NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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NHT and the
Partnership Agenda “We are aware that despite our achievements and position as market leader in the residential construction sector, not enough housing solutions are brought to the market each year, particularly at the lower end. This challenge will serve as our primary area of concentration over the next years, and will only be successfully surmounted through greater partnerships with our various stakeholders in the housing market”.
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he above excerpt from former NHT Board Chairman Hon. Easton Douglas’ message in the National Housing Trust annual report for 2011-2012, brings to the fore two key issues. On the one hand, it is an admission that there is a need for more to be done to deal with Jamaica’s housing challenge. On the other hand, it points to one of the most effective ways in which this can be done, namely, through strategic partnership arrangements.
Housing delivery is indeed a chain of many partners. There are the construction financiers such as the NHT and the banks; the developers/builders from both the private and public sectors; the mortgage providers; and the professional service providers such as architects, surveyors and valuers. Add to this the development approval process and other agencies involved in the process, and the chain gets even lengthier. But the length of the chain should not necessarily negatively affect effectiveness and efficiency in the sector. As
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
long as systems are in place to facilitate the required interface, the sum of the whole will be indeed greater than its parts, and the result will be an efficient housing and community development sector which sees units being delivered on time, within budget and at the most affordable prices. The NHT is committed to an efficient housing delivery process, and as the organization gets ready to enter its 40th year in 2016, forming strategic partnerships which can stimulate greater efficiencies in the sector, is an ideal to which the Trust aspires.
To date, the Trust has been gratified to have participated in a variety of partnership arrangements to bring more affordable housing to the market and to facilitate the efficient delivery of related services. With regard to the former, some of the initiatives the NHT has undertaken overtime are as follows: • The Interim Finance Programme: The NHT works with develop-
ers in both the private and public sectors to offer loans at concessionary rates for housing development. Over the past five years, the Trust has provided $8.6 billion in construction financing on concessionary terms, to private sector housing developers and to the Housing Agency of Jamaica, and has gone further to provide mortgage loans to contributors to purchase the units built under this financing programme. • The Joint Finance Mortgage Programme: The Trust works with the
major building societies to provide loans
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on more affordable terms to NHT contributors who access their benefit and combine same with funds from the building societies. Over the past 3 years, a total of $10.6 billion was disbursed by the Trust to fund 2,578 mortgages which were sought by NHT contributors under this initiative. • Joint venture with the Unions:
The Unions Estate development at Twickenham Park, St. Catherine, stands as proud testimony to what can be achieved through strategic partnerships. The 654 well appointed units at the development now owned and occupied mainly by civil servants, resulted from an agreement the NHT entered into with the Jamaica Civil Service Association and the Joint Confederation of Trade Unions to provide housing on more affordable terms for public sector workers and their families. Under the agreement, 80% of the units in the development were sold directly to public sector workers who were selected based on criteria laid down by their unions. The NHT sold the remaining 20% of the units
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller leads the signing of the YUTE Build agreement with Minister of Education Rev.Hon, Ronald Thwaites (seated left) and Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, Hon. Dr. Morais Guy, (seated right). Others in photo are (standing l-r) Chairman of YUTE Limited - Mr. Joseph Matalon, former NHT Chairman - Hon. Easton Douglas, and NHT Acting Managing Director - Mr. Martin Miller.
to its general contributor-population who were eligible to apply. • First Step Homes Product: The
offer of this housing product to low income earners was only made possible through a collaborative effort involving the NHT, the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing and Food For the Poor. Under this partnership, funded by the NHT, starter homes priced at less than $2 million, are provided for contributors in the lowest income bands. To date, beneficiaries
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FOR SALE
Residential Lots & 2 and 3 Bedroom Houses of First Step Homes are to be found in housing developments at Hampden in Trelawny, Bellrock in St. Thomas, and Meylersfield in Westmoreland. The product has also been offered to NHT contributors wanting to build on their own individual lots, outside of NHT developments. • Sugar Workers Housing Programme (SWHP): Over 2,000 former
workers in the sugar industry have been beneficiaries of this partnership involving the Government of Jamaica, the NHT, the 9 sugar estates and the unions which represented workers in the sugar industry. • The Greater Portmore Housing Scheme: This project is significant for
being the largest housing development in which the NHT participated. It is also significant for the remarkable transformation that has taken place since the scheme was established. The development was a true partnership of public and private sector interests coming together to help provide affordable housing. The NHT was proud to combine resources with the other entities in the partnership leading to the successful completion of this massive project. A government initiated project, the development was funded primarily from the San Jose Accord funds through the governments of Venezuela and Mexico, the Commonwealth Development Corporation and the NHT. The then Ministry of Construction (Housing) provided the land, and the Caribbean Housing Finance Corporation and the NHT provided financing for the mortgages. West Indies Home Contractors (WIHCON), were developers of the project. The partnership facilitated the delivery of some 10,000 housing units to the market.
• The Christian Gardens Joint Venture: Of a much lesser magnitude but of no less importance, was the joint venture partnership the Trust entered into in the 1990s with the then Mutual Life, to provide 90 housing units to the market. The agreement was noteworthy as it marked the first time that the NHT was pooling resources with a financial institution in the private sector, to facilitate the delivery of housing. The NHT and Mutual Life both had a 50% share in this partnership. • Employer Joint Venture Programme: Although this facility is no
longer in place, it too represented a unique housing partnership in action. For example, employers participating in the programme and whose equity was land, would receive units to the value of their equity, which would be reserved for sale to their staff. • Parish development Plans: NHT
has also been partnering with the National Environmental Planning Agency (NEPA) and the parish councils in funding parish development plans, as part of its contribution to facilitate physical development. To date $34.9 million has been spent on this initiative. NHT’s partnership agreements are not restricted to housing provision per se, as demonstrated by the YUTE-Build programme. Under this programme which started in 2012, the Trust entered into two memoranda of understanding with the Government of Jamaica and a private sector company Youth Upliftment Through Employment Limited, to fund a train-
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
ing programme in construction skills for young persons in innercity communities. To date, the programme has trained 115 participants for self-employment or employment in the construction industry. In 2012/13, the Trust also collaborated with an external funding entity, the Universal Access Fund, to boost capacity building in NHT scheme communities. As can be seen, partnership arrangements are nothing new for the NHT. In fact, it can be said that the NHT started as a partnership: involving employers in the private sector, the trade unions, and the government. What must be done differently however is to make these arrangements more efficient where required, more sustainable, and to expand their reach so that homeowners who expect to benefit, do so on the best terms. Jamaica’s housing challenge is too important a matter for any one entity to believe it has the wherewithal to manage single-handedly. Even with what some may regard as adequate financial resources, an entity such as the NHT must, as a deliberate business strategy, pursue partnership arrangements which can add value to the housing delivery process.
The National Housing Trust now has solutions at Sandhills Vista, in Hellshire, St. Catherine and Longville Park Phase 3, in Clarendon, for sale. Both developments are equipped with amenities for your convenience and safety. SANDHILLS VISTA
LONGVILLE PARK PHASE 3
2 Bedroom Units
Large Lots
87m2 (936.5ft2) $10.22 Million
743m2 (7,997.6ft2) $3 Million
3 Bedroom Units
2 Bedroom Units
108.3m2 (1,165.73ft2) $12.52 Million
77.9m2 (839ft2) $7.3 Million
Sale is open to NHT contributors who have never received a mortgage loan from the NHT. For more details, call the NHT Call Centre at
1-888-225-5648 or visit www.nht.gov.jm or the nearest NHT office.
The NHT commits to such an approach and invites other industry players to join hands with the organization in making housing more affordable to Jamaicans.
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NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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THE VISION
IS ALIVE “When the National Housing Trust Act was passed in the nation’s Parliament in 1979, it spelt out a great vision for the newly created entity. That vision was to bring into being an organization which would provide affordable housing to Jamaicans who contribute to its operations. That institution would be funded by employer and employee contributions to create a pool of savings, and special attention was to be paid to the housing needs of lower income earners.”
T
oday, almost 40 years later, that great vision remains very much alive, and the Trust continues to work in pursuit of achieving it.
It is interesting to note that the Trust was initially given legal life through an amendment to the National Insurance Act of 1976. From its very beginning, the NHT was positioned and firmly entrenched in the Jamaican psyche as being part of a parcel of social policies to help transform lives and enhance self-esteem. Like the other social legislation of the period such as that establishing a national minimum wage, maternity leave with pay and the workers’ right to join trade unions, the National Housing Trust Act was intended to
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“Since 2012, the NHT has spent some $57.5 billion providing loans, mortgages and other benefits to NHT contributors. This has included approximately $1.5 billion in housing grants to contributors who earn under $10,000 per week and who have been contributing to the Trust for more than 10 years.” -Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller
make Jamaicans feel that they counted. It was further intended to assure them that a mechanism was being put in place to help them meet their basic need for shelter. The emergence of the NHT also imbued a sense of hope in our workers, that one day they too could rise to own a “piece of the rock”. Owning a home would no longer be a foreign concept to the majority of Jamaican workers. The NHT had been born, and it would make a difference to home ownership patterns in Jamaica. What are some of the ways in which the Trust has made a difference? Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, who also has portfolio responsibility for the NHT, had this to say at the handing over ceremony for lots in the Creighton Hall Scheme in St. Thomas in March this year: “I note that over the past 40 years, the NHT has continued to make a major contribution to national development and the advancement of its contributors by increasing and improving the existing supply of housing; creating affordable housing solutions; providing housing related benefits for contributors and facilitating social services and physical infrastructure for communi-
ties which have been developed by the Trust.” These are but a few of the ways the Trust has evolved to make a difference in the lives of Jamaicans. By so doing, the NHT is laying a solid foundation for the future, in helping to make “Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business”. However, the Trust knows that although it has been making a difference in the lives of Jamaicans, more needs to be done to meet Jamaica’s housing challenge. For this to happen, the spirit of partnership which characterized the NHT’s genesis, must be strengthened as the organization approaches its 40th year in operation. It was never thought by the government, trade unions and private sector interests which gave life to the NHT, that this one of a kind institution would ever be able to solve the nation’s housing challenges on its own. As a matter of fact, the very composition of the NHT board, as spelt out in the NHT Act, shows that the Trust was intended from its very beginning, to be a partnership. The Trust would therefore like to
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
commend those entities and individuals which have joined hands with the organization over the years to make housing more affordable to Jamaicans. At the same time, the NHT invites others to join the partnership agenda for affordable housing. When we all pull together and in one direction, the task becomes more manageable, the motivation more fulfilling and the goal more of a reality. In her presentation at Creighton Hall, the Prime Minister also commented on aspects of the NHT’s performance over the past 3 years. She said: “Since 2012, the NHT has spent some $57.5 billion providing loans, mortgages and other benefits to NHT contributors. This has included approximately $1.5 billion in housing grants to contributors who earn under $10,000 per week and who have been contributing to the Trust for more than 10 years”. The Prime Minister concluded by noting that: “the ownership of a home or land is vital to well-being and wealth creation and for propelling individuals and families forward socially and economically. It is a critical part of ensuring a quality standard of living for the people of any country”.
