I’ve been doing some research that includes tracing the history of a few condominium projects.
The Real Estate Branch of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is the repository for Public Reports condo developers are required to file. These reports document the original development and marketing of condo projects and provide information potential buyers are legally entitled to.
At the top of the Real Estate Branch website is a prominent notice advising consumers that only limited staff resources are available, during limited hours, to assist the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Instead, “customers are strongly recommended to utilize electronic communications methods….”
Fair enough. But when your agency directs people to online services, it’s important to be sure they are up and running.
That wasn’t the case with the records I was trying to access.
The Real Estate Branch provides a link to “Resources for Condominium owners, prospective buyers, Boards of Directors, and associations.”
Clicking that link gets you a bit closer, it would appear.
Down mid-page is a further link to “CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION CONTACT INFORMATION, DEVELOPER’S PUBLIC REPORT DATABASE, & STATEWIDE INTERACTIVE MAP OF PROJECTS.”
Bingo. Almost there?
Click on that link and you get a disclaimer and statement of terms of use. If you want to proceed to the reports, you click “I Agree.”
Alright. I do it.
And…nothing. Nada. The request times out.
And it isn’t that the server is simply busy, as it has been a persistent issue over several days.
This morning I sent off email inquiries to DCCA and to a service I use that provides its own links to the state data.
I’m going to be interested if DCCA can restore public access in a timely manner.
Update: This reply from Jason Horiuchi at DCCA said the problem arose because of steps taken to protect the department’s computer systems from Hurricane Douglas. In an early morning email, he wrote:
“I actually just inquired with our IT folks about this yesterday. They informed me that to protect it from potential damage arising from Hurricane Douglas, DCCA’s servers were shut down over the weekend. Unfortunately they experienced difficulty bringing that particular server hosting that website back online. Not sure on the technical details, but I was told they are “rebuilding it.” They did not have a current ETA for me, however, since they were aware of the problem and working on it I hope it is back online soon.”
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The title of your post, conveying your frustration, might be a bit premature. If the access problem resulted from DCCA protecting its system from Hurricane Douglas, and if DCCA knows of the problem and is working to fix it, what’s the gripe? My concern is that your title tends to give ammunition to those who think state government can’t do anything right. I’m not a state employee, but I’ve received some excellent service from state agencies and some disappointing service from the private sector. It’s important that we not pile on to the state.
Thank you.
As a condo owner, I can understand frustration w/DCCA as personal experiences for help calls have pretty much been less than helpful due to favor extended more to our condo “industry.” Let’s await a report from Lind on access success.