Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 10, 1 October 1997 — BOT restructures home Loan program [ARTICLE]

BOT restructures home Loan program

: By Poula Duibin At its Sept. 23 meeting in Wailuku, the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Afl'airs approved a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Hawaiian Homelands and First Hawaiian Bank that would provide Native Hawaiian homesteaders access to home loans on new and more favorable terms. OHA is funding the program with $20,000,000; DHHL is providing the applicants; and First Hawaiian is processing the loans. Under the new plan, interest rates for homesteaders have dropped to 3 percent, compared to the going rate for the general public ranging between 9 percent and 12 percent. Program applicants also pay a onetime processing fee equivalent to 1 percent of the loan or $250, whichever is greater. The program has expanded to include interim construction and self-help projects. Home improvement loans through the program are capped at $50,000; down payment loans at $20,000. ForinformationcallOHA'shousingdivisionat 594-1905. ■