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Primary Surplus (J$B) 2014/15
2015/16
2016/17
2017/18
122.00
126.00
135.00
150.00
within the country during a particular period of time which can be a month, a quarter or a year, while the debt is an accumulation of fiscal and current account deficits and the assumption or take over of debts incurred by public sector agencies such as, the National Water Commission (NWC), the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) and the National Road Constructing and Operating Company (NROC), just to name a few.
THE NHT: CONTRIBUTING TO MACRO ECONOMIC STABILITY AND GROWTH
O
utside of the provision of affordable housing, the NHT’s major contribution to the country since its inception is perhaps the $11.4 billion per annum which it has been paying over to the Ministry of Finance in order to help meet the primary surplus target. This is the most important variable to macro economic stability, debt reduction and growth because it measures the amount of money which the government is setting aside in order to pay down the country’s $2 trillion debt.
By Ralston Hyman
Under the current Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement with the IMF, which was signed, following the breakdown of the Standby Agreement entered into in February 2010, the Government agreed to set aside 7.5 per cent of GDP or $7.50 out of each $100 of final goods and services produced in the country each year in order to bring the country’s debt to GDP ratio down to 96 per cent by
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
2020 and to 60 per cent by 2025. The major plank of the current IMF agreement is to reduce the debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio from the 145 percent that it reached when the negotiations commenced in order to accelerate growth. GDP is simply the market value of all final goods and services produced
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The fiscal deficit measures the difference between what the government collects from tax and other revenues and grants and what it spends on wages, programmes, fixing roads, schools and interest payments. Meanwhile, the current account deficit measures the difference between the money the country gets from merchandise or physical exports, tourism, remittances and services, as well as short-term inflows from private and official sources and that which is paid out for the same purposes or to the same sources. During the fiscal year 2014/15, the primary surplus was $122 billion and it is programmed at $126 billion during the fiscal year 2015/2016 and $135 billion in 2016/17 and $150 billion in 2017/18. The NHT’s contribution helped the government to meet this most important target because the revenues and grants generated by central government were not and will not be enough to meet the target while fund-
ing the wages/salaries of public sector workers, recurrent programmes and capital stock. It is important to note that failure to meet the primary surplus target would lead to an erosion of investor confidence because they would feel that the country cannot pay its debts. This would lead to a suspension of draw downs from the IMF and its multilateral partners-the World Bank, IDB, the EU and the private capital markets, the dollar would start to slide again, prices would start to increase again, workers would lose jobs and there would be shortages until confidence is restored. The NHT is therefore playing a vital role in macro economic stability and growth through its contribution of $11.4 billion per annum to the meeting of the primary surplus target, which is the key variable and anchor of stability under the current IMF agreement. The country has already passed seven out of 15 IMF performance reviews (tests) including the primary surplus targets, leading to an improvement in investor confidence, which is manifested primarily in increased foreign direct investment inflows to various sectors of the economy, including energy, business process outsourcing, infrastructure and mining. Passing these tests has also led to a resumption of lending by the private capital markets, the IMF, World Bank the IDB and grants from the EU.
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
The breakdown of the 2010 agreement, which involved some US$2.4 billion in funding, resulted in Jamaica being treated as a pariah or an outcast in the international financial community. This means that the country was not able to draw down the funding programmed from the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Union (EU) that were partners to the agreement. The country was also unable to borrow from the international private capital market and this resulted in a shortage of US dollars and a steep decline in the Net International Reserves and steep fall in the value of the Jamaican dollar, leading to price increases or higher levels of inflation. The current administration therefore had to re-engage the IMF in order to stabilize the situation and as a result, it had to give an undertaking to the IMF, World Bank, the Inter American Development Bank and the European Union (EU) as well as the private capital market that it would pursue prudent macro economic policies in order to stabilize the situation. Meeting the primary surplus target consistently is the most important signal the country can send to its local and international creditors as well as development partners, that the government is serious about meeting its commitments to them, and the NHT is helping it to send this important signal.
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Reflecting on a Record of Performance There are certain milestones which command more attention than others, and approaching the “big 4-0”, is one such occasion. It‘s usually a time for looking back on where you are coming from, taking stock of where you are now and planning for the future. As the NHT approaches its 40th year in operation, the time can be deemed right for one of these periodic corporate reflections, and I feel honoured to be given the opportunity to undertake this review.
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by the then Prime Minister, Michael Manley and
I also will be looking at the NHT’s performance from the perspective of being someone involved in the planning and development process, and in the protection and conservation of the environment. Having headed various departments and agencies working alongside the NHT, and having served as a Director on the NHT board in 1981, also provide me with additional perspectives through which I can assess the organization’s performance. There were also my stints as permanent secretary and Minister of Housing at different times; these I regard as additional lens through which I can review the NHT’s performance. And of course, as Chairman of the Trust’s Board of Directors for the past three years, the intimate knowledge I have gained of the Trust’s operations, places me in good stead to now reflect on how it has been doing overall. Being in existence for over 39 years, the NHT has grown to become one of the best managed public agencies in Jamaica. In looking at its performance, I do so anchoring my assessment in the prescriptions of the NHT Act, which lays out the mandate of the organization. I also do my assessment looking at the policies established and the operational imperatives flowing from the mandate.
to examine and report on the system of funding
Section 4 of the Act, which states: “The functions of the Trust shall be:
By Hon. Easton Douglas OJ, CD, JP, MSc, FRICS
hen I reflect on the work of the NHT since its establishment, I
do so wearing many caps. For
example, how well I recall being
a member of the delegation sent to Mexico in 1974 the then Housing Minister, Anthony Spaulding,
housing in that country. This visit formed part of
the preparatory work leading to the establishment of the NHT.
a. To add to and improve the existing supply of housing by – i. Promoting housing projects to such extent as may from time to time be approved by the Minister;
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ii. making available to such contributors as may be prescribed, in such manner and on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed, loans to assist in the purchase, building, maintenance, repair or improvement of houses; and iii. encouraging and stimulating improved methods of production of houses; b. to enhance the usefulness of the funds of the Trust by promoting greater efficiency in the housing sector”. The Act goes on to say that the NHT has the power to specifically: i. Develop projects
ii. Fund social services and infrastructure iii. Invest monies iii. Write mortgages iv. Collect contributions
v. Refund contributions, and vi. Grant loans and other mortgage services to various organizations and institutions as it sees fit. Achievements In keeping with the mandate, the Trust’s achievements can be examined under six broad headings. These are: 1. Project Development (Housing Completions)
2. Complementary Social Services and Infrastructure 3. Underwriting mortgages
4. Collecting and managing Contributions 5. Refunding Contributions
6. Making loans to and/or entering into partnerships with other entities. Project Development (Housing Completions) The NHT has completed more than 90,000 solutions since 1976. Of this
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Ready to go: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller is ably supported in the groundbreaking exercise by, l-r, former NHT Chairman, Hon. Easton Douglas; Acting NHT Managing Director, Mr. Martin Miller and Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, Hon. Morais Guy.
number, 45% were classified as NHT housing schemes. At an average outturn of approximately 2,300 solutions annually since inception, the NHT has been the largest single contributor to the residential construction sub sector of the economy for years. Maximum completions in one year was 8,334 in 1996. The post Hurricane Gilbert years (1989 – 1990) saw the least construction activity. This period was characterized by a focus on home repairs, in keeping with the overwhelming need for the repair of damaged homes. Between 2002 and 2013, the Trust accounted for 50% (22,000) of the houses completed nationally. Additionally,
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Some beneficiaries who received lots at Creighton Hall, St. Thomas, in March, 2015. many of the units completed by the private sector were built with loans provided by the NHT. In keeping with the mandate to construct housing developments, the acquisition of parcels of land is an ongoing activity which supports investment in the establishment of a land bank for continuing development. However, the demand for housing, like many other goods, is likely to shift based on various factors. As such, the NHT employs a two-tiered housing demand estimation process to support its construction development activities. These are (1) a general Housing Demand Survey for each parish conducted in 5-year cycles, (2) the more targeted Site Specific Demand Surveys which are conducted before the planning of each development. Social Services and Infrastructure The construction of residential homes is more than putting in the capital infrastructure and physical units. The NHT is also investing heavily in building communities. Once the NHT undertakes a development, a
minimum of five years is spent helping to organize community groups to effectively govern their affairs. Several other avenues are used to improve the fabric of the lives of our contributors. The “Best Schemes Competition,” “Music for Social Transformation,” “Environmental Clubs,” Summer Camps and behavior modification programmes are all used to engage the communities on a regular basis. Various skills training programmes are also provided for members of specific communities in an effort to help them increase their income and provide for their families.
tem in Agualtavale, St. Mary is testament to NHT’s actions in this regard.
