Lawyers for 13 Kulana lot holders sent letters to the developer and the principal real-estate broker of the project, demanding they adhere to the conditions of the original contract or face litigation. Jim Bickerton and David Nakashima and their respective
Lawyers for 13 Kulana lot holders sent letters to the developer and the principal real-estate broker of the project, demanding they adhere to the conditions of the original contract or face litigation.
Jim Bickerton and David Nakashima and their respective Honolulu-based law firms have joined forces to issue the letter to Tom Sylvester, the attorney for Kulana developer William R. Hancock of Kapaa 382 LLC, and Edward J. Mac-Dowell, principal broker of Vision Properties.
Bickerton said identical letters were sent. He said the letter to Sylvester was hand delivered, while the letter to MacDowell was initially faxed, with a paper copy sent through the mail.
Bickerton said yesterday the developer and MacDowell had two business days to respond.
Sylvester said he had not received the letter early Thursday afternoon. He could not be reached for comment later that day.
MacDowell said he had received the letter, but declined further comment.
The Kulana project is comprised of 96 units on 398.4 acres off of Hauiki Road on agricultural land. The site overlooks Kapa’a town.
“The letter demands that they honor the original terms under the original agreement. We need to hear from them that they are going to hammer out a fair DROA (Deposit Receipt, Offer Acceptance), with no complex rebate,” Bickerton said.
Bickerton said the first words of the original contract read, “this is a binding agreement.”
“We see a number of problems in the new contract,” he said.
MacDowell said Wednesday that Vision Properties leaders had secured 30 contracts. He said the company would agree to the original prices. He said the price of the lots range from $250,000 to $450,000.
Reportedly, close to 80 percent of the lots have been sold.
More than two years ago, lot holders put down $10,000 to reserve their lots.
Vision Properties leaders had given uncommitted lot holders a Wednesday deadline to sign their contracts.
Bickerton said this “must-sign” approach was “false and misleading.”
The original contracts allowed a 60-day period to close escrow accounts from the receipt of the final CPR (condominium public report, something similar to a disclosure statement).
Many lot holders were wondering why a developer who filed a CPR effective April 4 with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Real Estate Commission only recently released the report to buyers, almost six weeks later.
MacDowell said he had assurances that all the lenders would be able to provide financing for lot holders within that period. He said if a buyer was doing his or her best to secure financing, it was “unlikely the seller would just cancel out of hand.”
He said the buyers had been so “confused” by what has been printed previously in The Garden Island that it appeared “they don’t (feel like) they have to abide by any contract. There are rules,” he said.
Bickerton said he was aware that some lot holders had yet to receive their final packages and contracts. He said that, by law, these packets must be sent by certified or registered mail, or delivered in person.
Lot holders received their packages through regular mail delivery.
Bickerton said there were additional lot holders who might be joining the others in seeking legal redress.
According to the CPR, two prominent Kaua‘i residents hold a $5-million first mortgage on the property, and $9-million second mortgage on the project, respectively.
The CPR is in effect for 13 months, according to officials with the state DCCA Real Estate Commission.
- Andy Gross, business editor, 245-3681 (ext. 251) or agross@pulitzer.net.
