Eric Sacks, a former deputy prosecutor turned real estate investor, had to kick a homeless man out before he could take possession of the vacant Waikiki apartment building that he purchased in June.

Trespassers would break into Sacks’ property at 2126 Lauula St. daily even though it is just off Kalakaua Avenue, the epicenter of Waikiki resort development. Sacks said the onslaught continued until he boarded up windows, fenced his $1.57 million buy and put up motion-detector lights.

"Homelessness is a huge, costly problem for Waikiki.

Homeless people have long frequented Waikiki landmarks such as Queen’s Surf Beach, Kapiolani Beach Park and the Ala Wai Canal. But recent efforts to take back public areas in Waikiki have resulted in more homeless people sneaking onto private properties where they can better avoid scrutiny.

"If they can get away with it, they’ll do it for sure, especially in certain areas like Waikiki," said Marc Alexander, Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s homeless coordinator. "Vacant properties are a real issue."

Waikiki’s vacant and fallow properties have proved the most vulnerable to homeless people who have been driven out of their favorite public haunts, said Stephany Sofos, a real estate appraiser and consultant who lives in Waikiki.

"If it’s there and it’s unoccupied, it’s just a matter of time before people will spray-paint it or hurt it or move into it," Sofos said.

In six months to a year, Sacks hopes to transform 2126 Lauula St. into a 17-unit apartment complex. Until then, he said, he will keep people out of the property.

"We’ve still got homeless people coming over and urinating in the carport, but they aren’t getting into the grounds," Sacks said. "I’ve made sure that this building isn’t an attractive nuisance."

While Sacks has committed to clean up his investment, other Waikiki property owners have less clearly defined goals. Frustrated Waikiki residents and businesses point to at least eight other locations where multimillion-dollar houses, buildings and lots are sheltering squatters or creating opportunities for the prospect.

Honolulu police have responded to multiple calls at 2107 Ala Wai Blvd., 2240 Waikolu Way, 2126 Lauula St. and 2467 Tusitala St., the lot between Cleghorn and Liliuokalani streets, according to HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu. Police also have visited 445 and 441 Kalaimoku St. a few times, Yu said.

"Calls typically include reports of trespassing, graffiti and property damage, all of which require a legal representative to initiate a complaint," she said. "No trespass warnings have been issued at the listed addresses, likely because the property’s legal representative wasn’t present."

Yu said Hawaii does not have any laws prohibiting what is commonly known as squatting. Officers can issue a trespass warning on private property only if the property’s legal representative is present, she said.

Sacks noted that "the cops tell them to go, and they come right back."

State Rep. Tom Brower (D, Waikiki-Ala Moana-Kakaako) also expressed frustration with the ongoing problem. "There’s no pretty solution to Waikiki homelessness, but enough is enough," he said on a recent walk through his district. "We can’t let them stay wherever they want."

Brower was dismayed to find a homeless man sleeping on the porch of 2107 Ala Wai Blvd., just blocks away from hotels in the state’s main economic corridor where tourists rent rooms for about $160 a night.

"I’m sympathetic," Brower said, "but if I were given the authority to remove him, I would. If he were an animal, we wouldn’t let him stay here. We’d show him love, bathe him, feed him, and someone would probably adopt him."

The man, who declined to share his story, has moved on since the Star-Advertiser began making inquiries about how he and others came to be trespassing on the site. The mattress where passers-by saw him sleeping is gone. Empty Styrofoam plate-lunch boxes and beer bottles have disappeared from the yard. However, vulgar graffiti still covers the boarded-up windows of the home, which was purchased in 2008 by East Oahu resident Nicolas R. Lynn Jr. in a $5.5 million deal, including five adjacent properties.

The city Department of Planning and Permitting issued a notice of violation for litter at 2103 Ala Wai Blvd. in 2001, said Louise Kim McCoy, Mayor Peter Carlisle’s press secretary. The violations, which were corrected, were issued prior to Lynn’s 2008 purchase. However, inspectors have been assigned to his other properties at 445, 443 and 441 Kalaimoku St., McCoy said.

Many community members, including Sacks, have questioned how properties have been allowed to fall into such disrepair in Waikiki, which accounts for 8 percent of state gross domestic product, 9.7 of state tax revenues and 8.4 percent of all Hawaii jobs.

"I’ve been told that my building has been like this for eight to 10 years," Sacks said. "How did that happen?"

Budget restrictions have challenged code violation enforcement, McCoy said.

The planning department "primarily relies on complaints; however, inspectors will investigate possible violations when visible during routine inspections," she said.

McCoy said the department uses its civil fines program, which places financial pressure on owners through penalties, liens on the property and ultimately foreclosure to encourage correction. Owners of dilapidated buildings can be fined from $50 to $1,000 a day, she said.

"This process is not always effective," said Rich Turbin, a Kahala resident who sought the city’s help when Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto allowed some of his East Oahu luxury properties to fall into such disrepair that they attracted squatters and vermin.

"The city has been lax," Turbin said. "I asked the City Council and the mayor’s office to change the law, making it clearly illegal or a misdemeanor for property owners to continually allow violations to occur."

Cities in other states such as Colorado, California and Washington have laws protecting homeowners from negligent property owners, but Hawaii falls short in this regard, he said.

Alexander said agencies participating in Abercrombie’s homeless program have assisted private owners with removing squatters. "They need to say ‘no trespassing’ so that we can move people along and offer them real help," he said.

Lynn, whose primary residence according to tax records is a $4.2 million mansion in the gated Hawaii Loa Ridge subdivision, did not respond to a request for an interview. However, "No Trespass" signs and a legal "Trespass Notice" have been posted on his properties.

Waikiki Neighborhood Board Member Jeff Merz, an urban planner, said he worries that vacant lots, such as the one at 2467 Tusitala St., create attractive nuisances.

"This lot has been undeveloped since abandonment of construction plans 20 years ago," Merz said. "The illegal storage of construction equipment, vehicle parts and building materials on properties needs to cease immediately."

The city cited the lot’s owner for litter twice in 2001 and once in 2005, McCoy said. The owner also was cited in 2002 for having an abandoned construction site and sidewalk overgrowth, she said. Okada Trucking Co., which owns the lot, did not respond to an interview request.

"At the very least it’s a neighborhood eyesore," Merz said.

At the very worst it’s a blow to Waikiki’s status as a world-class destination and great place to live, said Sofos, who began borrowing the neighbor’s Doberman to protect her on walks after noticing homeless people were moving deeper into the residential section.

"Tourists walk, too. They see the same things that I do," Sofos said."It can’t be good when they return home and tell everyone that Waikiki, the crown jewel of Hawaii, has problems with squatters and blight. In their minds, Waikiki is becoming another American slum."