The provision/improvement of schools, community centres, sporting facilities, police facilities, technology centres, water and sewerage treatment facilities for not only NHT schemes, but also for surrounding communities, are features of most projects constructed by the NHT. The investment in Central Wastewater Treatment Company to eliminate the sewage entering and polluting the Kingston Harbour, and the recent announced partnership with the National Water Commission to develop a $700M water supply sys-
Mortgages Written The NHT is the most dominant player in the Jamaican mortgage market. The considerable influence that can be ascribed to the NHT because of market share is tempered and contextualized by the organisation’s strategic goals and its relationships with other mortgage providers and developers of housing solutions. Of paramount importance however, is the NHT’s relevance to its contributors which is often measured by the extent to which their expectations are met.
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The Inner-City Housing Programme (ICHP) and the Sugar Workers Housing Programme (SWHP) are the most recent examples of NHT’s effort to help to remedy some of the social challenges that affect many of our contributors. A total of 1,244 mortgages were written under the ICHP and 2,363 under the SWHP, directly impacting the lives of more than 14,000 Jamaicans. These facilities were subsidized by the NHT to make the solutions more affordable to the beneficiaries.
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The NHT controls the flow of funds that it provides to its contributors and the mortgage market through the institution of a loan ceiling to its borrowers. This ceiling has been increased on ten occasions since 1989. Overall influence on the market is also impacted by the Trust’s interest rate regime, which effectively pulls down the overall interest rate. The biggest subsidy that is passed on to our contributors takes the form of interest rate subsidies. At an estimate average mortgage interest rate of 9.5%, NHT contributors would pay almost twice the amount of interest they now pay, which is 4.95%, if the organization did not subsidize this rate. The value of this subsidy approximates $7 billion a year. The NHT has written more than 185,000 mortgages since 1976, housing about 700,000 Jamaicans. The historical average of 4,700 mortgages annually has been surpassed every year since 1995. The NHT wrote more than 36,000 new mortgages over the past 5 years, an average of more than 7,200 loans per year. The organization is on
course to nearing this annual average for 2014/15. The value of mortgages written between 2009 and 2013 totalled $90B or 63% of all residential mortgages written in Jamaica. When one considers that another $18 billion of mortgages reported by other institutions over this period was financed by the NHT, the importance of the institution in the sector becomes more pronounced. Approximately 40% of the NHT’s more than 102,000 current mortgagors earn below $10,000 weekly. At interest rates of 1% to 3%, each member of this group can only afford to borrow a maximum of $2.5M. It is with this in mind that the Trust launched the First Step Homes (FSH) product in 2012. Under this programme, our lower income contributors can access a super studio unit at $1.2M (if they have access to land), or approximately $2.4M if it is in an NHT Scheme. The FSH programme is a partnership with the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, and Food For the Poor. The NHT has paid out a total of $2.1B
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in subsidies and grants directly to its contributors over the past five years. It has also subsidized construction projects to the tune of $1.1B over the period, while land is sold to contributors at historical cost. The Trust provided $875M in home grants to 730 beneficiaries in the last two years. Home Grants are available for NHT contributors earning under $10,000 per week who have been contributing to the Trust for more than 10 years. Low income earners who obtain Home Grants can use these funds to augment the loan amounts they can afford, so that they can purchase shelter solutions which might not have been within their price range. Collection of contributions The collection of contributions is critical to the effective functioning of the NHT. A total of $96B was collected over the past five years. Funds collected from our contributors are used to finance housing expenditure, which totalled $107B over the same period, exceeding contributions collected by 11%. Given that the contributions the NHT
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collects are integral in the provision of houses and other services by the NHT, it is important to underscore that without these funds, the Trust cannot function at an optimal level. It is not uncommon for the Trust to seek redress for delinquency through the courts. The organisation has implemented various means to collect outstanding monies. Additionally, the requisite systems and officers to track and collect amounts due, have long been in place and are revised to meet changing requirements at regular intervals. Refund of Contributions Section 21 of the NHT Act stipulates that each contributor is eligible to claim amounts paid over as contributions “within twelve months after the seventh anniversary of the end of the first contribution year.” The Trust has made every effort to ensure that contributors are aware of this, placing advisories in the media, and on its website. This push to educate our contributors in this regard has been successful; an average of 78% of amounts becoming due (per year) was paid out between 2005 and 2014, an increase over the 36% average payout for the years 2001 to 2004. More than 150,000 contributors have been refunded in each of the past five years, at an average value of $3.4B annually. The institution of an online application system for refunds, has vastly improved the process, making it more convenient for contributors. Loans to and partnerships with other entities The NHT provides funding for private developers of housing under its Interim Finance programme. Several communities in St. Andrew, Westmoreland, St. Catherine, Clarendon, St.
James, Trelawny, and St. Ann have been constructed with the funds received from the Trust. This facility has also been extended to the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ). Several of that agency’s developments have been constructed with funding assistance from the NHT. Over the past five years, the NHT has loaned $8.6B under this programme, with 56% going to private developers, and the remainder to the HAJ. The NHT also enters into joint venture development partnership with other entities from time to time. Several institutions such as churches, schools and colleges, as well as some umbrella groups have received institutional loans from the NHT. These loans were extended to build housing facilities and dormitories for faculty, students and other members. A total of $2.03B has been loaned to these groups over the past 10 years. Over $29B has been loaned to NHT contributors via the Joint Finance Mortgage Programme – a partnership between the NHT and the building societies, since the programme was introduced in 2003. The programme has helped to build the capacity of NHT mortgage partners and improved service convenience to beneficiaries. The Trust understands the importance of the wider mortgage industry to the economy of Jamaica and has sought to bolster it where possible, as a willing partner. Conclusion The NHT is an asset to Jamaica. Its work has influenced the opinion of 72% of Jamaicans that the NHT is doing what it was created to do (NHT Public Perception Survey 2014).
positive influence on the housing sector, completing a half of the newly completed housing solutions over the past 10 years and underwriting 63% of all mortgages over that period. It currently pumps more than $38 billion annually into the Jamaican economy and remains the beacon of hope for many Jamaicans who desire to own a home one day. In essence, the NHT has been good for Jamaica, and Jamaica has been good to the growth and development of the NHT.
More LOTS for you!
On reflection, it is my opinion that all Jamaicans should commend the NHT for being among the most successful government agencies over the past 39 years. Yes, there have been challenges and disappointments along the way, but these have been balanced by operating within the legal and policy mandate from its conception. This institution ranks very highly among the financial community and real estate development entities in the Caribbean, and it has been a privilege for me to have participated in the experience from the Trust’s conception, establishment, growth and continuing contribution to the fabric of development.
The National Housing Trust invites qualified contributors living or working in St. Elizabeth to apply for 108 serviced lots at Balaclava Heights in that parish.
Generally, there is an excellent team at both the policy and operational levels. It is imperative that the Board, management and staff continue the quest for excellence in order to sustain their remarkable levels of expertise, discipline and commitment.
The development comprises large lots with all the infrastructure necessary for successful applicants to immediately start construction. Balaclava Heights is within easy access to schools, shops, places of worship and other vital social amenities.
Hon. Easton Douglas was Chairman of the NHT Board of Directors from April 3, 2012 to April 2, 2015.
SIZE OF LOTS
546 – over 1,346 m2 (5877 - over 14,488sq ft) APPLY BETWEEN
1-888-CALL-NHT (1-888-225-5648)
Monday, May 4 & Wednesday, May 6, 2015
APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ONLINE AT
www.nht.gov.jm
Information sheets are available at NHT offices and at www.nht.gov.jm.
The Trust has been able to insert a
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the NHT St. Catherine Branch Office, the scheme has truly become part of the NHT family.
Unions Estate:
Partnership in Action 0n March 3, 2010 Monic Johnson a practical nurse at the Kingston Public Hospital and her family moved into their comfortable spacious apartment at the Unions Estates housing development in St. Catherine. The prospect of being home owners had made the family so excited that no wonder they had been the first occupants to move into the then newly established community. The move had been made to coincide with Miss Johnson’s spouse’s birthday, so overall the family had at least two reasons to celebrate that day.
