Betty Sakamoto: Okay, here we go. Another day of Betty’s Real Estate Corner brought to you by Coldwell Banker Roy and Betty Sakamoto. Here we are, another day. So much still going on in Lahaina that makes life harder or sadder. It’s so hard to even talk about it anymore. You see something you didn’t see the day before, every day. It’s sad for so many people.
Roy Sakamoto: It really is. But it’s getting better.
BS: It’s getting way better.
RS: It’s nice to be in the studio. Gary is back.
BS: Gary is back.
RS: Our engineer here. Welcome back, Gary.
BS: Some people don’t know where Gary was. It wasn’t on a European trip. That’s all I can tell you right now. He did not go to Europe, but here he is. So we’re having quite a day here. Quite a day in the studio.
RS: Absolutely.
BS: It’s going to be an interesting day. We always end up on the way over here deciding what we’re going to talk about. We want to talk a little bit about some, tiny homes that are being built on the old fairway. The first fairway of what would have been the village golf course has been closed for a while. Roy has been the person who has somehow brought that to fruition. It’s going to be one of the most amazing developments.
RS: It’s been a real team effort. It’s been a long, long haul, but we’ve got our final permits. We’ve got Goodfellow Brothers doing the groundwork. We have started and are underway, finally.
BS: We also have to thank Lars, who did a lot of work on this. Lars Wernars. He’s done so much over the years for West Maui and for clients of ours. He’s taking care of people. Likewise, he can make something happen, whatever it is. If we call Lars, we know that he can figure it out.
RS: Right. Thanks, Lars.
BS: Yeah. Thank you so much for everything.
RS: Yeah. Thanks to Craig Nakamura from Carlsmith Ball and the people who have helped do this. Adam Kaspersky is our architect. Unfortunately, Adam lost his father in the fire. Thank you, Adam, for all you’ve done for this project. God willing, by mid-July or so, we’ll have 50 families that were displaced by the fire into these homes.
BS: I’m sorry. Now all of a sudden, it brings tears to my eyes. I haven’t felt this for a while. But it is amazing that the original families will be all Kapalua employees of the golf course. If there are 50 at that point, that would be available. They worked for the golf course, and they lost their homes.
RS: Yeah. This is being paid for by TY Management Company, which owns the golf courses at Kapalua. When the principal for TY Management found out that — out of the 150 or so employees that work at the golf courses, there were like 47 families that lost their homes in the fire. He was determined to try to do whatever he could to help these people.
It’s been a long process. Thank you, Governor Green, for all your help. We were finally able to get all our permits. Thank goodness we’re underway. We have 20 two-bedrooms, 15 three-bedrooms, and 15 four-bedrooms that’ll be under construction real soon. As soon as Goodfellow finishes laying the lines for sewer, water, and the streets.
BS: It’s amazing what’s happening up there. To just be there and to know that these people will be able to occupy them no matter where they’re living right now. If they choose to do this, it will be a great spot for them. When you look at it, you think of waking up there in the morning. They’re tiny houses, but they could live there pretty easily.
RS: Oh, yeah!
BS: We’d be coming out of a house that we don’t need. It’s spectacular. You’d wake up in the morning. Fix a cup of coffee, walk outside, you really on what was the first fairway of the village golf course at Kapalua. It’s beautiful. There are major trees everywhere. It’s spectacular. Kids could be playing. I can’t imagine what’s going to happen at the end of five years, theoretically, when they won’t be there anymore.
RS: What’s great is, that this will be the first completed project of any size for West Maui since the fire. The principal of TY Management is also looking at other ways to help the community. Looking at perhaps affordable housing, which is sorely needed throughout Maui. We’re looking at possibilities for West Maui in particular. And we’ll see.
BS: There’s nothing harder than West Maui because it has such a great need for employees. There are always available jobs. But everybody also needs to go back to the days when you could get/quote affordable housing. That you could find a place that you and your family could live in. There were restrictions, guidelines, and all sorts of things. But if you could get a house at some point and stay here for the rest of your lives. Now, people have lost their lifelong homes in West Maui.
RS: It’s going to take a while to rebuild Lahaina in particular. There are estimates like 3–5 years, there’s no telling how long. Because, even though the land may be suitable for rebuilding the infrastructure, the water, and the sewer lines still have to be inspected and certified. There are issues with the water in some areas, with the sewer lines, and in some other areas.
BS: Electricity is going to be major, I think.
RS: Yeah. The more important would be the sewer and water lines — as far as the future rebuilding. Maybe it’s a great chance for Lahaina to revisit what they want Lahaina to be. What the citizens of Lahaina want Lahaina to look like. I don’t think I want more of the three Puka shell necklaces for $20 along Front Street.
