Ottawa - $9,700/5% of the purchase price (whichever is lower) for firsttime buyer

[William W]

Hot deal for those who are currently renting in Ottawa and will be looking to get into the market. This may very well be the extra boost that you need to get into the market.

You can find more detail and application here (http://ottawa.ca/residents/housing/investing/affordablehousing_en.html).

___________________________________

The City of Ottawa has received an allocation of $2.025 million from the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program to provide down payment assistance to 205 low and moderate-income households on the purchase of their first home. The Affordable Housing Unit (AHU) in the Housing Branch is the Service Manager responsible for administering the Canada-Ontario Home Ownership Assistance Program.

The application process will close January 31, 2009.

Eligibility
To be eligible for down payment assistance, prospective purchasers must meet the following minimum criteria:

-Be a renter
-Be at least 18 years old
-Be a first-time homebuyer:
-Any individual or household of two or more whom have not owned a home prior to the purchase of a unit through the Program. A single parent who, while married, owned a home with his or her spouse or resided in a home owned by the spouse. A single parent is an individual who is unmarried or legally separated from a spouse and has custody or joint custody of one or more minor children or is pregnant.

Household Income Limits
To be eligible for down payment assistance, the annual gross maximum eligible income limit for a household of one is $62,600. For households of two or more, the maximum eligible income limit is $75,800.

Maximum Purchase Price
The maximum sale price of the home must not exceed $285,778 and the home must be located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the City of Ottawa.

Eligible Units
-Resale homes - provided a home inspection is undertaken at the prospective homeowner's expense.
-Units may be freehold or condominium detached, semi-detached, townhouse or stacked town or condominium apartments.
-Homes must be modest in size as determined by the Province and the City of Ottawa.

Homeownership Assistance Levels
The Homeownership assistance will be used as a down payment on the purchase of a new or resale home. The assistance will be a no-interest second mortgage loan in an amount not to exceed $9,700 or 5 per cent of the purchase price (whichever is lower) to the eligible first-time homebuyer.

The loan is granted for a period of 20 years and no interest will be charged on the assistance. Appropriate documentation will be in place to secure the down payment assistance on title or in an agreement upon closing.

Security Agreement
-The City of Ottawa will register an appropriate security agreement (e.g. mortgage) with the purchaser on title. This will provide a mechanism for the repayment of the down payment assistance and five percent of the realized capital gains to the Affordable Housing Revolving Fund when ownership changes as a result of the sale of the house, title transfer, death of the homeowner or breach of the security agreement.
-The unit must remain the sole and principal residence of the applicant(s) for the entire 20-year period. It may not be leased to another party.
-Applicants must secure mortgage financing through a primary lending institution.

Conditions for Repayment by a Homeowner
On the 20th anniversary date of the agreement, the loan is automatically forgiven, provided there has been no default under the terms of the loan.

Under the terms of the 20 year loan agreement, an equity share payment is required if the buyer:

-Sells or transfers the title of the house
-Leases the property
-Does not use the home as his/her principle residence

Application forms are also available from the Affordable Housing Unit and can be requested by phone.

[240sxer]

.. And don't forget the $2000 back for Land Transfer Tax Refund as well :)

[KsprayDad]

Hot deal for those who are currently renting in Ottawa and will be looking to get into the market. I suppose this can be your 5% down payment that you need to get into the market.

You can find more detail and application here (http://ottawa.ca/residents/housing/investing/affordablehousing_en.html).

___________________________________

The City of Ottawa has received an allocation of $2.025 million from the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program to provide down payment assistance to 205 low and moderate-income households on the purchase of their first home. The Affordable Housing Unit (AHU) in the Housing Branch is the Service Manager responsible for administering the Canada-Ontario Home Ownership Assistance Program.

The application process will close January 31, 2009.

Eligibility
To be eligible for down payment assistance, prospective purchasers must meet the following minimum criteria:

Be a renter
Be at least 18 years old
Be a first-time homebuyer:
Any individual or household of two or more whom have not owned a home prior to the purchase of a unit through the Program.
A single parent who, while married, owned a home with his or her spouse or resided in a home owned by the spouse. A single parent is an individual who is unmarried or legally separated from a spouse and has custody or joint custody of one or more minor children or is pregnant.
Household Income Limits
To be eligible for down payment assistance, the annual gross maximum eligible income limit for a household of one is $62,600. For households of two or more, the maximum eligible income limit is $75,800.

