Inner-city housing – High risk or giveaway?
published: Sunday | April 16, 2006
Leonardo Blair, Enterprise Reporter
WHILE THE National Housing Trust (NHT) has embarked on a $5 billion urban renewal plan to rehouse several inner-city residents in low-cost apartment projects, the housing giant is still owed nearly $22 million in mortgage payments from similar efforts carried out several years ago in communities such as Denham Town and Trench Town.
“The NHT does have a number of outstanding mortgages in the communities of Trench Town and Denham Town. We have experienced delays in the collection of mortgage payments in these communities because in many instances, the original beneficiaries no longer occupy the units. In the meantime, we are continuing our efforts to regularise the current situation,” said the trust in response to questions from The Sunday Gleaner.
Of the 353 accounts held against properties in Trench Town and Denham Town, only 13 of those are current, explained the NHT.
Another eight have been in arrears for less than a year, while the staggering majority have arrears exceeding one year.
“The NHT is fully aware that the inner-city project is a high- risk one and has structured mortgage products to reflect this. The NHT has an ongoing social development programme which is aimed in part at guiding the new mortgagors on matters pertaining to the payment of their mortgages,” the housing agency further explained. Trust officials also pointed out that they would be implementing a range of employment and training programmes to increase the rate of employment and the level of incomes in these communities.
Local police say they have seen the housing models before and they were perfect. Sustaining the new sub-culture amid the aggressive social decay is another matter.
“It has happened before,” said Detective Sergeant Adison of the Denham Town police. “But check in some of these communities now and see how many of these houses are empty because of violence and the general way in which people live.”
The first batch of beneficiaries under the NHT’s Inner-City Housing Project are those at the Denham Town (Little King Street) site. Following the handing over of the units in August 2005, the beneficiaries were given a six-month moratorium on mortgage payments. They began making mortgage payments in February 2006. Current mortgagors pay on average just over $3,000 a month to occupy a two-bedroom apartment.
YOU SEE WHY THE PEOPLE WHO GET LITTLE EDUCATION RUN LEFF JAMAICA ….TRIPLE BILL ME .TRIPLE TAX ME SO THE SO CALL POOR CAN LIVE FREE. A SO THE SYSTEM SET EVER SINCE THE 2 COUSIN DEM REALIZE THAT THE WEST AFRICAN IMMIGRANT DEM THAT ENGLAND GAVE THEM FREEDOM WILL VOTE FOR U IF U GIVE THEM SOMETHING ANYTHING . SO IT BECAME THE NORM. SO ME MUST PAY UR WATER , UR LIGHT PLUS MORE AND STILL U FEEL LIKE WHEN ME GET MY WATLEFF PAY CHECK U WAH COME FOR IT ALSO. and this is the funny part you guys have the hidden gates to the ship WHARF a make millions under the carpet a ship out what ever . build a house bigger than mine with millions in it . smh …..i would never stop bun fire on them all green and orange ……
Look here…oonu leave Sista P alone. This is one of the few constituencies that had more than 110% of the people voting for her in the 1980s. So what if she give way NHT money? Nuh better dem get it than Outameni?
Beg you a run eein pon da one yah met. Portia and har madness.
Sickens the stomach – you know how many rathid claat people who pay to get an education and can’t get a house? You have people paying taxes and can’t get a home of their own, only to find politicians using the taxes to reward the Garrison fckers for their votes, knowing very well that they can’t repay.
One of the biggest problem reaching this country. Too much fckin Garrisons, and the nasty politicians who try to sustain them. I man seh them fi BUN down all a dem cost it what it will. I also happen to run a business in a Garrison, and I can tell you that I might go there 1 time for 4 months – too much fckin begging and breeding.
Truth be told is that most of these Garrisons continue to grow in size. The people breed like rats and rabbits, so you have many 2 bedroom houses with 5-8 people inna dem. It can’t get any better unless these Garrisons are destroyed or removed.
Don’t care what anybody says, but most Garrisons need to be demolished and the people moved FAR AWAY from Kington.
REAL TALK.
They did an operation once to remove the delinquent owner n it came on the news as a massive protest One man say that him never kno he had to pay anythin cuz Portia give him di key n di house as a gift!!!!!