Economy

'Landmark Event': Vialet-Sponsored Bill Appropriates $4 Million to Help Virgin Islanders Purchase Their First Home

Members of the 34th Legislature on Thursday approved a bill sponsored by Senator Kurt Vialet whose aim is to make the process of buying a home in the USVI more attainable for residents of the territory. The bill appropriates funding that is then made available through loans to serve as downpayment on a home.   Bill No. 34-0060, an Act amending VI Code to enact the First-Time Homebuyers Program Act, makes available $4 million from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund to the Homestead and Home Loan Fund.  While introducing the measure, Mr. Vialet explained that the program would be geared toward assisting first-time homebuyers. “We wanted to develop a process where true legislation would be able to assist those homeowners that cannot meet all the necessary qualifications to apply for a loan. So what this first-time homeowners program does, it supplies a mechanism to supplement the down payment — which nine out of ten times is very difficult for first-time homeowners to meet.” Mr. Vialet...