Home Ownership Alternatives

Ken and Vern, a young couple with $40,000 in annual household income, could only afford a $6,500 downpayment on a home. They bought a one-bedroom unit for $130,000 from HOA’s Shermount development in 2003. HOA provided $15,000 in downpayment help to bring the monthly carrying cost to $1,000, an amount less than the couple’s previous rent.

Jenny, a single mother with three children, earns $34,000 a year. At that level of income she is not entitled to social housing and was spending almost $14,000 a year on housing expenses. She desperately wanted the chance to own her home where her children could grow up with stability.

In 2005 Melissa Rumney (fictional name) lived in a rental apartment and paid monthly rent, like many others with an income of $27,000 year.

Not long ago a 19 year old young woman approached our developer with the dream of owning a home. Her childhood had been difficult, including stints in foster care. It is outside the norm for someone so young to want to buy a home. Banks usually look at the credit history of a potential mortgage holder. This young woman had only a cell phone account in her credit history. But somehow she had scraped together $10,000 for a down payment.