How Do I Get A Loan From The NHT To Purchase Land In Jamaica?

by Lloyd
(New York City)

How do you get a loan from the National Housing Trust to purchase land here in Jamaica?

Lloyd, who is living overseas asked the question. We reached out to the NHT and advised him, step by step.

Here's his question (below) and our response.

RESPONSE: by Deon Clarke, Associate Writer



Hi Lloyd,

Thank you for your question. And good for you, investment in real estate is always a great way to build equity!

I'm also elated that you are considering buying land in Jamaica through the National Housing Trust (NHT) too and so I will be more than happy to provide you with the information on how you can access funding based on the information the NHT provided me.

You did not state if you are a current contributor to the NHT, however, according to the NHT, anyone seeking funding through the NHT, they have to first be a contributor.
This can be done via salary deduction or direct voluntary contribution.

And the NHT does make allowance for persons living overseas to contribute. The required amount is 3% of your gross income and a minimum of 2 years contribution.

We actually have an article on how to make contribution from overseas, I suggest that you take a look at it here.

So once you have met your contribution requirements, you will be ready for the next steps which would be to meet the other qualifying requirements.

The six main qualifying requirements for obtaining a NHT loan, are...

• You must be a current NHT contributor, whether as employed or self-employed individual
  
• You must be between the ages of 18 and 6570 years
  
• You must have made at least 52 weekly contributions of which 13 must have been made in the last 26 weeks period, immediately before the date of your application
  
• You must be a non-homeowner
  
• Your spouse must be a non-homeowner
  
• You Must have never accessed a loan from the NHT before
  

With those established, you will then need to follow the steps below:

1. Call or visit the NHT to determine if you pass the required affordability test.
   
   By the way, since you are overseas, be sure to indicate that to them during the call as that could indicate how you progress.
   
   But typically, you'd need to...
   
   
2. Get all of the documents that are needed, and take them to the Customer Service Department or the Mortgage Information Department.
   
3. At the end of this visit, you should obtain an eligibility letter from the NHT. After which you will need to do the following...
   
4. Prepare all the required prequalification documents outlined in the loans checklist on the NHT website.
   
5. Contact the NHT to set an appointment for a pre-qualification interview.
   
6. Attend the prequalification interview and take all the required prequalification documents with you.
   
7. If successful, you will then be contacted within five working days of the prequalification interview and given a loan interview date
   
8. Attend the loan interview at the NHT Loans Department.
   By the way, for the interview you will need to take the deposit receipt, sales agreement, a copy of the registered title, the surveyor's identification report and the valuation report.
   

At the end of this interview, you should obtain a letter of commitment. The NHT will then process your loan and contact you once processing has been completed.

Currently, the maximum amount that the NHT gives per contributor for land purchase is 2.5 million dollars Jamaican Dollars ($2.5 million).

You will also need to have a deposit of 5% of the value of the property and will also be required to show proof of your affordability to repay.

Note that you have two options to gain a loan for land ownership; you can purchase a serviced lot directly from the NHT, or you can purchase land privately using your NHT benefit.

For the NHT house lot loan, you have the option as borrowing as a single application or with a qualified co-applicant if you need additional funds to purchase the lot.

With a co-applicant you could get up to $5 million (at the date of this response).

If a co-applicant purchase is out of the picture for you but you still need additional funding, then you could consider a joint-finance mortgage facility where you could get additional funds from other mortgage-lending institutions, subject to affordability of course.

See also: Will Employer's Non Payment Affect My NHT Loan Chances?.

I hope this helps as you endeavor to own your piece of the rock! For more on this and all matters NHT, hop over to the NHT website (https://nht.gov.jm/) for additional information.

You might also be interested in knowing how how to buy land in Jamaica.

Regards,
DC

P.S. Read also: How to buy land in Jamaica

Editor's Note
What question do you have? submit it here! With over 2,000 questions already answered, I am confident we can help you!


References:

• https://www.nht.gov.jm/nht-scheme-unitlot-qualifying-requirements
  
• http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20170129/financial-adviser-qualifying-nht-loan-buy-land
  
• https://www.my-island-jamaica.com/national-housing-trust-jamaica-contributions-from-abroad-for-nhtbenefits.html
  
• https://www.nht.gov.jm/voluntary-contributor
  

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