I need to find info about my recently built home

[Beachboy]

where would I go on internet to find out about contractors, permits, etc,etc, with regard to my house in Puna on the Big Island. I want to get General Contractor's license#, and info on plumber & electrician. Do any of you good folks know how to obtain this info?
mahalo----------

[escondido100]

for hawaii county you need to go to the county website and you will need your TMK # they have a search feature there.....that would be a starting point. good luck.

[craigwatanabe]

where would I go on internet to find out about contractors, permits, etc,etc, with regard to my house in Puna on the Big Island. I want to get General Contractor's license#, and info on plumber & electrician. Do any of you good folks know how to obtain this info?
mahalo----------

Ask your neighbors who was the contractor working on your home. Amazingly there are so many people in Puna that know about the construction of my home simply because they saw it being built.

[Konaguy]

where would I go on internet to find out about contractors, permits, etc,etc, with regard to my house in Puna on the Big Island. I want to get General Contractor's license#, and info on plumber & electrician. Do any of you good folks know how to obtain this info?
mahalo----------


My brother just bought a house down in HOVE (which was recently completed in 2007). I was able to generate a report which detailed the electrical and plumbing contractors who worked on my brothers house here :

http://www.hawaiipropertytax.com/AccountSearch.asp?mnu=PSearch&submnu=Account

You need your tax map key number. Bear in mind follow the directions on the
above page also.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Check the DCCA web site (http://hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/pvl/boards/contractor/) for information on licensed contractors, if you need to confirm that they are licensed, who their company officers are, etc.

[Beachboy]

thank you all for your replies. But I have another question for you all. I have some issues with my home that have since come up since my final walk through. I have since found out that my house was built by a guy using someone elses contractor's license. Do I have any recourse. I'm pretty pissed with the work done on my house.

Sorry Craig that I haven't contacted you in a few months. But I have really stressed over my home situation! This whole Prime Lending fiasco hasn't helped matters either! I would have liked to refiance home, but with home values sinking it's near impossible to do. I'd sure like to get a 30 yr fixed at 5.4%...oh well pipe dreams!!

[craigwatanabe]

thank you all for your replies. But I have another question for you all. I have some issues with my home that have since come up since my final walk through. I have since found out that my house was built by a guy using someone elses contractor's license. Do I have any recourse. I'm pretty pissed with the work done on my house.

Sorry Craig that I haven't contacted you in a few months. But I have really stressed over my home situation! This whole Prime Lending fiasco hasn't helped matters either! I would have liked to refiance home, but with home values sinking it's near impossible to do. I'd sure like to get a 30 yr fixed at 5.4%...oh well pipe dreams!!

Hang in there with the presidential elections coming up this year things will "Magically" get better as the Primary approaches. Follow the forclosure sales, that typically fuels the buyers market. I've been tracking the housing market since the early 80's and forclosure sales always seem to entice speculative buying which seems to trigger the wave of home sales in general.

Anyway working at Home Depot, I've come across many seeminly shady "Contractors" who won't heed my advice on the use of certain building materials such as exterior wood (treated vs non-treated), interior drywall (using standard sheetrock vs Duroc), nails (brights vs galvanized) and the list goes on and on.

The typical responses were, "I just need it to pass final inspection", "that's not what the inspector told me", to outright "by the time the paint dries I'll be back on the mainland". At that point I tell them that I don't recommend any of the material they selected to I'd call the county's building department to get a clarification on the inspector's advice.

Some contractors buy pallets of damaged drywall (edges frayed or broken) for pennies on the dollar (marked down discounts) slap it up and fix the patches but charge the home owner full price on each sheet.

They will buy tools and charge the home owner for them, use the tools and then return them to the store for a full refund but not discount their bill to the home owner.

When dealing with a licensed contractor, check their licenses, get names and identification and cross reference, if at all possible use local contractors with a track record of reliability and the biggest thing to watch out for is upfront costs. If a contractor says he needs half up front and half at the end, that's a major warning flag right there.

I have had too many new homeowners come to our store with their sob stories of how their contractor left after taking payment and not completing the job, doing an inferior job that has to be redone to the point where the contractor gives the owner a list of items to buy themselves.

When I hire a contractor, I pay him/her a negotiated amount at the completion of the project and sit back. They in turn sub contract out. You as their client shouldn't have to anything more than write that check. They do everything from building plans, permit approvals, lot clearing, building, debris removal to final inspection approval from the county.

You should go from seeing an unimproved lot to turn key with just patience and a check in hand AT THE COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT. And that usually means FINAL APPROVAL from the county. Anything less makes that contractor suspicious and I wouldn't hire them. Word of mouth is the best recommendation for a reliable contractor. Since the building boom took off in Puna there have been many contractors flying in from as far away as Russia to capitalize on this short gold mine of opportunity here.

[Konaguy]

There was a contractor who built two spec homes (he was preparing to build a third home also, but didn't do it) in HOVE. One of which my brother bought. By digging through that above cited site, I found out the house my brother bought passed its electrical, plumbing and final inspections.

The reason why the latter was important was because the power was not hooked up by HELCO. Apparently there was a snafu there which I had to work
through to help my brother. Ultimately HELCO came out and hooked up the power.

On top of that, Rotor Rooter found the problem with the septic tank pipe which was causing backup problems. Apparently the pipe was damaged at installation time causing the impediment.

As for the other house, I'm going to feel sorry for whoever buys it. Especially
since it has yet to pass its electrical, plumbing and final inspections. Yet it
is actively being marketed by a real estate agent.