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Preservation Fund: Financial Assistance with Essential Planning Tools
In October, we reported on New Money from CMHC for Planning through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)’s Preservation Fund. The fund was created as an offshoot of the Seed Funding program, which allows co-ops with federally administered operating agreements, in good standing, to apply
What to Look for in Your Next Risk Report
Once a year, all Agency clients get what their boards tell us is our most important report, which is now enjoying a make-over. When you receive it, you’ll see a refreshed Risk Report that is tighter, more visual and easier to read. Although it has a different look, you will find there the same
Arrears and Bad Debts: Continued Improvement
Your co-op is in the housing business, not the lending business. If a household doesn’t pay what it owes and moves out, you’re left with a bad debt, which will have to be covered by your other members. It is important for your co-op to keep arrears to a minimum and even better, to keep them at zero!
Say “No” to Directors in Arrears and Put it in Writing
Everyone agrees that housing co-ops need to eliminate member arrears—or at least keep them to a bare minimum. Uncontrolled arrears are the mark of a co-op sliding into financial difficulty, putting at risk its ability to cover day-to-day operating expenses. Arrears also take money out of the members
Federal Program Housing Co-ops: Getting Better All the Time
There’s no doubt that, as a group, the Agency’s client housing co-operatives are continuing to produce better results. We compared their performance in 2018 with their operations in the Agency’s early years—now more than a decade ago—and we are impressed with our clients’ progress. It was also good
Hawthorne Housing Co-operative: A More Sustainable Future
What is Hawthorne Housing Co-operative thinking? Many co-ops would view its healthy condition with envy and look for no further improvement. Yet, with the end of its extended operating agreement in view, Hawthorne (Surrey, BC) is preparing itself for a sustainable future.
On the whole, the 59-unit
Looking to Borrow in a Year or so? Introducing the HPC Housing Investment Corporation
In February, British Columbia’s Community Land Trust (CLT) completed the refinancing for a building that houses two Vancouver co-operatives, Railyard and Aaron Webster. The deal was put in place with the help of the HPC Housing Investment Corporation (HIC) through a process known as take-out
Mortgage Financing: What Are Our Options?
Your co-op is seen as a business by private lenders, including credit unions, banks and others. So, when you start looking for a mortgage loan, your co-op will be eligible for a commercial mortgage, rather than a residential mortgage. Often lenders post residential mortgage rates on their website
Eileen Tallman’s New Adventure in Sustainability
Eileen Tallman Co-operative Homes is a stable housing community in Ottawa’s mid-western suburbs. Moderate and mid-range in many ways, this co-op was part of the dramatic expansion that took place in co-operative housing between 1979 and 1984. Like many co-ops of that period, it has 60 units of
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Capital Plans and Contributions
Comparing 2007 and 2020, we saw the median annual contributions per unit almost triple ($1,026 per unit to $3,052).