3rd Floor Balcony

One of the great things working for Options for Homes is getting to see up close how things work. Options for Homes is, of course, an organization I'd written up before landing this gig. Home Ownership Alternatives is, in my opinion, the oft-overlooked cousin. Where Options helps the purchasers build the building, it is Alternatives (or HOA) that provides the partial financing that allows potential homeowners to become actual homeowners.

And while they work hand in hand, they are separate and the mission for HOA is broader. They are not beholden to Options projects and can work with anyone with a plan or a vision for home ownership for the people.

And so, here's a congrats to Home Owernship Alternatives who just got short-listed for an international award from UN-HABITAT, the United Nations arm for Human Settlements, by way of the Building and Social Housing Foundation, who are the primary sponser of the World Habitat Awards. (Talk about partnerships - things get mighty complex the bigger you get!)

At any rate, I think HOA is great, so here's their press release as well as a few quick facts about them. Questions, comments, anyone? What do you think of their model? With spiraling costs for housing in Toronto (notwithstanding a global economic downturn) and the sub-prime situation in the US that precipitated the same downturn, anyone have any thoughts about an organization like Home Ownership Alternatives? Think you might ever have a need for them? How much home can you afford?
HOA 2008 World Habitat Award Finalist