That’s not what Lahaina is all about. Concentrating on the historical aspect of Lahaina, Mokuʻula island in particular could be a centerpiece. That was the home at one time of King Kamehameha, surrounded by water. It’s pretty much in the area of 505 Front Street, across the street from there. What’s interesting about the fires is, that the natural wells in the area have sprung to life and there is fresh water throughout that whole area. That’s a real chicken skin moment when you find that out.
BS: That is really something. At one point, I remember hearing that they were shocked that it wasn’t salt water that was coming up.
RS: Right.
RS: Exactly. There was a subterranean parking garage at 505 Front Street. I had a chance to visit there with a bunch of other concerned citizens, this was about three or four months ago, there was like four and a half feet of water in the basement. It was interesting. Most of the water in there was fresh water, very little salt water. The natural springs in the area have certainly come to life.
BS: Hopefully they’re going to be able to do something with all of that.
RS: Yes.
BS: Or at least there’s talk that they’re going to try to do something.
RS: In tracing the history of Lahaina, it used to be known as a kind of the Venice of the Pacific. A lot of water, which all changed once the sugar plantation started diverting the water. Very little water was available for lower down, where at one time they had taro patches.
It was the kind of vegetable garden of Hawaii at one time. But it all changed, and maybe for the good or bad. We’ll work on improving Lahaina. Hopefully, we’ll have the historical aspect stressed. That’s what it should be, it used to be the former capital of Hawaii. Let’s concentrate on restoring the historical value.
BS: There is going to be more historical value than there has been for many, many years. They will at least do enough. There’s still going to be restaurants. Maybe not the Puka shell necklace, but there are going to be tourists or visitors who want to shop and want to walk down Front Street. It’s not just the visitors. You’ll see our teenagers are on Front Street and the kids will be looking at shirts and negotiating discounts with everybody. I do think that everybody has some sort of stake in Front Street.
RS: Yeah. Going way back in history again, Front Street was kind of a replica of the old New England fishing villages and whaling towns. Perhaps, Lahaina’s history will lead the way for the present rebuild.
BS: It will to a certain extent.
RS: Yeah.
BS: It’ll be something that is going to be shocking to some people and not to everybody. There’s been a lot of meetings about it. You’ve gone to some of them where people are talking about what will come next.
RS: Yeah. The sad part is, as time drags on, more split factions are being very vocal about how they envision Lahaina. It ranges from, maybe we should have a big shopping mall along Front Street, to don’t rebuild Lahaina at all. Just bring back the water and the farming.
It’s good to hear all sides of it. There is going to be a certain blend of both, hopefully. But we need to have the housing situation clarified. Hopefully, the residents of Lahaina, the homeowners, will start rebuilding fairly soon — possibly in two or more years. We need the central core of residents there.
BS: Well, I think there will always be a central core of residents in Lahaina. I hope so. Perhaps won’t be on Front Street. But I do think there are so many great neighborhoods and there are so many people who have lost a home in Lahaina. Hopefully, there will be a way for each one of them can rebuild and be close to or in the same place that they were.
RS: Well, hopefully.
BS: Yeah, right. That is going to be hard for a lot of people. Then, there were a lot of people who were renting, and their hearts too were broken. That’s probably going to be a harder group to keep happy. Hopefully, there will be something built. I hope that there’s not a mall or something. Nobody will let that ever, ever be built on Front Street.
RS: I hope not.
BS: I hope not. Because there are malls all over the world, but Front Street cannot ever be a mall.
RS: No, no. We’ll need a blend of shops and restaurants. Not a mall as we envision.
BS: No. There will be some more housing projects. We require some larger housing projects in and around Lahaina. Maybe they won’t end up being exactly where or what any one person wants. There are a lot of people who want the best for Lahaina. There will have to be a lot of talking and thinking. Then back down from your original point so that there will be something that works for everybody.
RS: Affordable housing is a huge issue. We’re concentrating on Lahaina right now, but really throughout Maui, throughout all the islands. Oahu has the same issue. Affordable housing for the average family, workers, restaurants, hotels, and shops. It’s an issue.
BS: It really is an issue. I don’t know how to fight it or to make it all work for everyone.
RS: We need some of these big landholders to be able to open up their lands — maybe a joint venture with the county and/or state. I know there are a lot of different groups that are looking at affordable housing and trying to get affordable housing set up. One of our acquaintances, Sterling Higa, has been very instrumental in trying to get affordable housing, not only in Maui but throughout the state. We need to pay attention to it. We can’t sit back and be smug about housing. We’re losing residents every day.
BS: You’re right.
RS: Yeah. As we’ve mentioned, there’s a friend of ours who works at the airport. It’s just tears him up when he walks around the airport and sees families in tears. He knows they’re leaving Maui. Maybe they’re going to California or Las Vegas, but they’re leaving for economic reasons, for whatever. Maui was their home, and now they’re forced to leave.
BS: One of the things, is affordable housing can only be affordable for a generation. Unless there’s some sort of control, but then that takes something away from the people who finally get to have one of these homes. They can’t just one day sell it to whomever they want to sell it to. There’s got to be a way that affordable housing is not just affordable today, but forever. Because eventually there will not be affordable housing.
It will only be one generation of housing If everybody eventually decides to go ahead and sell to the top bidder. Then move to Las Vegas, or get an apartment in Honolulu or Molokai. Or go to Buffalo, New York. Go somewhere on the mainland where we can live on the money that we can make. That’s going to be hard on everybody because even the people who are going to do that aren’t going to want to leave Maui. It’ll just be something that they’ll feel they have to be able to do.
RS: Exactly, right. To the Lahaina property owners who have been affected by the fire, if you are contacted by anyone offering to buy your property, think about it. Don’t act in haste. Like — hey, I’ll buy your lot for $100,000 cash. I’ll give it to you tomorrow. Kind of a deal. 200,000. 300,000?
It may sound appealing, but think about your future generations. You’ve got roots in Lahaina. I know it’s kind of a rare occurrence, but some vultures circle a disaster, something like this. We just hate to see people taken advantage of.
BS: Absolutely. That is another nightmare.
RS: Totally.
BS: People will come. They will be trying to buy the properties and get them for the best deal that they can get. It’ll be more than 100,000, but we’ll see what happens to it all because right now somebody could take almost anything to be able to move on. That’s not what you need to do right now.
RS: No, totally not. We’ll share our contact numbers. If you’re ever contacted by anyone who is offering you what seems like a huge number for your land that was decimated by the fire, please feel free to reach out to me, Roy, or Betty. My number is 808-870-7060 and Betty is 808-870-7062. Or you can visit our website, SakamotoProperties.com, and get info on how to contact us. We’re not going to charge you, so feel free to call us. We’ll talk about it and maybe hopefully point you in the right direction and go from there.
BS: It is going to be difficult for everybody right now, just don’t let yourself get taken in. Especially by someone who comes to you with what seems like a pocket full of cash. That you’ll never get anymore, and that you don’t want to have to be the one building. You can always come back later. There is no comeback later to a certain extent.
Whatever you do right now, take your time, and move slowly. I know that’s hard because everybody has families. Everybody has things that they’re working on. We know a lot of people have had to leave Lahaina and are living on the other side of the island. They’ve gone to Oahu, to Las Vegas, or wherever they can go where they can live for a while. But they do still have their properties here. Again, what Roy saying is, don’t let somebody try to talk you out of your property. Hang in there, because it is going to be worth a lot more.
RS: Absolutely. It’s been an interesting side part of our housing project. A few people have contacted us about being able to buy one of these modular homes. These are modular homes manufactured by Daiwa House in Japan. They are one of the largest modular home builders in Japan. The principal for TY Management and Daiwa House have had a long relationship. We’ve been asked by a few property owners in Lahaina. “Hey, can I buy one of those modular homes?” Well, at present there is no setup to do it. But maybe in the future.
BS: Maybe in the future. That would be another way to get things started would be to have something like that for people. I don’t know what would actually be the cost. I have no idea. Hopefully, there will be someone who comes up with a way to build without spending $1,000,000 building a house in Lahaina.
RS: Right. I had one interesting call where this person asked if they could get one to put on their lot, living temporarily. These homes are about roughly 500 square feet, but they could live on them while they rebuild their main house. Then use it as an ohana and rent it out in the future. That’s maybe another side product of these modular homes. They’re built to last a long, long time. Our current emergency proclamation limits us to five years, and we need to get these off the property. The homes themselves will last, maybe we can use them for ohanas. That’s an interesting thought.
BS: Think of around Lahaina, all the homes and how old they were, and what it took. Think of the ohanas that were built. Think of the people who made a garage into an ohana. Eventually, this could be a small house like this that could be brought in. It’s got to be a lot easier than rebuilding totally to have something like this. We’re down to probably the one-and-a-half-minute warning.
RS: The whole concept of ohana was to take care of your family.
BS: Absolutely.
RS: Maybe now, we’re looking at it as an extended family where you can rent out the ohana to a hotel worker or whoever. That could help the affordable housing situation also.
BS: Absolutely. Everybody needs a home. These homes, the small ohana is a home.
RS: Yes.
BS: We call it like it’s not. Like it’s just an ohana. When you think, 500 square feet is a home to a family.
RS: It is.
BS: It is home.
RS: Yeah, totally.
BS: It’s a home.
RS: We’ve lived in 500-square-foot apartments.
BS: We have.
RS: Yeah. Nothing wrong with that.
BS: No, they were wonderful. They were wonderful! And now we’re down to the one-minute walk. Hopefully, we won’t have to do it again. But I know we could.
RS: Yeah.
BS: It would be fine. I love Hawaii. Danny Couch is back here.
RS: Thank you, Danny.
BS: Thank you, Danny, for letting us use your song, because I love Hawaii.
RS: Aloha.
BS: Aloha.
