New Amherst development offers shot at affordable home ownership
CBC
A new affordable housing community in Amherst, N.S., nearing completion is now accepting applications from potential homeowners.
In a release Monday, Nova Scotia’s Department of Growth and Development announced that 28 homes at the new Groves at Hillsdale modular housing development will be sold under a shared ownership model that will give eligible buyers a chance to purchase a home without a down payment.
The program is being operated by United Way Maritimes, which will take an ownership stake of about 30 per cent in each unit. The organization says a one-bedroom home will cost $127,000 and a two-bedroom will cost $182,000, with mortgage payments ranging from $730 to $1,100.
“What that does is it allows us to … bring the cost of the home down for the buyer and allows them to buy without a down payment,” said Deborah Page, a vice-president with United Way Maritimes.
Prospective buyers have to live or work in Cumberland County, have a combined annual income between $50,000 and $80,000, and be approved for a mortgage to qualify.
Page said the new development will also include 19 rental units, all of which have already been assigned to applicants. Renters will also have the option to purchase their home in the future.
“We’ve had very, very positive feedback from renters as well as potential homeowners,” Page said.
“Another nice aspect of this is a renter can come in and rent and then … look at home ownership down the road.”
The province has contributed over $4 million in funding for the housing development, the federal government has invested over $2 million and the River Philip Foundation in Oxford, N.S., has provided an additional $1.7 million. The Town of Amherst also contributed nearly $640,000 toward infrastructure for the project.
Some units in the development are already finished, with the remainder expected to be completed within the next few months.
MORE TOP STORIES
The man accused of fatally beating two strangers in Edmonton’s Chinatown stood in court Monday and quietly responded, “not guilty” to two counts of second-degree murder.
Environment Canada has warned that parts of Metro Vancouver and inland Vancouver Island will experience near-zero visibility amid thick fog in the region.
A Calgary man serving a life sentence for two counts of murder should not have been found guilty, said the province's top court Monday in its decision to overturn the convictions and enter acquittals.
The City of Summerside has launched a campaign with the aim of reducing electricity use during peak hours over the coldest winter months.
Premier Doug Ford says Prime Minister Mark Carney's deal with China on electric vehicles has hurt Ontarians and the two have not spoken since.
Northwest Territories MP Rebecca Alty says she heard from people on an assortment of topics following a meet-and-greet held at a local coffee shop in downtown Yellowknife.
Several regions north of London are under a blizzard warning as another round of snow and gusting winds sweep through southwestern Ontario Monday afternoon.
European Union leaders will convene in Brussels on Thursday for an emergency summit following U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to impose new tariffs on several EU countries over his demand to acquire Greenland, a European Union spokesperson said Monday.
The deadline for the first of 26 citizen-led recall petitions against Alberta MLAs is Wednesday, marking 90 days since petitioners began collecting signatures in an effort to recall provincial Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides last October.
A young man who was the catalyst for a police investigation into accused sexual predators Tony Humby and Bruce Escott has died.
Faculty, academic librarians and counsellors represented by the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) in Sudbury, Ont. are on strike.
More than 100,000 homes and businesses in Nova Scotia have lost power as a winter storm brings wet and heavy snow to the province.
The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing arguments today on a Quebec case that could have far-reaching implications on policing across Canada.