On Top of the Aloha Beat BLOG

Princeville is a wonderful place to live, relax, play, and enjoy the nature of Kauai. In this buyer's market there are now quite a few options for owning a condominium under 450,000. Several of the condo complexes, specifically Sandpiper, Paniolo and Hale Moi allow for a lockout, where an investor can actually have TWO RENTALS for the price of one condo. This usally means an "A" side where there is a one bedroom apartment with full kitchen, and a "B"side that is generally a studio apartment. The studio "B" side has a full bedroom, a bath, and some form of makeshift kitchen with a hot plate, microwave, etc.

Here is the current list of condos under 450,000. This is an area of the market that is affordable, has a good selection of loans, and perhaps the only properties on the North Shore that can CASHFLOW. If you are one of the fortunate people in our country or Canada or anywhere for that matter, that can afford a lovely vacation condo on Kauai, one of these offerings may fit the bill for you. 

This weekend the kapaa Business Association presents the 12th annual Coconut Festival in downtown Kapaa. If you are on island, it's a great chance to interact with our community and get the local flavor of Kauai.

The KBA works on numerous projects within our community including: * Business Watch - new program aimed at curbing crime in the Kapaa business district * Traffic - let's have less of it!
* Maintenance of Horner Park _ (thanks to the Pono Market and Pono Kai team!)
* Kauai Business Council - voting member
* East Side Development Plan
* Beautification of the Roundabout at Olohena Road

Recently Completed Special Projects for KBA include 
* Kauai Coach Certification DVD and workbook - September 2008
* Restoration of the Japanese Stone Lantern in Kapaa Beach Park - Spring 2008 - Collaborative Project with Team from Leadership Kauai

Come out this weekend, Oct. 11th and 12th and support the Kapaa Community at the Coconut Festival.

The

The Princeville North Shore resort has been quite resilient through the market changes of the last couple of years.Ocean bluff homes here in Princeville are still priced over $3 Million and the median home price is still above a million. There are, however, some folks who bought properties at the top of the market and pulled their equity out before the market corrected. That's the situation with most of the condos in this short list of auction and foreclosure properties. I've compiled this short list and the list of the lender in case any of you have an interest in pursuing it further.

For instance, the unit at Mauna Kai, 5A is still showing up in our MLS for $369,000 when it shows the loan amount to be $469,000. This is a large condo,over 1500 sq. ft. for that type of investment. But, being an older complex, maintenance fees are above $800 per month. Not that practical for full time living for many individuals.

If you want further info on any of these properties simple google map the address to find out where they are located or let me know what other info you'd like.

Yesterday the candidates running for our county council walked Phase 3 of our fabulous multi-use path. I can hardly wait til December 1st when we once again can walk our dog on Phase 2 of the path that runs from downtown Kapaa to the northern end of Kealia Beach. Read today's article regarding the path that appears in today's Garden Island Newspaper.

The next phase of the path will cross over the highway and that's a little more complicated and controversial than the components of the path that have been built so far. When completed, this will be something like 17 miles of bike, walk, along the ocean that is intended to protect beach access in perpetuity.

Please save the date and join us for a fun morning devoted to tree planting in the Park.

How can you help? Get involved! Contact the event planners—tell them you’ll serve as a team leader.

Wow! Talk about community. I just saw an AR post about David Pogue's tech tips for computer users. CHECK IT OUT
David's got around 500 comments in one day, many of them tech tips on their own, that are quite valuable whether you are a novice or a veteran computer user. I'll just bet that you can find something new to learn there.

I've been using computers since 1980 and I learned some stuff too. Thanks to AR for the great references the users here provide all of us.

Well, the bailout passed this morning and hopefully that will put a little wind back in all of our sales. As I've heard so often the last week, it's the end of the beginning, meaning we are making a start in freeing up our credit markets and getting back to a more normal sense of business though it may hardly be normal for quite some time.

