Tuesday 26 January 2016

More businesses looking beyond the bottom line

Options is in the news!  

There’s a great article by Anthony Westenberg in the Toronto Star today on Social Enterprise and the impact the business model is having on the world.  

Following the startling statistic published by Oxfam last week that the 62 richest people have a net worth equal to that of half of the world's population, the article examines how a different business model can behave completely differently.

We’re so honoured that Options for Homes got a mention in the article!  Read it in today’s Toronto Star business section, or here.

Excited Options Purchasers getting ready for the demolition of this old bingo hall to make way for their new homes.  Using a social enterprise model, Options helps purchasers with a wide range of incomes become homeowners.

Thursday 21 January 2016

Cheryl is thrilled her family is putting down roots in their Options condo


Options home owner Cheryl spoke at the grand opening of her condo, Cranbrooke Village, about how Options helped her reach her and her children reach their goal of home ownership in Canada.

Leave us a comment with your Options story!

Tuesday 12 January 2016

6 tips for saving for a downpayment



Saving for your downpayment is the first step in becoming a homeowner - and it can be the most challenging step to put into motion!

Once you get started, however, it's an extremely rewarding exercise that doesn't have to feel like your in deprivation mode.  The key is making saving part of your daily routing in incremental steps.

Are you ready to start saving?

Money and Career Cheat Sheet recently published an article with 6 tips to get you started!

Click here to read the article: http://www.cheatsheet.com/personal-finance/chasing-the-american-dream-6-tips-for-saving-for-a-down-payment.html/?a=viewall

Thursday 7 January 2016

New Year’s Resolutions to get more shovels in the ground for Affordable Homes in Toronto



A new year brings new opportunities and renewed energy and hope. Taking a cue from classic personal resolutions, I’m putting out these work goals and what I believe will help us and our sector get more families into affordable homes in 2016.

1. Lose the Weight – and keep it off!

In affordable housing, we tend to carry a lot of weight: emotional baggage about what past governments have promised and not delivered, the fact that we still don’t have a national housing strategy, a world of rising building costs …the list goes on. 
At Options we resolve to let some of that go.  We won’t revisit old stories or temper our enthusiasm because of what happened historically. We’re focusing on writing new stories and if we need support staying positive we’ll take inspiration from some of our new homeowners who have overcome great challenges as reminder that it IS possible.

2. Get Fit. 

Weight loss is great, but to capitalize on opportunities we also have to be strong. We are committed to scaling up our production of units, and working with others in the sector to find ways that we can collectively scale up.  We believe that this is the year the affordable housing sector will be offered even greater opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives, so within Options we’re investing in building a bigger and stronger team and building our overall capacity to help more families and individuals become homeowners.

3. Be a Better Friend.

Often when you’re so busy improving yourself you neglect your friends.  This year, let’s resolve to seize opportunities for partnership and collaboration across our sector. This is a pivotal moment with a promising alignment of our municipal, provincial, and federal governments around affordable housing. We plan to make the most of this unique opportunity to collaborate on strengthening the fabric of this great city together.

Happy New Year! 

Wishing my industry colleagues an exciting and productive 2016 pushing existing boundaries for the benefit of Torontonians.  

- Heather



Heather Tremain is CEO of Options for Homes, Canada’s largest delivery agent of affordable home ownership.  Now in its 21st year, Options creates ownership opportunities for households with incomes as low as $25,000.00 per year.  From the first development in Toronto’s Distillery District, to a new development under construction in Cameroon, Africa, Options organizations have created homes for over 6500 households using a unique housing model. Options Toronto is about to break ground on two new projects that together will enable 525 families to own their own homes. www.optionsforhomes.ca