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hen asked, five years later how she felt about owning a home, Miss Johnson was pleasantly at a loss for words initially. However, she soon recovered her eloquence as she transitioned into
a reflective mood. She noted: “when I got the key, it was just wonderful.” She paused with a thoughtful expression and continued: “when you are paying rent, at the end of the day it is not yours, but this is ours. I am happy
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
knowing that one day we will be able to pass it down to our kids”. After five years into home ownership, Miss Johnson is even more elated that she and her spouse had decided to make Unions Estate their home. She says that her family is comfortable in their own home: there is a great feeling of community, her son plays football with the other children in the development, and she has good relationships with her neighbours. The Unions Estate scheme stands resplendently on the Mandela Highway, a powerful testimony of what can be achieved through partnerships for housing. Being a stone’s throw from
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Monic Johnson’s pride, joy and sense of achievement in owning a house in the beautiful Unions Estate Scheme was reflected by another resident, Anneta Garwood, who owns an apartment in phase one of the development. Miss Garwood, a teacher by profession, joined the Unions estate community in May 2010 and was very thrilled to move into her home. For Miss Garwood, moving into the community when it was still without electricity was not much of a challenge because her enthusiasm to occupy her unit and create a more personal space, more than compensated for the temporary inconvenience. In echoing the sentiment of many homeowners, Miss Garwood notes: “there is no better feeling than owning your home… bye bye rent”. One needs only to see her in her warmly decorated unit to witness the pride of accomplishment. Her satisfaction in owning her unit puts a twinkle in her
eyes which serves to complement her engaging smile, when she speaks of her unit and her achievements in personally decorating it. She has indeed converted her house into a home. All this was made possible through the collaborative effort of the Jamaica Civil Service Association’s Housing Company Limited, the Joint Confederation of Trade Unions, and the National Housing Trust. In 1994, the NHT was approached by both entities to jointly develop 50 acres of land at Twickenham Park, St. Catherine. All three entities subsequently entered into an agreement which led to the development and construction of the Unions Estate Scheme. Under the agreement, the NHT partners contributed the land for the development, as well as a team of consultants; while the NHT provided funding of $ 6.1 billion dollars and was Project Manager for the development. Beneficiaries of the project were mainly civil servants. Of the units in the scheme, 80% were marketed through
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
President of the Jamaica Civil Service Association Mr. O’Neil Grant, shares a light moment with Miss Annetta Garwood in her apartment at Unions Estate. the joint project partners, with the NHT marketing the remaining 20% among its contributors through its Priority Index Entitlement System. The development boasts three phases, consisting of a total of 654 two-and-three bedroom apartments and townhouses. All three phases are now occupied and have in place their respective Strata body. For most homeowners, the acquisition of a home produces its unique joys. For Monic Johnson and Annetta Garwood, the opportunity was afforded them through the joint venture between the NHT and the Unions. Being public sector employees, Misses Johnson and Garwood benefitted from a special home ownership partnership which gave birth to Unions Estate. More partnerships like the one at Unions Estate are required to help Jamaica deal with the demands of the housing challenge. Through such partnerships, hundreds of persons have gladly said “ Bye-Bye rent”! Page 17
1. Developed plans to broaden the contributor and revenue base by making it easier for the members of the Diaspora to become contributors;
Transformational Leadership:
2. Launched the ‘NHT on Wheels’ to reach more Jamaicans such as those in the deep rural communities to inform and register them so that they too can become proud homeowners;
The NHT Adapts to Change Transformational leadership, also called change leadership, recognizes that the environment that any organization operates in is always changing. That organization must change with it. Leadership must correctly read the environment, accept change and plan strategies in a timely way. What are the most challenging aspects of the Jamaican environment now?
I
t is no secret that since 2008, the Great World Recession has hurt economies badly, big and small. Jobs have been lost, and in Jamaica, contributor revenues have gone down with these jobs. The economy has contracted and
companies have found it hard to keep up with contributions. Government contributions and debts to the NHT have been harder to pay. Yet, the NHT has been expected to meet the usual expectations for affordable housing even under these circumstances.
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
The NHT has met the special financial contribution to the Government of Jamaica under the Economic Reform Programme since 2012. It meets its obligations every time. How has the NHT responded?
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3. Pursued organizational re-alignment to achieve more value for money spent on the organization. Less time will be spent serving more customers. 4. The economy needs reviving. The construction and financial sectors are crucial to this. How are the NHT’s activities contributing directly to improvement in the economy? 5. NHT loans and mortgages add billions of dollars to the economy - over $57 billion in the last three years, specifically through the construction sector. This benefits producers of building materials and furniture. It benefits the professional and skilled workers, and individuals who buy and sell property in the private sector; 6. The special contribution to Government stabilizes the economy. Ralston Hyman (see article) puts
it best when he says, “The NHT is playing a vital role in macro-economic stability and growth through its contribution of $11.4 billion per annum to the meeting of the primary surplus target, which is the key variable and anchor of stability under the current IMF agreement.” This also assists with stabilising the dollar and protecting the purchasing power of Jamaicans; 7. It has invested in properties in many areas with rising values, that are poised for development. As confidence in the economy continues to rise, these investments will yield more value to the NHT’s assets. The NHT has come up with creative solutions to staff benefits, public sector housing, housing for young professionals, for the disabled and those among the indigent and homeless. It contributes to social stability and to people’s hopes for a better life. How? • It has programmes to assist those at the level of the minimum wage; • It provides housing grants for those earning below a certain amount; • It has worked out joint financing programmes;
• It has contributed to job training through YUTE; • It works closely with the trade unions for workers’ housing; • It has assisted in repairing housing and police stations for the security forces. The NHT has come through all of this. Its assets are safe. It has not had to borrow one cent and has no reason to do so. It continues to make its refunds. Transformation will continue. Transformational leadership will bring greater economic stabilization with each successful IMF performance test; stronger customer service and happier beneficiaries; and affordable housing for more Jamaicans as the economy improves. Transformational leadership rests on the premise that if the economy is not doing well and jobs are being lost, there will be very few persons able to contribute to the NHT and it would face failure. Transformational leadership therefore supports economic growth, job creation and social protection. The NHT is playing its part and providing housing solutions at the same time.
• It has reduced interest payments for the lowest income bands;
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Satisfied Customers – Our Goal
I
n any typical business transaction what do customers value most? Quality products that suit their needs
and excellent service that meets or even surpasses their expectations.
In 2006, the NHT won the Public Sector Customer Service Competition in the multiple agency location category. In 2011, the Trust repeated this feat and again in 2012, the organization was proud to collect the coveted trophy in the competition. What are some of the things the Trust has done to receive this level of recognition from its customers? The following is but a synopsis: • developed and implemented flexible loan policies
At the NHT, our customers require
• redesigned its loan processes to make them more efficient
nothing less. They want to have
• offered a varied product-mix
convenient and easy access to our
• conducted demand surveys to better identify customers’ housing needs
services in a professional environment which treats them with the respect and dignity they deserve. The customer service imperative is high on our agenda of strategic objectives. To reflect this, we had set ourselves the goal of achieving a 93% customer satisfaction rating by 2015. But by 2012
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
we had actually realized this goal. This is not by accident. Through a deliberate programme which incorporates, among other things, the researching of customer needs and training of staff to effectively deliver on those needs, the Trust has attained a reputation for being among the best customer service entities in the public sector.
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• leveraged technology to offer online services such as e-banking, e-statements, refunds and scheme applications online • maintained a service delivery that ensures an NHT office or service centre in every parish
• implemented an NHT Mobile facility that gives greater access to NHT services in rural Jamaica • operated a full-fledged call centre, incorporating web chat and social media services • implemented a complaints management system, and • managed a website that offers information and services to some 250,000-300,000 visitors each month. These efforts have not gone unnoticed among NHT contributors at home and abroad, as they themselves have acknowledged: Sue-Ann Wint-White and Albert White, St. Catherine: “The moment we met Mr. Ryan Campbell at your customer service area we knew that God had chosen the right person to take care of us. He was very welcoming, polite, knowledgeable, humble, efficient, understanding and I really could go on with more positive adjectives to describe this connoisseur of customer service…Ms. Kemoy Small was our loans officer and what a gem she is. These two individuals let us feel valued, important and comforted … Mrs. Hartley, my husband and I would really like to acknowledge the professionalism of these two individuals who really went above and beyond”.
tomer service representative made my day. Very few times you go places and individuals maintain or even provide quality customer service, and she did. I observed her, and her qualities are not fake. They are real .” Bedon Bryan (Happy Customer), Canada: “I am writing this as a humble note of appreciation for the outstanding customer service and excellent support provided by your Compliance Officer Jessica Meredith... Ms. Meredith took care of all my queries and questions effectively and in a jiffy. This is a happy occasion for me as I am in Canada, and I would not complete the process so successfully if it was not for her... I have dealt with many government offices in Jamaica and this is the best service I have ever been offered, given with such a caring approach and true professionalism... Please accept my gratitude towards her and your customer care staff for their speedy and efficient services… I would love to recommend your company to all my Jamaican friends and colleagues who needs this service in the future. Keep up the good work”. Truly, the Trust’s goal is to satisfy its customers, and satisfied customers are both a valuable asset to the NHT and partners in the business of making home ownership a reality.
Wendy Davis, St. James: “I did my NHT returns today and your cus-
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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tion, environmental awareness and governance.
Building Communities:
Building a Nation “NHT will lead the nation in providing and stimulating the establishment of
The latest enhancement to the competition was the introduction of an Entrepreneurial Challenge in 2014. This initiative targets individuals with business ideas or existing small business, who are to be provided with training, mentorship and cash incentives to develop their ideas/businesses into sustainable economic projects. Through the NHT’s Social Development programme, sponsorship opportunities are also available to residents within NHT scheme communities who are interested in learning a skill. Organizations such as St. Peter Claver and St. Pius Skills and Training Centres in Kingston have trained over 60 NHT sponsored individuals in recent times. Through the skills training/
upgrading facility, many residents have gone on to have successful and fulfilling careers and are able to adequately pay their bills and provide for their families. A skilled workforce is essential to the Jamaican economy and so the NHT encourages high quality vocational routes among residents within its communities. “I think coming to school and learning a skill is better than staying home, ”Andrea Sinclair, resident of Palm Grove Court and student of St. Pius, said. Sinclair studies cosmetology and said that she has had a fulfilling experience since starting the course, and that she has been receiving support from people within her community, who now access her services. Other NHT scheme beneficiaries such as young people in the Providence
communities characterised by well maintained housing and facilities, low levels
Heights development in St. James, have also been able to access training in music, a vehicle which they can use to help transform their lives to being more productive. The Trust contributes to community development through social infrastructure amenities such as Emancipation Park. This rare jewel on the New Kingston landscape serves as an oasis, where Jamaicans can remove themselves from the hustle and bustle of daily life and simply relax. The NHT recognises the importance of creating a sustainable society for Jamaicans. The development of holistic communities will definitely support this national goal. Rosemarie Langoth, Director and Founder, Longville Park Theatre and Cultural Movement (front right) poses with youth from the Longville Park community.
of community and inter-personal conflicts, proximity to educational and recrea-
tional institutions; and an orderly, clean, safe and aesthetically pleasing environment in which all residents enjoy a sense of pride.”
