A unique new project hopes to connect potential buyers in one red-hot market with owners willing to sell below asking – and the cause could use a mortgage broker
A unique new affordable housing project hopes to connect potential buyers in one red-hot market with owners willing to sell below asking – and the cause could use a mortgage broker.
It may seem like a long-shot, but the Vancouver Home Project -- which aims to help those priced out of the country’s hottest markets by appealing to sellers’ altruism – has picked up some steam.
Of course, the project has garnered interest from many potential buyers. But it has also received inquiries from a few sellers, including one who is just fed up with the craziness of Vancouver’s housing market.
“I think she’s kind of sick of the frenzy that’s going on in the city,” David Kandestin, a corporate lawyer and the man behind the project, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “She has conditions; she wants it to be sold to a family with kids, she wants some certain mechanisms to be put in there so that they can’t just turn around and flip it the next day or the next week or whenever.”
The project has a simple premise; it hopes to allow Vancouverites who are passionate about the city to purchase a home they can afford.
The website reads:
“The Vancouver real estate market is broken. Prices are beyond the point of no return. The market is no longer a ‘market.’ The cause? We’re not sure: low interest rates, foreign money, no supply, ‘shadow flipping.’ The solution? We don’t know: raise interest rates, vacancy tax, foreign ownership restrictions. One thing is clear. Politicians will not intervene.
“But we can try something, something a bit different. The Vancouver Home Project will connect those willing to solve this housing crisis. If you own a home in Vancouver and are willing to sell below market to a buyer that wants to live in this city, we want to hear from you.”
While the idea likely won’t appeal to a vast number of sellers, it did spring from a similar circumstance.
“A buddy of mine who was in Calgary kind of did the exact same thing. He wanted to live in Kensington, close to downtown, kind of the hip neighbourhood,” Kandestin said. “And he had a certain amount of money to spend and he approached the seller and said ‘I’m not going to flip this place or sell it in a year. You think you’d be willing to sell it for less?’ And he got it for less. He’s living in it now, he’s working on it, fixing it up.”
The Vancouver Home Project has been picking up steam, and having a mortgage broker attached to it could push it even further, according to Kandestin.
“It’s also good publicity, too; you’re doing a ‘feel good’ thing,” Kandestin said of a potential partnership with a broker.
It may seem like a long-shot, but the Vancouver Home Project -- which aims to help those priced out of the country’s hottest markets by appealing to sellers’ altruism – has picked up some steam.
Of course, the project has garnered interest from many potential buyers. But it has also received inquiries from a few sellers, including one who is just fed up with the craziness of Vancouver’s housing market.
“I think she’s kind of sick of the frenzy that’s going on in the city,” David Kandestin, a corporate lawyer and the man behind the project, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “She has conditions; she wants it to be sold to a family with kids, she wants some certain mechanisms to be put in there so that they can’t just turn around and flip it the next day or the next week or whenever.”
The project has a simple premise; it hopes to allow Vancouverites who are passionate about the city to purchase a home they can afford.
The website reads:
“The Vancouver real estate market is broken. Prices are beyond the point of no return. The market is no longer a ‘market.’ The cause? We’re not sure: low interest rates, foreign money, no supply, ‘shadow flipping.’ The solution? We don’t know: raise interest rates, vacancy tax, foreign ownership restrictions. One thing is clear. Politicians will not intervene.
“But we can try something, something a bit different. The Vancouver Home Project will connect those willing to solve this housing crisis. If you own a home in Vancouver and are willing to sell below market to a buyer that wants to live in this city, we want to hear from you.”
While the idea likely won’t appeal to a vast number of sellers, it did spring from a similar circumstance.
“A buddy of mine who was in Calgary kind of did the exact same thing. He wanted to live in Kensington, close to downtown, kind of the hip neighbourhood,” Kandestin said. “And he had a certain amount of money to spend and he approached the seller and said ‘I’m not going to flip this place or sell it in a year. You think you’d be willing to sell it for less?’ And he got it for less. He’s living in it now, he’s working on it, fixing it up.”
The Vancouver Home Project has been picking up steam, and having a mortgage broker attached to it could push it even further, according to Kandestin.
“It’s also good publicity, too; you’re doing a ‘feel good’ thing,” Kandestin said of a potential partnership with a broker.
