How it Works

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Trillium Housing is a new initiative creating housing affordability. Trillium Housing is dedicated to investing in the development of entry level ownership housing and to providing innovative financing to enable modest-income families to own their home.

Tired of paying down your landlord’s mortgage and want to start building your own equity?

Frequently Asked Questions

Trillium Housing can help.  Trillium Housing is the new way to deliver housing affordability.   We invest in entry level ownership housing developments and provide our innovative Trillium Mortgage to help you buy your home.

Good question!  The Trillium Mortgage is PAYMENT FREE as long as you own and live in your home.  But if you sell your home (or rent it out), you repay our mortgage.  And instead of earning monthly interest on our mortgage, we get our share of appreciation in the value.  It’s like we own a piece of your home while you need our help.  When you repay the Trillium Mortgage, the home is all yours.

The need for entry level housing is great. There is a growing affordability gap – the difference between housing prices, which have increased 75% and family incomes, which have increased only 5%, both over the past decade.

The three founders of Trillium Housing, Joe, Richard and Fred, have years and years of experience in mortgages, affordable housing, real estate and construction.  We put together the Trillium model when we saw that so many people are not able to fulfill their dream and own a home.  The gap between their income and house prices has become too big.  So we looked for a way to fit in seamlessly with quality housing developers.  We wanted to use a financing tool – a mortgage – that people are familiar with.  We wanted it to be easy to administer.  We don’t need government dollars to make it work (but it’s nice to have extra help for some families!).  And we want a way for local investors to be able to invest in a housing project and get a fair rate of return AND know that they are helping a lot of people to fulfill their housing dream.

Trillium Housing Non-Profit is a social enterprise and every dollar Trillium Housing earns is reinvested back into more affordable housing.  We manage our non-profit’s funds on a legacy basis and ensure that all activities are focused on the creation of housing affordability.

We think we’ve put together something that fills a growing market need.  And we feel good helping people get into homeownership.

Nothing.  Our developments are built with local builders with a track record of delivering quality housing product.    In each Trillium Housing development, not everyone has a Trillium Mortgage and the amount of the Trillium Mortgage will depend on each home buyers need.  Like any other development, you don’t know how each buyer has financed their purchase – and the Trillium Mortgage is just one more way for home buyers to finance their home.  A Trillium Mortgage is invisible to your family, friends and neighbors.

If you are interested in buying a home in a Trillium Housing development, you’ll need a downpayment (minimum 5%) and a first mortgage approval from a bank, credit union or mortgage broker.  We’ll work with you to figure out what you can afford (the downpayment and the first mortgage) and then try to fill the gap to buy the home you want in our development with the Trillium Mortgage.

We have pool of Trillium Mortgage financing available at each of our projects.  We try to match up available funding with your particular need to bridge the gap between what you can afford and the price of the home.

The chart below gives you some example numbers.

Housing Affordability Forecast*
 
1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 bedroom
Home Price $358,900 $420,900 $551,900
Downpayment $17,945 $40,000 $37,595
Trillium Mortgage $80,955 $105,900 $214,305
Monthly Savings $420/month $490/month $1020/month
First Mortgage $260,000 $275,000 $300,000
Monthly Mortgage Payment** $1,317 $1,320 $1,442
Other costs annual $3,500 $4,500 $5,000
Household Income*** $54,080 $46,000 $63,000
*Based on actual Trillium Project

**Meridian 5 yr closed, fixed rate – 3.15%.

***33% of income to housing costs

While we are an independent non-profit, we have set our eligibility criteria to the government’s affordable ownership housing thresholds.  So the price of the home you are buying must be below your City’s median price and your household income needs to be below the local median.  This is the starting point for your eligibility; then we look at your individual financial situation and ensure that a Trillium Mortgage and the appropriate mortgage amount will set you up to be a successful homeowner.

 

In addition to those two government criteria, you also have to meet normal mortgage financing requirements.  And we’ll want to make sure the home you want is the right fit (not too big or too small!)  You’ll meet with our mortgage broker to make sure that a Trillium Mortgage is right for you.