T
his quotation, taken from a recent NHT Strategic Plan, encapsulates the Trust’s commitment to the establishment and maintenance of wholesome communities. In essence the statement is affirming the NHT’s aim to not just construct physical structures, but to help build sustainable communities, in which these structures are located. Over 700,000 Jamaicans have benefitted from housing solutions offered by the NHT since its inception. Committed to serving the needs of Jamaicans across the length and breadth of the island, the NHT ensures that each of
its development is equipped with the necessary infrastructure. Each housing development is furnished with standard play areas for children, as well as a community centre. There’s also a highly developed water supply system. So advanced is the supply structure that there are times when surrounding communities and its environs are able to benefit from the system put in place by the NHT as part of its scheme development. This was the situation at both the Longville scheme in Clarendon and the Hellshire development in St. Catherine.
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
In some schemes, such as Longville where plans are afoot to establish a police station, individuals purchasing NHT housing solutions can feel a greater sense of safety and security. This scheme also saw the Trust building an access bridge which helps even residents outside the development to move around more conveniently. The NHT Best Schemes Competition is another tangible effort of the Trust working to build communities. Open to all 132 NHT built schemes, the competition encourages communities to showcase what they have achieved in the areas of culture, health, educa-
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The Partnership that Works NHT and Developers taking Jamaicans home Patrick and Balyn Dennie are thrilled with their house at Jacaranda near Old Harbour. They moved into their neat two bedroom unit a year ago after a search for places to rent in the Corporate Area and St. Catherine had come up with nothing suitable. “It was time to get our own house” Mrs. Taylor-Dennie says. “When we toured the one at Jacaranda, my husband said ‘I can just see myself living here.’ I love my house, I love the community, I am happy that the NHT was there to help me in so many ways.”
M
rs. Taylor Dennie is knowledgeable about the NHT, to the point where she can provide basic information about its benefits to friends and associates who are interested. But she admits that at the time of purchase, she hadn’t known that the NHT had anything to do with the construction of the scheme where she now lives. All she knew then, was that the scheme had been built and was being marketed by a well established housing developer and as far as she knew, NHT’s role was simply to give loans to contributors who wished to buy there. The story is somewhat similar at Stonebrook Vista near Falmouth where Dameian and Samantha Elvin have also settled comfortably into the two bedroom house they bought three years ago. Like the Dennies, the couple are also NHT beneficiaries and they are clear about the impact that the Trust has had on their personal lives. “We live in a community that is considered a prime place to live right now and the NHT has helped many of us to realize our dream here,” Mr. Elvin says. Since buying their house the Elvins have learned that the scheme had been built through a partnership between the NHT and
the developers. “I used to wonder why there were not many more NHT schemes in this area, not realizing that the Trust had a large amount of investment in the ground in Trelawny through private means.” In addition to providing interim financing for the construction of 782 houses at Stonebrook, the Trust had also financed Holland Estates. Senior General Manager Construction and Development, Donald Moore says that from its inception, it has been a policy for the Trust to lend funds to private housing developers and government entities such as the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) , at below market rates, to facilitate the construction of solutions. Except for a short break, the programme has continued uninterrupted since 1977. This provision of interim financing to developers arose from the recognition that no single entity could address Jamaica’s housing need. Private players would therefore be critical partners in the process. “It has been a win-win situation” Mr. Moore says, reflecting that it was through interim financing that West Indies Home Contactors was able to help ease the tremendous housing pressure in the Kingston
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
Metropolitan Region by building roughly 10,000 Greater Portmore units in the 1990s. Delroy Alcott, CEO of WIHCON agrees. He says that funding from the NHT has been integral to that company’s ability to produce many of the houses that it has. What’s more, he adds, the NHT is open to discussion and responsive to feedback from its clients. He recalls that in one instance private funding had become cheaper than financing from the Trust. “We brought this to their attention, presented our arguments and succeeded in having the rates reduced for all, to 5%. The programme is indeed a fantastic one.” he adds. Sylvester Tulloch, principal of Kemtek Development and Construction Limited, whose Stonebrook Vista was built between 2011 and 2013 says “The financing provided by the NHT has been vital to the industry because with funding in place, developers are able to do projections and implement projects with less worry than if they were sourcing money from other avenues.” Under current arrangements the Trust funds up to 100 percent of developers’ construction costs at concessionary interest rates of five per cent for housing solutions that will be sold at prices recommended by the Trust. Developers pay a higher rate of nine per cent for loans to construct housing solutions sold at higher than the recommended NHT prices. Within the last ten years the NHT has provided over $16.35 billion in financing for the construction of privately developed schemes which added some 6,962 solutions to the national housing stock.
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INTERIM FINANCED DEVELOPMENTS 2004 - 2015 PROJECTS
PARISH
The Aviary - Phase I
St. Catherine
150
The Aviary - Phase II
St. Catherine
228
The Aviary - Phase III
St. Catherine
219
The Aviary - Phase IV
St. Catherine
103
Boscobel (2011 HAJ Project)
St. Mary
258
Caribbean Estates
St. Catherine
947
Caymanas Country Club Estate
St. Catherine
476
Congreve Park Manor (Portmore Country Club - Phase II)
St. Catherine
108
Heathfield Palms
St. Catherine
17
Hellshire Glades
St. Catherine
165
Holland Estate Phase I
Trelawny
98
Huddersfield Estate (Apartments)
St. Mary
22
Jacaranda Phase III
St. Catherine
120
Jacaranda Phase I
St. Catherine
230
Jacaranda Phase II
St. Catherine
176
The Kensingtons
Kingston & St. Andrew
Kings Manor- Phase 1
St. Andrew
5
Montego Bay Racquet Club
St. James
29
Morris Meadows - Phase I (IF)
St. Catherine
414
Morris Meadows - Phase II (IF)
St. Catherine
90
Morris Meadows (Townhouses)
St. Catherine
26
Palms of Portmore
St. Catherine
65
Portmore Country Club
St. Catherine
274
Portmore Villas - Phase II b
St. Catherine
230
Rosevale Estates - Phase I
St. James
174
Rosevale Estates - Phase II
St. James
162
Rosevale Estates - Phase III
St. James
157
Stadium Gardens - Phase II
Kingston & St. Andrew
56
Stadium Gardens - Phase III
Kingston & St. Andrew
50
Stonebrook Vista
Trelawny
400
Stonebrook Vista - Phase II
Trelawny
382
Victoria Palace
Kingston & St. Andrew
Westmeade
St. Catherine
Wellington Cove (Apartment) - Phase II
Kingston & St. Andrew
Whitehall Phase III
Westmoreland
155
Whitehall Phase III
Westmoreland
593
White Water Meadows
St. Catherine
142
TOTAL
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
TOTAL
30
48 125 38
6,962
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Partners in Housing... The NHT has helped to increase the housing stock by providing interim financing to assist in funding the construction of almost 7,000 solutions over the past 10 years. Pictured Jacaranda, St. Catherine
are some of these developments.
Hellshire Glades, St. Catherine
Hills of Boscobel, St. Mary
Caymanas Country Club Estate, St. Catherine Stadium Gardens, St. Andrew
Stonebrook Vista, Trelawny
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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average of 150,000 contributions per year; providing loans to individual contributors and developers; and developing housing projects. The NHT therefore strategically focuses on the competence and wellbeing of its employees spread across 13 parishes islandwide.
NHT’s Acting Senior General Manager, Corporate Services, Mr. Neil Miller receives a Certificate of Participation for the Employer of Choice Competition, from the Chief Exective Officer, Jamaica Employers’ Federation, Mrs. Brenda Cuthbert. Looking on is NHT’s former Chairman, Hon. Easton Douglas.
Employer of Choice and By Choice When the NHT was adjudged the winner of the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF) prestigious Employer of Choice Award for 2013/2014, it was another recognition of how well the organization is viewed among third party stakeholders. The Trust earned the top spot out of a shortlist of 11 organizations in Jamaica, to cop the coveted award at a ceremony held on May 19, 2014. On that occasion, the Trust also received sectional awards for ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’, which it shared with another entity, and ‘Occupational Safety and Health’. NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
T
he JEF Employer of Choice designation indicates that an organisation’s human relations policies and practices and its overall corporate culture, attract a superior staff corps that delivers high quality products and service. The NHT requires a highly skilled and professional staff to manage its varied portfolio that includes overseeing the compliance of approximately 500,000 employees, employers and self employed operators; managing an active portfolio of over 103,000 mortgages; refunding an
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The Trust maintains a staff scholarship programme which favours studies in construction, banking, urban planning, management, finance, accounting and social work, key disciplines which are required for its efficient operations. In addition, the NHT invests in in-house job specific training to ensure continuous improvement. For instance, since 2011, 112 staff have been certified by the International Customer Service Association. The Trust aims to train all staff in international customer service standards. Investment in staff development pays dividends. The Trust has won first place in the biennial Public Sector Customer Service Competition (PSCSC) three times: in 2006, 2011 and 2013. A number of NHT staff have also received commendations for excellent customer service in the PSCSC. Internationally, the Trust has also been the proud recipient of an award, as in September last year, over 60 organisations from across the world voted the NHT the 2014 International Best Practice winner for using Signature, an information management software used by more than 100 financial institutions worldwide, to improve business processes. The
Trust received this recognition in Orlando, Florida at the Signature User Group Conference. Another accolade came via the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) 2011 Doctor Bird Chapter Award of Merit for the Trust’s standard of project management. PMI made especial mention of the NHT’s Project Genesis that upgraded the online contributions refund application system.
