To the Editor:
Re: “Money may have been saved by buying instead of building Creston's affordable housing”)
Mr. Bulkowski offers calculations to suggest that it would have been better value for the Creston Valley Community Housing Society to purchase old homes and renovate them than to build. In fact, we discussed this approach, among others. Let me share some of our calculations.
There are many for sale signs in Creston area right now. If the target tenants for the six units were single people or couples, purchasing existing units might indeed be the easiest and most economic plan. However, our research determined that low-income families were the group most in need of help with housing.
When we look for potential homes, we first remove anything that requires a car to travel to the town core. Take out any units that are in projects that don’t allow children. Four out of the six units have three bedrooms. Most of the inexpensive units for sale are now off our list. Finally, remove anything that is a fixer-upper. Our funding partners have exacting criteria and as the old adage goes, renovations always cost twice as much and take twice as long as you expect. Our shopping list is now much shorter than it originally appears. It consists of the very houses that young employed families are able to buy.
The math gets a little more complicated now. When one buys an old house, major costs are spread out over years — perfect for a family with a stable income, not as good for a small, volunteer organization. In new construction, these costs are paid up front. Maintaining older houses can be an expensive, time consuming and uncertain process. To cite another old adage, pay now or pay later.
The affordable part of affordable housing refers to the costs to tenants. Construction technology has improved over the years. These units are projected to have an Energuide rating of 84, offering our tenants very low utility costs. From a landlord’s perspective, it will be less costly and less labour intensive to operate a single building rather than six individual buildings.
Research by the Canadian Medical Association and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation tells us that investing in affordable housing pays high dividends in the long-term health and well being of low-income families. Purchasing old houses to renovate and rent at a reasonable price is one way of making that investment. However, for our group and for our target tenants, it was not the right solution.
Heather More, President
Creston Valley Community Housing Society