Mauna Loa

Three stars to keep the rent low. Secret fourth star if old buildings and cheap appliances are your ticket to balanced living. It has been 10 years since the last in-depth review (see Yelp) so it is time for an update. The vacant lot to the north has been developed in to mid-luxury town-homes. This brings the up the curb appeal of the neighborhood but folks still light off fireworks near the train tracks around major holidays. The train crossing at Cassidy has been redesigned to allow "silent" crossings with whistles optional. Candice's/Amy's reviews describe most of the physical property features well. Old and pet friendly. There are new washing machines (2020) and yet sometimes pet owners wash pet things in them without cleaning up. Pet friendly is a cringe benefit, a value balanced to cost. I had a rabbit when I moved in and was thrilled to find easy lease terms for a small pet. There is a park and bike/walk trail across the street for pets that need exercise. It should be noted that the electric floor heat for top floors is electric ceiling heat for bottom apartments. I rarely try the ceiling heat but winter comfortably in pants and socks. Interior or shaded neighbors state it is quite cold in January. Likewise, no air conditioning makes for a warm August. Mature trees and ocean breezes help. I bought a portable air unit. There is so much variation in direct sunlight and window orientation that each apartment will experience the seasons differently. The flooring treatments also vary widely, some units have mostly a cooling white tile, some mostly carpet. Others have a wood-look laminate. Be sure to examine the exact apartment you intend to rent. Apartment entrances face inward toward shared walkways and mature palm trees. The building looks like a backwards capital "G" with a section of center apartments are wrapped in the middle. These middle apartments lack privacy visually and acoustically. In general, you see and hear a lot of your neighbors. Currently, there is a great mix of neighbors and shared life. There have and will be a few challenging folks. Most lease terms are less than a year or month-to-month so there seems to be a lot of self correction if tenants are unhappy. The pool was left fallow and green for a season. Finally, the property management filled in the hole and set up a garden patio area with gas grill. For senior residents, this was a downgrade. For prospective tenants, it is a nice little common area with citrus trees and tomatoes. There is a resident manager who handles most of the daily administration work for the 27 units. This is the second manager during the four years I have lived at the Mauna Loa. Both current and former managers are very pleasant people and seem well selected to manage tenant and building issues. It is an old building with an family trust/distant landlord. However, it is professionally manged by a firm that is responsive to everyday crises and appears to advocate for longer term projects The result is a very livable community at rents somewhere between the older infrastructure and the awesome location.
Sep 2nd, 2021

Aug 7th, 2021

Apr 6th, 2021

Owner is a slum lord, these places are a dump! Crappy old run down building with cheap low end amenities. The only saving grace used to be that they had a pool but that’s gone now so the only thing that makes these even worth one star is that they’re pet friendly. Only 3 washers for the whole community and they’re filthy and stain your clothes!! Bathrooms have filthy old stained up tubs, old cabinets that don’t shut and have 50 layers of paint on them. Building needs to be cleaned and repainted so badly but I’m pretty sure it’s being held together by the paint. Don’t waste your money!!
Feb 3rd, 2018