Let’s brainstorm! No plans yet to fill $26M Joe’s Hill homes
Minister for Social Development Vincent Wheatley pleaded with Eighth District Representative Marlon Penn to help the government fill more than 40 empty homes still remaining at Joe’s Hill Manor after the government’s low-cost initiative missed the mark for many first-time homeowners who tried to secure spaces.
The Social Security Board (SSB) announced last August that it was inviting persons to demonstrate their interest in owning homes at the much-touted hillside estate, but the cost of that home ownership has proven to be out of reach for most of the applicants who responded to the SSB.
Wheatley told the House of Assembly (HOA) that $26,955,065 was spent on the homes as of August 2023 on the project, which entailed six one-bedroom condominiums; 18 two-bedroom condominiums; six two-bedroom split-level condominiums; 13 two-bedroom houses; three three-bedroom houses; two two-bedroom townhouses; and four three-bedroom townhouses – amounting to a total of 52 units.
Earlier this year, Wheatley acknowledged that the construction project executed under his watch as Social Development Minister was intended to offer affordable housing and described it as an incredible learning experience for him.
But Penn said some persons who tried to qualify for loans for the homes found that they were unable to meet the required deposit or didn’t have the necessary savings or creditworthiness to acquire the homes.
He questioned Wheatley on how his ministry plans to make homeownership a reality for persons at the hillside Manor given the stark situation facing the government and the lack of a return on its multi-million dollar investment.
“As BVIslanders, we all want to own our homes,” Wheatley then explained. “That’s what the BVI is all about — own some land, own a home. It was never envisioned that a project would see what is happening now,” Wheatley said while noting that there were more than 600 applicants at one stage.
The Social Development Minister further said the government is now back at the drawing board after previously targeting young professionals as first-time homeowners. But he said the government can’t wait forever as the assets sit idly by and deteriorate.
Wheatley said the issue was now a challenge for all legislators alike to come together and find solutions, and not simply one that should be left to those on the governing side.
“How do we help our people own those houses up there?” Wheatley asked. “It’s a conversation that we need to have sooner rather than later. I don’t have the answer, I do not. I’m kind of lost like everybody as to what we should do.
He added: “We could sit together and brainstorm. You (Penn) are a finance person, IT person, and let’s figure out how we can get our people in those homes as quickly as possible for Christmas. Let’s give our people a Christmas gift. Let’s figure it out.”
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Please stop calling it LOW INCOME. It is not and it never was.
Lorna already brain-stormed with the banks and the SSB weeks ago on this issue. The banks told her what they told Wheatley years ago – that the scheme as planned would be a failure. Yet, he still went ahead and wasted millions of SSB money as part of his “learning experience” What the SSB needs to do now is to offload the units as quickly as they can through discounted sales or part-ownership, to stop the hemorrhaging of further money.
They can’t find the way to deal with this mess. The ZDB are not independent of crazy politicians and their incompetence. This money wasn’t free when it was granted to make these over priced homes; there was a cost and our dumb leaders (NDP vip and any other ps) all need to kiss everyone’s behind and apologize for this and then they all (including the SSB Board) need to do some jail time
Wheatley you a s**m. You still never recovered the money from the farmers and fisherman grants you gave out. You an absolute fr**d
Those are 15 minute city. All vaccinated people will be in there. The Georgia guide stone’s said it want to bring the population down to 300 million people so that’s how much they want to have full control off. If you are vaccinated with the mRNA COVID 19 vaccine shot then you’re chipped
In by Christmas nice.
As @Too Late has said the answer is part-ownership. This is very common in the UK: purchasers buy a minimum share (40%) at market value and then rent the remainder. If the purchaser wants to increase the share they can do so by paying current market value (in 10% increments), the rent is reduced correspondingly. This is called “Staircasing” and some property owners will increase to full 100% ownership, some will not. This means buyers need a much lower deposit. The means buyers can invest in the property (upgrade the kitchen for example) and where they do make capital investments, then the value of those investments are netted off from purchasing further shares. Buyers have security of tenure. When the buyer eventually wishes to sell the property the social landlord has first refusal to buy it back (at current market value) so that the cycle can start again.
But the brain storming should have been set in place before the FAILED PROJECT WAS BUILT. Another waste of money. No one is going to invest their money in a first time home where they have no land space or have to sit next to their neighbors 2 feet away from their neighbors.
