Home ownership. It is a dream most Canadians share. And once you’re in, however modest the place, it is a generator of wealth. As a person or family builds equity, they are saving for the future, an opportunity, perhaps, to upgrade.
For many, however, the problem is getting their foot in, literally, the door. Many abandon the dream and simply accept they are destined to be a renter.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be that way.
There is a little known program in Yorkton designed to help first-time homebuyers get into the market. HeadStart on a Home is a provincial government entry-level real estate initiative. Provincially, the goal of the program is to build 1,500 homes by the end of 2016.
Of those, 35 are slated for Yorkton, of which 29 have already been built. Several are currently on the market in the CJ Houston development near St. Mary’s Ukrainian Church and at Fifth Avenue Estates Phase II near Jubilee Park.
There are some rules. Candidates must have a total household income level less than $78,400, be a first time buyer and have been renting for at least six months previously.
These things are easy enough for a lot of people, but the most prohibitive of the requirements is a minimum 10 per cent down payment. Even a starter home in Yorkton is currently the $200,000 to $275,000 range. For low or even middle-income families, it can be almost impossible to come up with $20,000.
That is where the program’s partners come into play. Credit Unions across the province—in Yorkton it is Cornerstone Credit Union—will lend eligible buyers loans at prime for up to five per cent of the down payment repayable over five years.
The other half of the down payment is available from the City of Yorkton in the form of a tax deferment. Basically, the city gives the buyer the money up front and recoups it through property taxes over a period of up to six years.
Strangely, in the four years the program has been available, the City has only received one applicant. Perhaps it has been a lack of awareness. Or maybe the maximum income threshold was a bit too low (Council just raised it from $60,000 to $78,400 at its regular meeting Monday).
Whatever the reason, it is unfortunate because this is an amazing deal. One would think people would be lining up to take advantage of it.
