Alaula and Hawaiian Community Assets Announce Ongoing Partnership
Buying your first home is truly a landmark moment in life, not to mention one of the most important decisions that a family will ever make. It can feel intimidating to understand all the parts of the process, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the new information. That’s why Alaula Builders is proud to announce that we’ve partnered with Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA) to provide financial counseling and other resources to our island kama’aina for the homebuying process in our upcoming neighborhood – and it’s absolutely free!
HCA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit HUD-certified housing counseling agency that works to build the capacity of low and moderate-income communities to achieve and sustain economic self-sufficiency, with a special focus on Native Hawaiian families. Their philosophy – Kahua Waiwai, or ‘foundation for wealth’ – supports permanent housing, culturally-relevant financial education and empowerment, and community lending programs to achieve their mission of helping our island kama’aina in building assets and developing financial sustainability.
“As Maui’s workforce housing development company we think that Hawaii Community Assets gives the best opportunity for our local Maui families to realize their dream of home ownership,” according to Lawrence Carnicelli, VP of Development for Alaula Builders. “ Jeff Gilbreath, Rhonda Alexander-Monkres and the rest of their team are just the best. They come from the heart and really cater to the needs of each family they help.”
In order to qualify for the Homebuyers Program, you’ll need to:
Complete a client intake packet and submit with all required documents listed on the first page.
Attend a free 8-hour workshop in which HCA’s certified counselors will empower you with lots of handy information around the homebuying process, including qualifying for a home loan and taking care of your overall financial health, amongst many other topics.
Schedule an individual counseling session to develop a personal action plan that will help you and your ‘Ohana increase your savings, paying down your debts, and improve your credit score.
Once you’ve seen to the above, HCA will then also be able to:
Provide you with down payment assistance for your new home! That’s right, HCA’s counselors will enroll qualified families into match savings accounts, which can offer up to a 4:1 match on every $1,000 saved – for a total of $5,000 of down payment and closing costs! Trust us – a 4:1 match is a rate that simply can’t be beat. HCA also partners with many local banks and credit unions to offer up to $7,500 in additional down payment assistance and grants in the local community.
Help you apply for loans of up to $25,000 via Hawaii Community Lending to build and improve your credit or consolidate debts. What’s more, they’re offering up to $50,000 in loans to low-income, Native Hawaiian homebuyers for use in land acquisition, development/construction, and down payments/closing costs.
Work in tandem with Hawaii Community Lending to assist qualified families in applying for affordable mortgage loans – some of which have down payments as low as 0%!
Stay Tuned!
Alaula is honored to be working in tandem with HCA to help our island kama’aina become homeowners. We’re working hard to make affordable housing more accessible for all our native residents – and be sure to stay tuned for some big announcements in the coming months as well!