Home Ownership Program
About the Home Ownership Program
Liberty Home Ownership is a down payment assistance program. We know that a major obstacle to home ownership for many hard-working Albertans is coming up with the down payment to purchase their own home.
Our goal is to clear this obstacle through our innovative shared equity model. You contribute just $1,500 and Liberty provides the remainder of the required 5% down payment.
This program may be a fit for you if:
You are able to apply and successfully qualify for mortgage approval with one of our approved lending partners.
You have permanent, steady employment and are able to contribute just $1,500 of your own funds to go towards a required 5% down payment.
You can complete our online Owner’s Education Course on responsible home ownership upon program approval.
You can live in your home as long as you want. Only when you wish to sell, you share a small portion of the home’s appreciation with Liberty so we can help pay it forward to future participants of our program.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Liberty’s Affordable Home Ownership Program was created in 2015 to address the growing housing affordability gap in Canada. Our 3 key factors that make home ownership a practical reality for Albertans:
Attractive home prices
Forgivable equity loans
A shared appreciation plan that provides a financial stake in equity for customers in the purchase of their new home
-
You will notice that Liberty does not have a minimum credit score required to be a part of our program, but you have to qualify for a mortgage. Liberty Housing Organization helps gives you a down payment, but the mortgage approval process is exactly the same as it would be for any other purchase.
One of the main things lenders consider when applying for a mortgage is your credit score. A credit score is a number assigned to a person that indicates to the lender or bank their capacity to repay a loan. In short, a credit score shows lenders the level of risk associated with lending you money.
In Canada, credit scores will generally range from 300 – 900 (900 being the highest). If your score is 650 and above, you shouldn’t have an issue being approved for a mortgage through most lenders. In some cases, people with a credit score of 600 and above may get approved, but a history of debt repayment would be important to demonstrate your understanding of financial responsibility.
-
If you’d like to purchase through Liberty’s Home Ownership Program, you will have to qualify for a mortgage. Unfortunately, most major lenders, including our lender partners, will not grant mortgages to people in consumer proposal.
If you are in consumer proposal, we hope you’ll revisit the program once the proposal has been completed.
-
Liberty was created to help moderate-income Albertans with steady employment who have been held back from home ownership. No matter the job, trade, or profession, Liberty can assist in achieving the goal of home ownership.
-
Housing prices have been increasing at a much faster pace than the average Albertan’s salary, locking many hard-working people out of the ownership market. Many of our customers have sufficient income to manage mortgage payments, but still have been unable to save a down payment as a result of increasing rent and cost of living.
-
In being a non-profit organization, it’s the support we receive from our building and development partners that enables us to offer attainable pricing for our homes. This is done by our partners reducing the purchase price from the fair market value of the home, which typically results in a discount up to 15% substantiated by an independent third-party appraisal of the homes Liberty seeks to acquire.
-
If you’d like to purchase through Liberty’s Home Ownership Program, you will have to qualify for a mortgage. Unfortunately, most major lenders, including our lender partners, will not grant mortgages to people until your bankruptcy no longer shows on the credit bureau.
We hope you’ll revisit the program once this happens.
-
To remove Liberty from your title, we would require the following information via email to sales@libertyhousingorganization.ca:
The original mortgage approval for your home.
A current home appraisal. You can find an appraiser here on the following website: https://www.aicanada.ca/need-an-appraiser/find-an-appraiser/
Once you have provided that information we will calculate your payout amount, which is either:
The shared equity amount, or
$5,000.00
(whichever is the greater value)
When we have calculated the payout amount, you can then get in touch with our solicitor.
Available Homes
Currently, we do not have any homes available for the Home Ownership Program. If you would like to be considered for this program once homes become available, please complete our online application below and your information will be stored for future consideration.
Online Application
Our Partners
