Antoinette Kawewehi, at the selection lottery for DHHL's new East Kapolei I development, with her is her brother, Harry Lovell, who is a homesteader at Papakōlea, O'ahu. - Photo: Courtesy DHHL

HOAP, Undivided Interest get more Hawaiians into homes

By T. Ilihia Gionson / Ka Wai Ola

On Dec. 13, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands took the historic step of offering the first 111 homes to homesteaders holding Undivided Interest leases in a 403-unit master-planned community in Kapolei, O'ahu.

The Undivided Interest Awards program – which is seeing its first beneficiaries select their lots – allows native Hawaiians to lease an interest in a larger piece of DHHL property that has not yet been developed. When the property is developed at a later date – in this case two years after the leases are awarded – lessees then make their lot selection.

The program gives beneficiaries, who may not qualify for a mortgage, the extra time to improve their financial standing to secure a homestead lease.

Some of the families that selected homes on Dec. 13 could not qualify for an adequate loan two years ago, but the families improved their credit, built savings, paid down debt and improved earning capacity through DHHL's Home Ownership Assistance Program, or HOAP, funded in part by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. About 3,000 beneficiaries have participated in the program so far.

Qualifying for a mortgage has been a major roadblock for potential homesteaders in the past because an applicant needed to get a mortgage before they could accept a homestead lease.

Antoinette Kawewehi, at the selection lottery for DHHL's new East Kapolei I development. - Photo: Courtesy DHHL

“The Undivided Interest lease and the HOAP program is about giving everyone a chance to succeed,” said Hawaiian Homes Commission Chairman Micah Kāne. “People who have been on the list for a long time have had at least five chances, sometimes 10 chances at a homestead lease, but were not able to be accepted because their financial situation acted as a roadblock in qualifying for a mortgage. These are the tools to removing those roadblocks and people need to use them.”

Antoinette Kawewehi, a proud new homesteader in East Kapolei I, has been on the Hawaiian Homes waiting list since 1987. Financial problems had prevented her from making a down payment on a home. “They didn't want an arm or a leg. They wanted a whole body,” Kawewehi said. “The HOAP program helped me because my credit was really shot. I was able to clean it up.”

Kawewehi selected a lot and a home model on Dec. 13. Construction is slated to begin in January, and her home should be completed sometime in 2009.

In October 2006, 350 leases were awarded as Undivided Interest Awards in the 403-unit East Kapolei I subdivision. In addition to the 111 completed homes offered, 10 vacant lots were also offered for those who were interested in building their own homes and had pre-qualified for financing.

“Two years ago we awarded these homestead leases with the promise to build homes here,” said Kāne. “We also asked the people who took these leases to take this time to prepare to qualify for a mortgage. We have fulfilled our promise and many who took the Undivided Interest lease have fulfilled their promise to get ready. Today, they are selecting their future home, and that's exciting.”

Kāne said the department looks forward to “replaying this success” on Kaua'i, Maui and Hawai'i Island.