Is Private Mortgage Insurance the Path to Homeownership for the Middle Class in the USVI? Banks Field Questions, Offer Suggestions at Hearing

The Senate Committee of Finance hosted top leaders from the territory’s banks Tuesday for a discussion on how they could improve the home-buying experience for Virgin Islanders. At the meeting, banks spoke of their current offerings and obstacles that lead to application rejection, and a suggestion by V.I. Housing Finance Authority Executive Director, Darryl Griffith, on private mortgage insurance loan programs could lead to legislation aimed at leveling the playing field for middle income individuals in the territory. Called by Finance Chair Sen. Kurt Vialet, the meeting sought to find ways whereby middle earners in the USVI could see a path to homeownership. As it currently stands, this income bracket is finding it difficult to own homes even as the upper class are able to make down payments on their mortgages — on average 20 percent of the purchase value — and the low to very lower classes are being aided through federal home ownership programs through V.I.F.H.A. The U.S. definiti...