The University of Hawaiʻi announced on September 10, a new down payment assistance program with Landed to aimed at helping UH faculty and staff buy homes in Hawaiʻi. The down payment assistance and homebuyer education partnership with Landed, which previously introduced the program to the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, provides half of the down payment on a home up to $120,000 per family, in exchange for a portion of the change in the value when the home is sold.
Landed’s down payment support will be available to all UH employees who have worked for any part of the University of Hawaiʻi system for at least two years.
“As the cost of housing in Hawaiʻi continues to rise, too many of our faculty and staff are finding it harder to afford homes,” said UH President David Lassner. “We believe Landed will be a valuable option to help some of our employees to live in the communities that they serve.”
Landed’s work in Hawaiʻi launched in May for K–12 educators as part of the Hawaiʻi Executive Conference adopting the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s CHANGE Framework, a commitment to collaborate to help address some of Hawaiʻi’s most pressing issues. So far, three Hawaiʻi educators have already purchased homes with Landed’s down payment support, and more than 600 interested K–12 educators in Hawaiʻi have attended Landed informational events or reached out online.
Since its founding in 2015, Landed has already helped more than 200 educators purchase homes in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which helped connect Landed with community partners in Hawaiʻi, is an investor in Landed’s housing funds.
“We are thrilled to expand Landed’s homebuying resources to higher education in Hawaiʻi and look forward to connecting directly with faculty, staff, and their families,” said Landed Co-Founder Alex Lofton. “As the son of a school teacher and a social worker in the Seattle area, I know firsthand the struggles that many families go through to build financial security in expensive communities. Landed hopes to be a support system to help all educators and staff feel more secure in their financial future.”
Interested homebuyers can use this program in conjunction with a mortgage from any of Landed’s partner lenders: First Hawaiian Bank, Bank of Hawaii, American Savings Bank, and Central Pacific Bank.
Interested employees can get more information and apply at landed.com.
A series of informational sessions for faculty and staff to learn more about the program will be held the week of October 7. Interested educators can RSVP for the info sessions.
Times and locations
Monday, October 7: Oʻahu
- 9–10 a.m.—Honolulu Community College
- 12–1 p.m.—Leeward Community College
- 4:30–5:30 p.m.—University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu
Tuesday, October 8: Oʻahu
- 12–1 p.m.—Kapiʻolani Community College
- 4:30–5:30 p.m.Windward Community College
- 4:30–5:30 p.m.—University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Wednesday, October 9: Maui
- 4:30–5:30 p.m.—University of Hawaiʻi Maui College
Thursday, October 10: Hawaiʻi Island
- 12–1 p.m.—Hawaiʻi Community College
- 4:30–5:30 p.m.—University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
Friday, October 11: Kauaʻi
- 4:30–5:30 p.m.—Kauaʻi Community College
