Do I Have To Hire An Lawyer To Prepare The Developer’s Public Report?

No. There is no legal requirement that a developer must hire a lawyer to prepare the Developer’s Public Report and prior developers have prepared the registration themselves.

The Hawaii Real Estate Branch does have recommendations should a developer attempt to self-prepare the documentations:

  • A developer by law must use the services of a licensed architect, engineer, or surveyor to prepare the map pursuant to section 514B-34(a), HRS.
  • The developer’s public report process is made of two parts, the report itself that is made available to the public and the supporting documents such as the declaration, map, entity certificate of good standing, escrow agreement, financing/bonding agreements. The document checklist provides a lengthy and comprehensive list of documents that must be provided.
  • Review the “So You Want To Go Condo” brochure.
  • Confirm with the local county office in charge of permitting and zoning that what the developer intends to build is permissible under all county rules, regulations, zoning, and ordinances for that piece of property.
  • Review the chapter 514B, HRS, forms, general information, and checklists PDFs.
  • Review the “Developer’s Guide – Avoiding Common Errors: Chapter 514B, HRS, Developer’s Public Reports” PDF located in the forms page.
  • Review or request a copy of a similar project’s supporting document packet. Prospective developers can search for prior projects using the Developer’s Public Report database located on the Resources for Condominium Developer’s page. Every project is assigned a registration number, with more recent projects in the 8000s series. Users can filter by various criteria, including location, zoning, and size. Reviewing how another project structured its supporting document packet can help a prospective developer in the registration process.