Government again denies any ties to use mortgage company

For a month or so before the elections it was a hot item on the Internet. That is a claim by a U.S. company that it had signed a deal with the Esquivel administration to provide government guaranteed mortgage financing to build thousands of Belizean homes. Authorities at the time denied such reports and issued a press release saying that no such arrangement existed. Now less than a month after elections, the new government has repeated the disclaimer of its predecessor, stating that neither Pan American Bancorp or an associated Belizean company, Affordable Housing Group Limited, has any arrangement with Belizean authorities for housing or mortgage financing. Having learned that officials of both companies are presently in Belize, News Five got in touch with Joe Sanker, the Belize American who is C.E.O. of the Affordable Housing Group. He told us that there is indeed no agreement between his company and the government, that what they are involved in is the construction of homes in Belize, primarily for Belize Americans. Sanker said that if you own land here his company will import a high quality manufactured home from the U.S. to your specifications, and erect it on your lot. The money part is up to you, but he said that he is working on an arrangement under which Belize Americans who qualify would be able to receive mortgage financing from Pan American Bancorp in the United States. Sanker’s company is presently in the process of building two model houses so he can get a better feel for construction costs and the public can see exactly what they’ll be buying.