Affordability is an issue for many people looking for home ownership, but a Toronto-based builder is making it easier for families to fulfill that dream. The Daniels Corporation has designed an affordable housing program, called the FirstHome Boost program, that uses federal and provincial housing supports to provide qualified individuals with interest-free loans for pre-construction homes worth 10% of the purchase price. Tess Kalinowski, real estate reporter for the Toronto Star, has more details on the program.
The program means purchasers don’t need to have a full 5 percent deposit when they sign for their home. They gradually pay the deposit in the time it takes between agreeing to buy the pre-construction home and taking occupancy. If there are construction delays and the buyers have reached their 5 percent deposit, they are able to save toward their mortgage in the intervening time.
“We’ve had so many nurses, teachers who’ve come in and say they have great steady income but, ‘I don’t have someone to lend me money and I need this to help me become a homeowner,’” said Martin Blake, vice-president and the company’s point person on affordable housing.
He figures that over its 34 years of business Daniels has built about 30,000 homes in the Toronto area and its affordable housing programs such as FirstHome Boost have helped about 3,000 families become homeowners.
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