The Federal Government has launched the 10,000 Affordable Housing Mortgage Scheme as part of its efforts for bridging the housing deficit in the country.
It is expected to alleviate the constraints to a rapid housing development in the country.
The Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who launched the programme on Thursday in Abuja, said that it was an actualization of President Goodluck Jonathan’s promise of delivering affordable housing before the end of the year.
According to her, the launch kicks off the pre-qualification of people for the first initial 10,000 mortgages to be provided by lenders.
“We’ve tried to aim this scheme primarily at the first time home buyer who is in the market to purchase a home costing between 2 million and 20 million Naira. So, we tried to keep it low to address our first time buyers and above all, our young people.
“There will be a step by step presentation as to how the scheme works but essentially, what we’ve done is develop an online portal specially for this scheme; www.housingfinance.gov.ng and you need to access this online portal.
“You will be asked to go through a checklist or eligibility requirements when you access this portal, and for verification to make sure that you’ve been paying your taxes, you earn a regular income and you’re a first time home buyer.
“Once you’ve ascertained that you do meet the eligibility requirements when you log on, you will be led to complete a very simple form. I’ve gone through the form myself and the Minister of Housing, to make sure its not too complicated. It just requests your personal details.
“When you’ve completed the form and read the terms and conditions for participation, you’ll be asked to submit the form. Upon submission you’ll be able to print out a copy of the completed form or you can direct the completed form online to a mortgage lender of your choice for further processing for pre-qualification”, she explained.
The mortgage scheme is a public-private partnership which would help to deepen Nigerian Mortgage Market and make housing more affordable.
