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Rebuilding Haiti: Creating a mortgage system for homes
The Kay Pa’m program has gotten off to a slow start. It was delayed because the president of the government bank’s board was killed at his home in June, a slaying that has gone unsolved.
And while it aims to give 12,500 mortgages, so far only about 300 people have expressed interest either by contacting the bank or inquiring online. Only 75 people have actually applied, and the bank has approved just 10 mortgages, Vixamar said.
Vixamar said that is partly because many Haitians don’t know the program exists, and many of those who do are taking a wait-and-see attitude, perhaps hoping that free homes will be distributed and they will not need to buy one.
He said the low approval rate is largely because two-thirds of the applicants didn’t have proper land titles. Haiti’s land registry hasn’t been updated for decades, and many of the records that did exist were lost in the earthquake.
Despite the problems, Vellette holds out hope he will finally be able to buy his home, a quiet place with a flower garden for his wife and two children, ages 12 and 2, in the town of Croix-des-Bouquets northwest of Port-au-Prince.
He meets the Kay Pa’m requirement of holding a steady job for at least three years, and he has two sisters in New York who can help him meet the monthly loan payment of US$100. The home seller, Shelter-IT LLC of West Haven, Conn., is helping him through the application process. The company is one of dozens that arrived in Haiti after the quake to sell homes.
Vellette learns in December if his loan is approved. Until then, Vellette and his family will continue living with in-laws in downtown Port-au-Prince.
“That’s everyone’s dream, owning a house,” Vellette said. “You’re no longer moving around from house to house.”
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