Maximum Purchase Price
The maximum sale price of the home must not exceed $285,778 and the home must be located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the City of Ottawa.

Eligible Units
Resale homes - provided a home inspection is undertaken at the prospective homeowner's expense.
Units may be freehold or condominium detached, semi-detached, townhouse or stacked town or condominium apartments.
Homes must be modest in size as determined by the Province and the City of Ottawa.
Homeownership Assistance Levels
The Homeownership assistance will be used as a down payment on the purchase of a new or resale home. The assistance will be a no-interest second mortgage loan in an amount not to exceed $9,700 or 5 per cent of the purchase price (whichever is lower) to the eligible first-time homebuyer.

The loan is granted for a period of 20 years and no interest will be charged on the assistance. Appropriate documentation will be in place to secure the down payment assistance on title or in an agreement upon closing.

Security Agreement
The City of Ottawa will register an appropriate security agreement (e.g. mortgage) with the purchaser on title. This will provide a mechanism for the repayment of the down payment assistance and five percent of the realized capital gains to the Affordable Housing Revolving Fund when ownership changes as a result of the sale of the house, title transfer, death of the homeowner or breach of the security agreement.
The unit must remain the sole and principal residence of the applicant(s) for the entire 20-year period. It may not be leased to another party.
Applicants must secure mortgage financing through a primary lending institution.
Conditions for Repayment by a Homeowner
On the 20th anniversary date of the agreement, the loan is automatically forgiven, provided there has been no default under the terms of the loan.

Under the terms of the 20 year loan agreement, an equity share payment is required if the buyer:

Sells or transfers the title of the house
Leases the property
Does not use the home as his/her principle residence
Application forms are also available from the Affordable Housing Unit and can be requested by phone.



Awesome...my tax money going to give interest free loans to families making up to 70+K and buying 250k+ homes. Good use of my money. Not. I'm sure this will be helpful to some but am just as sure that it will be abused to high hell.

[William W]

Awesome...my tax money going to give interest free loans to families making up to 70+K and buying 250k+ homes. Good use of my money. Not. I'm sure this will be helpful to some but am just as sure that it will be abused to high hell.

Agreed. Personally I don't agree with how they are spending MY tax dollars.

Regardless, it is a hot "Deal" for those who qualifies for this loan/grant.

[jcon]

Any time someone moves it pumps money into the economy in many different ways. Using taxpayer money to help bump the economy is good policy. The economic spin-off will help everyone.

[mself084]

OP - your copy and paste was a little misleading... i thought i had to be a single parent to qualify until i visited the actual site.

Damn... hope they have this next year when i'm looking!

[Lan-Kern]

Damn I just bought a house in Ottawa and move in first of this month. I met all the criteria as well. Too bad. ;0(

[bubble.tea]

....emptied for brevity...

I never understand people who quote the ENTIRE initial post unless they were addressing in detail everything therein, especially since it is TWO posts above :lol: ?

[William W]

OP - your copy and paste was a little misleading... i thought i had to be a single parent to qualify until i visited the actual site.


Umm..... my copy and paste was directly from the Ottawa.ca website. :confused:

[northeastwind]

.. And don't forget the $2000 back for Land Transfer Tax Refund as well :)
What's this? can I have more info?

[cdnNick]

$285K?? You mean I could have got a bigger house and had the city give me money for a down payment...

I thought this was to help lower income families buy a house??

[swales]

This a total joke. Every year the city wants to raise taxes because they don't have enough money and now they're giving money to people who don't need it. I also thought this was for the low income people, anyone who is making $75k and can't buy a house is doing something wrong

[mself084]

Umm..... my copy and paste was directly from the Ottawa.ca website. :confused:

I know, but the part about being a single parent was an indented bullet under "be a first time buyer", whereas your post was all the same indentation, so it looked like another main condition. just confused me, thats all :)


This a total joke. Every year the city wants to raise taxes because they don't have enough money and now they're giving money to people who don't need it. I also thought this was for the low income people, anyone who is making $75k and can't buy a house is doing something wrong

1) its not related to property taxes being raised at all - this was money from the province, nothing to do with your property tax bill.

2) i think alot of people won't get any money... $2mil doesn't go THAT far nowadays, so mostly the lower incomes will get it (ie the people living in community housing, if they want to move up).

[swales]

1) its not related to property taxes being raised at all - this was money from the province, nothing to do with your property tax bill.



