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| The Politics of Home Ownership |
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I am astonished that more information about home ownership has not been disseminated to the general public for consumption. In light of the tremendous emphasis towards Nevisians owning a piece of the rock and owning their own homes as portrayed by the current Nevis Island Administration, educating buyers and prospective buyers via workshops or similar forums has not been done. It would have been quite in order for some form of professional briefing on this vitally important issue, as owning a home remains one of the most important lifetime decisions.
I’m totally in favor of each and everyone owning their own properties but the fact of life remains that not all of us can be owners, some of us have to be renters and economics will continue to prove that we cannot all sustain payments to own our own homes based on short term achievements or positions.
Housing entrapments breed grounds for poverty, crime, illegal drugs, trafficking and much more undesirables. While our government boasts about building hundreds of homes for Nevisians, both the young and not so young owners have to pay very hefty mortgages for in excess of twenty years to maturity. These houses are very costly ranging from $265,000 to $280,000 for a 3 bedrooms settlement. Bank payments therefore will exceed $2,500 monthly for a twenty years mortgage @ 8.5% for a home costing $265,000. The virtual question now is, how many will sustain these payments and truly benefit from their investment?
Taking all variables into consideration, the completion of these payments are indeed very challenging and requires much more than the monies earned by the average single mother aged 27, with three school children.
These houses are built in areas in close proximity to one another and do not offer the type of privacy that Nevisians are traditionally accustomed to. They are also concentrated in areas within St. John’s and St. Paul’s, two areas that the present government are desperately seeking to win in the 2011 election. Is that coincidence? Your guess may be as good as mine. It is my belief that the housing program embarked on by our government has nothing to do with the welfare and betterment for most of whom will purchase homes, but rather more towards trying to secure votes in the short termed future.
Having seen low-income homes bloom and blossom during the initial years then decay and fade away in dramatic fashion within 3 decades, has been an eye opener. Most of those project areas have been the breeding ground for stealing, guns, gangs, drugs, trafficking, murder and various other crimes. Most of such residential structures have since then been abandoned and bulldozed after leaving tremendous loss, hardships, immorality and disgrace. The trend is not limited to areas witnessed but a logical reality trend within some societies.
Our government through Nevis Housing and Lands Development Corporation has been viewed as a laughing stock for some who look closely at its operation. They are the ones responsible for providing these houses for local residents even though their role as contractors have been highly questionable. The scandal that surrounds that body is sickening. The alleged stealing that takes place there, the usage of NHLDC equipment, personnel and material to build individual’s home is no fiction. The fact that the hierarchy within that body has been able within 4 years to build personally, is brazenness in the sunshine. However, their strategy to build and stockpile homes with the expectation that buyers will pick them off at random is beginning to urge a reality check to consider the wisdom or folly of that strategy. To be paying back to Social Security for homes just resting on wait is rather unwise and wasteful.
With all that takes place in and around Nevis Housing and Land Development Cooperation, my concerns are with the atmosphere being created as these houses in the present scheme of things, will most likely cause morality decay, health hazards, abandonment and foreclosures. Some will have no choice but selling in order to pay and destabilization within will be at hand. Ghetto-like slums might very well replace our wonderful Cherry Gardens if we are not careful and prepared to do what matters to ensure homeownership is not forced upon each and every supporter of a political party.
Politicizing the location and ownership of these homes should also not be the main agenda. It would be advisable that all who are interested in purchasing homes be truly objective and realistic. The economy today is visibly low. The prices of these houses are high based on their size and quality, and especially considering the socio-economic status of those who are most likely to purchase. Home ownership seminars need to be on the agenda as it is the most important investment one will make in life and it should be taken very seriously. |
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