Accès Condos involves the development and marketing of affordable divided co-ownership units (condominiums) in the territory of the City of Montreal.
Thanks to the Accès Condos program of SHDM, you can easily become the owner of a condominium. In fact, you only need to pay a deposit of $1,000 and SHDM will advance you 10% of the downpayment you need to purchase a condo from one of the Accès Condos projects.
With Accès Condos it is now possible for more households in Montreal to become home owners!
The Accès Condos program was inspired by an approach developed by
Option for Homes
, which has already proved its worth in Toronto. In fact, in 2002, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) granted it an award of excellence in the field of housing.
The condominium units developed by SHDM under its Accès Condos home ownership program are all eligible for a purchase credit, which is an innovative financing method created to extend home ownership opportunities to more households in the territory of the City of Montreal.
You only need to make an initial payment of $1,000 and SHDM will advance you 10% of the downpayment you need to purchase a condo from one of the Accès Condos projects.
The purchase credit does not have to be repaid as long as you remain the owner-occupier of your property. When you sell or rent out your property, you must repay this amount to SHDM, as well as a portion of the increase in its value at time of the transaction. However, you may refund your purchase credit at any time. SHDM and the purchaser agree, at this time, on the fair market value of the property, to determine the increase in value.
Monies derived from these refunds will be paid into the development fund to be used for other affordable housing projects.
You want to buy an Accès Condos unit valued at
$150,000
.
Selling price
1
:
$150,000
Purchase credit
2
(10%):
$15,000
Price to pay
3
:
$135,000
1 The
selling price
(or market value) is the price that the purchaser would normally have to pay for the same type of property.
2 The
purchase credit
is the amount advanced by SHDM by way of downpayment.
3 The
price to pay
is the price the purchaser must pay to acquire the property.
Five years later, you sell your condo for
$190,000
.
Selling price:
$190,000
Condo value at time of purchase:
$150,000
Increase in value:
$40,000
Purchase credit to be repaid:
$15,000
Portion of increase in value payable (10%):
$4,000
Total refuncable to SHDM:
$19,000
Everyone for whom the availability of affordable property is the best route to home ownership in the territory of the City of Montreal is eligible for the program.
In order to qualify for all the benefits of this program, you simply have to meet certain criteria:
Buy the property with the intention of living there
Be eligible for a mortgage loan
Sign the Accès Condos contract concerning the mortgage guarantee on the purchase credit
Not already own a housing unit thanks to the Accès Condos program
The
Accès Condos Contract
is a legal document binding on the purchaser and SHDM, which [
records
] the value of the purchase credit. The purchase credit amount is protected by a mortgage guarantee held by SHDM and this deed is registered at the land registry office.
As well as the Accès Condos purchase credit, you may be eligible for other financial assistance programs available to first-time homebuyers:
The Home Buyer's Plan (HBP) allows you to withdraw up to $20,000 from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) to reduce the amount of your mortgage.
The City of Montreal’s first-time homebuyers’ subsidy
The previous version of the Home Ownership Program which provided financial assistance to help first-time buyers purchase affordable housing in Montréal ended on December 31 2009.
Watch for new program terms and conditions which could be adopted towards the end of March 2010.
New applications for financial assistance may be submitted only after these new program terms and conditions are in effect.
Certain conditions apply to each of these programs. For further information, visit their internet sites; you will find the addresses in our LINKS section.
Through its Acces Condos program offering a 10% purchase credit to buyers, the SHDM facilitates access to homeownership by acting as intermediary between the developer and the purchaser. The actual transaction to purchase remains between the buyer and the developer, the latter being solely responsible for the construction and delivery of the housing units in accordance with Section 1746 of the Quebec Civil Code as well as the warranty program for new residential buildings. The SHDM does not sell housing units and is a third party to the transaction between the developer and the buyer.