Cheryl loved how quickly she moved into her Options condo and knowing people in the building made her feel at home very quickly.
Register for a free information session to find out how you can make an Options condo your home! Options offers cash incentives to all purchasers who have referred a friend or family member upon the sales becoming firm. If you know anyone who could benefit from the Options Contribution or anyone looking for a quality home, in a good community at a fair price please have them contact us to register form one of our upcoming Information Sessions or call 416-867-1501 for more information.
Many people thought that Mike Labbé was mad to embark on the
journey that he had planned when he first started over 20 years ago. At our 20th
Anniversary celebration earlier this year, Brian Iler, a long-time Options champion
emphasized the genius side of Mike and the Options model:
“Mike Labbe came into my office in 1992 with his idea of Options
and an affiliated social capital fund, neither had a name at that point. Many of you have had the experience of Mike
promoting an idea to you. It can be hard
to keep up with him but you always know he’s on to something. It didn’t take him long to get me on
side. The basic concepts for Options for
Homes and Home Ownership Alternatives were clear at our first meeting. Everything after that was the hard work it
takes to make a good idea reality."
Some of Options’ first homeowners who bought in the Distillery
District were deemed "crazy" by many of their friends. It
turned out that it was the friends that were crazy for not jumping at the
chance to purchase at one of Options first developments. Watch the video below
to see some of Options original homeowners speaking about their experience a
few years after moving in.
The Options developments in the Distillery District, St. Lawrence,
Parliament Square and Mill Street gave Options the credibility and track record
to move on and create communities in areas of the city that other developers wouldn't touch. Creating communities full of proud homeowners who prioritize keeping their buildings and neighbourhoods clean instead of filling developments with renters who often don't stay longer than a few years and don't put effort into the appearance of their neighbourhoods is what Options strives for. Over the past 20 years we have seen this happen in all of our developments. It is what has kept us going and driven us to continue to create communities all over the city.
The Options model hasn't stopped in
Toronto. It has expanded across Ontario,
across Canada and around the world, with our first international development
beginning construction in Limbe, Cameroon this year.
To find out how you can be a part of the genius and own
your own Options home register for a free information session.
Are you saving up for a big purchase? An Options home perhaps? It is completely possible to save money and still have a happy, fulfilled life. You just have to think frugal and put practices in place to help you succeed and reach your goals. Check out these tips to help you save!
The words "community" and "condo" are not often found in the same sentence. It seems like an odd claim to make that by building high rise condominiums Options provides homeowners with community. For a lot of people already living in a condo is seems misleading and unbelievable; they don't know or talk to their neighbours and they feel isolated. Those are not things we hear from Options homeowners. More often we hear things like this:
"Options for homes was a dream come true for me."
"Our wishes have become our reality upon moving into our condo."
"I am always proud when any of my friends come to see me."
"It's a great oppourtunity. Take a leap of faith. I did and it worked."
"I would recommend it to anyone and I do recommend it to everyone!"
"I want to thank Options for Homes from the bottom of my heart for making my dreams come true."
-All quotes from real Options homeowners. For more just like these click here!
Stories like this are common among neighbours who get to know each other attending the purchaser's meetings leading up to the condos being built and from homeowners who meet their neighbours when they move into the completed developments. We have been doing it for so long (over 20 years now) that creating communities is second nature.
With many condo communities isolation is in large part due to the high number of investors that own and rent out their suites. This creates a steady turnover of tenants who rarely stay long enough to get to know their neighbours. Owners are much more likely to stay in their suite for numerous years, and take the time to meet others in their building. Our Mclevin development is just one example of a group of people who met because they purchased homes in the same building but have formed life long friendships with their neighbours. This group refers to themselves as the "Mclevin Ladies". Watch their video here:
Another way Options helps to foster community is through our development process. As soon as someone becomes a purchaser they are invited to attend board meetings that are held approximately every 6 weeks for their particular condominium. The CEO presides over the meetings and brings purchasers up to date on the status of their development. At these meetings purchasers’ questions are answered and their concerns are discussed. This allows the homeowners to participate in some of the decision-making that creates the kind of community they want. One of the more vital aspects of these meetings is that the purchasers get acquainted with other purchasers. By the time the homeowners move into their condo; the people living there are familiar faces they've met at the meetings and some they've already become friends with.
