Introduction

So you wanna be a rock superstar?

Hell ya I do. Unfortunately, it's not gonna happen. I do however, want to be a homeowner.

Rewind. Welcome to April 2011. My Dad tells me about this new development called Holomua. I've been dreaming of finding a place for awhile. Don't have much saved up, just enough. Hell, I'm lucky to have a job. Anyway, we go to Holomua's open house. Lo and behold it's in the vacant lot where they're planning to build this high rise. My step-sister Christina is my realtor, and when one of her clients steps out of line I swoop in and snag his spot. 

Morning sunshine is beginning to heat up. Nakata and I arrived a little early and weren't expecting that long a line. We can't both take his place, so Nakata troupes to the back of the line which quickly snakes behind him. I"m jockeying in the first 10 people. They allow us in to the lot where they've scattered the ground with small rocks, set up canvas tents and round folding tables and chairs. We're quickly briefed, then it's out to a board with a list of all the units available. Think Jeopardy. Each block contains the floor #, parking #, size of unit and unit type. Another board elsewhere shows a layout of the unit, and another contains the textiles they plan on using.  Christina encourages me to be aggressive, she's taking pictures of the sign and anything else to answer questions from other clients. We've barely toured all the boards when they start calling out numbers in the order we came in to select a unit.

Okay, gotta decide fast. She tells me bugs and dust typically stop around floor 15, and noise gets less too. The only unit in my price point is a 354sqft unit. It faces across the street at another condo. For re-sale purposes Christina advises that I choose a unit that clears that other condo. I'm looking at the board, and from perusing Oahure.com, I have a good idea that 354sqft, although three times the size of my bedroom, is not large comfy living area. Even so, I can't afford anything bigger, and the other affordable units are face to face with the condo behind making my studio the best option for those in the affordable category.

My number is called and I go up to select a unit. I've been writing down all the available 02 units along with their prices. According to Christina, you generally add an extra $1K per floor you go up. The building tops at 22 floors and I choose the 19th floor. We immediately start filling out paperwork. What happened to Nakata? Poor guy is stuck outside the fence still, but eventually he makes it in and is able to choose floor 17. As I fill out and sign a stack of papers I go over in my head what's important to me in a place. 

Making a list, or at least recognizing things you want in your condo/townhouse/home is step number one.

To me, I wanted to be in a high-rise with a view (not a walk-up), low maintenance fee, covered parking, open air (not running a/c 24/7), washer/dryer in my unit, bathtub, lanai and preferably no pool or other amenities. Why no amenities? Simple, amenities cost money. The more you have, the higher your maintenance fee is. Holomua seemed to check off everything. Low maintenance fee, no pool, covered albeit compact parking, small lanai, washer/dryer in unit, convenient location and best of all brand spanking new.

The process of going through with Holomua took a few months. The developer of the project needs to secure funds in order to start construction. This project has failed to start once before. Building a tall building takes a lot of money, obviously, so there are financial institutions (in this case a bank) that needs to see good faith that there are enough owner-occupants and investors commited into this building so they will release the funding. They needed 67% of both investor units (units for those looking to buy, then immediately rent out) and affordable units (the state helped with the bill in exchange for affordable units - more on that later). During this period Nakata and I met with Christina a few times to discuss whether or not Holomua would be worth it. The affordable housing restrictions as well as unit size made her wary and gave the both of us a lot to think about.