Public Servants Rush For HFC Affordable Houses

Public service workers have shown an interest in acquiring affordable houses put on sale exclusively by the HFC Bank.

So far 80 of the completed houses at Kasoa and Kuntunase have been given out on what has been described as the most flexible mortgage terms in the country.

The two bedroom expandable houses, which cost Gh¢25,000, will take a buyer up to 20 years to pay off.

When the Daily Graphic visited some of the branches of the bank in Accra, application forms put on display for potential customers had run out and the staff had to print new ones on request.

At the Ebankese branch of the bank in Accra, a long queue had been formed with customers enquiring about how they could also own one of the properties.

The General Manager, Mortgage and Consumer Loans, Mr Charles Bonsu, told the Daily Graphic that the offer was designed to fit into the government's programme on housing.

It has been observed that as a result of the size of the disposable income of public sector workers, they were seldom able to acquire houses on their own.

This made them vulnerable to landlords who cashed in on their deficiency and charge exorbitant rents.

But Mr Bonsu was of the view that although the houses on offer were limited, it would go a long way to ease the burden of the public sector workers.

He said there were no charges on the payments as was in the case of the commercial mortgages.

Mr Bonsu said the interest was fixed on the 91 day treasury bill rate plus one, adding that so far 80 of the houses have been completed and handed over completely to the buyers.

He said the project was ongoing and would be completed by the end of the year.

Mr Bonsu said the bank would hold an exclusive exhibition to showcase its packages to the public from September 4 to September 6, 2008.

He said real estate developers and other people in the housing industry would be present to display their products of varied types and expressed the hope that those in need of one of the best mortgage products in the country could take advantage of the exhibition.

Mr Bonsu said the bank had confidence in its customers and the working people of the country and was therefore poised to ensure that it came out with products that could easily meet their pockets in the housing sector.

Story by Charles Benoni Okine