Meet me during happy hour
Instead of giving $40,000,000 to people that are not fishing and farming. Get that money back and along with some of the fish or food that they may have produced. Probably about $20,000 return on that investement!!!
Then use the $40,000,000 to subsidise people so that they can buy a Joe’s Hill house.
For example they put up half and the Government puts up half. When they sell the Government gets the money back and they can use the money to help someone else. Any profit made in the sale goes to the owner. The Governments (the peoples!)money will eventually dwindle from inflation as they will not be getting the return, but it will help people for many years. (The owners have a chance of doubling their return, and have a house of their own.) They just have to give Government its money back when they sell. If they never sell that will also be good as they will be building a settled community. They should be able to pass the house on.
The only rule is that whenever the house sells the Government gets the money back.
This way the $40,000,000 keeps working for the people instead of just dissappearing in to the hands of friends and family and the occassional farmer or fisher.
Also this way the houses retain a real market value, instead of just discounting them until someone can afford them. By discounting we would just be giving money away and it would not come back to help others.
the teams of UK administrators arriving in 2024 to take over the BVI can live there during the 25 year suspension of the BVI constitution and reorganization of the BVI government. No more elections until 2050!
… nobody will buy the homes because of the ‘low income’ label attached to them.
If I buy a home now at full price, what will happen when the Gov’t has to sell the rest of cheaply, or decides to rent them to undesirables who can’t afford to buy a home, or decides to house the illegal immigrants there?
Unfortunately Sir, in order to brainstorm a brain is a pre-requisite.
Hire a local firm to maintain and rent them out.
This can not be the Minister of Health & Social Development that has the portfolio to oversee:
Community Mental Health
Behavioral Health
Safe Haven
Social Development
He is aware of the plaguing issues these departments have with homelessness, mental health and other issues.
Turn the homes over to one of this issues to address the issues that they are faced with. Prison or hospital are not the answer to house such persons.
There you go…dah!
@Jane, stair-casing works if their is liquidity in the market (ie banks are willing (which they are not) to lend and or people have the cash stashed away which isn’t the case as these were supposed to be low income housing) and inventory is low (ie rental market isn’t saturated).
According to the last census the average income is $1750 per month (I believe this number will be lower at the end of this one) and have you seen the number of apartment buildings around the place? it’s a buyers market (more power towards the renter) if you know how to negotiate.
The numbers have to make sense and the conditions have to be right otherwise these properties will be bounced around whilst depreciating due to use with no incentive to prove ie ghetto
Tell them take a loss if it’s really to help the people. Drop the price make back something than nothing at all. It would be like subsidizing. If we could spend 250k on a non stop concert to generate almost 50k in revenue. I don’t see why we can’t take a loss to do something what going actually elevate people.
Ah revolution, death and destruction you ah look? ah that you will get. Bring dem cum!
@Turtle Dove – rent them out at what rate? If they do go that rout and rent them, what would be the rate. For this to make sense, the rent will be higher than market rates given the cost of the money granted by SSB. What person wants to sign off on a loss making venture like offering these dwelling Spaces on a month to month or annual basis. Then again this is the BVI where the Slowest Premier in the history of the BVI (and his A** Clown Brigade) spends 250k and gets a return of 45k. Seems about right
Here is my two cents on the matter let the NBVI administer all the loans for the purchases and lower the cost of ownership.A ten percent loss on the investment is better than a hundred percent loss. The government can make up the difference over a period time. Even rent to own should be considered.
What you say is exactly what the banks said before the project started, and yet government still went ahead. Yet another example of expert opinion being ignored by those who say they know better, but don’t.
Lies, deception and Tax Payers money misused, but it is OK because it was an incredible learning experience for Wheatley.
105 bedrooms
$230k per bedroom +-
that sht overprice
$100k/bdroom if you’re trying to take care of as many as can
$26m for this sht is proof LIKE ALL OTHER FAILED PROJECTS (>90% failed in price or execution)
**** all the ppl that could run this place left long time ago for UK and USA. ***************
what is left to run us locally is, FLATLY PUT:
I N C O M P E T E N C E (or crooked)
PEOPLE- until you throw out dirty bathwater, we bvi never gonna come clean.