A Fun Place to Work
Visionaries Toastmasters, Emancipation Optimist, domino, cricket, netball, basketball, football and marathon clubs and the NHT Chorale are some of the groups through which staff can engage and develop their other interests.
Contributors serving Contributors
Service, innovation and professionalism are values of NHT staff. Each employee takes very seriously the privilege of being a contributor serving contributors. Ms. Lorna Walker, chief internal auditor, and an employee for 35 years, says, “I fell in love with the NHT in July 1979 when I came here. I fell in love with its mission and wanted to be a contributor to that mission, which I considered to be most noble and laudable.” Mrs. Janet Hartley Milwood, Manager of the St. Catherine Branch, and employee for 29 years heartily explains, “At the heart of what we do is delivering practical solutions to our customers. I admire this about the NHT. There is room for improvement. But I am confident we will continue to make necessary improvements. Just look at CRTD [Contribu-
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
tion Refund Toward Deposit]; the number of these we have processed to help first time mortgagors with their closing costs is wonderful.” Ms. Marcia Watt, clerk/receptionist at the St. Elizabeth Service Centre, and an employee for 19 years says joyfully, “Every morning when I get into the office, I am motivated to work to the best of my ability so that at the end of the day I am satisfied that I have touched contributors’ lives, and I have contributed to building up the NHT and building up myself.” Mrs. Glendaree James Forrester, office attendant at the Hanover Service Centre for five years, states “I recognise the sense of purpose in my customers because I have the same sense of purpose. I love to put myself on their side and ask ‘what if I was the person asking the question’. I would want to be served in a dignified manner. Therefore, I serve customers how I want to be served.” Mr. Oneil Virgo, compliance inspector at the St. Ann branch for one year, explains, “I’ve always admired the NHT, even before I started working here. When I would come in to pay my mortgage, the staff were always pleasant, bright and chirpy. The customer service was always on point and the office and restrooms always looked good. I have great work ethic and attitude. I can work well anywhere. But working at the NHT makes me feel good and motivated.” At the NHT, service is key.
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Homecoming
at Sandhills Vista & Creighton Hall 3
1. Former Chairman Hon. Easton Douglas gets a warm embrace from Denise Jeffries as she receives keys to her unit at Sandhills Vista, Hellshire.
4
2. Among those attending the handover ceremony at Creighton Hall on March 6, 2015, were (l-r) board members Pastor Michael Harvey, Sonia Hyman, Custos of St. Thomas Marcia Bennett, board members Percival Latouche, Vincent Morrison and Hon. Daisy Coke. 3. Mr. and Mrs. Panton share a light moment with board member Sen. Lambert Brown. 4. Sean Thomas speaks about his lot at Creighton Hall with NHT board members Sonia Hyman and Sgt. Raymond Wilson. 5. Beneficiary Marigold Webber and board member Clayton Hall discuss the benefit of the 50,000 gal. water tank, at Creighton Hall. 6. Megan Swaby shouts “Hallelujah�, as she receives keys to her unit at Sandhills Vista from board member Pastor Michael Harvey.
1
7. While viewing a unit at Sandhills Vista, beneficiaries Mr. and Mrs. Dacosta share a photo with board member Mr. Robert Buddan (centre).
5 6
7
2
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Reaching more partners at home and abroad It is a bustling Saturday morning; push carts, vendors and shoppers jostle for space in the market and on the street. An announcement interrupts the sound from boom boxes and voices advertising goods for sale, “The NHT is here.” The loud speaker directs everyone to a well-marked booth set up in the market. A vendor leaves her stall in the care of a neighbor and approaches the NHT booth “Mi glad oonu come!” she says. NHT staff member, Alicia Harris provides information to a customer who visited the NHT mobile on its stop in Old Harbour.
T
his has been the NHT’s experience at various contact points across the island; Christiana, Coronation Market, Black River, Browns Town and more. In an effort to widen its reach to non-contributors, the NHT sometimes takes the office onto the streets, providing registration and a range of other services. Every Jamaican who is between the ages of 18 and 65 and earns at least the minimum wage, is required by law, to contribute to the Trust. This requirement applies to persons employed by others, the self-employed and persons such as ship workers who are ordinarily resident in Jamaica but work overseas. At the same time, every employer is required to deduct contributions from workers’
wages and pay these sums over to the Trust along with an employer’s own contribution of 3% of the wage bill of the business. But not everyone contributes. NHT’s figures show that only roughly 54% of registered companies deduct and pay over contributions for their employees and that just over 64,000 of the nation’s self-employed, are now registered. Many persons in need of housing earn below minimum wage or are only sporadically employed, and so are not eligible to contribute to the NHT. The Trust’s focus is therefore on those who though eligible remain outside of the NHT contributor population and who therefore cannot access the range of benefits and services that the Trust provides.
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
“Most working people could not become homeowners without financing from a mortgage institution” says NHT’s Senior General Manager Customer Relations Management, Dr. Lanie-Marie Oakley Williams. “As it stands, the NHT offers the best interest rates to would-be home owners. In addition, there are a range of other concessions to help increase accessibility by persons in the lowest income groups. It is therefore important that we continue to educate the public about the opportunities the Trust presents, and the need for persons to contribute in order to benefit. We also enforce compliance because the organization’s ability to deliver is directly related to the workers’ and employers’ contributions.” Dr. Williams continues. Some strategies to engage persons
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not yet contributing, include compliance fairs at various town centres and the targeting of special employment groups such as small business operators, hairdressers and barbers through visits to their places of business. “We take the initiative to find people but on other occasions, groups may also invite us to talk to their members” says St. Thomas Branch Manager Cotchesta Watson whose staff, at the time of this interview, had just returned from making a presentation to taxi operators at a gas station in Morant Bay. The NHT On Wheels, a mobile service, has also played an important part in the Trust’s outreach programme. The unit transports staff to rural townships where potential
contributors, who have been invited by way of text messaging, attend to do business with the Trust. Through programmes such as these, the Trust adds an average 8,000 new self-employed contributors every year.
Reaching Jamaicans Overseas
Jamaicans living overseas continue to express interest in contributing to the Trust. NHT surveys show that such persons usually wish to return home to live at some later stage or plan to assist someone still living in Jamaica to access housing. Over the past ten years, the NHT has placed many of its services online and this improvement has helped hundreds of persons overseas to maintain contact with the Trust, with many doing so as voluntary contributors. In the meanwhile,
NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST SUPPLEMENT I SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
the Trust has a number of proposals to address the needs of contributors living overseas. These include provision of services to guide house construction and the construction of communities into which Jamaicans living overseas may wish to buy. “There are as many Jamaicans living overseas as those living on the island,” Dr. Williams concludes. “Many remain committed to developing facilities and infrastructure at home. We therefore see their continued contribution to the Trust as an endorsement of the work that we are doing and a commitment to partner with us to improve the quality of life of their family members here in Jamaica.”
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Helping land owners to obtain titles
W
Cluster Housing
- Beneficiaries Partnering with Beneficiaries
B
eneficiaries too do have a role to play in accessing housing on more affordable terms. For example, those building on their own land, can help reduce building costs through such means as sweat equity and bulk purchasing of material. For some construction tasks, the services of friends and neighbours may be available free of cost or at least at rates lower than market rates. Coming together to buy building materials can also result in savings. But there is an additional route through which cost efficiencies can be achieved, and a group of beneficiaries in Hanover who accessed their home loans under the NHT’s Cluster Housing Concept are proof of how this can be done. The Cluster Housing policy allows three or more contributors to pool their House Lot loans to purchase a parcel of land that can be subdivided
into individual lots. The policy allows for up to nine lots to be sub-divided out of the parcel of land. Apart from purchasing the large lot, the pooled loans can be used to subdivide the lots and splinter the titles, and to install infrastructure on the property. Infrastructure may include roads and facilities for water and electricity. The NHT will allow up to 30 per cent of the House Lot loan to be used for purchasing and installing infrastructure. A contributor may borrow up to $1.5 million as a House Lot loan. When the beneficiaries in the cluster are ready to build their units, each person can obtain the difference between the House Lot loan and the Non-Homeowners loan. A contributor may borrow up to $4.5 million dollars under the NonHomeowners loan programme. A group of staff members at the Round Hill Hotel in Hanover have a unique and fascinating story to tell on how they went about achieving their home ownership aspirations. Their employers had gifted them a 30-acre property which could be further sub-divided into 54 individual lots. Their acumen for administration and teamwork led them to form a “Development Committee” which adminis-
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tered the property’s development. The property needed a road system, water, electricity; and to be subdivided into individual lots each with their own title. To finance the project, the group estimated the overall cost and divided the cost among the beneficiaries of the individual lots. This helped them to start working towards a goal they may not have been able to achieve on their own. Cluster Housing has assisted 28 Round Hill staff. To date, the splintered titles are available and most of the infrastructure is installed. Ms. Karen Grant a member of the cluster says: “to cover all the costs so far, we applied a cost sharing measure. So when we were doing the valuation, we got one valuator to value the entire property and paid him one fee. When we start building, the Development Committee will purchase the materials one time. It’s like we will be having one big hardware on the site that everyone can go to for their materials.” Cluster housing is not for everyone. But it may be the best option for a group of contributors who have an ideal property in sight and a common goal to develop it for the benefit of all members of the team.
