Grounds broken with advice: You must pay mortgage

While breaking grounds for what will be known as Joe’s Hill Manor, which will have more homes and a bigger budget than initially announced, Minister of Health and Social Development Ronnie Skelton underscored the importance of prospective homeowners paying their mortgages.

“This is gonna be a community with most things included in it. It’s not gonna be just build a house. There’s gonna be covenants; there’s gonna be all sort of stuff that you must abide by.”

“The most important thing that you must abide by – those of the 400 people who gonna get the first 52 homes – [is that] you must pay your mortgage. I’m sure there will be some opportunities where you can renegotiate, but at the end of the day you must pay your mortgage,” Skelton advised.

Contractor on the Joe’s Hill Manor development, James Todman, said at least four of the homes that will be constructed under the Social Security Board’s affordable home programme, will be completed by December.

Under the first phase of the programme, a total of 53 residential units will be built on seven acres of land at Joe’s Hill in the Road Town and Long Bush area.

The estimated cost to build is $14 million.

The cost was initially estimated at $11 million for 43 units, but it was bumped up to 14 million after developers added an additional 10 units to the project.

Todman, whose James Todman Construction has joined with Larry Adams Construction to form JL Development for the purpose of this project, announced the increased cost during the groundbreaking ceremony at Joe’s Hill this morning, April 20.

He added, “We will have four homes fully ready for December 2017… We gonna work tirelessly to get two more buildings in. So we looking at having at least six buildings for 2017 in December,” Todman said.

The entire Joe’s Hill Manor is expected to be completed by December 2019.

All 53 units in the soon-to-be-built community will fit into a total 25 buildings, Todman said.

Joe’s Hill Manor will have one bedroom condos, two bedroom condos, two bedroom town houses, three bedroom townhouses, two bedroom homes, and three bedroom homes.

In the meantime, Chairman of the Social Security Board Ian Smith said: “The ultimate goal of this initiative is to afford BVIslanders the opportunity to own their own homes. This would lead to the encouragement towards saving; creation of wealth, future generation of home owners and independent citizens; and contribute to the solidification of the foundation of our growing economy.”

“After completion of the development, 52 families will own their first home and employment opportunities will be available for the operation, maintenance, and upkeep of this community,” added the Social Security Board chairman.

Meanwhile, Premier Dr D Orlando Smith, who was one of the groundbreakers today, described Joe’s Hill Manor as ‘good news’ for the Territory.

“Increased home ownership is indicative of a prosperous Virgin Islands where residents enjoy a high quality life and personal fulfillment,” he said.