Process for first home buyers has been trimmed down - Wycliffe

First Home buyers will not receive physical cash when applying for the government's First Home Purchase Programme.

This has been clarified by the Permanent Secretary for Housing and Community Development Joshua Wycliffe.

Wycliffe says the Ministry is working with all stakeholders in looking at innovative models that will make the process quicker.

He says first home buyers will need to visit the bank and Housing Authority and comply with the Home Loan Criteria of the Housing Authority and the bank.
  Wycliffe says that the process has been trimmed down and will take at least two to three weeks before the banks get a response from the Ministry.
  Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum had earlier told LegendFM News that first home buyers with an annual income of under $50,000 will receive $15,000 towards the first home construction or $10,000 towards the first home purchase.

Sayed-Khaiyum says first home buyers with an income threshold between $50,000 to $100,000 per year, will qualify for $10,000 for construction of a new home or $5,000 for the purchase of their first home .

To be eligible, applicants must be a Fijian citizen residing in Fiji, be 18 years of age and above, have an annual household income of $100,000 or less, have never previously purchased or owned a home in Fiji and individual must meet the financial institution’s loan and meet the FNPF Home Building Criteria under the Village/ Mataqali Scheme.