Affordable housing program helps Sault Ste. Marie family achieve homeownership dream | CBC News

A special key handover ceremony took place in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. this week. 

New homeowners took possession of a home on London Street, the third completed and made available through the Sault-born Affordable Home Ownership Program.

The program is a partnership between The District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board (DSSMSSAB) and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH). They purchase and renovate homes in need of repair and are then made available and sold to families living in subsidized housing. 

The renovations are carried out through the building maintenance and construction program of Ontario Works, which equips its recipients with on-the-job training in construction.

“It’s pretty life changing, not just for the homeowners, but most especially for their children,” Luke Dufour, Sault Ste. Marie city councillor (Ward 2) and who sits as social services board chair and SSM Housing Corporation chair.

a lot of houses that don’t make the cut as we do our pre-inspection, but the ones that do, that’s really where the magic of this unique program works.– Luke Dufour, Sault Ste. Marie City Councillor

“A lot of the children who are living in these houses, this will be their first time having their own backyard and kind of all of those cool benefits that go along with it.”

Dufour says the idea for the Affordable Home Ownership Program stemmed from discussion and collaborations during his first two municipal campaign runs. 

“I spent a lot of time talking to folks at the door and ended up meeting some families in particular where you had three generations of the same family having lived in the same rental house, but had yet to experience any of the benefits of that equity because it was privately owned.”

Once the houses are renovated to the good level of quality, they are sold to families living in community housing, but are fully employed and paying market rent. 

“So what this does is it also clears up space in our Community Housing units and really enables folks who are working to be able to move up the ladder to the next stage of their housing continuum.” 

‘An urban redevelopment tool’

Dufour told CBC Up North’s Bridget Yard that the renovated houses are typically sold for $120,000 and $140,000. 

He says the housing corporation conducts a housing evaluation before buying the unrenovated house. This is to ensure costs of the improvements needed and the purchase price equals to an amount that someone paying market rent in community housing could afford. 

“There’s a lot of houses that don’t make the cut as we do our pre-inspection, but the ones that do, that’s really where the magic of this unique program works.”

Before handing over the home to their new owners, DSSMSSAB receives a conventional mortgage through their partnership with the Community First Credit Union.

They then act as the cosigner for that mortgage, so that if the new owner misses a mortgage payment, DSSMSSAB is in a position to repossess the house. 

“So it’s a much stricter program than would be at typical banks and that helps to lower the interest rate that the folks are getting. So this gets them the lowest market interest rate.”

Dufour added, if necessary DSSMSSAB will also put forward the down payment as the cosigner for the mortgage and then forgive 10 to 20% in the subsequent years. . 

“The idea being that after the five year term of the mortgage has expired, hopefully the folks who are new homeowners will be in a position to take on the mortgage themselves and just have their own typical relationship with the credit union.”

The new home on London Street is right across from the first home that was renovated and handed over.  

“We’re trying to really use this as kind of an urban redevelopment tool.” 

Dufour says often the term ‘gentrification’ holds dividing opinions.

“It tends to price out the people who are in the neighborhood already. They don’t get to experience the benefits of the rising equity.”

But, he says the Affordable Home Ownership program is a way to give people who are already living in that neighborhood an opportunity to own property and then to start using it as a tool to improve neighbourhoods.  

“Homeowners having their pride of ownership for their own space has been really huge,” Dufour said.

“Everyone who’s been a receipt of one of these homes has really gone above and beyond in the months in, just adding and really taking such good care of the house.”