Options for Homes named an Affordable Housing Champion by the City of Toronto

Options for Homes (Options) has been delivering affordable homeownership housing for over 24 years, and now we’ve been recognized as an Affordable Housing Champion by the City of Toronto. We couldn’t be prouder! 

On Friday, March 2, the City’s Affordable Housing Committee bestowed 18 companies with a Champion award. Together, the group of honourees represented 1,094 affordable homes in 20 developments across 12 city wards, which will be ready for occupancy between 2018 and 2020. 

Options’ CEO Heather Tremain, who was honoured alongside Paul Connelly, longtime president of the Options Board, said, “I am grateful to work with the amazing team at Options, all of whom are dedicated to making a more vibrant and equitable city. We are honoured to be recognized for the work we do at Options.”

Heather’s commitment to her team was evident when she invited the 10 staff members in the committee chambers to join her and Paul in accepting the award.

Affordable Housing Committee chair and Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão thanked the non-profit and private sector partners in attendance for their dedication to building quality, affordable housing in Toronto, and called on councillors to support their efforts. "It is only through these strong and ongoing partnerships that the City can succeed in providing new affordable rental and ownership housing for Torontonians,” she said.  

As Mayor John Tory congratulated all the honourees, he added that he viewed this as a muted celebration because its celebrating getting back on track and that even the targets set by the city are woefully short of the demand for affordable housing in this city.

“There is still much to do,” said Tory. “I’m very impatient about this. This is the single biggest component in closing the gap between those who are comfortable and those who are struggling.”

The challenge, he said, it to take all the efforts made by this group and scale them up. 

The 18 organizations recognized at the Affordable Housing Committee meeting were: 

• Artscape 
• CollecDev 
• Daniels Corporation 
• Egale Canada Human Rights Trust 
• Habitat for Humanity GTA
• Hines Interests Limited Partnership 
• Humewood House 
• Madison View Homes Inc. 
• Malibu Investments 
• Native Men's Residence 
• Options for Homes 
• Rockport Group 
• St. Clare's Multifaith Housing Society 
• Toronto Community Housing Corporation 
• Tridel 
• Trillium Housing 
• Westbank Corporation 
• WoodGreen Community Services Corporation 

Mayor John Tory welcomes residents to Danforth Village Estates

One of the most gratifying aspects of developing housing is seeing purchasers move into their new homes. In December, everyone at Options for Homes was thrilled to welcome some of the first residents of Danforth Village Estates to their new home with the help of a very special guest – Mayor John Tory.

The Mayor hauled boxes for Mila Corpuz and Mel Peña, who were accompanied by their twin toddlers, ushering the family into their new two-bedroom, plus den before taking a moment to celebrate Options for Homes’ efforts in providing housing opportunities for Torontonians.

“One of the biggest challenges the city faces is making sure that people of all income levels can afford to live in the city, whether in rental accommodation or having the opportunity for homeownership,” said Mayor Tory who was accompanied by deputy mayors Ana Bailão and Glenn de Baeremaeker. “[Homeownership] is something that's important to people and sometimes it just takes a little bit of innovation, a little bit of ingenuity, and people with wonderful ideas like Options for Homes and the cooperation of a lot of partners to make it happen.”

With Danforth Village Estates, Options for Homes was able to deliver 250 new affordable homes and helped those with incomes as low as $28,000 purchase a home through the Options Down Payment Loan. In fact, over 75% of purchasers at Danforth Village Estates have household incomes at or below $70,000.

It’s how the Corpuz-Peña family achieved their homeownership dreams. When Mila and Mel first came to Canada from the Philippines, Mila was the sole income earner while Mel, who has a disability, looked for work. The couple were able to purchase a bachelor unit on Mila’s income, with the help of the city’s Home Ownership Assistance Program (HOAP) and an Options Down Payment Loan. But soon, the couple were expecting twins and Mel found work, so they were hopeful they could purchase a larger unit. As Mila said, “We prayed to God for a two-bedroom. He gave us a two-bedroom, plus den!”

While much of the city’s attention is paid to ensuring there’s an adequate supply of rental housing in Toronto, Mayor Tory acknowledged that partnerships like the one between Options for Homes and Deltera, and support from government (the City of Toronto deferred development costs on 150 units at Danforth Village Estates allowing Options to offer more down payment support), are vital to a healthy housing ecosystem.

“The housing issue is not going to solve itself. It's going to be solved through partnerships like this,” Tory said. “That’s why we’re able to be here today, demonstrating again how [with partnerships] we can achieve real, meaningful progress. So I want to thank the Options for Homes people for being good partners with the City of Toronto so that we can not just build the affordable rental accommodation we end up talking about more, but also making affordable homeownership something that is an option for people here in Toronto.”