The Province only gives the City so much money, so these funds will be detucted from somewhere else which means the City will need to figure out how to raise the money and how do they do that? Raise the taxes

[mself084]

The Province only gives the City so much money, so these funds will be detucted from somewhere else which means the City will need to figure out how to raise the money and how do they do that? Raise the taxes

Are you referring to the snow removal overruns in the spring as a particular example? Under the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program, this is $2mil from the province, in a special fund, that other Ontario cities are getting as well... the city is responsible for affordable housing, so they divy up the $2mil to applicants. Not sure how this affects your property tax bill at all.

Back on-topic: anyone applying for this??? If I understand right, it's a 20 year interest free loan that is forgiven after 20 years? No payments at all?

[KsprayDad]

I never understand people who quote the ENTIRE initial post unless they were addressing in detail everything therein, especially since it is TWO posts above :lol: ?


Hey Bubble.tea long time no chat.

I quote the WHOLE thing as OPs will make edits to their posts from time to time thus rendering my comments potentially misconstrued.

Colin

(Here is $.0001 for the extra bandwidth my quote took!) :twisted:

[KsprayDad]

Any time someone moves it pumps money into the economy in many different ways. Using taxpayer money to help bump the economy is good policy. The economic spin-off will help everyone.

Tell ya what. The government can just lower our overall tax burden and accomplish the same goals without high cost high maintenance programs like this. And the income and purchase price levels of this program go well beyond low/mid income in my opinion.

[mavrik13]

To the people complaining about this:

Re-read the eligibility criteria. If you are in a household of 2 or more, the maximum amount you can make between the 2 of you is 75k. I'm sorry, but 2 people earning 37.5k a year (assuming this is before taxes) is not very much.

If you are a single parent making 62k or less, then you are also eligible. A single parent who has to bring up a child on under 62k can always use a helping hand.

Keep in mind, that a beneficiary of this program can also only receive 9700 -maximum-. It sounds like this is moreso to help with a down payment than the actual mortgage.

Sure, some people may abuse this... but I'd bet far less money will be wasted by this program than the amount that is "wasted" (e.g. abused) by welfare.

I am also more than willing to bet that this money is not coming out of the cities budget, and rather it is more analagous to an extra 'bonus'. 2 million is not that much anyways... 12 million people in Ontario, thats equivalent to 17 cents per person. I dont know about you, but I think more money falls out of my pocket in a month than would be contributed to this.

[Stock R]

Damn I just bought a house in Ottawa and move in first of this month. I met all the criteria as well. Too bad. ;0(

+1! :(

[swales]

To the people complaining about this:

Re-read the eligibility criteria. If you are in a household of 2 or more, the maximum amount you can make between the 2 of you is 75k. I'm sorry, but 2 people earning 37.5k a year (assuming this is before taxes) is not very much.

.

Two people without kids making $75k can easily buy a house, but people just don't want to save any money and then they complain that they can't afford a house so our stupid gov't is going to bail some of them out.

[William W]

If you are a single parent making 62k or less, then you are also eligible. A single parent who has to bring up a child on under 62k can always use a helping hand.


May be I'm reading this wrong, but how I interpret this is single people with no kids but makes $62k or less will also qualify for this program.

[geckofish]

People objecting to this program as a waste of tax dollars are being a little short sighted. This will reduce the need for the city to build more affordable housing units. It takes a long time to save $9700 for a down payment. This program will get people out of city owned units sooner, making them available for other people.

Building and maintaining new units is way more expensive than this program. In my opinion, this is way things should be done in govermnent more often. Rather than spend a lot of money on providing an expensive service, make it easier for people to provide it for themselves.

[mself084]

May be I'm reading this wrong, but how I interpret this is single people with no kids but makes $62k or less will also qualify for this program.

I get that as well. I think the city (or the requirements of the fund? not sure) left this too open-ended (single people making 60k shouldnt qualify if u ask me). That being said, after all the applications are received it's likely someone in that situation who applied won't receive much money, if any, once the other applications are taken into consideration, since there are alot of people in need of community housing who would/should take precedence. the program is no guarantee of money, for sure... $9700 is also the max. u can get.

[William W]

That being said, after all the applications are received it's likely someone in that situation who applied won't receive much money, if any, once the other applications are taken into consideration, since there are alot of people in need of community housing who would/should take precedence. the program is no guarantee of money, for sure... $9700 is also the max. u can get.

