Residents of Havana Get Titles

Twelve residents of the Havana community in Trench Town, South St. Andrew on February 15 received their property titles from the National Housing Trust (NHT), having completed payments on their loans.

The titles were presented by Minister of Transport, Works and Housing, Hon. Dr. Omar Davies and Managing Director, NHT, Cecile Watson, during a handing over ceremony at the Trench Town Community Centre.

Dr. Davies, who is also Member of Parliament for the area, congratulated the residents, noting the receipt of a title to their own home was a significant milestone in their lives.

“You are now home owners, you are equivalent to anybody in Cherry Gardens, Mona Heights or Hope Pasture…it is therefore your obligation and responsibility to ensure that your community meets certain standards (to ensure that the value of the property does not diminish)…You have an investment (which) you should protect…it is a very important change in your lives,” he stated.

He encouraged the other 44 residents in the Trench Town Housing Scheme to take advantage of the opportunity so that they too can become homeowners.

“We need to strengthen home ownership in the urban areas of Kingston and St. Andrew because I believe that one of the reasons for the decay, which has afflicted so much of our country, is when owners leave those units either to relatives or for renting and they cannot collect the rent, so there are no repairs taking place and I think it is important that we begin bit by bit, to increase the number of owners and persons who care,” he said.

Dr. Davies said that regardless of the income level of the residents, “we should seek to make the communities here, as good a place to live as anywhere in Jamaica and the first task is to tackle the scourge of crime and violence. We are not where we want to be totally but I am willing to tell you that these communities are far safer than they ever were before”.

The ceremony is another important milestone in an ongoing project to regularise occupancy of units originally handed over in 1976 to NHT mortgagors, who bought into the scheme, but later abandoned them.

In May 2002, the Trust offered occupants first preference to buy the units at market price. By November 2007, the portfolio was reduced to 73 accounts, which valued $4 million in loans and interest. The portfolio was further reduced to 56 accounts in September 2009, with a value of approximately $2. 7 million in loans and interests.

The entire regularisation process requires the occupants to: indicate interest in purchasing the unit by signing the ‘Interest to Purchase’ form; make a 15 per cent deposit; agree to and honour a payment arrangement to settle the balance; sign the instrument of transfer and any other legal document upon settling the full purchase price; and collect the title for the unit.

Mrs. Watson informed that the Trust determines the purchase price of the units based on their market value at the time the new mortgagors pay the deposit.

She explained that the selling price for the current purchasers is $145,000 providing they complete the sale process by May 31, 2012, adding that the selling price thereafter will be $180,000.

Mrs. Watson informed that the Trust will continue to offer this special programme to residents of Havana until March 31, 2013.

Trench Town Housing Scheme is one of five communities in which the Trust is undertaking the regularisation exercise. The other schemes are: Denham Town, Beverly Gardens, Central Kingston and Tawes Pen.                                                   

By Chris Patterson, JIS Reporter