Brandon buyer grants taken up fast

June 29 2018

It was good idea while it lasted. As of June 15, applications received had claimed all of the $140,000 in homebuyer grants offered by the City of Brandon, Manitoba.
“We do expect to use the entire portion of the Home Buyer Assistance Program Funding as we have more than 10 qualified applicants,” Amanda-Rose Bourget, coordinator of Brandon’s affordable housing programs told Home BUILDER.
With funding support from The Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation, the City of Brandon had developed a program by which successful applicants received funding equal to a 5 per cent down payment on the purchase of a home and a portion of associated closing costs by way of a 10-year earned forgivable loan, to a maximum of $14,000 per applicant.
Applicants had to have a gross family income of less than $75,600 and the home could not exceed a price of $250,000.
Current renters were targeted for the assistance according to Sandy Trudel, director of economic development for Brandon.
The program was a one-time deal—so far at least. While the funding for this year has been claimed, Trudel said any expansion of the program was “entirely dependant on what (if any) funding remains after the initial allocation of funds.”