{"id":19792,"date":"2024-08-16T15:27:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T15:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/?p=19792"},"modified":"2024-08-16T15:30:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T15:30:21","slug":"santa-fe-realtors-promote-diverse-housing-options-in-housing-strapped-region-2-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-2-4-2-2-3-2-4-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-2-3-2-2-3-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/homepage\/success-story\/whar-con0924","title":{"rendered":"West Hawaii Association of REALTORS\u00ae Alerts Property Owners About a Deadline on Open Construction Permits that Could Lead to Prohibitive Unexpected Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In January 2022, the West Hawai\u2018i Association of REALTORS\u00ae <\/sup>(WHAR) learned that a critical building permit expiration date was looming on the Island of Hawai\u2018i, threatening to force costly property upgrades and potential delays in sales transactions for the island\u2019s homeowners. The Department of Public Works had posted notices on Instagram, where it had roughly 400 followers, and in the local newspaper \u2013 behind a paywall. \u00a0MLS data told the REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> that about 37K properties were at risk.\u00a0 Realizing they had to alert property-owners island-wide, and fast, they contacted the REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> Party for a Consumer Advocacy Outreach Grant<\/a>, and got to work getting the word out.<\/p>\n

According to Association Executive Taylor Rodamer, all building permits issued prior to March 27, 2012, that had not been closed-out, were going to be considered null-and-void as of March 2022. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cMany property owners were unaware of these open permits,\u201d she says.\u00a0 \u201cOur members often encounter this during the course of a sale and have to work to get the permit closed-out; this can take time, which can delay or jeopardize a sale.\u00a0 Or, if a homeowner wanted to pull a new permit, they could be required to bring the entire property up to code, regardless of the nature of the current project. \u00a0For example, if you wanted to remodel your kitchen, but a previous permit had been voided, you might find yourself having to install dual-paned windows in order to move forward!\u201d\u00a0 She points out that this unexpected hardship and expense to homeowners would only add to the housing crisis the island is experiencing.<\/p>\n

Rodamer and her team advocated for the Department of Public Works to extend the deadline, not once, but twice, as they launched an urgent consumer education campaign.\u00a0 \u201cThe REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> Party was incredibly responsive, which was great, because once the grant was approved, we didn\u2019t have long to get our mailers into mailboxes.\u201d Because some property owners live off-island, the notices were sent to tax bill addresses, rather than to the property, itself.\u00a0 The mailers featured a QR code linking property owners to a colorful web page that clearly spell out the time-sensitive situation, how to find out if they are affected, and what to do about it.\u00a0 Lance Owens, 2022 WHAR President and 2025 Hawai\u2018i REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> President, created a video for the landing page, walking viewers through the process of finding and fixing a property\u2019s open permit.\u00a0 \u00a0As Rodamer explains, \u201cREALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> are in the electronic permitting system all the time, but the average homeowner wouldn\u2019t know where to begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

The digital effort resulted in upwards of 40K impressions and extended the reach of the message considerably.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, the campaign established a road map for stronger relationships with the Mayor and County Council members, notes Rodamer.\u00a0 Working in support of the Department of Public Works also gave the REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> the opportunity to make suggestions for the new permitting system and positions them favorably for future advocacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers of the public actually called to thank us, which was really gratifying,\u201d says Rodamer.\u00a0 In addition to the positive feedback from the broader community, she reports, there was also acclaim from the Chamber of Commerce, specifically, its Economic Development Committee and the Housing & Permitting Task Force.\u00a0 \u201cThat was really high praise.\u00a0 The whole effort generated a public awareness that we are not just about serving REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> needs, but we are looking out for the whole community.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about how the REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> are working to protect homeowners on the Island of Hawai\u2018i, contact Taylor Rodamer, Association Executive of the West Hawai\u2018i Association of REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup>, at taylor@westhawaiirealtors.com<\/a> or 808.329.4874.\u00a0 To see the landing page the organization created to reach and help consumers, visit: https:\/\/campaignprogram.com\/Hawai\u2018i-county-permits<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With help from a timely Consumer Advocacy Outreach Grant from the REALTOR\u00ae Party, REALTORS\u00ae on the island of Hawaii got the word out to homeowners about the urgent need to check on any open work permits attached to their properties before a critical deadline. The public service strengthened their reputation in the community, and their relationships with elected officials and the Chamber of Commerce.","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[232,1705,534],"class_list":["post-19792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-stories","tag-consumer-advocacy","tag-consumer-advocacy-grant","tag-hawaii"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}