Lahaina, Hawaii — The Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program is offering no-cost lot surveys for Lahaina homeowners who lived in their home before the Maui wildfires.
Funding for The lot surveys received funding from a $3 million grant to Hawaii Community Lending (HCL) from the Maui Strong Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF).
According to HCL, 781 homeowners were living in their homes before the fire. In order to set the property lines to rebuild or sell, nearly all of them will need a survey to proceed.
Maria Linz, HCL program manager and Lahaina resident, said, “There are so many upfront costs our Lahaina homeowners need just to start construction. At the least, they will need surveys, plans and permits, which can cost each family tens of thousands of dollars. Many homeowners were underinsured and do not have enough funds to rebuild, let alone afford the upfront costs needed to get out of the gate.”
HCL was recently introduced to a family whose lot was not ready after they paid $5,600 for a survey. The family must complete a new survey because pins were pulled to complete the scheduled property work. Fortunately, they can do another survey without paying. The new funding will save Lahaina homeowners an estimated $4.5 million in lot survey costs.
Linz shared more, “Our goal is to make sure all eligible homeowners are able to access this resource without having to worry about the cost. We encourage all Lahaina homeowners who were living in their homes before the fire to enroll in the Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program, and encourage your neighbors to enroll as well!”
How to get a free lot survey:
- Enroll in the Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program at https://hawaiicommunitylending.com/mauirelief/
- Encourage your neighbors to enroll in the Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program. At least nine other neighbors must apply for the survey to take place.
In order to keep costs down and complete the surveys efficiently, HCL plans to contract land surveyors to complete surveys for eight to ten semi-contiguous properties at a time to keep costs down and make the process efficient. Once homeowners apply, they will be placed on a waitlist until enough homeowners surrounding their property also enroll.
A survey incentive includes receiving $100 in Foodland or Safeway gift cards (while supplies last) for every time a homeowner gets listed as a referral. Only those enrolled in the Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program qualify for the gift cards.
“This is great news for Lahaina homeowners, and we mahalo the Maui Strong Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation for recognizing this pressing need. It is essential that homeowners go through the rebuilding process in the right order or they could lose thousands of dollars, time and energy. The most impactful step homeowners need to take right now is to do a comprehensive lot survey and this program covers that need,” said HCL Executive Director Jeff Gilbreath.