Hawaii, where the local hand gesture is a shaka, meaning “hang loose,” and people arrive on “Hawaiian time” (late), you’d think that everything is as easy-going as their attitude. Well, apartment hunting isn’t that simple.

In fact, according to the Honolulu Start Advertiser, Honolulu is the least affordable city for renters. 

Anne Villaruz, a registered nurse at Queen’s Hospital, tossed Craigslist to the side and searched for an apartment by foot, looking for a high-rise property with the most safety. 

“Paradise” doesn’t always equal “safe.”

The idea of a “perfect” paradise was shattered by Villaruz’s first apartment in Honolulu. Her first apartment was located in Waikiki, a pristine tourist area that’s iconic of many vacation postcards and TV shows.

It was seemingly an ideal apartment; it was away from the busy Waikiki strip, and blocks away from Waiola’s, a popular Hawaiian shaved ice shop. This wasn’t the case when someone started to pry open her living room window one late night. 

During a late night of studying, Villaruz heard someone trying to remove the glass on of her apartment window. While she scared off the intruder that night, finding a new, safer apartment suddenly topped her “to do” list. She needed to get out of her apartment as soon as possible. 

Renters that need to feel safe where they live. An apartment is where a renter sleeps, eats and lives. Nobody wants to feel threatened in their own home. In a rental unit, once the comfort of safety is out of the picture, the renter will be, too. 

Searching for apartments on foot. 

After unsuccessfully finding apartments through Craigslist, she decided to forego the online search and do the hunt on foot. 

“I didn’t like what I was seeing on Craigslist,” Villaruz said, “I kind of got disappointed.”

Walking around Waikiki, she looked at the bulletin boards of many buildings, hoping to find her next home. She said, “I was surrounded by a lot of high rises, so that’s where I started to search.”

She finally found her ideal apartment in Mo’ili’ili, just outside of Waikiki. 

Safety in the high-rises. 

Villaruz found safety on the fifth floor in a neighborhood named Mo’ili’ili. Now that she’s behind a security guard, security gate and a long flight of stairs, she feels more protected from potential intruders. 

It’s so safe, she’s stayed in her apartment in paradise for three additional years. 

The bottom line. 

Not everybody resorts to Craigslist when looking for an apartment. Don’t forget about publicizing your properties with “old school” advertising for local exposure. While the majority of renters begin their apartment search online, there are still people that do it on foot. You’ll never know when your apartment catches the eye of a passerby. 

Renters looking for their next apartment need the peace of mind that they will be safe. Nobody wants to have their guard up in their own home. Renters who feel vulnerable or unprotected in their homes also feel that it’s their cue to leave. 

Make your renters feel safe. Although sometimes you can’t change environmental factors to increase the safety of your unit, you can control the safety of the unit itself. Add extra locks to windows and doors so that you can assure your renters that your property is a safe place. Safe units keep renters sticking around. 

Renter Profile: Anne Villaruz

Previous Neighborhoods: Waikiki 

“My ‘perfect’ apartment is nearby…”: Work

“My apartment MUST have…”: Air conditioning