How Lending Practices Restrict Hawaiian Homesteaders’ Borrowing Power…Native Hawaiians cannot take out second mortgages or home equity lines of credit on their homesteads — but not everyone understood that was part of the deal.
For the few Native Hawaiians who can secure a residential lot on Hawaiian Home Lands, the ground holds the potential to fulfill a century-old promise.
The advantages of homeownership, a maintainable property to pass down to children, the restoration of economic self-sufficiency among Native Hawaiians — these were all commitments made by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, passed by Congress in 1920.
But 100 years later, lending practices continue to restrict Native Hawaiians’ ability to maintain their homes and invest in their families’ futures.
