An Affordable Homeownership Option that Enables Black Families to Thrive

February 24, 2022

by admin

BNI Homeownership Bridge Program

An Affordable Homeownership Option that Enables Black Families to Thrive

The BlackNorth Initiative (BNI) Homeownership Bridge Program helps working black families like yours become homeowners, empowering you to build security, stability, equity and the opportunity to make life better for yourselves, your children and generations to come.

The BNI Homeownership Bridge Program in partnership with Habitat for Humanity GTA and empowered by Dream Legacy Foundation is designed as both a symbolic and a practical approach to mobilize all levels of society in working together to eliminate systemic racism. The BNI Homeownership Bridge Program is an affordable housing solution that responds to an economic and racial inclusion problem.

Background

Homeownership has enabled generations of Canadians to build equity to start businesses, support children’s post-secondary education, provide for retirement and transfer wealth to children, however, the Black community has been left out.

In Toronto, housing is highly racialized:

➢ 75% of residents who identify as white, have a higher than average income, and are homeowners
➢ while 69% of residents who identify as racialized, have lower income, and rent their houses.

Homeownership has become completely out of reach for the average Torontonian.

➢ In 1990, the price of a family-sized home was 4x-4.5x the average income
➢ Today, a family-sized home accounts for 15x-16x of the average income.

How does it work?

Families approved for the BNI Homeownership Bridge Program receive support to purchase a home. Our program makes homes affordable by requiring no down payment and a two-mortgage model:

The first mortgage is supplied by a conventional lender, such as a bank or credit union and is provided at market interest rates.
The second silent mortgage is provided by BNI Homeownership Bridge Program and its partners and is the difference between the purchase price of the home and the first mortgage. Families will begin paying this second mortgage after the first mortgage is paid in full.

How BNI Homeownership Bridge Program families build wealth

Families approved for the BNI Homeownership Bridge Program enter into a shared equity agreement, meaning families and the BNI Homeownership Bridge Program share the home’s increase in value or appreciation. When families make their mortgage payments on their first mortgage, they are building their equity. Families also build equity by earning appreciation (growth in value) on their share (first mortgage). The appreciation families earned is fixed at 2% annually. When families make their monthly payments, which are geared to their incomes, they are enabled to build wealth.