OHA offering mortgage help
By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hundreds of Native Hawaiian families who lack the cash for traditional home loans would be able to get mortgages under a program announced yesterday involving the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Bank of Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank and the federal Fannie Mae loan program.
"Too many Hawaiians are without homes of their own in their own homeland," OHA Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona said.
The OHA Homeownership program would provide $135 million in financing and is expected to provide mortgages for 400 to 600 families, said Doug McWilliam, customer account manager for single-family business for Fannie Mae's regional office in Pasadena.
Carl Cunningham, mortgage banking sales manager for residential loans at Bank of Hawaii, said the banks will offer 100 percent financing for first-time homebuyers who don't have enough for a down payment, while OHA will back an extra 3 percent loan to cover closing costs.
Corbett Kalama, a senior vice president of First Hawaiian Bank who was one of 11 children in his family, said if the program had been in place when he was young, "we would have owned our own home."
The combination of OHA involvement and extensive pre-loan counseling for Hawaiian families sets the program apart from other no- or low-down payment mortgages available in the market, Cunningham said.
The Census indicates 56.5 percent of the 403,240 housing units in Hawai'i are owner-occupied, while 52.4 percent of units occupied by Hawaiians are owner-occupied.
But the average Hawaiian household size of 3.44 people is much higher than the overall average of 2.92, the Census says.
The new loans will be offered at market rates, with normal minimum income requirements, for owner-occupants only, to a maximum loan of $451,050.
Applicants must be at least 18, U.S. citizens, and have signed an affidavit that they are Hawaiian. Almost 240,000 of Hawai'i's 1.2 million residents say they have some Hawaiian ancestry, according to the 2000 Census.
Applicants may have incomes no greater than $77,860 on the Big Island, $106,420 on O'ahu, $95,710 on Kaua'i, and $99,110 on Maui.
People interested in the loan program may call toll free to Bank of Hawaii at 1-888-828-7996, or First Hawaiian Bank at 1-866-342-6420. Community workshops on the program begin in 10 days; people interested in registering may call 521-5011.
The program will help those who don't qualify this time to deal with debt and savings issues so they may qualify in the future, said OHA trustee Rowena Akana, who worked to develop the program.
Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8054.
