HomeStreet Bank Loan Officer Lisa Carillo presents a check for $5,000 to Na Hale O Maui Executive Director John Andersen to support the Community Land Trust’s Homebuyers’ Assistance Program.

Nā Hale O Maui Executive Director John Andersen announced that the nonprofit received a $5,000 donation from HomeStreet Bank to support its Matching Grant Program for down payment and closing cost assistance.

“For the past eight years, Nā Hale O Maui has been conducting homebuyer seminars that introduce the community land trust model for affordable housing,” said Andersen. “From the hundreds of people who have attended our seminars, we have learned that the biggest obstacle they face is the lack of adequate cash for the down payment and closing costs. We hear time and time again, ‘We have good jobs, good credit, but not enough cash for the down payment.’”

“To assist our NHOM sustainable leasehold buyers overcome this common obstacle to affordable housing, NHOM established the Nā Hale O Maui Matching Grant Program,” said Johnson. “To date NHOM has been funding the grant program with it’s own assets, and it now is seeking public support and help with a contribution to the NHOM Matching Grant Program Fund. Every dollar contributed to the fund will go to assist low and moderate households with down payment and closing cost assistance.”

“More than a majority of the homeowners that do qualify based on credit and income do not have enough for down and closing costs,” said Lisa Carillo, the HomeStreet Bank loan officer who presented the donation on behalf of the bank. “If it wasn’t for the NHOM down payment program, many of the current homeowners would not have been able to purchase their home.”

The land trust currently has 32 families in land trust homes with renewable leases that will remain affordable in perpetuity and never return to market prices.

Donations may be mailed to NHOM (note “Matching Grant Program” on the check), P.O. Box 1829, Wailuku, HI 96793, to help NHOM provide affordable housing opportunities for Maui’s workforce.