Mele Kalikimaka!

Aloha,
Wishing you and your loved ones Mele Kalikimaka and awesome Hau'oli Makahiki Hou 2013!

Thoughts and Prayers

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the Connecticut elementary school shooting and their families. God Bless.

New Security Service at Lanikea

Sky Security is the new service handling security at Lanikea. My initial impression of their service is quite positive. The guards wear nice island gear and exude Aloha attitude. They open the door and greet visitors and residents in a professional and courteous manner. Kudos to Lee McCluskey Lanikea's GM for maintaining professional standards at Lanikea.

Wyland's Show in Waikiki

Wyland finishing and signing his original painting during his live show at his Waikiki Gallery on December 1st. It is always lots of fun to watch Wyland paint. What I didn't know was that he also composes and produces awesome music.

Wyland Live Show at his Gallery in Waikiki

Looking forward to hanging out with Wyland, Jean Riehl and other friends during Wyland's live show at his Gallery in Waikiki (Beachwalk) this coming Saturday, Dec. 1st, 6PM to 10PM - come on over!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Happy Veterans Day!

To all of our awesome Veterans: Mahalo and Happy Veterans Day!

Tsunami Warning...

Recently Hawaii dodged another tsunami warning.... Is Goddess Pele watching over the islands?

Thoughts and Prayers

To all of those affected by mega-storm Sandy: you are in our thoughts and prayers.

New Faces at Lanikea?

Seeing new faces at Lanikea? A big wave of visitors returns to Hawaii. According to Hawaii Tourism Authority, 2012 is going to be a record year in terms of number of visitors to the islands, which they estimate to be close to 8 million.

Lanikea Association is Sued.... Again

Lanikea Association of Apartment Owners (AOAO) has been sued. AOAO has been named as a co-defendant in a construction defects lawsuit filed by one or more of Lanikea Owners (Nakagawa et al vs. A&B et al). 

Recently all Owners received documents pertaining to the upcoming Annual Meeting of the Association, including the election of Directors, but there was no mention of the lawsuit. Neither the Board of Directors, nor the Property Management, nor Lanikea's Legal Counsel has informed Lanikea Owners about the lawsuit, which is outrageous given the seriousness of the matter and its implications.

Lawsuits against condo associations are material facts affecting all Owners. Besides of legal costs of the litigation, condominium projects with litigation have limited availability of mortgage financing as lenders do not want to lend on condo units in projects with pending lawsuit(s). This has an immediate detrimental effect on property values and marketability of all condo units in such project.

Why is Lanikea Building Inspection Report Kept Secret?

After many years of delays, finally last year Lanikea Board of Directors acted on behalf of the Association of Apartment Owners, and hired, and subsequently paid from Association's funds, Pacific Property Consultants to inspect Lanikea in order to assess the quality of the construction and uncover any potential construction defects and/or deficiencies.

A building survey was sent to Lanikea Owners and physical inspection was conducted at the beginning of the year. The inspection report was prepared and submitted to the Board of Directors in March. In spite of assurances from the President of the Board and various Board members, the report has not been released to all Lanikea Owners.

Why the secrecy? Aren't all Lanikea Owners entitled to know the truth and facts about potential construction defects and/or deficiencies affecting their properties, their equity, and ultimately their pocketbooks?

Lanikea's Association Dues Increased by 5.5%

Lanikea's association dues continue to climb. Just recently Lanikea Board of Directors announced yet another increase of the monthly dues, this time by a total of 5.5% (6% maintenance and 3% reserves). That is over 300% of cumulative increases of dues since the project was completed in 2005.

While serving on the Board as Treasurer in 2011, I made several cost saving recommendations, that were articulated in my Treasurer's Report (available to any Lanikea owner, please contact me if you'd like to receive a copy). Most of these recommendations were neither approved by the Board, nor implemented by the property management. 

Unreasonably high condominium association dues, without corresponding increase of project quality and/or  amenities, decrease the desirability and value of the property. Right now Lanikea's dues for a standard 2br / 2ba unit are almost $1,000.00 /mo. ($940.65), which is the same as a payment on $209,478 mortgage (30yr fixed loan @ 3.5%).

God Bless America and Those Who Protect Her, Happy 4th Everybody!

Lanikea's Association Dues - what a rip off!

Recently I was comparing the amenities and homeowners association dues between a couple of luxury condo properties we own, one in HI and one in AZ. The property in Hawaii (Lanikea) has the following amenities: (1) pool, (2) Jacuzzi, and (3) the BBQ area. The property in Arizona (Parkside - pic below) has: (1) pool, (2) Jacuzzi, (3) the BBQ area, (4) volleyball courts, (5) million-dollar clubhouse, (6) private movie theater, and  (7) gym. Here are the Association dues: Lanikea $891.59, Parkside $195.00. Wow!