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hen you have land you simply possess or have access to it. But when you have a registered title to that land you not only possess the land but more importantly you own it. There’s a big difference between possession and ownership.
A registered land title contains information such as who are past and current owners of the land. It also contains information on matters such as: a. the location and description of the property; b. restrictive covenants that limit how the land can be used; c. outstanding mortgages or charges on the land; d. caveats or warnings that affect the property. As such, the registered title is a very important document, and once the land is to be used for any business purpose, it assumes significance in that transaction. However, it is a sad fact that a major deterrents to access to housing in Jamaica today and historically, is the unavailability of proof of land ownership in the form of a registered title. There are approximately 800,000 parcels of land in Jamaica and it is reliably estimated that 45%, that is just under a half of it, is unregistered. There are implications for this both nationally and individually. The following are some of the main ways
in which non-registration of land can affect individuals in search of housing: 1. failure to be able to access NHT benefits such as the Build On Own land and Construction loan-types 2. difficulties in selling and buying land, such as under Open Market sale arrangements 3. greater difficulty in resolving disputes relating to land ownership, and
4. non-protection against encroachment or trespassing on boundaries. A registered title therefore represents the best form of security for land ownership. Even outside of direct housing issues, a registered title is important to persons who wish to use their land to guarantee loans such as educational loans for their children. For inheritance purposes as well, it’s less complex for land to be passed on to your beneficiaries (for example in the case of death), when the land in question has a registered title. With no title, legal transfer of the land is very difficult and in some instances almost impossible, incurring vast attendant costs where such transfer can be facilitated. At the national level, unregistered land can serve to retard the country’s development plans. When vast tracts of land remain unregistered, they oftentimes cannot be used for stimulating productive activities that help to contribute to the nation’s economic life. A country such as Jamaica which is now poised on a developmental path needs to ensure that incidences of unregistered land are reduced, so that the nation’s productivity efforts can be enhanced. Increased land registration
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also supports the national strategy of ensuring safe, sanitary and affordable shelter for all, which is critical to the achievement of Vision 2030. Recognizing the importance of land titling, the NHT on its own and in partnership with the government’s Land Administration and Management (LAMP-2) project, has sought to provide assistance to its contributors who possess but do not own land. This intervention by the Trust has taken two forms. Firstly, the NHT offered its contributors a loan of up to $100,000 to help them upgrade their common law and other lesser titles, to a registered title under LAMP-2. Secondly, the Trust began offering a type of loan known as The Facility To Perfect Title (FPT).
What is the FPT?
The FPT was developed by the Trust in 2014, to help provide funding to contributors with unregistered land and who lacked the financial resources to get their land registered. Under the facility, qualified contributors can apply for a loan of up to 75% of the market value of the property for which the title is being sought or $1.2 million. The loan is repayable over 18 months at an interest rate of 3%. Other details on the Facility can be had from the NHT. Over the years, the NHT has developed an outstanding reputation of introducing initiatives to make it easier for contributors to access housing. The FPT is but one of these. A registered title is the best form of security that can be offered for a loan, such as a mortgage. As mentioned above, there are other important advantages to having a registered title to your land.
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I got through for a 2-bedroom house, but I had also applied for a quad and my son who was in the Army at the time and who applied with me decided that we could do much more with a quad so we chose the quad. I decided on the joint application because he was younger and that would give me a 30year mortgage and lower my monthly payments. We added a room, bathroom and living room before moving in. After a while, I added another room to the front, verandah and fence. Some years later, I did the upstairs- 2 bedrooms, bathroom and a kitchen so now I have a multi-family dwelling. I have paid off for the house and have my title in my hand. I am not only a home owner, I am a landlord. I have rented upstairs and am getting an income from that.
Getting the Right Start
T
he transformation that has taken place at the relatively older Greater Portmore Scheme in St. Catherine and the more recent Duncans Hills development in Trelawny, are but two examples of what can be achieved when the average Jamaican is given a start towards owning a home. No wonder we have developed a repute among some of our Caribbean neighbours, as being ‘house proud”
In the case of Greater Portmore, the largest scheme in which the NHT was involved, modest quad units, each consisting of one large compact room with separate kitchenette and bathroom were built in sets of four rooms per block of units. However, there was adequate facility for expansion as each unit had land space of 1,200 sq. ft. This space has been efficiently used by beneficiaries of the scheme, who in so doing have demonstrated their creativity and enterprise.
modest studio into spacious two storey house is Mrs. Narissa BuddingtonHind, a now retired office attendant,
who is happy to say how she did it. “Sometimes I say, ‘Is this really me?’. I am the proud owner of a house. I am grateful to the Housing Trust. Whether you are self employed or employed, NHT is a must. If you want to acquire a house, Housing Trust is a must.
When I think about what I have achieved as an attendant, I tell people, ‘never say never’. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t get through. I have encouraged a lot of persons and they get through.” Over at Duncans Hill in Trelawny, another of those modest NHT develop-
ments that has blossomed into a thing of beauty overlooking the Northcoast Highway, Mr. Landsdell Clarke shares how he moved from start to finish in the home acquisition process. “I grew up in a stable family and had a normal childhood playing marbles, gig, cricket and shooting birds. My parents owned their own home so it was only natural that I would want to own a home. Although I always knew that I would marry and have a family of my own, I thought that I would settle down much later than I did. But I met the love of my life and got more than I bargained for - 31 years of marriage. We could have opted to live at the family house in St. Ann but my wife wanted her own home and I was also for that, so we came together and paid down on a piece of land. But, it was taking too long so we took back the money and about the same time the opportunity to own a house in Duncans Hill came up. We were offered a one-bedroom but we declined because we had started a family by then. Around the same time, the NHT was negotiating to acquire lands and so we
eventually got one of the lots and we started building some months later. Within six months we moved in. We had one bedroom completed, a washroom that was 10x12 and the area under the staircase. We used the washroom for a temporary bathroom for my daughter and my son used the area under the stairs for a sleeping area. Overtime, we started on the upstairs. Sometimes I wake up at nights and think about what I have accomplished and I am elated. We started small and we worked together and eventually we reach where we are now. It is our own. It is real estate and very valuable. I did not even think that I would have accomplished so much. When I go out, I always look forward to come home. This is our little paradise”. Like Mrs. Buddington-Hind and Mr. Clarke, you too can start small and expand your unit overtime as your resources and need allow. This incremental approach to home ownership is nothing new in Jamaica. It just needs to be accepted by more persons, particularly those facing affordability problems at the time they are seeking to buy a house.
Duncans Hill, Trelawny
ABOVE: Nerissa Buddington-Hind stands proudly by her improved unit which began as a quad. (BELOW)
One of the beneficiaries of a Greater Portmore quad who has converted her
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Improving the Lives of Low Income Earners W inston George is a happy man today and he has every reason to be. Who would have thought that as a sugar worker who once lived in a one-room barrack house on the Golden Grove Sugar Estate in St. Thomas, Mr. George would now be the proud and very satisfied homeowner of a 2-bedroom, one bathroom house, which he now occupies with his family at Bellrock in St. Thomas.
But Winston is not alone in being provided with decent housing under the Sugar Workers Housing Programme (SWHP), a partnership formed in 2000 among the NHT, the nine sugar estates across the island and the three trade unions which had represented the workers in the industry. These unions were the National Workers’ Union (NWU), Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and University and Allied Workers’ Union (UAWU). The goal of the SWHP was to ensure that the living conditions of some of Jamaica’s most valuable workers, many of whom till then had remained without access to land, were vastly improved and their dignity uplifted as a result. Winston is also no ordinary homeowner. He symbolizes the spirit of self-help which many NHT mortgagors have demonstrated. Having obtained a lot at Bellrock in 2002 for the then price of $355,000, Mr. George who was then 52, years old and a father of three children, proceeded to what any responsible dad would have done to put shelter over his family’s head. According to him, he cleared the lot, minus the one sour sop and two breadfruit trees which were on
it, and began construction in earnest. When the little savings he and his wife, Novelett had amassed, had ran out, Winston returned to the NHT for a construction loan and got an additional $800,000 to borrow. He also helped to reduce costs through selfhelp means. For example, he assisted with mixing cement, casting columns and packing flooring. Such was his determination. He would not be fazed. A start was all he needed and having got it, he would persevere till his dream of owning a home was realized. And he did just that. Under the SWHP partnership arrangement, the NHT provided houses and lots to 2,363 sugar workers, most of whom were earning minimum wage or slightly above. Sugar workers and their families have received benefits from the Trust to establish homes at Appleton Estate in St. Elizabeth, Bernard Lodge in St. Catherine, Monymusk and New Yarmouth in Clarendon, Bellrock and Stokes Hall in St. Thomas, Frome in Westmoreland and Hampden in Trelawny.
Other benefits:
Sugar workers are one category of low income earners that can attest to the
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Trust’s efforts to provide them with housing at affordable prices backed by mortgages on easy repayment terms. In 2012, hotel workers who were earning under $10,000 weekly had their interest rates reduced, and although this concession is due to end this year, it no doubt brought into the beneficiary population, persons who may not have otherwise been able to afford an NHT loan, given their salary. A reduced interest rate facility was also offered to NHT contributors in the 1%-3% income group who were opting to buy land and/or to build a house on land they had already acquired. Under the Building Interest Rate Discount programme, potential users of the programme were offered a 1%-3% discount on their interest rates, once they were taking up such building loans between 2012-2015. The Home Grants facility has also been developed to increase affordability among its low income contributors. With a Home Grant, someone contributing to the Trust for at least 10-years and who is earning under $10,000 weekly can apply for a Grant to help buy or build a house. Home Grants are used to top up the beneficiary’s loan and are not repayable. The value of a Home Grant is $1.2 million. Over the past five years, the NHT awarded $2.1B in subsidies and grants to low income contributors. From 2012 – 2014 the Trust awarded $875 million in home grants to 730 beneficiaries earning under $10,000 per week, to access solutions they would not have otherwise afforded.
