Investment firm offers to help Hawaii teachers buy homes By Andrew Gomes May 1, 2019
A company that helps educators buy homes in high-cost communities has “landed” in Hawaii with a $25 million bankroll envisioned to help improve chronically poor public school teacher retention. San Francisco-based Landed is kicking off its program, described by backers as innovative, after working with a local business executive organization and the Hawaii Community Foundation. Landed invests in home purchases with educators by providing up to half of a standard down payment on a home, with a limit of $120,000, in return for repayment of that contribution in the future along with a sum totaling 25% of any gain or loss in value. “It’s a shared investment in the home,” said Alex Lofton, Landed’s co-founder. Local business leaders and government officials said affording a home in one of the priciest markets in the country is one reason why many teachers leave Hawaii every year. Terry George, president and CEO of the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, noted that the state Department of Education had to fill 1,200 teacher positions this year, up from 1,000 last year. “We know the cost of living is one of the issues,” he said. “Obviously, we need to do something about this.” George, a member of the Hawaii Executive Conference, was among leaders in the organization who announced Landed’s Hawaii expansion Tuesday at Hawaii Community Foundation’s downtown Honolulu headquarters. Jack Wong, Kamehameha Schools CEO and co-chairman of the executive conference’s education committee, added, “Teachers with stable housing are more likely to stay in the classroom and help schools recruit and retain high-quality teachers.”