(a) Except as otherwise provided, all loans referred to in section 9 of this title shall be made with interest at the rate of 4 per centum per annum, and shall be payable in a period not exceeding 30 years. Loans for home purchases granted under this program shall be for a period not exceeding 30 years. Home improvement loans or loans for the purchase of land shall be for a period not exceeding 10 years, at the same interest rate. Interest on the loans shall begin to accrue 30 days prior to the date on which the first payment is due, or 1 year from the date on which any portion of the loan is made to the applicant, whichever date is earlier.
(b) The Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority, for and on behalf of the Government of the Virgin Islands, shall hold a first or second priority mortgage upon each building constructed or being constructed under the provisions of this chapter until the loan and interest have been paid in full. The owner shall carry fire and hurricane insurance on the building.
(c) After a loan has been approved by the Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority, the monies shall be advanced to the borrower in four equal installments at intervals during construction to be determined by the Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority. The first payment on a loan shall be made 3 months after the completion of a building or 1 year after the first installment is received by the applicant, whichever time is earlier, provided, however, that the first payment on a loan granted for the purchase of land, purchase of a home and home improvement, shall be made three (3) months after the first installment is received by the applicant. Payments shall be made monthly.
(d) The applicant shall be required to show evidence of having invested not less than 10 percent of the estimated cost of construction in the project before the first installment is advanced by the Government. The 10 percent investment by the applicant shall be in the form of cash or its equivalent.
(e) For the purposes of this chapter, the Commissioner of Public Works shall determine when the building is completed and shall so notify the Commissioner of Finance in order that initial date of payment of the loan may be known.