MONTEGO BAY, St James — Law enforcement officers were feted at a real estate fair at the Freeport Police Station in St James in a bid to encourage sustainable wealth.

The initiative, which was held on Friday, was a partnership between the St James Police and real estate company Keller Williams Jamaica, acting commanding officer Superintendent of Police (SP) Eron Samuels told the Jamaica Observer.

The real estate fair gave banking institutions, among other agencies, opportunities to speak with members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) about owning a home or additional properties.

“We’re having a real estate fair that is aimed at bringing to the police officers, members of the JDF and other law enforcement officers real estate opportunities…whether it be actual opportunities or the access to funding through the banks and credit unions,” Samuels said during the event.

According to Samuels, the National Housing Trust (NHT) also took the time to shed some light on its Build Nine opportunity that encourages joint ownership of land. With the Build Nine project, a maximum group of nine individuals can purchase a parcel of land and have it subdivided to build a “community”.

“We are also looking at alternatives to the regular scheme units. We are looking at the ability for the members to come together and probably build their own schemes…that sort of unusual and new opportunity coming from NHT,” Samuels told the Sunday Observer.

He added, “Our intention, from a management level here at the St James Division, is to see that the welfare of our members are well taken of and one main issue that always comes up is owning homes. We want police officers to know that we want to bring to them every opportunity possible for them to acquire their own homes.”

Law enforcement officers were seen engaging with the different booths during Friday’s event, with some even opting to sign up for further consultations with the financial institutions. Samuels pointed out that that was a good sign, as even members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) stopped by to share their support.

“It has been good. There has been a steady flow of traffic since the start of the event. As you know, police officers are coming in from duties and they might pop in, so we are getting good feedback from the booths. They are signing up, getting their information and looking at the possibilities of purchasing their homes,” said the acting commanding officer.

Noting that the JCF is looking to host events of similar nature across the island, Samuels told the Sunday Observer that the police were appreciative of the partnership with Keller Williams Jamaica.

“I must lift my hat off to them. I spoke to them initially about looking for solutions for the members, based on questions that I have been asked by officers, so they came up with this grand idea and we facilitated it. They are the main organisers and we are now looking at other divisions to facilitate an event like this,” Samuels said.

While speaking on behalf of Keller Williams Jamaica, real estate agent Nevin Nish told the Sunday Observer that the organisation was eager to speak to law enforcement officers about homeownership.

“We know that our law enforcement officers are very important to us so it was conceptualised…to put together something to teach them about generational wealth, how they can access and own their homes and real estate in Jamaica,” said Nish, before noting that owning homes is a not linear process.

“We just wanted to lift that limit in belief about owning properties in Jamaica. You can start the process if you have a little piece of land, if your family left something or if you have the nine persons who can put together. NHT is here…so a couple of officers can come together and control their own little space, and NHT will help them to develop the infrastructure,” he added.

Nish pointed out that the real estate fair brought all the necessary agencies to the doors of the police officers and military personnel.

“We concetualised and asked all the affiliates who are involved in real estate to come on board. We have everybody here so the officers can speak to them. We have the municipal agency, surveyors and even lawyers,” he told the Sunday Observer.

“This is the first of many and it is a part of a strategic move to go across the island to bring this service and information to the law enforcement officers. We are looking to go to Kingston next,” Nish added.