In keeping with Gov. Albert Bryan’s March 13 State of Emergency Declaration and additional measures he announced on March 20 to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority (VIHFA) has implemented safety protocols and temporarily modified its business operations to safeguard the public and its employees.
The VIHFA office will remain open, but in-person customer/client contact will be significantly curtailed for the next 30 days beginning March 20.
As of today, VIHFA is implementing the following safety protocols for the public’s business transactions with its various offices:
In-person vendor check pickups are immediately suspended. All checks will be mailed to vendors. Vendors will be given wire and direct deposit options through the office of the CFO.
All vendor quotes and bids must be submitted via mail and email.
Employment application packages must be submitted via mail and email with all original documents being submitted on a later date as directed by the Human Resources Office.
In-person Home Buyers Education Classes are suspended until further notice. However, an online Home Buyers Education Class is available at https://www.ehomeamerica.org/vihfa. In-person interviews and counseling sessions must be rescheduled to phone conferences. Homeownership applications are available on the www.vihfa.gov website.
Training and conference room rentals are suspended.
Emergency Housing maintenance and repairs to tenant units are restricted to emergencies only.
Mortgage and Rental Payment Options
The Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority and Virgin Islands Housing Management Inc. recommends the use of the following mortgage and rental payment options:
VIHFA Online payment portal: go to www.vihfa.gov, select pay your bill and read all the instructions before proceeding to make a mortgage payment. This option gives a person 24/7 accessibility to make the mortgage payment online.
Pay-by-phone: Payments can be made over the phone using a credit card (Visa/ MasterCard/ Discover or Diner’s Club International) by contacting the St. Thomas Office at 777-7743 or the St. Croix Office at 772-4432.
Online Bill Pay and Pay-by-Phone: Borrowers or tenants who have a Banco Popular account have 24/7 access to make payment from their checking or savings account. This service can be accessed at www.bppr.com. This option can be utilized to pay a mortgage payment to V.I. Housing Finance Authority and rental payments to V.I. Housing Management Inc (VIHM).
Direct Debit: Authorize VIHFA or VIHM to electronically withdraw funds from your checking or saving account on a monthly basis.
Mail-In: Mail your payment and attach the bottom portion of the statement along with a check or money to the mailing address on the statement. Don’t forget to write the personal account number in the memo section.
Credit Card Authorization: Electronically pay the mortgage or rent by authorizing VIHFA or VIHM to charge a Visa, MasterCard, Discover or Diners Club International each month. Payments are withdrawn on the 1st and 15th of the month.
Payroll Deduction: Employees can voluntarily opt to have a payroll deduction plan by giving written permission to have payment automatically deducted from their paychecks. This plan is a convenient way to automatically contribute income toward an ongoing expense. Check with the employer for availability.
