The County of Simcoe’s Home Ownership Program
The Home Ownership Program is offered by the County of Simcoe and is aimed at assisting the “low-to-moderate income renter” to purchase a new home by way of providing a 10 percent down payment in the form of a “forgivable loan”.
Although the loan is forgivable, there are certain conditions in which repayment would be required. The only situation in which repayment is not required is if the home is sold after the 20 year time period that is set out. The conditions can be reviewed in the application for this program which can be accessed by clicking by clicking here.
The conditions are as follows:
• An individual would be required to repay the original loan, as well as a percentage of the realized capital gain if the home is sold before the required 20 year time period.
• In situations where there is a capital loss when the home is sold before the 20 year time period, the repayment amount would be reduced by the amount of the loss incurred. This only occurs if the property is sold at fair market value, and the purchase and sale is an arm’s-length transaction.
• If the purchaser defaults on any of the terms contained within the Loan Agreement within the 20 year time period, it is deemed a sale. In this situation, the loan amount, plus a percentage of the market value increase becomes due immediately.
The Homeownership Program contains a ‘Revolving Fund’ meaning that any money that is paid back to the County by the purchasers involved will be placed back in the fund, and redistributed in the future to eligible home buyers.
The funding for this particular program is provided by the “Investment in Affordable Housing for Ontario Program” which is both a federal and provincial program aiming to create and repair affordable housing in Ontario over the next four years. $480 million dollars has been allocated under this program, $12.5 of which has been provided to the County.
On August 28, 2012, shortly after changes were made by the CMHC to mortgages and amortization periods (which we previously discussed in an article that can be accessed at the following link: https://elliottlawyers.com/real-estate-law/feds-force-canadians-to-lower-debt-via-regulatory-changes-again) the County increased its down payment assistance for this program from five percent to 10 percent. Funding was available before the end of 2012 (for the year of 2012 and 2013), and another $450,000 will be available in 2014.
Due to the limited amount of funds and the popularity of this particular program, it is highly unlikely that any funds will be distributed in the year of 2013. There is a waiting list and it is estimated to be a year long at this point. If you decide to go on the waiting list you will most likely be reached sometime in 2014. The funds that are available will be allocated according to the wait list.
Once you reached from the waiting list, and accepted for the program, you will be required to update your information. You will also be required to provide proof that you are a current renter and you will have to obtain a pre-approved mortgage. You have two weeks to submit this information and approximately 45 days to go house hunting. If you are unable to find a home within the allotted time period you will either be removed from the list or moved back down to the bottom.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. The information does not constitute legal advice and a solicitor and client relationship is not created.
