HAJ Ensuring Fair Home Acquisition
By: , March 22, 2019The Key Point:
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Managing Director at the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ), Gary HowellThe Facts
- “We try to ensure that persons who are benefiting from these low-income housing solutions are first-time homeowners, so we primarily utilise persons with National Housing Trust (NHT) benefits. We know NHT has a stringent system, which ensures that once you obtain your benefit you cannot get another NHT mortgage,” he noted.
- “What we don’t want is a situation where because persons have the money they buy more than one of the units cash and then capitalise on it by later reselling it at a significant price. This results in persons who were really in need not getting the opportunity to purchase a unit at the initial price,” he pointed out.
The Full Story
Managing Director of the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ), Gary Howell, says that the agency is ensuring that only deserving beneficiaries can access low-income homes.
“We try to ensure that persons who are benefiting from these low-income housing solutions are first-time homeowners, so we primarily utilise persons with National Housing Trust (NHT) benefits. We know NHT has a stringent system, which ensures that once you obtain your benefit you cannot get another NHT mortgage,” he noted.
“What we don’t want is a situation where because persons have the money they buy more than one of the units cash and then capitalise on it by later reselling it at a significant price. This results in persons who were really in need not getting the opportunity to purchase a unit at the initial price,” he pointed out.
Qualified NHT contributors are eligible to apply for a loan to build, buy or repair/improve their home.
Currently, an NHT contributor can be granted a maximum loan of $6.5 million.