Some of the counties around me have a down payment assistance program. I’d prefer to live in Frontenac County but Hastings County has funding available for this program. I found these programs by looking at housing assistance on the county’s website.

The way this program works is that the province and the county put money together once a year to help people buying their first home with their down payments. Provided the home is under $500,000 CAD, and you meet the requirements, the county could provide your down payment wholly or in part. It’s first come, first served and when the money’s gone that’s it until the next year. You only have to pay the money back if you sell your house before 20 years.

A program like this would obviously be helpful and does make buying a solid option. I would be able to use my current down payment money for repairs and might be able to qualify for a larger amount.

I really don’t want a big home though so I don’t need too much more money. I should be able to get a farm house in the country for about $350,000 – $400,000. It would need internal renos but nothing major like roofs and electrical.

That $500,000 mark is an important value. Where I am, the minimum down payment that I need to get an insured first time mortgage is 5% provided the house is under $500,000. The minimum down payment increases after that point. Mortgage Insurance is mandatory for first timers. I don’t qualify for a $500,000 mortgage anyway without more in my savings.

The county I want to live in is out of funding for the year so I can’t do much until spring under this program. Which might be okay. I’m looking to buy something decently specific.

I want to stay in Frontenac county because that’s closest to my mom. I expect in about 5 years or so, my Mom will be coming to live with me. I’m planning for that. She lives alone right now but she is getting older. I’d like her to be with me. However, her grandkids are all in their 20’s now so she doesn’t need to be as close to them. Her oldest grandkid is starting to think about having kids so my Mom might want to be closer to the grand baby. The grand baby will be born in Hastings County. So I might be able to take advantage of that program.

Now, to my knowledge, these programs do not count toward the land loan/building loan mortgage conversion type of home purchase. I haven’t found much yet on any programs to help with building. But some exist. When I was talking to a builder about pre-fab homes, last month, they mentioned a couple they worked with that got $90,000 back when the home was finished.

Oh another thing that will help, is the federal program that waives the GST on homes under $1,300,000 for first timers! So that’s also helpful.

So we have Township Down Payment Assistance and No GST to help with buying a house!