Funding through SaskHousing’s Summit Action Fund helping put 10 families in new homes in Pinehouse.
Minister responsible Donna Harpauer was there for the official completion ceremonies this afternoon.
The revolving fund helps get the homes built, then applicants must qualify for a mortgage.
In the case of Pinehouse, there were only 10 people who qualified. Among them are four relatives of the mayor. The executive director of housing development, Tim Gross, says deciding who gets accepted is based purely on the person’s ability to qualify for a mortgage. He says in the case of Pinehouse, there were 10 homes, 10 qualified applicants and four of them had connections to the mayor.
“We have not got into the details of who the applicants were. We understand that it is correct the people you have said, but it has really been a process where the qualified applicants — the ones who qualified for a mortgage — have been the applicants who have qualified for the program.”
Gross adds it’s a mortgage broker that decides who qualifies for the program, not the local committee.
The Summit Action Fund provides $500,000 in grant money to help the homes get started, while a local committee with the help of a mortgage broker finds the qualified applicants. Three more homes are currently under construction through the program.
As the mortgage is paid back, the money goes back into the community home ownership program so more homes can be built.