How difficult is it to convert property to "legal duplex" on Oahu

[Kenneth Burdick]

Out-of-state investor that has been following the market in Oahu for a few months now. Been looking into possibly purchasing a small multi-family (duplex/triplex/fourplex) as a long-term rental. I'm seeing quite a few of these types of properties for sale, but mostly they seem to be the type of property where the units are not separately metered and I'm not even sure if they're technically legal. The issue that I see here is that could mean that I end up having to cover many of the utilities myself. So my question is this - does anyone know how difficult it is to get the city/county to approve converting these types of properties into "legal" duplexes, triplexes, etc. with separate meters, etc. If this is a routine process, it could be a game changer with some of the projections I'm running. Would love to hear from any of you who have experience on this front.

Thanks!

Ken