Everything you need to know about co-owning a home

Can’t afford to buy a home on your own? Then maybe you should take a look at this new Guide to Co-owning a home, which was recently released by the province of Ontario. 

The new Co-owning guide is part of a series of publications being released as part of the More Homes, More Choice: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan. Basically, if you want to buy a home, but can’t afford to do it on your own, there are ways you can team up with others to buy.

"Solving Ontario's housing crisis is going to take new and innovative ideas," said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, in a release. "I want to thank Durham MPP Lindsey Park for her leadership that lead to the development of this guide. It will add further clarity to co-ownership and is another way our government is creating more choice for Ontarians to find housing that meets their needs."

The Guide outlines different types of co-ownership, financing and insurance considerations, legal and regulatory requirements, and other things you should consider when deciding to buy a home with someone or numerous other people. 

You can either buy a home as a group of individuals, or you can purchase using a corporation model, where the corporation owns the home while everyone has shares in the corporation. 

There could be a few reasons why you would want to co-own a home. Perhaps you want more space, but can’t afford it on your own. Maybe you want to buy a property and rent it out, but want a partner to help carry the costs. 

"We need to start a conversation on different housing models that make home ownership more affordable — this was one of my goals when I put forward my private members' bill earlier this year, the Golden Girls Act, 2019," said MPP Park. "Repurposing existing housing infrastructure and promoting co-ownership will create more options for more Ontarians, young and old."

When end-users come together to co-own, they’re usually friends and/or family. You typically wouldn’t randomly seek out a stranger who was looking to co-own a home. You want to make sure you know the person well; they should be trustworthy, reliable, and have stable income.

There are a number of benefits to co-owning, including affording more space, widening your home search to more ideal neighbourhoods, and it’s a great way to establish a tight-knit community within your own household.   

With Greater Toronto Area home prices expected to continue climbing in 2020, it’s possible we see more co-ownership deals in the near future, especially with the help of this guide.