See CP24's coverage of the day here: https://www.cp24.com/video?clipId=1287868

Check out what CTV had to say about it here: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/mobile/video?clipId=1285007

AFFORDABLE OWNERSHIP HOUSING, DID YOU KNOW?

Did you  know?

Canada has a housing crisis, and affordable ownership housing offers several solutions. Here are just a few...

1. Relieves Rental Shortage - Every affordable home ownership unit purchased by a middle-income renter frees up a unit of affordable rental housing. 

2. Captures land appreciation - Affordable home ownership is the only form of affordable housing that can capture land value appreciation, using it to fund more affordable housing. 

3. Creates its own fund - When affordable home ownership developments use shared appreciation mortgages (SAMs) and revolving funds, the home ownership model does not rely on on-going government financial support or free government land.

4. Lowest default rates - Affordable home ownership programs have a low default rate of less than 1%. In the private ownership market the default rate is higher, at 2% – 3 %.

A $1238 bottle of ketchup delights Cranbrooke owners at Options BBQ

Did you know that Options returns a portion of the construction surplus back to their purchasers in the form of a rebate cheque? What other developer does that? This past Saturday, July 16th, owners at our Cranbrooke Village condo development attended a Rooftop BBQ where they were surprised with a rebate cheque, totalling, on average $1,278.

Options staff members welcomed guest to a beautiful rooftop terrace (which overlooked the Toronto skyline) and were handed a ketchup or mustard bottle and told to open them. Instead of finding condiment inside to accompany their burgers and hot dogs, they found their cheque!

We want to thank everyone that came to the Cranbrooke Village Rooftop BBQ and those on the board who helped to organize the event. We also want to thank Councillor Josh Colle for his ongoing support through every phase of development.

From left to right: Councillor Josh Colle; Options founder MIke Labbe; Options CEO Heather Tremain

Fun was had by all and according to Cranbrooke homeowner Karen Wallace, "The social gatherings are my favourite moments with Options. It's a great place to live and today was such a nice surprise to catch up with neighbours and receive our rebate cheques."

If you're already an Options owner, don't forget to tell your friends about us for a chance to receive a $200 referral bonus. If you're not already a purchaser - what are you waiting for?!

For more information, visit OptionsforHomes.ca or call us at 416-867-1501.

To view the rest of the photos from the Cranbrooke Rooftop BBQ, please visit our Facebook album here.

Options Nominated for a NOW 2016 Readers' Choice Award

Creating communities, getting people into affordable home ownership and developing the best condos for our purchasers are things that we are passionate about; when we found out that Options for Homes was nominated by Now Toronto Magazine readers for the 2016 Readers’ Choice Award for Best Condo Developer, we were thrilled! 

VOTE here: http://readerschoice.nowtoronto.com/l/NOW-Readers-Choice-2016

This is a tremendous honour for all Options staff, partners, purchasers and friends of the Options model. Did you know that NOW has received over 20,000 nominations in 180 categories this year and Options is among the top 9 in our category?

We want to thank everyone who nominated us in this category. But we need your votes! Let’s show NOW Magazine readers that we ARE the best condo developer in Toronto and that affordable home ownership IS possible in this city! The deadline to vote is Friday, September 16^th.

Homeowner Profile: Cheryl

Parents always want more for their children, so when Cheryl and her husband had the opportunity to settle in Canada, they applied for immigration papers.

With her husband working in the Oil and Gas industry, Cheryl and her family had moved around quite a bit from India and lived in the Middle East. They had even spent time in Southeast Asia before settling in Toronto.

Moving to Canada was an exciting new chapter for Cheryl, but it was difficult. Not having any Canadian experience made it challenging to find a job. To top it off, they were unable to purchase their own home because they did not have any history with any Canadian banks. Cheryl wanted to improve the lives of her family and decided to go back to school to secure better employment opportunities.

Just when things appeared to be getting better, the worst happened. Cheryl’s husband was diagnosed with cancer and passed away suddenly. She never imagined that the very first piece of property that she would purchase in Canada would be at the cemetery. But like every storm, the sun eventually comes out and Cheryl first caught a glimpse of it when she saw an advertisement for Options for Homes on the subway. She decided to call and inquire if she was really able to become a homeowner on a moderate income with two young children.

Cheryl is now enjoying the security of home ownership, along with an amazing view at the beautiful Cranbrooke Village condominium, located at Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue West. Her dream came true, as it has for many people, thanks to Options for Homes’ unique model, which provides down payment assistance in addition to offering the lowest priced condos in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

How does Options for Homes do it?

Options offers purchasers a loan as a boost to their down payment based on the value of their condo (normally taken by developers as a profit). This Options Contribution reduces the amount for which a purchaser needs to secure a mortgage from a traditional lender. The Options Contribution is also payment-free as long as they live in their home. In this way, Options has been able to help over 2,500 individuals and families across the GTA over the past 21 years, securing cost-effective condos without any ongoing government support and no minimum income restrictions on ownership. Options communities therefore are a healthy mix of people from all walks of life with a broad range of incomes. The key ingredient to the success of their condominium communities is that 90% or more of Options units are owner-occupied which means that the community enjoys the benefits of superior civic engagement and pride of ownership.

