NHT Introduces Advance Deposit Loan for Contributors Under 35 Starting July 1

Beginning July 1, the National Housing Trust (NHT) will roll out a facility that allows qualifying young contributors to receive a portion of an approved home loan before purchase, specifically to meet deposit requirements.

Shara Luke-Cooper, Administrative Manager in the NHT's Customer Relations Management Division, set out the details during a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank. The arrangement is open to contributors who are 35 years old or younger and have already obtained loan approval from the Trust.

"In local terms, we would say it is a drawdown. For example, for a single applicant, if it is that single applicant can afford $9 million, then what we're doing is we're giving you an advance… of up to $2 million that you can use to assist with deposit," Luke-Cooper said.

She clarified that the advance sits within the borrower's total approved loan and remains bound by the Trust's existing lending rules, including income thresholds, interest rates and repayment conditions. Where the purchaser obtains the balance of financing directly from the NHT, the advance will be merged with the outstanding loan. Where the main mortgage is arranged through one of the Trust's partner financial institutions, that partner will handle the full mortgage while the NHT recovers the advance under the agreed terms.

Dwayne Berbick, Assistant General Manager for Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at the NHT, said the product was built after young contributors reported that although they qualify for financing, saving for a deposit remains a barrier. "Young adults have indicated they have challenges with finding the deposit. They know they can get the financing through the NHT… but many times they go, 'I've identified the property, but I don't have that deposit'. So, this is our response, advancing the funds to facilitate making deposits," Berbick said.

The Advance Deposit Loan is one of several initiatives the NHT has put forward to widen homeownership opportunities for younger contributors and to bolster housing security across Jamaica.