Charles Nahale is among nearly 700 fire survivor households still relying on FEMA’s housing assistance programs. For the past couple of years, he’s been renting a unit in Lahaina through FEMA’s direct housing program. He applied for Maui County’s Hoʻokumu Hou's First-Time Homebuyer Opportunity Program. But he’s still in limbo.
“The program came out around August of last year so about a year since the program came along, and I'm still waiting to hear if I've been approved,” Nahale told HPR. “There's been some hurdles to conquer in this process.”
Ho’okumu Hou is federally funded, offering qualified fire survivor renters up to $600,000 towards purchasing a home. Similar to the FEMA housing process, Nahale said he’s had to jump through many hoops.
“The program seems to constantly add more necessary documents to be qualified,” he explained of his experience. “So when you think that you've submitted everything you need, you get word from the program that they need something more, and then you think, ‘okay, we got everything now,’ and then there's (something else). And so it's reminding me of the FEMA process. It almost seemed like FEMA was trying to get us to leave the program. They were making it hard so that we would give up. This first homebuyer program is kind of feeling a little familiar.”
The First-Time Homebuyer Opportunity Program requires applicants to agree to live in the home. If they sell in the future, it has to be at an affordable price to a buyer who’s also income qualified. The terms last for 99 years.
But housing options in Lahaina are limited, leaving many, like Nahale, to wonder if they’ll have to move elsewhere.
“The specifications of the program make it so that we're not going to be able to stay in Lahaina, for example, if you get a place, it has to be built by a certain year. It has to be out of a flood zone, which makes sense,” Nahale said. “It's hard to meet those criteria in Lahaina. It's hard to find a place that will meet these requirements and be able to stay home, and so, you know, in some ways, they're almost driving us out.”
FEMA’s housing assistance was set to expire in February. At the last minute, it was extended for another year. But the process has left many fire survivors with continuing uncertainty.
“A lot of us thought we would end up on the beach,” Nahale said. “FEMA decided they would extend until February of 2027. That gave us time to try to find something. So the Hoʻokumu Hou program, as I mentioned, came out around August. I thought, ‘I'm going to dedicate the rest of the time with FEMA to getting a place,’ and again, there's a constant update of things needed.”
Nahale said he’s feeling anxious as the year goes by, but he’s holding onto hope.
“Oh, I would love to be home back in Lahaina,” he said, with longing. “I'd love to be able to feel the mana of this place, the family heritage. Yes, it's more than the building. It's about being in the place you were planted. That's home for me. So I'm really hoping that I can have that happen, and come home.”