What is an Affordable Condominium?

It’s a high quality condominium that simply does not include pricey amenities like pools and gyms. It’s also a condo that is sold without expensive marketing campaigns that often add over $15,000 to the price of the unit. By including things like solar hot water heating and a car-sharing program in every development, Options also ensures that the carrying costs are among the lowest in the city.

Why support the home ownership dream?

Options believes that access to home ownership helps address the larger issue of income inequality in Canada – a growing problem in our society. Additionally, home ownership provides a stable base from which to raise a family, find and keep work and achieve educational goals. Homeownership also creates better community engagement and preservation of wealth through the maintenance of personal and public investments and also helps families move themselves from multi-generational dependency on social housing.

The 4 common myths that are hurting housing affordability

Raveena, a single mother of one, makes $55,000 a year doing administrative work at a law firm. The rent for her 2-bedroom apartment, which is just steps from the Bloor TTC subway line, is $2,100. While she is eligible for Toronto Community Housing, she has been on the waitlist for 5 years. She thinks home ownership is an unattainable dream, especially with her childcare costs.

In reality, she could be taking advantage of Toronto's Home Ownership Assistance Program (HOAP) and the efforts of non-profit condo developers to access up to $80,000 in down payment support. With that, she could comfortably carry a mortgage of $147, 316 and move into a brand new 1-bedroom + den condo home this year and start building equity.

The greatest hurdle isn't the finances, it's her mindset about what constitutes a "home". But while she saves for a townhouse or semi-detached home, the rising real estate market is outpacing her ability to save.

Many people think condos are geared towards young urban professionals, but here we try to dispel some myths around condo living and show that condos and families do indeed mix.

1. A condo is no place to raise kids. FACT: A vibrant and diverse city like Toronto is an excellent place to raise children, and condo living is the norm in cities like New York, London, Paris and Tokyo where the definition of a good home includes the greater community and access to amenities. Toronto's world famous parks, ravines, community skating rinks, swimming pools as well as culturally diverse community attractions and schools beat the backyard experience every time.

2. Too many condos. FACT: The average density of great Western cities in the world is 10,848 people per sq. km. Toronto is 2,650/sq. km. In her "Unapologetically Urban" presentation at the Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto's Chief City Planner, Jennifer Keesmat affirmed her commitment to density as one of the targets, along with better transportation and preserving the city's green canopy. Condominiums in up-and-coming areas of the city will continue to be an excellent investment.

3. Even a condo is no longer affordable. FACT: Doing away with costly amenities (such as the fitness room no one uses) and million-dollar marketing campaigns, as well as working with newer, more efficient smart-designs, not-for-profit developers such as Options for Homes can bring costs down. This way, we are able to offer condos under $195,000 in the GTA. This means less carrying costs (including mortgage and maintenance fees) as low as $1,094 per month - less than the cost of many 1-bedroom apartments.

4. "Affordable Homes" means government subsidized housing. FACT: The first 3 condos built in the Distillery District were affordable homes. Some were purchased by people who needed a down payment boost, others were purchased by double income households who could afford to live anywhere but saw the tremendous potential of the area. Twenty years later, these condos are still attractive and valuable homes. Options for Homes continues to create successful mixed income communities enjoyed by seniors and singles alike, in a mix of professions from teachers to firefighters.

The government can play a role in supporting affordable home ownership in their municipalities. Adding it to the housing mix alongside with other housing initiatives such as those that are geared to income rental can go a long way in making the city accessible to all. Also, by making land available for purchase to non-profit developers, all governments - from municipalities to provinces to the federal government - can help alleviate affordable housing pressure without direct government funding. Affordable home ownership is a way to leverage all the tools available in the private, public and non-profit sectors to help create vibrant, equitable communities that will help bridge the housing gap as quickly as possible.

As Options for Homes CEO Heather Tremain contends, "Toronto is home to all levels of income earners, so it goes without saying that everyone who works to make this a great city should also be able to live here."

With the majority of units bought by families whose average income is $53,000, we are able to help Torontonians realize the dream of home ownership in a vibrant community.

Affordable home ownership in Toronto breaks ground to create new community

Shovels in the ground part of Options for Homes push to build 525 affordable units in Toronto over the next two years

TORONTO, March 21, 2016 – Options for Homes CEO Heather Tremain and Toronto's Housing Advocate, Councillor Ana Bailão, joined future affordable housing owners at Toronto City Hall today to celebrate the ground breaking of Danforth Village Estates, a new affordable home ownership development in Scarborough.

