledgeable real estate agent.
Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,ARB,BFT,CM,CBR,FHS,PB,RB
808.989.1314
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"
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Lot price alone really gives you no indication... I have friends who really love living in both, I have only lived in HPP
With each subdivisions, each street can have a totally different "feel" & in the next couple of years, there will be a continued shift in these subdivisions...
Almost all of HPP is on the Makai (ocean) side of Highway 130 & lots can be ocean front all the way to over 4 miles from the ocean
Ainoloa is on the Mauka (mountain) side.... some are just over 4 miles from the ocean , some are over 7 miles...
Most HPP lots are long narrow one acre, most Ainloa lots are just under 1/4 acre
both subdivisions are fairly huge.... for # of lots & HPP is the size of town, both in population & sq. miles of land
The closest lot in HPP to HIlo is about less than 10 miles, the farthest is over 17 miles
The closest lot in Ainaloa is under 15 miles from Hilo, the farthest is over 18 miles...
Both have some older, scruffy areas, both have had a big change in rental rates in the last few years & both have had a surge in new construction in the last few years.
Some of HPP students go to Keaau schools, some to Pahoa
All of Ainaloa students go to Pahoa schools
Ainaloa is closer to Pahoa town
Both subdivisions have paved & unpaved roads, and this probably will not change in the next few years
Ainaloa has a direct exit onto highway 130 & a route to highway 11 through Hawaiian Acres (parcels with mostly narrow 3 acres lots) - this fact may be important if having an alternate emergency exit from your location is important...
Both subdivisions REALLY need some traffic control to make getting into & out of the sudivisions easier. All exits are onto high speed highways, with no traffic control...
In addition to that excellent info --
I'd like to emphasize how important it is that you feel at home, like a good fit, with whatever subdivision you choose. You won't be an island, like in some mainland suburbs. As Carey said, every block will have its own character.
I wouldn't live in Ainaloa, but not because it is horrible, but because I personally am not a good fit there. If you let price be the main factor for picking a home, it can pick you a nightmare. Remember it's super hard to resell anything in Puna right now so if you're wrong you will lose in trying to change.
I suggest renting first. I don't like moving multiple times, and I can see why you wouldn't want to rent, but looking back I wish I had rented and not bought when we first moved here. We needed time to learn more about neighborhoods and to find the right place.
Re that immediate neighborhood, I did look at Orchidland which is adjacent to Ainaloa, and what Carey said about the traffic was a big factor in passing. During the afternoon rush hour, forget trying to make a turn towards Hilo, and even turning right was frightening. I realized I was spoiled by my prior house in Hilo that I didn't have to risk my life just to get out of my subdivision.
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We looked at several in Ainaloa when we were looking. The lots were very small, so houses were close together. Also, that side of the highway is a pain in the butt to try to get out of when headed for work in Hilo.
Plenty dogs loose, too.
Carrie Rojo
http://www.carrierojo.etsy.com
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." Barack Obama
Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
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If you looking for price, and ok with smaller parcel..I would check out Hawaiian Beaches and Shores. Paved roads,mail delivery and community water to your house.
But the best advise to give you is "get a good Realtor" to help you. We are very fortunate to have several excellent Realtors on this form. Congrats! and ALOHA.[  ]
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