For those of you interested in using the physical wind, there's an upcoming workshop at Malama Kaua`i, one of Kaua`i's leading sustainability organization located on Kuawa Rd. in Kilauea. If you want to follow sustainability on Kauai, you might want to subscribe to  Malama Kauai's newsletter. Here's the scoop:

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN SOLAR AND WIND POWER SYSTEM!
Learn how independent power works!

Join Doctor Steve Blake of Maui for this all day workshop on Sunday, October 12th, from 10-4 at the Mālama Kaua`i Community Center. Steve will be on-island for one day only to share his mana`o

·    How to harness the WIND
·    How much SOLAR power do you need?
·    What about HYDRO power?
·    Storing energy you generate
·    The latest in Solar Thermal Energy
·    Important CONSERVATION tips
·    How does it ALL TIE TOGETHER?

CAN YOU BRING DOWN YOUR ELECTRIC BILL?
COME FIND OUT!

For details on what will be covered at the workshop, read this studentʻs account.

Workshop is by donation, but we would like to at least cover the costs of airfare and meals for Steve and his wife. There will be a potluck lunch break at noon. Locally grown food is appreciated! RSVP to andrea@malamakauai.org or 828-0685.

I went down to the Lihue Business Association meeting this past Thursday morning to "talk story" with the two mayoral candidates who are left standing after the prior week's primary. And different they surely are. Bernard Carvalho is a former football player, the head of our parks and recreation department, and has served the county for 23 years. Joanne Yukimura was mayor during Hurricane Iniki, and has served for fourteen years on the county council. Joanne is a Stanford graduate and a really, really intelligent woman.

Joanne clearly has a cogent understanding of the issues and the political experience yet Bernard had the support of the former mayor, Bryan Baptiste, who suddenly passed away not that long ago.  Bernard constantly stated at this breakfast meeting that his style of leadership was inclusive and that he was an good listener to hear what the people wanted. Yet, like so many politicians, and even the presidential debate last night, when the people at the roundtable asked questions, it did not seem like they were heard. Now i admit, I'm an auditory guy, and thusly, very literal. However, when someone tells me he is a good listener, and demonstrates his inability to discern the information, I have cause for concern.

Each candidate sat around a table of business people for around 20 minutes, then switched to the other table. Someone asked Joanne Yukimura,

 What are your thoughts on the role of county regarding decreasing cost of our energy.
She answered: We need to create  a plan for the island. Create a roadmap for energy independence. Big Island has done their plan already.  We must figured out what are the opportunities and what are the obstacles.  Like Stephen Covey says, “What is our end in mind”. Everyone will have a kuleana. KIUC( our electric utility) will have a role. County will have a role and so will business. We could have  a United Way type meter to show our progress. We need to place incentives in the right place and disincentives for bad behavior.

I'm not sure if Joanne can win as she is clearly the underdog. If she does not, I'm not sure the county of Kauai will be making any paradigm shifts any time soon.

Both candidates talked about "smart development". I hope they know what that means. A lot of islanders would probably agree that there has been a lot of "dump development" on Kauai. To maintain the rural quality, the development must be clearly managed. Right now, the entire economic system is taking care of that. In the future, once this mess is behind us, developers will one day come roaring back I am sure.

My good friend Ken Stokes who runs the SUSHI blog just posted his video presentation which was given to our Kauai County Council at the end of last year.  He was invited by Councilmember JoAnn Yukimura, who is currently running for Mayor,  to make the same presentation to the County Council that she had seen him give as the keynote for the Kauai LEGS Sustainability Conference.

This presentation introduces the ‘new story’ of the three spheres.

It’s called “Kauaian Sustainability: It’s not what we think, it’s how.” Watch it!

Ken drives his electric bike around the island to help maintain and reduce his carbon footprint. The video quality is not that great, but it's the content that counts. Remember, this is nine months old, yet so completely contemporary. This guy completely lives this stuff. If you haven't paid attention to much of this stuff, you will certainly find Ken's information worthwhile and sincere.

Our senior broker sent an email today reminding us to be careful. In these uncertain times, strange things can and do happen.

Liability for Inaccurate Square Footage

A Texas court has considered whether a listing broker was liable for providing inaccurate square footage information.

