Properties Jamaica | Jamaica Real Estate Portal

In the current economic climate; you may be wondering if you really should buy your house this year. The fact is, many unique opportunities could be opening up for homeownership, and this might just be your break to become a homeowner.

Here’s a scenario for you: ‘Omar’ got the opportunity to own his very first home this year. His wife and two children had been occupying a one-room rented premises. He dreamed of having his own place – using his own bathroom and his own kitchen rather than sharing facilities with other tenants. But it was not easy on his salary. One day he sat the family down. “We are going to buy our own home this year but it is going to mean greater sacrifices,” he told them. “We‘ll have to sacrifice buying that new pair of shoes for Roger or the graduation ring for Michelle; it may mean we even have to eat less!”

Then the hunt for an affordable house began. The cost of most of the houses Omar and the family looked at was way out of their reach. But they never gave up and one day while combing through the classifieds, his wife noticed a partly finished three-bedroom house on sale. The house was a shell. There were no doors, windows, bathroom or kitchen fixtures. The walls were not rendered; the house was not wired for electricity. There was a roof but there was no ceiling. Should they go ahead with this? Omar wondered.

His wife however, thought they should buy it. “It will take a lot of work but the family will be happy to pitch in and help,” she told him. But Omar wasn’t sure if the National Housing Trust (NHT) would lend him money to purchase an unfinished unit. As it turns out, the NHT does in fact lend to qualified contributors who want to buy unfinished units. However, the money they lend, plus any savings you have, must be sufficient to buy the unit and bring it to a point where you can move in.

In Omar’s case, the unfinished house and the land together cost $3 million. They estimated that they would need another $1 million to make the house habitable. Based on their salary, he and his wife could get a loan of $2.5 million from the NHT. This meant they would have to find another$1/2 million to complete the purchase of the property and $1 million more to fix it up. Omar had to prove that he could find the remaining amount, which is $1.5 million, before the NHT would lend.

Before the NHT lends funds for the purchase of an unfinished unit, the NHT also needs to ensure that the following are in place:

• A surveyor’s report to determine whether there are many breaches on the building or the property.
• A plan for the unfinished unit, that has been approved by the local authority (Parish Council or KSAC)
• Inspection reports by the local authority and /or the lending institution or a registered professional (Architectural/Engineer), which attest to the structural integrity of the building.
• A Bill of Quantity – This details the items, quantities and cost to make the unit habitable.

Additionally, once the NHT is satisfied that the building is sound and that the contributor is qualified for the loan, they will lend the funds.

Omar and his wife got the NHT loan. In less than six months, they moved their family out of the rented one-room premises and proudly into their newly finished home. How’s that for a happy-ending??