There will be two public auctions to be held at the NMHC conference room in its Garapan office: Sept. 27 and Oct. 4.
The first auction involves the sale of a 949-square-meter property in As Matuis with a minimum bid of $80,000.
The second public auction involves 23 properties worth $1.18 million.
According to NMHC, these 23 homes were part of the 32 accounts the agency bought last year from the U.S. Department of Agriculture because of default.
Of the 32 accounts bought, 12 are still occupied while 20 homes have long been abandoned.
According to NMHC, it will be the third time that these properties will be sold.
The housing agency expects sealed bids no later than 4 p.m. on Oct. 3.
As for the Sept. 27 auction, the housing agency requires a deposit of $8,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price on the day of the auction sale with the remaining balance to be paid off within three calendar days.
During its board meeting last month, it was discussed that the homeowners can still buy back these properties. According to NMHC, the homeowners have the right to reinstate their account despite the delinquency or default provided they do so 24 hours before auction sale.
The housing agency also encourages those borrowers to come in and work with them on the debt relief.
$18M -$20M portfolio
NMHC has been managing a portfolio between $18 million and $20 million.
Of the six loan programs — NMHC local funds, Bank of Hawaii, Wells Fargo, Bank Pacific, USDA RD, Home Program loans — under NMHC management, there were 75 current accounts as of July 31.
Jesse Palacios, NMHC’s mortgage and credit manager, said during their August board meeting that most delinquencies are coming from the 90 days and over.
He, however, said that despite being delinquent, the borrowers “still come in and make payments.
According to the delinquency report dated July 31, of the $2,120,436.56 under NMHC local funds, there were 75 loans on Saipan of which 7 percent were 60 days past due while 43 percent were over 90 days delinquent.
Of the 11 loans on Tinian worth $382,431.64, 9 percent were 30 days past due, and 63 percent were over 90 days past due.
On Rota, with five loans worth $29,522.57, 60 percent were over 90 days delinquent.
Under the Home Program, there were 125 loans worth $944,642.30 on Saipan.
Of these loans, the delinquency rate is 3 percent, 30 days past due; 4 percent, 60 days past due; and 46 percent, 90 days and over.
On Tinian, for the 12 loans worth $119,333, 42 percent were 90 days delinquent; 8 percent, 60 days; and 8 percent, 30 days.
With seven loans on Rota worth $26,080.32, 57 percent were 90 days delinquent and 29 percent were 60 days delinquent.
Under the USDA RD loans, from which 32 accounts were bought by NMHC last year, there’s $8,100,908.08 in principal and 309 loans, 7 percent were 30 days delinquent; 5 percent, 60 days; and 22 percent, 90 days and over.
Under the Bank of Hawaii guaranteed home loans worth $1,055,097.12, 12 percent of the 17 loans were 90 days delinquent; 6 percent, 60 days; and 12 percent, 30 days.
For the Wells Fargo home loans with a principal of $1,813,019.47, 4 percent of the 25 loans were 90 days delinquent while 8 percent and 4 percent were 60 and 30 days past due respectively.
Of the 57 loans guaranteed under Bank Pacific worth $3,707,516.44, 7 percent were 90 days and 14 percent were 30 days past due.
During their board meeting last month, the NMHC board looked into ways to help borrowers pay off their loans.
According to NMHC mortgage and credit manager Jesse Palacios, the NMHC offers a loan modification program that reduces interest rate from 9 percent to 6 percent.
Palacios said clients would come in and work with them on a reduction in interest rate.
“If that 6 percent rate is still not affordable for them, we do an extension provided that property’s value is more than what the extension is,” he said.
NMHC board chairwoman Merced Tomokane urged for more push for the NMHC clients to come in and have them work out their loans based on their financial standing.
Tomokane also said extending the loan would only compound the problem for the borrowers.
“We are not trying to put people on the street. We are trying to help them,” she said.
Palacios, who had already sat down with the borrowers and discussed their financial situations, told the NMHC board that the high power rate and austerity measures weighed heavily on the borrowers impacting their ability to pay their monthly dues.
It was also reported that some borrowers could only satisfy 50 percent of the monthly regular amortization of the principal interest.
For Tomokane, allowing this will only compound the problem as interest will continue to roll and “there is no way they can catch up at the rate they are making payments.”
The board asked NMHC administration to look into ways to rewrite the notes and hold off the accrued interest at the end to get the borrowers off the delinquency.
The same problems continue to haunt the NMHC borrowers. In a statement to Variety in 2009, NMHC administrator Joshua Sasamoto said the worsening economic crisis, the unprecedented rise in the prices of basic commodities, utilities and fuel, aggravated by the austerity holidays, made it very difficult for many borrowers to pay their mortgage on time.