Danforth Village Estates purchaser meeting.
Having condominiums with high owner occupancy can also have a positive impact on neighbourhoods, since owners want to keep their building and the surrounding area beautiful and pleasurable to live in. This in turn raises the property values of their homes and of others in the area; this also leads to improved and flourishing businesses culminating in the homeowners being proud of where they live.
Watch these videos to see what we mean:
This business model has transformed and created many communities. It began with the three Options condominiums on what used to be just vacant industrial land that is now the popular Distillery District. Options has also helped transform neighbourhoods with developments like Shermount at Lawrence Avenue and Allen Road, and Heintzman Place at Keele Street and Dundas Street West.
Do you want to own your own home? Have great neighbours? Be involved in a community? Live in a neighbourhood you're proud of? If so, register for a free information session and learn how to make it happen!
Lata didn't want to keep living with her daughter, she wanted her own space. She took advantage of the second mortgage and moved in to her home at the Village by High Park in 2011. Since she moved in she has had a book published and started her own music school!
What will you accomplish when you have your own space to live, work and be inspired in?
Charles heard about Options and saw a need for cost effective housing in his community, so he decided to do something about it.
He reached out to Mike Labbé. Mike challenged him to find land to build on; Charles met that challenge - and the rest is history. Watch his story above! You may also recognize Charles’ daughter Kimberly and her husband Daniel from their testimonial video.
Subscribe to Options YouTube Channel to stay up to date on everything Options. If you are interested in getting involved with Options or just want to learn more, call (416) 867-1501.
Many moons ago, Options CEO Mike Labb was convinced that starting a blog would be a useful tool to help spread the word about Options. Check out his first ever blog post: This blog is not about talking it is about doing. We do, however, have to talk a little initially… Hello world! My younger cohorts tell me that blogging is a way to start a conversation with the world. We shall see. My YouTube site has generated about 3100 hits in a year. It is indeed a small world.
The Options organizations count themselves among a large group of people who want to make the world a better place for all its residents. We understand that we are stewards of a planet that is important and must survive. We find ourselves part of a family of change makers and social entrepreneurs who know we must do better faster.
We also believe that we must build on the successes and avoid repeating the failures of the past.
There have been many attempts to address poverty, human misery, and environmental degradation in the past with varying degrees of success. We at Options believe that the global economy has come to a crossroads that shows us the limitations of all solutions organized and proposed to date. With the recent near-collapse of the global economy, we see the inability of the status quo to deliver the solutions that the world needs in an effective and efficient way.
Our hypothesis is the private profit-making business is fatally flawed because of its inability to show restraint. As social entrepreneurs however, we know and believe that the business sector is most likely the best and most effective solution that we have to date.
We believe further that the restraint can be created by establishing a non-profit mentality within the business community. Non-profit corporations can be designed from their inception to focus on social resolutions and to be restrained in the returns that adhere to any of the stakeholders.
Profit-making entities are designed from their inception to centralize wealth and we argue that this is inherently an inefficient way to solve social and environmental issues. The main flaw in the system is that those who control these institutions invariably feel entitled to being rewarded for their efforts consistent with the wealth created by them.
I’m sincerely looking forward to discussing this and various other themes and topics with you via the comments sections of this blog.
-Mike
Four years later and all of what he said remains true. Options is committed to our goals and have remained consistent since the beginning.
Don't forget to send us feedback on our blog, YouTube channel and anything else. We love hearing from you so don't hesitate to let us know how we're doing!
