Firm offers chance on home ownership

By Sandi Krasowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Chronicle-Journal

A new company is expanding to Thunder Bay and aims to house 30 families in their own homes this year.

Amy Ding, the founder and chief executive officer of Requity Homes, said their goal is to help more people achieve their home-ownership dreams through a modern rent-to-own program, including those who don’t yet qualify for a traditional mortgage.

Requity Homes began its operation in 2020 in Sault Ste. Marie and is currently based in Toronto.

“We help clients purchase the home of their choice upfront until they can qualify for a mortgage,” Ding said. “We’ve successfully placed numerous local families in homes, empowering them with the opportunity to build equity and stability. On average, our clients buy back their home in 18 months.”

She says Thunder Bay is a great place to expand her company because it has a favourable immigration policy, plus there are growing numbers of newcomers heading to the city through the federal government’s Rural Community Immigration Pilot. Thunder Bay is also considered an affordable place to live.

“Many newcomers have a hard time getting a mortgage due to their self-employment history, credit score, lack of down payment, whatever that may be,” she said, adding many renters pay $2,000 and more in rent.

“The cost they’re paying, in terms of rent, is higher than the mortgage and insurance if they owned the home,” she said. “If someone is willing to give them a chance, they can get a mortgage, they can afford a home and they could be paying less than the rent they’re paying. To me that presents a huge opportunity for a company like us, where we can really make a difference.”

Ding explained her company purchases any house the client chooses as long as it is within their budget and meets the company’s criteria.

“Once we purchase the home, the client gets to move in as a tenant and will be renting the home from us for up to three years while working with us closely to get ready for a traditional mortgage,” Ding explained. “When they are eligible for a traditional mortgage, we sell the house back to them at a pre-determined price that we agreed upon initially.”

She said her company pays the mortgage, property tax and insurance and needs to make sure that they’re breaking even every month from the rent.

“The other thing is the capital gain — the price difference between the original home price we pay for and the price that eventually will sell to our clients,” Ding said, adding they use a (well-researched and fair) five per cent annual increase to calculate the future buyback price.

“We want to make sure our clients have some potential opportunity to build equity because that house (value) is going up eight to 20 per cent and will cost them a lot more down the line. If our client can build up equity significantly, they buy back home at a 20- to 40-per cent discount to the current market value,” she said.

In the worst-case scenario where a client walks away from the agreement, Ding says Requity Homes will charge a penalty fee, which is five per cent of the original home price the company paid.

“Any money the clients have saved, we will give it back to them,” she noted. “You’re not just renting from us, you’re building equity over time.”

She said they need a minimum two-per cent down payment from the clients up front, and then every month they pay a fixed monthly payment, part of which goes towards their down payment as well. As time goes by, they accumulate equity from the initial deposit and part of the monthly payments.

“All of that money over time, adds up, and that will count as a down payment,” she said.

Should a client have to leave the city, Requity Homes will transfer their savings to another property in a different city in which the company operates. Currently, Requity Homes operates in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and has plans to operate countrywide.