Actually, according to an article written on the Ottawa Citizen (http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=3bbe3008-8100-4b75-beaf-13fea6106a8f)today which is "The downpayment assistance will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis, Mr. Mawby said. Application forms are available on the city's website or by calling the city's affordable housing unit at 613-580-2424, extension 43136 or 44154."

So in my opinion, this is like a boxing day deal. If I am qualify for this "Grant/Loan" I will be printing out this form right this moment and head down to city hall with the filled application and get my $9,700 interest free loan. This is almost like Staple, better grab one before it goes OOS:cheesygri :D :cheesygri

[mself084]

Actually, according to an article written on the Ottawa Citizen (http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=3bbe3008-8100-4b75-beaf-13fea6106a8f)today which is "The downpayment assistance will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis, Mr. Mawby said. Application forms are available on the city's website or by calling the city's affordable housing unit at 613-580-2424, extension 43136 or 44154."

So in my opinion, this is like a boxing day deal. If I am qualify for this "Grant/Loan" I will be printing out this form right this moment and head down to city hall with the filled application and get my $9,700 interest free loan. This is almost like Staple, better grab one before it goes OOS:cheesygri :D :cheesygri

That's crazy! I'd definitely be at city hall right now if I was buying a home in the next few months... great incentive by the province/city to get people out of expensive community housing and out on their own. As someone else pointed out, it's sure to be abused by a few, but for the majority it should really help.

[Rudy]

damn it's a shame i used to own a condo in BC because i think i would qualify :(

[William W]

As someone else pointed out, it's sure to be abused by a few, but for the majority it should really help.

I can totally see some rich parents will be taking advantage of this "Deal" to buy their sons/daughters condos that is close to the University. After all, their sons/daughters probably makes less than $62k/year, and all they need is the parents to co-sign the loan for them to get the mortgage.

[Lukus]

So in my opinion, this is like a boxing day deal. If I am qualify for this "Grant/Loan" I will be printing out this form right this moment and head down to city hall with the filled application and get my $9,700 interest free loan. This is almost like Staple, better grab one before it goes OOS:cheesygri :D :cheesygri

Does any boxing day sale oblige you to spend $285,000 in order to save $9,700?

This is not one of them credit card deal where you get an interest-free loan to do as you please with it.

If you're not a person on a low income looking to buy a house, then move on as this deal is clearly not aimed for you.

[swales]

If you're not a person on a low income looking to buy a house, then move on as this deal is clearly not aimed for you.

As mentioned before, it has nothing to do with low income people...it would be great if it did as they're the ones that really need the help. $62K or $75K is FAR from low income

[William W]

Does any boxing day sale oblige you to spend $285,000 in order to save $9,700?



Actually, you "only" need to spend $194,000 to qualify for the maximum of grant/loan. Ok... bad analogy with Boxing day. But if the government is going to give you $9,700 for your downpayment, that will free up $9,700 of your own money to spend on what ever you want.

Besides, I will hardly call anyone single individuals who make $62k as low income earner, if it were $26k, that's a whole different story.

[SAN66]

I have friends who are expecting their first child soon, they make a decent ammount as a household, under the threshold, but only the father is working currently. I know they want to get a house, so something like this would help them out greatly.

[blizzack]

The Province only gives the City so much money, so these funds will be detucted from somewhere else which means the City will need to figure out how to raise the money and how do they do that? Raise the taxes

Being a grant from the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program, and based on my understanding of these grants work, the terms of their use are stipulated by the government issuing the grant, not the one receiving it.

So, the city has two options: Use it for its intended purpose, or give the money back.

[rfman]

Well, for one thing, they are only giving 205 of these out. That's not much at all. They will most likely have a ton of applicatins for these.

I'm just afraid that this will prompt people who can only marginally afford a house to buy now, and they could very well end up quite screwed when rates go up, which will not help the housing situation any more.

This will probably help sell a few condos though, since most houses under that price are either in a state of disrepair, or in shady//violent neighbourhoods.

[bryan35]

This is a 20 year repayable interest free loan. Not a give away.

[William W]

This is a 20 year repayable interest free loan. Not a give away.

It is only repayable if you sell within the first 20 years of ownership, and it is forgiven after 20 years.

[HockeyFan]

This a total joke. Every year the city wants to raise taxes because they don't have enough money and now they're giving money to people who don't need it. I also thought this was for the low income people, anyone who is making $75k and can't buy a house is doing something wrong

Well, 75K could be low income if it's one of those families with many kids. Also, if you're paying child support, allimony and stuff then your 75K is really going to be half of that so I guess they're factoring those extreme situations into it.