Trillium Housing goes beyond simple bricks and mortar. We want our home purchasers to be “set up for success” as home owners.  The first step is each prospective buyer has an individual assessment with us to figure out the best Trillium Mortgage fit.  Assistance with saving for down payments, financial literacy and education on the “how to’s” of home ownership are all part of the Trillium Housing package.

Trillium Housing is more than an investor in housing developments – we partner with developers and work together to sell units to families who otherwise can’t afford to buy.   This speeds up sales absorption, reduces project timelines and improves profitability.   We aren’t afraid if developers can make the project more profitable – more profit from our share of the project will let us deliver more Trillium Mortgages.   Trillium Housing offers developer partners access to investment capital, support through the sales process to purchasers who otherwise could not afford to buy, and support in the approval process for new entry level housing developments.

Trillium Housing offers a platform for investment with social impact and good returns. The social impact of investing in Trillium Housing is to greatly increase development of affordable ownership housing by deploying capital through a network of successful developers with quality projects in Ontario. The investments are expected to enable many families with limited financial resources to achieve home ownership that otherwise would be out of their reach. Research shows that homeownership builds family equity and brings improved health, positive education outcomes, community pride and contributes to the reduction of poverty.

Trillium Housing works with governments to develop policies and programs that support affordable ownership housing.  Our team led the way on access to low cost financing from Infrastructure Ontario, led the push to get non-profits access to surplus government land and were the first non-profit to repurpose an Ontario site for affordable housing.  We continue to work on policy and funding changes that will lead to more housing affordability WITHOUT the need for new, massive government expenditures.

The Team

Trillium Housing has the ability to execute its strategy due to the unique skills and experience of its highly-professional management team.  Joe, Richard and Fred are dedicated to excellence, integrity and effectiveness, as reflected in their history of achievements. The team has an excellent reputation in the market and possesses an invaluable network of contacts in development, in government, with non-profits and in finance.

Trillium Housing’s principal entity is Trillium Housing Non-Profit Corporation. Trillium Housing Non-Profit Corporation makes project investments and holds the long term equity and the Trillium mortgages.

Joe Deschênes Smith

  • City of Toronto Act, Ontario Planning Act, Building Code, Residential Tenancies Act
  • Non-profit Housing financing from Infrastructure Ontario
  • Ontario Surplus Land Registry for Non –profits
  • Former Board Director, Woodgreen Community Services
  • 7 Affordable ownership housing projects

Richard Owen

  • Over $1 billion in North American real estate joint ventures
  • Toronto Community Housing Real Estate Portfolio Strategy
  • Regent Park Redevelopment Plan
  • Over 2,000 market houses
  • Administered over 3,000 affordable ownership 2nd mortgages
  • Current Board Director of Meridian Credit Union
  • 12 affordable housing projects

Fred Heller

  • Developed over 1,500 residential units
  • Certified appraiser
  • Project management/construction management:
  • Commercial, retail and industrial: over 500,000 square feet
  • Residential: over 2,000,000 square feet
  • Project Manager of Adelaide Hotel Toronto (previously Trump International Hotel + Tower)

The Trillium Housing Non-Profit Corporation’s Board of Directors is made up of leaders in the worlds of finance and affordable housing.

Mitchell KosnyDirector School of Planning, Ryerson University and former chair Toronto Community Housing (TCH)
Sharad KerurPast Executive Director Ontario Non Profit Housing Association (ONPHA)
Erik KoudstaalRetired Partner Ernst & Young
Peter FriedmannPast Senior Executive in Ontario for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Past Board member of Equity Financial Trust, Past member of Ontario Federal Council
D. Hugh Bessellformer Deputy Chair, KPMG
Mark ConwaySenior Partner, N Barry Lyons Consulting

Five Election Proposals to Create Housing affordability

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Trillium Housing submission to National Housing Strategy

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Trillium Housing recommendations for Ontario 2017 Budget

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Trillium Housing social impact report

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DRAFT Trillium Housing proposals for Housing To 2020‑2030

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Trillium Housing 2022 Ontario Submission

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