Posted on: Friday, April 1, 2005
Waiahole tenants get help in financing mortgages
| • | Committees schedule Waiahole land hearings |
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
WAIAHOLE — The state has made it possible for residents and farmers struggling to finance mortgages for property in the Waiahole Agricultural Park and Residential Subdivision to obtain loans to build homes or make repairs.
The board of directors for the state's Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawai'i approved the sale of the leasehold interest for the land in the subdivision, which was acquired by the state in 1977 to ensure agriculture use in the valley after hundreds of people protested urban development there.
A leasehold interest provides the property value for which a loan can be secured.
In June 1998, lessees received a 55-year lease from the state but the value of the lease was limited to crops and any improvements.
Under the leasehold-interest sale agreement, lessees will pay HCDCH a premium of 5 percent of the leasehold based on fair-market value. The remaining 95 percent would be financed through a deferredisales-price program and a sharediappreciation-of-equity program. Basically HCDCH subsidizes the initial sale, sharing in any appreciation when the property is sold.
"HCDCH's concept of 5 percent of the market value is a very good compromise," said David Chinen, president of the Waiahole-Waikane Community Association. "The key is affordability and the people of the valley can now afford to build a house. I'm very pleased."
The association has been seeking a resolution for the issue for four years, Chinen said.
Being able to secure the leasehold interest is especially beneficial for the people who were in the Self-Help housing program, he said, because they were unable to move forward with construction when they couldn't qualify for loans.
The Self-Help Corporation of Hawai'i also obtained a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for infrastructure in the valley, including such things as grading, Chinen said. The money is for the Self-Help projects but because they stalled over the mortgage issue, the money was in jeopardy, he said.
"I sincerely appreciate the time and effort extended by HCDCH in offering an affordable leasehold premium to the Waiahole-Waikane lessees," said Claudia Shay, executive director of the Self-Help Housing Corporation of Hawai'i. She said her staff "will now be diligent in packaging the loans to prepare for the residential construction."
HCDCH administers 92 long-term leases in Waiahole Valley — 54 residential, 36 agriculture and two commercial. At the end of the lease, residents will have an option to extend the lease for 20 more years.
"This is a win-win situation for all parties involved," said Stephanie Aveiro, executive director of HCDCH. "We all have the same goal of providing an affordable way for residents to build their homes." Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
