Page 2 - Hawaii Island MIdWeek - May 26, 2021

2 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK MAY 26, 2021
Rotten
The Write Stuff
BY CHRIS MCKINNEY
PAPAYAS
When I started writ- ing over 20 years ago, there were obviously more bookstores and a more robust print jour- nalism presence. Shoot, we even had a Hawai‘i best- sellers list. Granted, most of the bookstores were named Barnes & Noble, Walden- books or Borders, but these were places where authors could hold events and do book signings. If a writer was fortunate, he or she could get some press from both news- papers and Honolulu Weekly.
gage with the islands.” Edi- tor Don Wallace, who brings years of writing and editing experience to the virtual ta- ble, says, “We will entertain any submitted work on any subject from long-form non- fiction to tiny haiku book reviews.”
over 50,000 New Yorkers. It includes a short story by Bryan Kamaoli Kuwada, an interview of National Book Award winning-novelist Charles Johnson (conduct- ed by Thuy Da Lam), an excerpt of Paul Theroux’s latest novel, Under the Wave at Waimea (see photo at left), and a review of the novel.
ment of my new novel, which comes out in July.
a stronger, collective literary presence in Hawai‘i. To give a possible platform to young- er writers who are struggling
But this isn’t about me. It’s about the opportunity to build
DIRECTOR OF CONTENT/ SUPPLEMENT PRODUCTS RON NAGASAWA
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
BILL MOSSMAN
MANAGING EDITOR
NICOLE MONTON
PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER
DENNIS FRANCIS
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
DAVE KENNEDY
REGIONAL SALES MANAGER
LANCE TAKAKI
hawaiiislandmidweek.com
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Hawai‘i Island Midweek is published every Wednesday by Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500 Honolulu, HI 96813.
The inaugural issue fea- tures Kiana Davenport (Shark Dialogues), who recalls her dark, lonely and chaotic year spent in New York City during the pan- demic that took the lives of
Full disclosure: I contrib- uted as well. I wrote a short review of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun. THROB also included an announce-
Today, there’s one tradi- tional newspaper and one remaining Barnes & Noble, while Borders, Waldenbooks and Honolulu Weekly no lon- ger exist.
Fill in the blank cells using numbers 1 to 9. Each number can appear only once in each row, column, and 3x3 block. Use logic and process of elimination to solve the puzzle. The difficulty level ranges from Bronze (easiest) to Silver to Gold (hardest). Answers are on page 7
RATING: SILVER
Getting some publici- ty, especially for emerging writers, has become far more difficult.
Enter The Hawai‘i Review of Books, or THROB, which went live May 1. It’s a digital literary magazine that is “in- tended to be by, for and about those who read, write and en-
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Sellers naturally become concerned when they perceive their bottom line is shrinking. Whether prices rise or fall, the issue of an owner-builder exemption presents itself in very interesting ways. It’s an issue that could potentially affect sellers, buyers, agents, landlords and tenants alike. Remember, the State provides an exemption for an owner-occupant whowantstobetheirowncontractor. Briefly,HRS 444-9.1 provides that a home built with an owner-
builderexemption/permitmaynotbesold or leased for a year following the final inspection(orfromaverifiabledatewhen
the home was completed). Multiple owner-builder permits should not be issued concurrently. Selling prior
to the one-year statutory requirement
may result in a fine of $5000 or 40% of thevalueofthehomeforthefirstoffenseandupto $10,000or50%ofthemarketvalueforsubsequent offenses. Fines may be assessed against the seller and any REALTORS® involved. The law is very clear
on this point. If sold prior one year, REALTORS® could be fined for aiding and abetting an unlicensed contractor. They could even face license revocation. Although not specifically stated, a buyer might find also find themselves included in an investigation by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Prior to 2010, the law was silent about situations whereahardshipormitigatingcircumstancesforced early sale. It was also not specific as to property soldpriortothefinalinspectionorpropertieswithout permits. Any property sold prior to the one-year anniversarywithanowner-builderexemption(exempt from using a contractor) falls under the provisions of the statute. In a busy market, it’s not uncommon to find non-compliant homes for sale. The intent of the law is to avoid unlicensed work but without exceptions built into the law, an already unfortunate situation(illnessordeathforinstance)couldbeeasily exacerbated. DCCAisrequiredtoinvestigateevery complaint but the statute now provides a vehicle for a distressed owner to request an exemption
prior to selling. Permit amounts under $10,000 are automatically exempt. Sellers should keep in mind that listing an owner-builder property without an exemption (if you can find an agent brave enough to do so) will result in extremely diminished showing interest. Issues related to un-permitted structures or areas are always foggy. Because permitting problemsaresocommon,itisbesttokeepinmind that the intent of the statute is to deter unlicensed activity. Itwouldcertainlynotbeastretchtoassume the provisions of the statute apply. The owner-builder statuteisnotmeanttobeavehicletogeneratea complaint about every permit inconsistency. There are numerous reasons a permit record might be incorrect. If you need a permit correction to facilitate a sale, remember, owner-builder provisions apply. Ask your agent for advice in this matter. Most do a good jobinhelpingexplaintherequirements.Verifyingand correctingpermitsaheadoftimeprovideseveryone involved with peace of mind. Happy Permitting!
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