To all of our Veterans and their Families: Thank You and God Bless!

Lanikea's Newsletter, Communication, etc.

Recently, I've received April Lanikea Tradewinds newsletter. When this newsletter was created a few months ago, I applauded the General Manager, the Board of Directors, and the Property Manager for this idea, which, I thought, was improving the communication and dissemination of information at Lanikea.

Then in the last issue I read: For better communication, this will be the last mail out of the newsletter" Huh?? How is that going to improve the communication? Supposedly, there is an idea to email the newsletters to Owners with emails and/or post them on Lanikea website (which I haven't seen).

But it should be "all of the above": by mail, website, email, and yes, posted by the elevator (which used to be the preferred way of communicating at Lanikea in the "old days").

It is not expensive to print a newsletter copy and "piggy back" it with the monthly bills, which are mailed anyway. Color copies are as low as $0.10 x 100 units = $10, black and white $0.02 x 100 = $2. Newsletters don't have to be published monthly, but can be, for example, published and mailed quarterly.

Folks, let's communicate!

Happy Easter and Passover!

Happy Easter and Passover everybody. Let us reflect what these holidays mean. .Happy Easter and Passover everybody. Let us reflect on what these holidays mean.

Jury Awards Couple $3.8 Million in Condo Dispute

Condo Boards which avoid or ignore confronting problems, such as harassment, expose themselves and their Associations to substantial risk and liability. Here is such a recent condo case from Molokai : http://hawaii.money.blogs.civilbeat.com/post/19993111658/jury-awards-couple-3-8m-in-molokai-condo-dispute .

Sounds familiar?

Voting whether Lanikea Should be a Smoke-Free Project

Recently, all Lanikea Owners have received a letter from the Board of Directors asking them to vote regarding prohibiting smoking throughout the project at Lanikea. At least 67% Lanikea Owners must be IN FAVOR in order to implement this change to Lanikea's By-Laws. All Lanikea Owners are asked to vote by sending in the voting form to Hawaiiana Property Management via snail mail, email: victoriaf@hmcmgt.com, or fax 808-447-5120. The voting deadline is: April 2. Mahalo!

Should Lanikea be a Smoke-Free Building?

At the last Board meeting, one of the Lanikea Owners brought up an issue of exposure of her family, including kids, to a second-hand smoke. It is a matter of scientific consensus, that the exposure to a second-hand smoke, also known as passive smoking, causes disease, disability, and death: http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/TobaccoCancer/secondhand-smoke

The freedom of smokers to smoke is fine with me (I used to smoke). However, it is not fine when it harms others, as it inevitably does in a close community living environment, such as an apartment / condo building. I too have been exposed to a second-hand smoke in our Lanikea unit and certainly don't enjoy it.

The question is: can Lanikea be made a smoke-free building? The answer is: yes, it can if enough Lanikea Owners vote to make it so. Lanikea could be a premiere smoke-free building in Waikiki. What do you think?

Lanikea Homeowner Questionnaire

Lanikea will have a professional building inspection on Jan. 25-26, 2012. If you are a Lanikea Owner, you should have received the Homeowner Questionnaire in the mail.

Unfortunately, the Questionnaire was missing information where to return it to. The enclosed link has the return information. Time is of the essence, so please return the completed Homeowner Questionnaire this coming weekend. Please help to spread the word and forward this Blog to our Lanikea neighbors.

Mahalo & A Hui Hou!

Click on this Web link: Lanikea Homeowner Questionnaire.

MLK, a true freedom hero. Thank you Dr. King!

Laura Bush, Colin Powell, Steve Forbes and Others in Honolulu

Is any of you going to attend the "Get Motivated" event on January 31st at the Honolulu Convention Center? The speakers are awesome and the price $1.95 - you can't buy even a hotdog for this kind of money! Let me know, we are going with a few friends and have a lunch together.

https://www.getmotivatedregistration.com/Honolulu/13.0000/index.dtm?mid=2404823&gclid=CKP_3Z_uxK0CFQlwhwod2xaEAA

January 25th Lanikea Board Meeting

Lanikea Board of Directors will meet on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 6:00 PM in Lanikea Lobby. All Lanikea Owners are invited and welcomed to participate.

Can happiness be habitual and depending on our mindset?

12 Habits of Happy People:

http://www.phoenixfocus.com/2012-01/habits-happy-people/?utm_source=pf_email_november&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=a-alumni

Happy New Year!