Affordable-housing buyers already owned homes, civil suits claim

Built with a $53-million low-interest loan from the province to help middle-income families achieve the dream of home ownership, Victoria's 135-unit Vivid condominium building was supposed to be a new model for affordable housing. But court documents obtained by CBC show a very different side to the story.

"The defendant has intentionally undermined the purposes of the Affordable Home Ownership Program for personal benefit," says the boilerplate language in each of the lawsuits.A 'pilot project' for affordable home ownership The province said it gave a $52.9-million low-interest loan to Chard Developments to build the project. The developer was then expected to "pass the savings on to qualifying buyers so units could be purchased at below-market prices."

Victoria's Vivid condominium building was a pilot project for a program intended to help middle-income families enter B.C.'s housing market. But lawsuits filed by B.C. Housing claim 13 people who already owned multiple properties bought units. According to the civil claim, the unit's owners also own six other homes in the Victoria area worth a combined total of $7.75 million.The documents claim another couple own a million-dollar home in Nanaimo and four condos in Burnaby and Victoria worth more than $2.2 million.

The buyers named in the lawsuits come from all walks of life — scientist, student, insurance broker, businessman. A number are retired — including a man who allegedly owns a $1.7 million home in Nanaimo where he "currently operates what appears to be a small hotel." "Nearly all the purchasers for whom represented as a realtor have also failed to comply with the terms of the Affordable Home Ownership Covenant," the claim against her reads.of 12 units. The court documents say Yu lives at a different address with her partner and owns or co-owns properties worth nearly $3 million.The lawsuits are seeking an order to have the title for the units transferred back to B.C. Housing — giving the buyers back what they paid "minus fees and disbursements.

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