Jason and Ashley Bradford (“Buyers”) became interested in a home owned by John and Beatrice Vasquez (“Sellers”). The Buyers had determined that the property had a lower per square foot price than other similar properties by using the property’s information provided in the multiple listing service (“MLS”). Margaret Pleasant (“Salesperson”) of Mark Bowles d/b/a Prudential Synergy REALTORS® (“Brokerage”) was the listing representative for the Sellers’ property.

The Salesperson had obtained the property’s square footage information from the Bell County Appraisal District, a local government agency. The Brokerage’s usual practice was to indicate in the MLS the source of the square footage information, but allegedly did not in this instance because of a clerical error.

The Buyers visited the Sellers’ home, after which their real estate representative, Angela Bruce (“Buyer’s Representative”) asked them to sign a release (“Release”) stating that they had not relied upon any statements “made by the REALTOR and his/her associates”, and only relied upon information received from the sellers, third parties, or information that the buyers had independently verified on their own. Both the Buyer’s Representative and the Salesperson were members of a REALTOR® Association. Both the Buyers and Sellers also signed this form.

The Buyers made an offer for the property and the Sellers accepted it. Five days after the closing, the Buyers received a copy of the appraisal report prepared by their lender’s appraiser and learned that the property was 253 feet smaller than had been listed in the MLS. The Buyers filed a lawsuit against the Salesperson and the Brokerage. The jury found that the Salesperson had violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“Act”) and awarded the Buyers damages. The Salesperson and the Brokerage appealed.

The Court of Appeals of Texas, Austin, affirmed the trial court. The Salesperson and Brokerage first challenged the Buyers’ reliance upon the alleged misrepresentation. “Reasonable reliance” is a necessary element for a consumer fraud complaint, requiring that a party not ignore information which would cause him/her to question the truth of the facts upon which he/she is relying. While both Buyers had testified that square footage cost had been a key technique they used for identifying suitable properties, they also testified that: they had had lived in the home thirty days prior to closing; they had also visited the same government agency website where the Salesperson had obtained the erroneous square footage information; and the Buyers had signed the Release.

The court rejected the argument that the Buyers living in the property prior to closing should have alerted them to the property’s actual size. This argument was based on the fact that the Buyers had made repairs on the property, and so they would have measured these areas during the work. The court found that while living on the property would have given the Buyers the opportunity to investigate the actual square footage for the property, it did not impose upon them to do so and did not destroy their reliance on the erroneous figures provided by the Salesperson.

Next, the court examined whether the Buyers visiting the government appraisal website destroyed the Buyers ability to claim reliance on the information provided by the Salesperson. The Salesperson argued that the website visit by the Buyers showed that they were investigating the accuracy of the square footage information. The Buyers countered that they did not go to the government website to confirm the square footage information; instead, they went to the website to learn other details about the property, such as tax information. The court found there was no evidence demonstrating that the Buyers had independently verified the square footage information, and so the court denied this argument.

Finally, the court considered whether the Release protected the Salesperson and the Brokerage, since they were also REALTORS®. The Release was printed on the Buyer’s Representative’s letterhead. The Buyers also testified that the Sellers had not yet signed the form when they (the Buyers) received it, and they understood the form to only cover the Buyer’s Representative. The court found that the jury had evaluated the evidence and its conclusion was supported by the evidence, and so the court dismissed this challenge as well.

The court also upheld a challenge to the damages awarded in this case, which the jury had computed by looking at the difference between what the Buyers thought they were getting in square footage and the actual square footage. The Salesperson and Brokerage tried to show that the jury had improperly arrived at the damage figure because there were conflicting expert opinions, but the court ruled that the jury had sufficient information to arrive at the damage figure. Thus, the court upheld the award.

Pleasant v. Bradford, No. 03-07-00167-CV, 2008 WL 2544814 (Tex. App. June 26, 2008). [This is a citation to a Westlaw document. Westlaw is a subscription, online legal research service. If an official reporter citation should become available for this case, the citation will be updated to reflect this information].