The Town of Altona has decided to pass on a recent housing program proposal.
The proposal was presented to council by Choice Realty and involves a home ownership program through K Block Developments and Access Credit Union. A similar program was launched in Winkler earlier this year.
The program provides a no down payment option for qualified buyers. It includes an insured mortgage and an interest-free loan for a down payment of five per cent of the purchase price for five years.
Altona Mayor Harv Schroeder said the proposal went to the economic development committee for review. After that review, it was presented to council on July 9.
“During that meeting, council discussed this proposal and agreed to not move forward at this time,” he said. “During the discussion, it was noted that a developer was already providing this option to help new homeowners. With this in mind, we felt it would be best that the developers and the financial institutions could provide this opportunity [without the Town’s involvement].”
Choice Realty co-owner Nick Friesen represented K Block at the presentation. Friesen said the town’s support is vital for the program to proceed.
“The program involves Access Credit Union providing a zero percent interest loan to the buyer in place of the down payment. That loan needs security from Access Credit Union, just like any home purchase. Our understanding is municipalities are required to have a certain amount of savings and reserves that just have to be sitting there. And these down payment loans would be secured by those savings. So it wouldn’t take any money out of any account from the municipality. It would just basically have to stay in that reserve account for five years as security until that down payment loan has been paid back. They have that money sitting there anyway, and these loans get registered against that.”
The program specifically needs the loan secured by a third, uninvolved party.
“It can’t be developers’ money or anything like that,” Friesen explained. “Municipalities are able to do it. That’s what we’re doing in Winkler and that’s what we were hoping to launch in Altona as well.”
Friesen added that rental demand is high right now and they constantly get calls from people wanting to rent in Altona.
“This program would give a tenant trying to rent a place the potential to buy a condo. This would promote population retention in Altona and that’s why we were excited about it. It would take someone who is renting and get them to move somewhere else, and it would lock them in for five years and become a homeowner.”
While they’re disappointed about council’s response, Friesen says they haven’t given up on the idea.
“We’ll keep trying. We’ll figure something out yet. We’ll try to figure something out in the future.”
