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Question: Where and how can we find out if a certain real property has a lien on it? Is there a way to find out for free, or do we have to pay for this information?
Answer: You can find out for free, but you’ll have to pay if you want to do more than preview the public record, according to the Bureau of Conveyances, the division of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources that maintains title records of Hawaii property.
A lien is a notice of a debt attached to a property. Property liens are recorded by the BOC. You can check with the bureau online (for documents recorded from 1992 on) or in person (for those of any era) to see whether a property has a lien attached, without paying a fee. However, if you want an electronic or hard copy of the document, you would have to pay for that.
To search online, go to the BOC’s website at 808ne.ws/liensearch. You can search for a property by a person’s name, a business name, Tax Map Key (TMK) or document number.
Enter your criteria and press “search.” If there are matches, they’ll appear with information listed in columns. One column is labeled “Instrument Code.” As you scroll through the matches, look in that column for the code “NL,” which stands for Notice of Lien.
This free access should suffice if all you want to know is whether a property has a lien. You’ll also have the option to order and pay for an electronic or printed version of the full document.
Online orders cost $1 per page for an uncertified PDF or $20 plus $1 per page for a certified, printed version, according to the BOC website.
“Although the online search may give enough general information for this reader’s purposes, it does not allow for the previewing of any documents,” said Deborah Ward, a spokeswoman for the DLNR. “The only way to see the document is to purchase and download it. They can also come down to the Public Reference Room, where the document can be previewed (for free) then purchased if desired.”
The bureau is at 1151 Punchbowl St. (the Kalanimoku Building) in Honolulu. Go to Room No. 123 for public research and reference. It’s open Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., except state holidays.
As mentioned, documents recorded prior to 1992 must be researched in the Public Reference Room, as they are not yet online, Ward said.
Q: We are downsizing and selling our home. We have a pool. Can we put the cleaner stuff in the rubbish?
A: No. Swimming pool chemicals require special handling. Drop them off at one of the city’s bimonthly disposal events for household hazardous waste. The next one is Nov. 4. Call 768-3201 at least a week ahead to make an appointment.
Mahalo
Imagine three women, all senior citizens, walking slowly toward the Blaisdell parking lot after a riveting Hawaii Opera Theatre production of “Carmen” Sunday evening. We were still basking in the afterglow of the beautiful performances when a stranger approached and bestowed on each of us a fragrant, single-strand pikake lei! Astonished, we could only call out our thanks and marvel at her kindness and aloha! — Signed, a grateful recipient
Mahalo
Mahalo to Hawaiian Airlines’ LAX check-in agents, TSA agents in Terminal 5, and fellow passengers standing in the queue on Oct. 16. We were late to check in to the last HAL flight to Honolulu, but the agents urged us to try to catch our flight. The TSA agents helped us through the queue, and all of the passengers in front of us let us cut the queue and urged us to catch our flight. We made our flight home, thanks to the amazing aloha of complete strangers. The aloha spirit overflows in the City of Angels! — R.K.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
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