Homebuying support program expands to University of Hawai‘i employees

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Brent T Suyama, (808) 956-9524
Assoc Dir, UH Communications
Ian Magruder
Director of Partnerships, Landed
Posted: Sep 10, 2019

Today, the University of Hawai‘i announced a new down payment assistance program with Landed to aimed at helping UH faculty and staff buy homes in Hawaiʻi.  The down payment assistance and homebuyer education partnership with Landed, which previously introduced the program to the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, provides half of the down payment on a home up to $120,000 per family, in exchange for a portion of the change in the value when the home is sold. Landed’s down payment support will be available to all UH employees who have worked for any part of the University of Hawai‘i system for at least two years. 

“As the cost of housing in Hawai‘i continues to rise, too many of our faculty and staff are finding it harder to afford homes,” said UH President David Lassner. “We believe Landed will be a valuable option to help some of our employees to live in the communities that they serve.” 

Landed’s work in Hawai‘i launched in May for K-12 educators as part of the Hawai‘i Executive Conference adopting the Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s CHANGE Framework, a commitment to collaborate to help address some of Hawai‘i’s most pressing issues. So far, three Hawaiʻi educators have already purchased homes with Landed’s down payment support, and more than 600 interested K-12 educators in Hawai‘i have attended Landed informational events or reached out online.

Since its founding in 2015, Landed has already helped more than 200 educators purchase homes in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Denver, and Seattle. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which helped connect Landed with community partners in Hawai‘i, is an investor in Landed’s housing funds.

“We are thrilled to expand Landed’s homebuying resources to higher education in Hawai‘i and look forward to connecting directly with faculty, staff, and their families,” said Landed Co-Founder, Alex Lofton. “As the son of a school teacher and a social worker in the Seattle area, I know firsthand the struggles that many families go through to build financial security in expensive communities. Landed hopes to be a support system to help all educators and staff feel more secure in their financial future,” Lofton added.

Interested homebuyers can use this program in conjunction with a mortgage from any of Landed’s partner lenders: First Hawaiian Bank, Bank of Hawaiʻi, American Savings Bank, and Central Pacific Bank. 

Interested employees can get more information and apply at landed.com.

A series of informational sessions for faculty and staff to learn more about the program will be held the week of October 7. Interested educators can RSVP for the info sessions at: www.landed.com/Hawaiʻi.

 

Landed is a San Francisco-based company helping essential professionals build financial security near the communities they serve. Landed partners with schools, districts, universities, and community organizations to provide down payment support to educators. (www.Landed.com)