On Danforth Road just north of Eglinton Avenue East, the shovels are going into the ground as work moves into construction stage on 250 suites of affordable ownership housing. Another example from developer Options for Homes proving that homeownership for low-to-moderate income families is within reach in Toronto.

The development, close to the TTC, shops, restaurants, public schools and overlooking a large park featuring walking trails and basketball courts, is made possible through Options for Homes, Canada’s largest non-profit delivery agent of affordable home ownership. With prices that started at $146,000, the Danforth Village Estates show that - with the support of a proven non-profit business model - the option to owning a home could be a consideration for many low-to-mid income earners. The Danforth Village Estates will be built to the high quality standards for which Deltera, Tridel’s construction arm, is known.

“Toronto is home to all levels of income earners,” explains Options for Homes CEO Heather Tremain. “So it goes without saying that everyone who works to make this a great city should also be able to live here as well. With the majority of units bought by families whose average income is $ 53,000, we are able to help Torontonians realize the dream of homeownership in a vibrant community.”

A $4 million investment from the City of Toronto's Home Ownership Assistance Program helped make the homes even more affordable. HOAP delivers funding to non-profit housing providers to reduce their up-front construction costs. The funds help pay the cost of city development charges, building permits and planning fees.

"Options for Homes is an important partner in our work to provide more affordable housing opportunities to residents," said Toronto's Housing Advocate, Councillor Ana Bailão. "I am proud that City Council has invested $4 million to make these homes more affordable."

The estimated monthly carrying costs for Danforth Village Estate units with a 25 year mortgage started at $1,166 (includes taxes and maintenance fees). The fact that 88% of the units are already sold shows a strong market need for this type of housing option. Occupancy will begin summer 2017.
Options for Homes is starting construction on delivering 525 units of affordable home ownership at two developments in Scarborough (Danforth Village Estates) and East York (The Village by Main Station). These projects come on top of a robust pipeline of 1390 units already planned to be built.

For example, a new project at Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue is also set to launch in 2016. Shortly thereafter, sales will begin at a downtown site with the aim of delivering affordable homes to an additional 300 families and individuals.

3-D Rendition of Danforth Village Estates

About Options for Homes
Options for Homes is Canada’s largest non-profit delivery agent of affordable home ownership. Now in its 21st year, Options creates ownership opportunities for households with incomes as low as $30,000 per year by providing purchasers with down payment assistance. Since the first development in Toronto’s Distillery District, Options and its affiliates have created homes for over 6,500 households using a unique housing model. Options for Homes is about to break ground on two new projects in Toronto that together will enable 525 families to own their own homes.

Stay connected with Options for Homes online at www.optionsforhomes.ca
Twitter @OptionsforHomes
Facebook www.Facebook.com/OptionsGroup
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/jspeziale/videos

For more renderings or to interview Options for Homes CEO Heather Tremain, please contact:
Anthony Westenberg
Options for Homes
b. 416-867-1501 ext. 239 / m. 416 831-7502
awestenberg@optionsforhomes.ca

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 21^st 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

National Housing Week kicks off with Build Day

Affordable housing providers and housing leaders coming together for Build Day.

National Housing Week kicked-off today with a Build Day at one of Habitat for Humanity’s build sites this morning.  Non-profit affordable housing providers along with housing leaders from the government, private and non-profit sectors came together for the event.

Left to right: Joe Deschenes Smith of Trillium Housing, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Hon. Ted McMeekin, Ene Underwood of Habitat for Humanity, M.P. Adam Vaughan, Heather Tremain of Options for Homes, Nancy Singer of Kehilla.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Hon. Ted McMeekin, and M.P. and housing advocate, Adam Vaughan, joined in the celebrations.

National Housing Week is an evolution of National Housing Strategy Day, a nationally recognized day to build awareness for housing and homelessness.  National Housing Strategy Day is November 22nd each year and was first established in 1998.

Options team members volunteering at Build Day

Today's Build Day was the first of many events in the week leading up National Housing Day on November 22nd.  The GTA Housing Action Lab has organized a series of activities and events to engage stakeholders and decision makers in the challenges of housing affordability and the lack of diversity in form and tenure of housing in our region and solutions and opportunities to address these issues.

While the week’s activities focus on a broad range of housing issues, today’s build put emphasis on models that provide a stepping stone for low income households to move out of substandard and subsidized rental housing and into the financial security that comes from home ownership.

Options CEO, Heather Tremain, volunteering at Build Day

Options CEO, Heather Tremain, summed it up nicely.  She says, “Since 2000, the average cost of housing in Canada has increased by 60 per cent while average income has only increased by 13 per cent.  National Housing Week draws necessary attention to some of Canada’s biggest and most pressing challenges and opportunities to create solutions. As providers, we know that it doesn’t have to be this way – there are solutions possible when we work together with all levels of government.”