The Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank (ECHMB) over the past fifteen (15) years has been actively involved in providing information on housing related matters to the citizens of its member countries. So far ECHMB has mounted its annual Home Ownership Day event in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Coming out of these public education type forums, ECHMB has published a Booklet – Guide to Homeownership. This Booklet highlights the presentations made by the resource persons at the Home Ownership Day event.
While the contents of the Booklet are based on the proceedings in Grenada, it will have appeal for residents of the member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). Home ownership is often characterized as a dream that most families aspire to. For a family, a house is a tangible asset, which offers protection and security. When customers become better informed on mortgage finance, and other basic concepts in home ownership, finance and construction, they are able to make better personal financial decisions.
Home Ownership Day event provides a unique Forum for all stakeholders in the housing industry namely prospective homeowners, architect/planners, building contractors, financial institutions, insurance companies, and suppliers of building materials, to meet and discuss issues related to the process of homeownership.
Your home is a valuable investment. Buying or building a home is a very serious commitment. It is a lifetime commitment. The home is where children are raised, where homework is done, where meals are prepared, where minds are developed and major family decisions are taken.
Careful planning and budgeting are essential in order to guard against financial problems that could arise from time to time. To ensure that everything runs smoothly and to avoid major pitfalls in owning your home, it is absolutely necessary that you should plan to deal with unexpected situations such as foreclosure, loss of income, and natural disasters.
It is envisaged that prospective homeowners, financial institutions, and other stakeholders in the housing industry will use this Brochure. It can be considered as reference material for prospective homeowners as well as training material for training by financial institutions or for use in their promotional activities.
ECHMB is proud to launch this Publication. We sincerely hope that all stakeholders in the housing industry will find the Brochure most useful.