Hawaiian loan rule revised

Advertiser Staff

A change in a federal rule will make it easier for more Hawaiian homesteaders to finance the building of their homes.

The new Federal Housing Administration rules, which take effect July 15, will make all homesteaders who are at least one-quarter Hawaiian eligible for FHA-insured mortgages.

Homesteading, which started more than 80 years ago with the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, allows leases to be awarded to those with at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood. The original law allowed the lease to pass upon death to a spouse, child or grandchild who is at least 25 percent Hawaiian; other relatives could inherit but had to be at least half Hawaiian.

The new rules will allow more families to transfer their leases and build homes sooner, said Micah Kane, chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission.