AOAO Harbor Lights

I am truly disappointed that a tenant would feel this wayWe are a large complex with almost 2,residents hereIt's almost impossible to control every piece of litter that goes down on the property, but we do have two full time landscapers who work very diligently every morning to clear the
litter off of the groundsIn addition,there are five full time housekeepers whose responsibility is to clean the hallways and elevatorsThey get cleaned each and every day.It's insulting to say the least, regarding our security guardsHow are they irresponsible? The have a lot of people to look after and do the best they canEvery one of our employees speak EnglishThat was a ridiculous accusation to make I As far as charging people for EVERTHING, we have designated parking for all residentsThere are five stalls outside of the property on our easement that we charge VISITORS five dollars per night if they want to use the stall for overnight parkingIt is against our house rules for the tenants to park there in the first place.Because we are such a large complex, people sometimes don't care about their drapes and have ripped up ugly drapes that makes our home look like a ghettoWe send warnings to people who are not in compliance and then a $fine IF the drapery violation continuesWe do not charge $a month for drapesIncidentally, our staff does not steal from the people hereWe are carefully audited andanyone exchanging money is given a receiptAll receipts are monitored by administrative staff so if there was dishonesty, it would be dealt with immediately.We recently planted foliage in various parts of the property, including refurbishing our koi pondOur swimming pool is pristineWe are currently soliciting bids for the painting of our buildings and due to the recent placement of photovoltaic structures, our parking lot has been somewhat compromised.When the work is completed with the installation of the photovoltaic, Pacific Asphalt has been retained to re-stripe and resurface our parking lot.Harbor Lights was built in and the plumbing is not built to withstand individual washers and dryers in the unitsOur laundry rooms, which are cleaned daily, have video surveillance cameras and should the tenant feel like they are not secure, a courtesy phone call to our security would sufficeThe guards would come up and check the area to make sure it was safe.Finally, as far as drugs go, the ONLY drug use that is tolerated on this property is those of the licensed medical marijuana patientsIf a person is known to have drugs on the premises the owner of the unit is fined $1,and we require immediate eviction.The tone of the complainant's letter is one that makes me suspect perhaps that they were fined for a house rule violation and that they are angryTenants who move here should do their homework prior to rentingIt's a condominium property and the majority of our units are occupied by happy renters who abide by the house rules set forth to prevent chaosMost people when they are unhappy come tothe office to discuss their concerns with meI have not been given the opportunity to address any concerns from a new and disgruntled tenant.Thank you for giving me the opportunity to defend ourselves against these unwarranted accusations

Thank you for forwarding the complaint regarding our property from one of our owners. Unfortunately this person purchased his unit only in February of this year and already finds himself unable to pay his maintenance fees on time.  He paid June fees late and we...

forgave the late fee as a one time courtesy.  In July he did receive a late fee and when advised of it he immediately came to the office and demanded the late fee be removed.  He didn't ask to have it removed, he demanded and became quite belligerent when I explained that it was our policy to add a late fee if payment is not received by the 151 of the month.  Our fees are due on the first of each month and a full 15 day grace is given.  He started disparaging the board of directors and the property.  To date, he has not paid his August maintenance  fees. When a person buys a unit it goes through the escrow process.  During this process the buyer is offered the opportunity to purchase our property documents which include all legal docs, bylaws, horizontal property regime, all amendments to bylaws, HRS 514B (State Condominium  law),  as well as budget, reserve study, insurance information, house rules, floor plans, a state document describing what is expected of homeowners, etc.  This new owner chose not to avail himself of this information which is a very prudent part of doing one's own due difigence prior to committing to the purchase. During each escrow process we are required to submit a disclosure statement indicating how much the maintenance fees are, when they are due and how much the late fee is and when it is imposed.  It also disclose that the maintenance fees were reduced from $668.00 per month to $585.00 per month on July 1, 2013 due to the installation of submeters and the beginning of charging each unit for the electricity they consume each month. Prior to this, the unit's electricity was included in the maintenance fee. Harbor Lights is a strictly residential complex with 352 units, it is not a resort, neither are there any vacation rentals.306 are two bedrooms units at $585.00 per month maintenance  fees and 45 are one bedroom units at $448.00 per month, not the 1700 units that complainant claims. Our monthly maintenance fee total is $199,170.00, not a million dollars.  Our units are currently selling for around $60,000.00.  From what I understand, they are the lowest priced units in Hawaii. Maintenance  fees cover all common expenses, insurance, utilities, (except for the unit electricity which is paid in addition to maintenance fees), security, housekeeping, maintenance  staff, landscaping staff and office staff, fire control, swimming pool upkeep and all other normal expenses of a property this size.  It also includes $73.30 per month in designated reserve fund savings and we faithfully deposit this amount in the Association' reserve savings account every month Most properties charge for reserve in addition to maintenance fees. Our property has had more than our fair share of foreclosures, some still not resolved since 2008.  Per state law and our bylaws all owners must share the expense of all those who do not remit maintenance fees monthly.  This month we had 38 units not pay equaling a $23,174.50 shortfall.   This owner's share of this shortfall is $67.95.  This amount comes from the monthly maintenance fee.*  The entire property was professionally  painted in 2011/12.*  We have had no issues of mold in the vents of our property*  The hallways floors are swept and mopped daily.*  The swing is not broken. We removed the swings from the swingset until we can afford the legally required surface beneath the swings.  It is extremely expensive.*  The basketball hoop was replaced last week and, for the first time the association paid for its replacement.   In the past we have always had a homeowner  or resident or organization such as Habitatfor Humanity or a local church group donate thebasketball hoops. *  Our reserve fund is legally compliant, (not all condominiums in Hawaii can make that claim).  In spite of an average of 45 units per month who do not pay, we pay our bills on time and are quite proud of our accomplishments.* The board of directors has not raised the maintenance fees even once during these difficult economic times.  They reduced them last year* The board of directors has trimmed costs and cut staff as much as humanly possible to avoid having to increase the fees. They have made very difficult decisionsand the board is entirely made up of volunteers elected by the homeowners.   Not one of · them is compensated.Unless this owner boughthis unit sight unseen, and some do, he should have been fully aware of the conditions.   It is very sad indeed when an owner does that or doesn't dohis homework and then ends up with buyer's remorse. My recommendation would be that this owner, as a member of this homeowner's Association, attendone of our monthly meetings and meet the board of directors and perhaps add an idea or two as to how we can improve.  The board members work very hard and are doing the best they can under the circumstances of lower value, owner apathy and 40 year old buildings.  And, the only way to avoid incurring a late fee, is to pay his monthly fees on time.