Aspiring homeowners! If you could trade your car in exchange for a down payment on a condo in Gastown, would you?
An innovative new program, Car for Condo is helping renters become homeowners while promoting the car-free lifestyle. It is no secret that the cost of living in Vancouver is high—and being able to afford a down payment on a place can be a challenge.
My Gastown Developments and Key Marketing have recently launched the program (in partnership with Vancity Credit Union) to help ease the burden of becoming a first-time homeowner. By trading in your car, the amount (depending on its valuation) is then added to the 5% down payment needed to purchase a condo.
How It Works:
- Drive your car to the “Presentation Centre” for InGastown, located at 32 Water Street. (InGastown is a 61-unit concrete development on East Cordova featuring 501-square-foot condos starting at $269,800.)
- Your car is immediately assessed on-site by experts from Autoform.
- The assessed value is then put directly towards your down payment. (So if you have a car that’s valued at $5,000, you would only need an extra $400 to qualify for a minimum, 2% mortgage on a $269,800, one-bedroom condo.)
- With the 2% down program supported by Vancity Credit Union, you would still need to make monthly payments during construction—up to 16 months, but the monthly payment of $512/month would go towards paying off your own home and making up the difference of a 5% down payment.
- If you have a car that is worth $12,000 you would need to put in an extra $1,490 to make a 5% down payment, with no monthly costs until completion.
Homeowners of Car for Condo will receive a free Modo (car co-op) membership—giving them access to cars onsite and making it an easier transition to start living a car-free lifestyle. “A car is a depreciating asset so trading in a car for a condo—an appreciating asset—makes good business sense and this new program allows some people more choices in how they want to live,” says Cam Good, president of Key Marketing. “This helps people get a foot in the door if they want to live in Gastown, get money for a down payment and live car-free to reduce expenses.” 
With the rising popularity of car-free living and more car-share options up for grabs, not owning a car may seem like a good option for those looking to participate in the program.
“For those who work at home, in or near the downtown core, our new Car for Condo program means you can trade the monthly expenses of your car, get a down payment for a condo but not forego convenience,” says Good. “With a free Modo membership and cars onsite, buyers can get a car whenever they need one. And Gastown offers a huge number of great amenities like restaurants, shops, cafes and galleries, all within a few blocks radius.”
For more information on this program, visit: ingastown.com
Written by: Meagan Gill
Images via ingastown