FACT
you fix an amoutn of appreciation so that the subsidized house is not also an investment slam dunk. we trying to keep housing available so you limit the rise in price to 3% a year when they sell, so it still affordable to another, otherwise u creating the original problem:
too high price
beat the market pal rent them out as AIR BNB
They need to rent them out
This project was a failure from the beginning. Who sat down and made the decision to build this failure. Then had the nerve to say it will be low income housing. I am in the process to become a first time home owner and I will not invest in one of those homes.
Here is bible 101. Wisdom. Listen to the scripture speak;
Luke 14:28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32
Nuff said. Where there is no vision the people perish. Scripture again. Proverbs 29:18
This is why I can never doubt the scripture is the word of the Almighty Yahweh.
This same guys said all these homes will be filled once completed, he even said the government will meet people have way with payments. He also said people might already have the money and waiting to move in. Despite Honourable Marlon Penn homeownership for the average person applying for these homes was too prohibitive given the estimated start up funding requirement which he estimated to be $75,000 Wheatley even said it will surprise some to see how fast the properties will move yet up until now the property remains empty. Even though he repeated several times that the units shall not remain vacant.If 600 people apply and none of them qualify then that suggests that a serious Homelessness is looming, what will happen when these people who renting when retire where are they going to live? How will they afford those exorbitant rent if working people can’t afford them? They advertise that these home will be affordable now they are selling them as unaffordable what a big SCAM!! This is a major liability to tax payers, they pay to bill these houses and they have to pay for upkeep yet the can’t afford to live in them.
$1,600. Per month rent, owned after 18yrs of consistent rental.after 18yrs it belongs to renter, the renter would have already paid around $350,000.00. Much better than going to the bank for 20, 25 yrs mortgage, we know most people in need would find that rent money but won’t be qualified for a loan..
Rebrand this failed development as the Joe’s Hill Manor Hotel. Rent the various units to all the guests and visitors flocking to the BVI for the monthly VIP concerts that lose money. The music loving guests can listen to the all night noise in their own private rooms for free!
I bought a flat in London through shared ownership so I know it works. Over time the original borrowing is decreased by repayments, the home-owners’ equity increases, which enables a better loan to value (LTV) which then facilitates the purchase of the share. This type of scheme works well particularly for lower paid professionals like teachers and nurses. Owning a home outright (or at least through a mortgage) is the Dream, but many people would like the security of tenure which part-ownership gives, it is a small first step on the housing ladder but it is a step which many people would never be able to make.
Personally, I would have had to save for decades to get enough $$$ for a deposit on a small London apartment, frankly I would have probably never made it. Part-ownership of that property set me on a positive economic course, and I’ve never looked back.
By any chance, was this something that was offered during the last 3 yrs or more than 2 decades ago? If so, kudos as you took advantage of a opportunity that this generation unfortunately may never see again.
I am saying that in the BVI, we are Capital poor. Therefore lending institutions are less likely to undertake such ventures that carry enormous risk., especially when the world is undergoing so much uncertainty. Would a government that is cash strapped do what a bank doesn’t want to do?
Furthermore for this type of venture to work, it would be likely be backed by a long term loan or other instrument. The question is whether something like this could work given the factors described above.
What would be the Government’s appetite to hold loss making debt instruments on its balance sheet and at the same time increase its risk of not meeting the UK’s debt ratios for a number of years to come?
London continues to be a hot bed for Easter European and other foreign investors. Less likely to be owned by regular UK citizens at least for the foreseeable future. Coupled with high property taxes.
Nice thought overall but I think this build equity opportunities it’s you described is a bit of an orange and apples comparison.
One of the best solutions is rent to own. This could only be done if the establishment is not hurried for the cash. If they wait for the best persons who has access to money to purchase it will get difficult to convince buy, because they would have seen all the failed angled of the puzzle pieces.
Play the tape.
I distinctly remember hearing this gentleman say that people driving Suzukis will not be able to afford these homes and that they were for BMW drivers.
So where are all those persons pushing beemers?
I wouldnt drive into Joes Hill Manor Estate after dark – last murder was 200m down the road.
Also a very ghetto view.
Have 1000 non stop concerts a year, to boost tourism and have them occupy the accommodations in Joe’s Hill in liue of Prospect Reef. Lol too funny