In general, I agree though, if you're making $75K you should be able to afford a home no problem.

[scholar]

man im only making approx 25k/yr after tax or is it before? dunno, dun remember...and plus visiting RFD very often, that number is probably down to around 22k the minimum, MINIMUM! but ottawa here i come!!! tsk tsk, i wish! lolz... i cant move from toronto, i cant see myself living in a city thats smaller than toronto, i dont want to be aliented from the rest of the country, yes country! GTA is 50% population of canada.

maybe when i am really stuck of living in the country of gta, i'll go to a smaller city but not 5hrs away from everything...lolz... altho, i'd hope gta do offer something like this so that i can ease up on spending on nonsense and spending on something useful for my future and so that i can laff at all my of friends who are balling but still living at home with mommy and daddy! hahaha... im currently renting my own place, my share is about $5bills every month, thats not including food! if factor in my roommate, we can prolly buy a house!

[ScoFF]

That $2000 back for land transfer, do you have to apply for that afterwards or is that something the lawyer will just deduct automatically at closing?

[swales]

That $2000 back for land transfer, do you have to apply for that afterwards or is that something the lawyer will just deduct automatically at closing?

My lawyer deducted it before closing

[swales]

i cant move from toronto, i cant see myself living in a city thats smaller than toronto, i dont want to be aliented from the rest of the country, yes country! GTA is 50% population of canada.

maybe when i am really stuck of living in the country of gta, i'll go to a smaller city but not 5hrs away from everything...lolz...

Spoken like a stereotypical Torontonian

So did you learn your great math skills in the fantastic city of TO? Last time I checked, 5 million isn't 50% of 33 million :lol:

[setell]

man im only making approx 25k/yr after tax or is it before? dunno, dun remember...and plus visiting RFD very often, that number is probably down to around 22k the minimum, MINIMUM! but ottawa here i come!!! tsk tsk, i wish! lolz... i cant move from toronto, i cant see myself living in a city thats smaller than toronto, i dont want to be aliented from the rest of the country, yes country! GTA is 50% population of canada.

maybe when i am really stuck of living in the country of gta, i'll go to a smaller city but not 5hrs away from everything...lolz... altho, i'd hope gta do offer something like this so that i can ease up on spending on nonsense and spending on something useful for my future and so that i can laff at all my of friends who are balling but still living at home with mommy and daddy! hahaha... im currently renting my own place, my share is about $5bills every month, thats not including food! if factor in my roommate, we can prolly buy a house!

Geeze have you consider the fact that Toronto may not be the ideal city for many people? I for one do not like the long drive to get from point A to point B but then look where I'm living right :lol: I am loving my max 10min drive to get anywhere!

[mocha'n'me]

So can I interpret this as buy a house for $200K, receive $9700 assistance and if I sell before the 20 years I only need to repay the $9700 interest free? And if I keep it for 20 years I owe nothing?

[rfman]

man im only making approx 25k/yr after tax or is it before? dunno, dun remember...and plus visiting RFD very often, that number is probably down to around 22k the minimum, MINIMUM! but ottawa here i come!!! tsk tsk, i wish! lolz... i cant move from toronto, i cant see myself living in a city thats smaller than toronto, i dont want to be aliented from the rest of the country, yes country! GTA is 50% population of canada.


The one thing that Ottawa has that Toronto seems to have less and less of are jobs. If you have a decent education in an employable field (i.e., not history or sociology, etc.), there are well paying jobs here. Gotta love the Federal government.

[Totoriko]

A single parent who, while married, owned a home with his or her spouse or resided in a home owned by the spouse. A single parent is an individual who is unmarried or legally separated from a spouse and has custody or joint custody of one or more minor children or is pregnant.

Shouldn't the title be changed to specify that it's only for single parents?

[swales]

Shouldn't the title be changed to specify that it's only for single parents?

But it's NOT

Any individual or household of two or more whom have not owned a home prior to the purchase of a unit through the Program.


OR

A single parent who, while married, owned a home with his or her spouse or resided in a home owned by the spouse. A single parent is an individual who is unmarried or legally separated from a spouse and has custody or joint custody of one or more minor children or is pregnant.

[mself084]

Shouldn't the title be changed to specify that it's only for single parents?

i had the same problem with the original post....if u click the city of ottawa link, the single parent part is actually a sub-heading, not a requirement.