{"id":2184,"date":"2026-07-04T04:08:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T04:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2184"},"modified":"2026-07-04T04:08:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T04:08:13","slug":"rent-to-own-promise-delayed-years-for-ewa-tenants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2184","title":{"rendered":"Rent-to-own promise delayed years for Ewa tenants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Residents of a city-connected rent-to-own housing program in Ewa say they were promised the chance to buy their homes, but have never been given the opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n

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Walter Saragosa and Wendy Broxson live a few doors apart on Orrick Street in Tenney Village as tenants of the nonprofit Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation.<\/p>\n

Both said they moved in after seeing an offer \u2014 still posted on the organization\u2019s website \u2014 promising qualified moderate- and low-income workers the chance to rent and eventually own a renovated plantation house.<\/p>\n

Residents say they met program requirements<\/h2>\n

Saragosa said documentation he provided to HNN Investigates shows in writing that a rent-to-own program existed. He and Broxson said residents were told to maintain their properties, follow association rules, and they would eventually be able to purchase their homes.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Projected sale prices were in the range of $140,000 to $145,000.<\/p>\n

Saragosa said they completed a homeownership certificate course as part of the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got my completion of certificate for the home ownership,\u201d Saragosa said. \u201cWe went to class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broxson said she and Saragosa applied for the program in 2000. Saragosa got his rental unit in 2009 and Broxson in 2017. Both said the wait for the chance to buy caused them to miss other opportunities to become homeowners.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow the kids have moved out,\u201d Broxson said. \u201cI don\u2019t have anyone on my lease with me, so if I croak, all my hard work was for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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City response called \u2018BS\u2019 by resident<\/h2>\n

Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation did not respond to requests for comment. The city did respond, and residents described the reply as both shocking and hopeful.<\/p>\n

According to the city, 47 properties were set aside as affordable rentals with a rent-to-buy option during the Ewa Village Revitalization Project, but no participants qualified.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis statement is BS,\u201d Saragosa said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Saragosa and Broxson said they believed they were qualified. A review of city property records shows Pacific Housing still owns more than a dozen homes on their block alone.<\/p>\n

City and nonprofit reviewing records<\/h2>\n

The city\u2019s statement said Pacific Housing Assistance and the city are now reviewing records and discussing the potential to revive a rent-to-own program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t know,\u201d Saragosa said of the city\u2019s response. \u201cSo we\u2019re thankful you\u2019re giving us this time to maybe shed some light on this program.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city Department of Community Services said it appreciates the patience of the residents but must review all paperwork before it can provide a meaningful answer about the program\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Read more West Oahu beach closing temporarily to deter illegal fireworks<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Residents of a city-connected rent-to-own housing program in Ewa say they were promised the chance to buy their homes, but have never been given the opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRent-to-own promise delayed years for Ewa tenants - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2184\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rent-to-own promise delayed years for Ewa tenants - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Residents of a city-connected rent-to-own housing program in Ewa say they were promised the chance to buy their homes, but have never been given the opportunity to do so.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2184\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-04T04:08:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2184#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2184\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"Rent-to-own promise delayed years for Ewa tenants\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-04T04:08:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2184\"},\"wordCount\":466,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2184#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/a3481b9a89e5b92f368bf97682ffc0cf.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2184#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2184\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2184\",\"name\":\"Rent-to-own promise delayed years for Ewa tenants - 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