Hawaii Island is bigger than all the other islands combined, and a reserve study here starts with geography. A condo complex in Kailua-Kona, a resort association on the Kohala coast and a townhouse community above Hilo face different weather, different hazards and sometimes different laws.
Two climates, one island
The leeward side is sunny and dry; the windward side around Hilo is among the wettest places in the country. On the Kona and Kohala coasts, studies should expect sun damage to roofing, coatings and sealants, and corrosion near the shoreline. Around Hilo, the threats are water: roof membranes, gutters and drainage, wood rot and mold behind siding. A provider who works both sides will set component lives for each; one who uses a single table for the island will not.
Volcanic haze (vog) also drifts across parts of the island when Kilauea is active. Owners notice it on metal fixtures and screens; ask the provider whether they adjust lives for exposed metal on your side of the island.
Lava-flow hazard zones
The US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory divides the island into lava-flow hazard zones from 1 to 9. Zone 1 covers the summits and rift zones of Kilauea and Mauna Loa, where lava is most likely; zone 9 is the least hazardous. The map describes long-term likelihood, not a forecast.
A reserve study does not price a lava flow; no study can. But the zone affects what insurance the association can buy and what lenders ask of buyers, and those decide how much room the budget has for reserves. Associations in zones 1 and 2, which take in much of Puna and parts of Kau and South Kona, should record their zone in the study's introduction and keep the insurance appraisal and the reserve study's replacement costs in step.
Planned communities and chapter 421J
Many Hawaii Island associations are planned communities of single-family lots, governed by HRS chapter 421J rather than the condominium law. Section 148 of the condominium law, with its 50 percent floor, does not apply to them in the same way; whether a study is required depends on chapter 421J and the association's own documents. Check with the association's attorney.
Required or not, a planned community with roads, a clubhouse, pools, water systems or long perimeter walls has large, predictable replacements ahead. Roads alone can outweigh everything else in the study. Ask for a study that includes them, with a realistic paving cycle.
Briefing a provider
- Say which side of the island the property is on, and its elevation if it is upland.
- Tell them whether the association is a condominium (chapter 514B) or a planned community (chapter 421J).
- Share the lava-flow hazard zone and the current insurance appraisal.
- List private infrastructure the association maintains: roads, water lines, wastewater systems, drainage.
- Ask how travel is billed if the provider is based on another island.