NEW families on Guam are no different than new families in the region or the nation. They have dreams of providing the best for their children and owning their first home is the first step in making this dream come true.

Last week, the Legislature put the last piece in place with the passage of the rules and regulations in the revamping of the First-time Homeowners Assistance Program that I established in the 24th Guam Legislature, which assisted many Guam families in realizing their dreams of owning their first home. Now we will once again do the same for families today and in the future with secured funding provided by the Guam Housing Corporation (GHC).

The original First-time Homeowners Relief Program, which I authored in the 24th Guam Legislature, was repealed and re-enacted in Public Law 31-166, in order to update it. The renewed First-time Homeowner Assistance Program coupled with the Housing Trust Fund Act will now provide qualified first-time homeowners financial assistance toward purchasing or constructing a home. The amount of assistance is equal to 4 percent of the eligible transaction cost of the home up to $250,000, which is inclusive of the cost of the land, down payments, and/or closing costs. This will provide up to $10,000 to qualified first-time homeowners that will greatly assist those individuals and/or families that need that extra financial help in achieving the goal of homeownership, especially with the rising cost of gas, power, water, groceries, etc.

When we help our people buy their first home, we are helping our entire community. It is an irrefutable fact that homeownership builds pride in one’s neighborhood and translates into additional economic activity within the real estate industry on Guam. Homeowners invest in their homes with general maintenance, new furnishings and improvements generating greater property value and thus greater revenues via taxes. All of this additional economic activity provides job growth and decreases the unemployment rate.

I applaud GHC for providing the Guam Legislature the rules and regulations for this program, as this marks the final step in re-implementing this program. It has always been and will continue to be my intent to introduce legislation that promotes homeownership for those individuals and families that are financially prepared for such an undertaking. The First-time Homeowner Assistance Program gives that extra financial push for individuals and families that need that lift to the dream of owning a home.

Realizing the dream of homeownership is just the beginning for many of these families. Some use the value of their homes to send children to college, pay for retirement and even pass down their homes to their children as their first homes.

For many others, it means the opportunity for even bigger dreams, dreams of owning their first business. In a recent study by Barlow Research, about 25 percent of small business owners used the equity in their homes as collateral to secure financing to start or finance the operations of their businesses. The director of the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project and Associate Professor of Finance at the University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management in a recent article wrote, “Many small business owners look to home equity as a potential source of financing.”

Therefore, when we put our families in their own homes, we are not only fulfilling the dreams of today; we are providing the potential to fulfill even more dreams for tomorrow.