Wednesday, April 3, 2019 ~ LANGFORD.
by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
It has taken a long while for housing crisis realities of this decade and this region to be addressed. But leadership is coming fast now in Langford, with the initiative to help support renters into finding their way to home ownership.
The pilot project is Crossing at Belmont, a collection of apartment buildings along Reunion Avenue that runs alongside the developing Belmont Market at Jacklin and Jenkins in west Langford. That’s where renters will be able to effectively see a percentage of their monthly rent payments help them buy a home at the Belmont Residences condominiums in the same new subdivision.
Not only would that mean a move ‘across the street’ physically but also across the financial divide into home ownership.
The Crossing is billed as ‘urban rental living’ in the heart of west Langford amidst shopping, services, transit and recreation being all within easy reach. A public open house to view newly-staged one- and two-bedroom show suites will be held on Saturday April 13 (details to come).
The program is proposed to start from Fall 2019 (the estimated start date of the first apartment for rent) for an eligibility period of 36 months. During that 3-year period any original tenant of the Crossings can have 25% of their rent recognized as loyalty points. Those points will accrue until the tenant acquires financing and successfully closes on a condo unit at Belmont Residences East (buildings expected to be ready by Fall 2022).
The first set of Belmont Residences condo units are coming onstream in early 2020. Many of those have already been pre-purchased, a phase of marketing that started in spring 2018.
For Crossing tenants aiming to get into home ownership, at the time of closing the developer Belmont Crossing Developments LP (Ledcor) will provide each member that qualifies with a credit on the closing statement of adjustments equal to $1 for every point earned by the member, up to a maximum of 5% of the net purchase price of the unit. That is estimated as being in the range of $16,000 to $20,000.
As a developer incentive, Ledcor requested at the April 1 City of Langford Council meeting that $5,000 per unit from the City of Langford be rebated back to the developer (from developer cost charges initially levied by the municipality) for every successful rent-to-own (RTO) transaction. On Monday night, Langford Council handily approved that idea.
The City’s rebate would partially fund the loyalty points being contributed to the maximum 5% discount of the purchase price. The rebate would be allocated from the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund which is comprised of contributions from developers.
Some of the administrative technicality of this market-based project is to see the municipality deem the provision of affordable housing as a ‘service’. The City heard in a staff report that it may partner with a business for the purpose of providing a municipal service.
“I am excited that the City is able to support the creation of a Rent-to-Own Affordable Home Ownership program in Langford,” said Langford Mayor Stew Young. “This initiative is the first of its kind on Vancouver Island and will help hard-working residents use a portion of their rent towards the purchase of their own home at a future date,” he said this week.
“This will complement the work that the provincial government is doing to tackle the affordable housing crisis,” Mayor Young told West Shore Voice News. The BC Government’s 30-point 10-year Housing for BC plan is rolling out a number of housing initiatives and supports (including affordable housing partnerships, co-ops and modular housing with services), though rent-to-own is not yet one of them.
The rental component in that original Housing for BC plan (released in 2018) includes a ‘Security for Renters’ section that offers: expanding and increasing benefits to seniors living independently; expanding and increasing the Rental Assistance Program to help working parents; strengthening protections for renters and manufactured home owners; and extending the life, quality and affordability of existing affordable housing.
“Langford council supports this new local rent-to-own program as it allows young people, families and workers and even seniors an opportunity for home ownership that they would otherwise not be able to achieve,” said Mayor Young.
If the program is successful, Young says Langford staff will work with the business community to come up with a rent-to-own program for Langford residents to get into an affordable housing unit. “The money will come from the developer contributions that are added to our affordable housing fund as development and rezoning occur.”
“We understand that it’s becoming more difficult for buyers, especially Millennials, in this market, to be able to save enough money towards owning a home,” says Marcela Corzo, director of development, Belmont Residences. “We are delighted to be able to help put the movement of home ownership within the reach of more people,” she said this week.
Here’s one example of how it will work: A tenant paying $2,000 in monthly rent for a two-bedroom Crossing at Belmont unit, will have earned a credit equal to 25% or $500 of that payment being automatically set aside towards the future purchase of a Belmont Residences home. By Spring 2022, the renter will have accrued a $13,500 down payment toward purchasing a condo. Specific situations will differ depending on the suite and rent. Participants will be required to sign an Enrollment Form setting out the terms and conditions of the Belmont Rental Rewards Program)(*).
(*) Legal Disclaimer – This is not an offering for sale of strata lots in Belmont Residences West or Belmont Residences East, which can only be made by a disclosure statement.
The Crossing at Belmont units will be available for rent in the fall of 2019, with Belmont Residences West completing in Spring 2020, and Belmont Residences East completing in Spring of 2022.
“We want to provide a ‘helping hand’ to those looking to enter into home ownership one day,” says Eric Gerlach, VP of development, Belmont Residences. “As we plan out the community, it makes sense to reward the new tenants of the Crossing at Belmont rental complex for their neighbourhood loyalty and help them purchase their dream home at Belmont Residences with this special rent-to-own initiative. We firmly believe that once a resident falls in love with the unique lifestyle of Belmont they won’t want to live anywhere else.”
The property management industry is also on board. “The Belmont Rental Rewards Program is a fantastic opportunity that will allow future potential purchasers a tool to apply part of their rent to purchasing a unit at Belmont Residences,” says David Craig, President, Devon Properties. “We have not seen this type of offering in the Greater Victoria market and it is very timely with many renters currently struggling to move into an ownership position. Just one more reason to choose Crossing at Belmont.”