Barbadians will soon move into their own houses without paying out a cent.
Minister of Housing and Lands L.B. Brathwaite revealed yesterday that his ministry was pressing ahead with a plan which could see lower and lower-middle income earners moving into their own homes without having to pay so much as a down payment.
In an interview with the DAILY NATION yesterday, Mr. Brathwaite said that this new initiative would soon become a reality. He disclosed that only last week contracts pertaining to this project went before his desk for approval.
“There is a need, a demand for houses, and we know that as long as people are offered reasonable credit terms and low deposits, most of that demand would be met. Within recent times, Government has been taking steps to reduce the size of deposits necessary for owning new homes.”
No deposits
“I can no safely say that we are swiftly approaching the stage where there will be absolutely no deposits for homes. What we are doing is looking at the possibilities of offering persons long-term leases of 25, 30 or 35 years; longer If required. These leases would be convertible as payment towards ownership of homes,” revealed the minister.
Minister Brathwaite said: “The concept of housing in Barbados is changing. There was a time when our builders were accustomed to building elaborate $400 000 houses. People just did not believe that adequate $50 000 and $60 000 houses could be built on prime residential land. It has now become a reality at West Terrace.
“Out of this approach has come a new type of person – the entrepreneur with skills which have been put to the test.”
The Minister of Housing explained that under such a lease scheme, Government would provide the land and the houses would be built by private contractors.
Mortgage money
On the question of the availability of mortgage money to purchase houses such as those now being built at West Terrace, Mr. Brathwaite said there had been a significant improvement in this area since a meeting held between himself, Prime Minister Bernard St John and officials within the housing sector, including bankers and builders.
He said that many of the “bottlenecks” had been straightened out and institutions such as the Barbados National Bank (BNB) and the Barbados Mortgage Finance Corporation (BMFC), along with others, had stepped up their involvement.
Largest project
He agreed that the West Terrace project was now generating such interest that it would not be able to meet the demand, and added that he had directed the National Housing Corporation (NHC) to draw up plans to get permission from the Town Planning Department to utilise another area of land in the Husbands area for similar housing purposes.
The West Terrace project, now under way, is the largest single project of its kind ever undertaken in Barbados.
Meanwhile, disclosed the minister, Government was pressing ahead with a project which would enable Barbadians to own their own homes, utilising “a traditional Barbadian approach to housing”. Prospective owners would be provided with land and basic facilities which they would be able to expand as they became financially able.