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Through price subsidies, the NHT also helps low income earners to afford housing solutions that would have been otherwise outside of their reach. The commitment to the low income earner is further cemented in the Trust’s Scheme selection policy which allows this group of contributors to earn more points from income than other groups do, under the Trust’s Priority Index Entitlement (PIE) selection system. With interest rate subsidies there are other significant gains for the low income earner. Currently, over 40% of NHT beneficiaries access loans at rates ranging from 0% to 3% compared to the national average rate of 9.5%. With these enabling initiatives, it is no wonder that lower income earners have been performing creditably as a group in terms of the take up of NHT mortgages. As at February 28, 2015, the Trust had 103,662 active mortgages.
Of this number 41,571 or 40% had been given to persons classified as low income contributors earning $10,000 per week or less. On the other hand, only 26% of mortgages are held by contributors earning more than $20,000 per week. In terms of specific product offers, the First step homes studios which sell for under $2 million have been specially developed for persons classified as low income earners. Beneficiaries have already accessed this product-type at the Hampden Scheme in Trelawny and the Bellrock (Phase 2) Scheme in St. Thomas. This unit-type is also available to individuals in the low income category who wish to build on land they own. Innercity Housing Programme Some 1,200 contributors in the low income group and who were residing in inner-city communities in the
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corporate area, are today living in attractively designed apartments at housing developments in the Corporate Area. This was made possible under the Inner-City Housing programme. Although the programme in its original form has been halted and an alternative Community Renewal initiative is being developed, the fact that it has delivered tangible benefits to low income persons in need, cannot be denied. Beyond a doubt, the Trust has been actively working to service the housing needs of its lower income contributors. The task is challenging, but the NHT’s commitment remains unwavering. As the Trust approaches its 40th milestone, it will continue to deploy creative thinking to effectively help its lower income earners, so that they are not left out of the housing market.
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Housing Our Young
Professionals
W
hether you consider yourself to be young, or simply young at heart or even not too young, once you are between ages 18-65 and meet the Trust’s loan application eligibility requirements, you fall within the pool of potential beneficiaries. The Trust serves a wide market including several young persons who have received benefits at an age well below that at which their parents had become home owners.
Many persons in this group are classified as young professionals, who at one time thought they were being left out of the NHT market for Scheme loans. But today, they are indeed benefitting, not just from NHT Scheme loans, but the other loan types offered by the Trust, such as the Build On Own Land and Open Market loans. For example, the Sandhills Vista housing development in Hellshire, St. Catherine is soon to be home to several of Jamaica’s young professionals who were among beneficiaries collecting their keys, at the recent handing over ceremony. For them, home in the new suburbia is now a reality. Ideally located in the serene Hellshire Hills, the elegantly designed Sandhills Vista consists of 130 two-Bedroom units, 50 three Bedroom units and 46 Serviced Lots. The 40-acre development, completed in December 2014 at a cost of $1.8 billion, is one of the NHT’s latest scheme offers.
Carol Joan daCosta and Sadekie and Imran Forbes were among the ecstatic NHT beneficiaries getting ready for life in the suburbs at Sandhills Vista. These young professionals were prepared to share their experience in converting their status from non-home owners to proud home owners. Carol Joan DaCosta: Quality Assistant, Sagicor “I have prayed for this morning, noon and night. When I saw the advertisement in November 2013 I said, ‘I am going at this one’. I remember, someone called to say that my name was in the newspaper. I got so many calls that day. Mommy called and said ‘congratulations mi daughter, thank you Jesus’. I couldn’t wait for the day I would get my keys. When the day came, I had to go to the HEART Foundation to do an ECG before going to collect my keys. I was so excited my heart was racing... I have come a far way from the farming community of Burnt Savannah, Westmoreland. To-
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day, I can say, I have reached. When I look at the unit, I could not have asked for anything more”. Sadekie Lyttle Forbes, Imran Forbes: Public Servants Sadekie: “There are not enough words to express the way I feel - privileged, dream come true - today I am feeling blessed. Our children call it the beach house. My message to young people is that anything is possible. You can achieve your dreams”. Imran: “My faith in my country has been redeemed in terms of its ability to provide for its citizens. I can look into my son’s eyes and know that he has something. It is a building block for moving out of poverty. We are young, we have options. This is one way of keeping us here and getting us to buy into the Jamaican Dream”.
NHT advertised Longville, I said to Hansel ‘I think you should apply’ and he did. Now that I own my home I can make projections, plan, have objectives, there is structure to our life.”
The sentiments by the prospective residents of Sandhills Vista were shared by a couple in the young professional category, Hansel and Deon Davis, who had received a 2-bedroom house in the Longville development in the neighbouring parish of Clarendon.
Hansel: “I am a teacher, I started out as a pre-trained teacher. The day we got the keys a neighbor expressed doubts about taking it. I said to her where else in the world you could pay $3,500, get 25 years to pay the balance and get keys? Nowhere else in the world that could happen. This is second to none. She responded to me by saying ‘stop there’. She moved in before I did.”
Deon: “I was living rent free at the family home in Chapleton but you know when you are living with relatives or they leave you in charge of the premises it is not a good thing because you become complacent. When the
But, loans in the young professional category are not limited to schemes, as the stories of Rhonda Sutherland and Denielle Williams demonstrate. With unbridled joy, these relatively young beneficiaries spoke of their sense of
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accomplishment and the perseverance that helped them to achieve their dream. Rhonda: (Build on Own Land beneficiary): “I decided to apply for a house lot because after discussing it with my husband and my mother they felt that I could get more out of the $4.5 million if I build. It has not been an easy road as my father died last year and my husband who was then my fiancée was off the island. I had a deadline to meet based on the building process and as I was talking to the technical officer at the NHT, I broke down and started crying. The officers at the NHT were supportive and encouraging. They said ‘you can do this, we are here to help you’. Now that I own property, I feel a sense of accomplishment. It is an investment.”
Sadekie Lyttle Forbes and Imran Forbes eficiary): “I know what I want and I decided why wait until I am old when I can start young, get a longer time to pay and pay a lower mortgage. It is awesome that I have achieved what most people in their 30s are still trying to achieve... When I come home, I kick off my shoes, open all my doors and windows and just feel comfortable in my home. I have planted a couple of fruit trees. The fence is next. Being a homeowner at 23 is cool.” The Trust continues to serve its young professional market segment with pride. By helping to make Jamaica attractive for this category of home seekers, the country stands to benefit from retained skills, some of which are rare and which Jamaica cannot afford to lose to the rest of the world.
Denielle - (Open Market ben-
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Mr Plummer was able to move in. Yes he admits, it is only a one-room house. But as he lives alone, that was quite a sufficient start for him. “The room was big”, he said. So I have parted it into two, along with a little kitchen and bathroom. I am comfortable. It is mine and that’s what is important”.
Chenry Plummer takes the First Step
Noting that he is very proud to have been an NHT contributor over the years, Mr Plummer has encouraging words for other contributors: “ I would advise others to continue to work with the NHT. It is a good organization. It helping the poorer class”. The First Step Homes product was conceived as a partial response to affordability issues affecting lower income earners like Mr. Plummer. With these units being sold for under $2 million each, they are affordable to most low income earners, particularly those eligible to access a Home Grant to help fund the purchase, like Mr. Plummer did. The programme is a partnership involving the NHT , the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, and Food For the Poor. NHT builds some First Step Homes on lands it owns, and sells the units as part of its offer in the Scheme benefit type category. However, beneficiaries of First Step Homes can also build on land they may have acquired independent of the NHT. Such persons are offered mortgages by the Trust to finance the building of their houses by Food For the Poor.
“Yes mam, I am happy for that little house. I am happy to have a nice home over my head. I thank the NHT and I hope they will continue to do the good work to help others own their home”.
C
henry Plummer needed no encouragement to speak. On the contrary, he was indeed quite eager to tell of his home ownership journey when an NHT representative contacted him by telephone to find out how he had been settling down in his new First step Home in Perth, Manchester. It was indeed a pleasure listening to Mr. Plummer. His was the voice of one who was grateful for being able
to own a home with the help of the NHT. Not only grateful was he, but the pride he felt in having achieved his home ownership goal permeated the very tone of his discourse. As he said, today he is indeed a happy homeowner. Like a young child taking his first step, an adult making the move towards owning a home can be faced with a totally different but equally awesome sense of uncertainty. Mr. Plummer was selected for a lot in the Perth scheme in January 2013. A little over a year later in June 2014, he went to the NHT office in Mandeville to see if he could get some more money to build a small house on the lot. However at that time he was faced with relatively small earnings, having
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been made redundant and relying only on an income from irregular contract work. His income had fallen so much that had he been in this position when he had applied for the land loan from the NHT, he would not have been able to get even that. You can just imagine how he felt. Truly disappointed. But as he would soon realize, falling was not failing. So on his visit to the NHT he got what turned out for him to be good news. Yes, there was a housing product that he might have been able to afford, if only he could get a little more help. That help came in the form of an NHT Home Grant, which he used to top up his construction loan and build a First Step Home in September 2014. By February this year, the house was finished and so
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Although it is a studio unit in its original form, a First Step Home unit can be easily expanded to a twobedroom unit or even bigger, once the beneficiary has the necessary financial resources and land space to do so.
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