I know Callejon de La Loma well. For a barrio, it is one of the nicer ones. The main drag off the main hwy all the way down to Las Cuevas is paved, as are many side streets. There are quite a few shops, colmados, and restaurants on the main street along with a nice Catholic church and new high school being built.
That's the good news. For most of the callejon, power is only available about 6 hours a day - water is unavailable at times for several days and when available, you need a small boost pump to suck the water out of the main line(due to lack of pressure) to fill up your cistern and tinaca.
It's fairly safe for a barrio, but there are a lot of drug dealers in this area as in just about any barrio here. You'll be living in very tight quarters. Dominicans don't care how loud they play their music or what time of night it is. Add to that dogs barking, roosters crowing at all hours, and many, many motos all w/o mufflers.
Land is incredibly expensive when you consider all of the above and most lots are tiny. Take Harleysrock advice and rent there for a year before buying. Why any gringo would want to live there is beyond me(?).