“You’re not just getting a realtor, you’re getting an experience,” says Erica Lehmkuhl, an agent at Realty by the Sea, a boutique realty company, specializing in personalized home buying. Erica also does property management exclusively on the North Shore, in Wahiawa and Mililani.

Erica says her clients are her priority when negotiating a home purchase for them. “I’m determined to get my clients what they want and I negotiate hard for them. For me, ‘no’ is never the final answer. There’s always a way to make it happen and I’ll find a way to “yes.” Most of Erica’s clients have become her friends because the home
buying process is so involved.

Erica is interested in growing her business through sustainable practices which involve caring for the residents and the stability of the North Shore Community. Erica volunteers and generously helps out with community causes in a variety of ways. She is Secretary on the North Shore Neighborhood Board’s Parks Committee, which works with the North Shore Chamber of Commerce to help privately fund projects. Two of the projects being developed are acquiring the funds to fix the lights at Waialua District Park and establish a new skatepark in Waialua. She joined the North Shore Chamber of Commerce to help market and expand her business, while promoting Chamber projects to improve the
North Shore.

Erica also works monthly with the North Shore Fresh Produce Distribution at the Waialua Community Association building. As a board member and member of the Haleiwa Outrigger Canoe Club, she assists with the North Shore News’
annual “Operation Backpack” donation project of free school supplies to students. On Christmas Eve, she participates in a Christmas present giveaway at Haleiwa Beach Park. She’s a board member and field manager for the local AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization), which involves getting playing fields ready for games and practices. In addition, she and her family host soccer coaches at her home as part of international coach exchange program.

Erica first came to the North Shore in 1997 on military orders, was deployed to Iraq in 2005 (where she met her husband Jason, another paratrooper in her unit), then returned to the North Shore with her family. She officially retired from the military in 2017 and now participates in the Schofield Barracks Retiree Council. Her husband Jason owns King’s Island Construction, a company which builds and renovates homes island-wide. This year their daughter graduated from Waialua High School and will study computer science at Sacramento State in California; and their 9 year-old son attends Haleiwa Elementary.

Erica also considers the North Shore community her family. “I knew when I breathed the warm salty air here, I knew I was home. I learned from the military that your family isn’t just those from birth but also whom you choose to make it. “ You can contact Erica Lehmkuhl at Realty by the Sea, toprealtorhawaii@gmail.com, cell (808)271- 4142 or go to her website at www.ericainhawaii.com.