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Hawaii Community Lending outlines loans and DHHL guarantee that helped move beneficiaries toward homes
Summary
Hawaii Community Lending told the DHHL commission that a guarantee agreement with the department enabled low‑rate mortgage and construction loans (about $6M in construction loans to date) and $25,000 Native American Housing Initiative grants to help beneficiaries build or rehab homes; HCL urged expanding partnerships to reach more lessees.
Jeff Gilbreth, representing Hawaii Community Lending (HCL), described a multi-year partnership with DHHL that the nonprofit called instrumental in helping beneficiaries access construction and mortgage financing they could not otherwise obtain.
Gilbreth said HCL has completed 19 construction loans totaling about $6,000,000 and grown the lending pool to $11,000,000. "These families have all received technical assistance through the process," he told commissioners, noting HCL combines grant capital, private debt and a DHHL guarantee to provide mortgages under roughly 5% for qualifying borrowers. He said HCL has used a Native American Housing Initiative grant program — $25,000 awards from the Federal Home Loan Bank — to help three families reduce costs and close financing gaps.
Gilbreth described pilot and scale-up possibilities: guaranteed loans that stretch FHA/DHHL MOU limits, second‑loan layering from DHHL or USDA, and rehabilitation/repair products for older homesteads. He said the lender is working with DHHL and local partners to bring 13 lessee families in one Molokai site through an ag plan and into construction starting in 2027. "We have mortgages at 4.875 and below right now," Gilbreth said, encouraging beneficiaries and commissioners to refer families for assistance.
Why it matters: beneficiaries and commissioners raised foreclosure and lease cancellation risks and noted shrinking federal resources. The HCL presentation outlined tangible financing paths to turn vacant-land leases into built homes and to shore up existing lessee housing through grants and renovation loans.
Next steps: Commissioners thanked HCL and asked staff to coordinate outreach; HCL said it will work with DHHL to update memoranda of understanding to scale renovation and mortgage products.
