But renting a space in the core can make saving for your own property that much trickier.
There’s good news for renters who need a bit of help becoming bona fide buyers. In the heart of the Entertainment District, a new program for Cinema Tower by the Daniels Corporation will make squirrelling away your downpayment that much easier.
Dominic Tompa is the Broker of Record for City Life Realty Ltd., the firm in charge of Cinema Tower sales. He consistently saw people coming into sales centres with good credit and steady income. They were tantalizingly close to home ownership – if it wasn’t for the five per cent down payment.
“The program was designed to help get people over that hurdle,” he said.
Available for one bedroom and one-bedroom plus den suites, the rent-to-own program works almost like purchasing a condo. Would-be buyers still have to get pre-approved for a mortgage, sign an agreement and purchase of sale, and give an initial deposit of $3,500. Then, as they pay their monthly rent, a portion goes toward their down payment.
For a one-bedroom plus den with a $2100 monthly rent, about $1,000 a month would be put towards the down payment. In just a year, the renter would have stowed away $12,000, close to the full amount of the down payment.
Daniels doesn’t inflate the rental prices for the program; they’re in keeping with the luxury buildings like Festival Tower and comparable downtown condos.
“When we looked at the community and how many rentals there are in the buildings around it, it was very typical to be paying $2100, $2200 a month for a one-bedroom or one-plus den,” Tompa noted.
“Whereas we’ve created a program where, for the exact same amount of money, you’re actually putting money towards something you’re going to own. That’s going towards your equity rather than going towards something you’ll never recover again.”
The program is part of Daniels’ long history of helping make home ownership more attainable. In 2004, they launched their first rent-to-own program at The Chelsea at Bayview and Sheppherd. After that smashing success, they’ve continued to evolve, adopting downpayment assistance ventures in their Regent Park development as well as other projects.
Located at 31 Widmer St. near Adelaide and Spadina, Cinema Tower is already under construction. Depending on their unit, renters who take advantage of the opportunity can start moving in as early as this July.
The project has 444 units in total and will stand 43-storeys tall.
For more information contact info@cinematowercondos.com or 416 203 2020.
