Grants & Low Interest Loans

by Darrin DeRoches June 28 - July 4, 2012

There are parts of Hamilton that are eligible for grants and low interest loans. The interesting part is that property owners are not lining up to get the free or cheap money. The programs have changed, for the better. and I was not aware of the new opportunities available to property owners. There is the “Gore Improvement Grant Program”, the “Downtown Commercial Façade Program”, the “Commercial Property Improvement Grant Program” and the “Hamilton Downtown Office Tenancy Assistance Program”.     The basic requirements for all of these programs is that you follow all the building codes, permits etc; and that you have all your property taxes paid. Of course there are other fine details but the overall message to all these programs is the city has money available to property owners who want to improve their downtown properties and bring back business and people to the downtown. Since the inception of the programs there have been great success stories and a couple of questionable situations, but all in all, the city is doing more than their part to improve our downtown.     In the Gore Improvement Program the city is basically giving up to $50,000 in a matching grant to those who own a property in the Gore Park area to fix almost anything in the building. The Downtown and Commercial Improvement Programs are granting from $10,000 to $20,000 matching grants for those owners who will use the money for the facades of their buildings. This money can be used for windows, signage, awnings, brick cleaning etc. You can apply each calendar year and improve your building with this program. So if you want to do new windows this year and awnings and brick cleaning the next, just re-apply.     The last program is the Downtown Office Tenancy Program which has funds to loan up to $450,000 dollars at a rate 1 per cent below the prime rate for up to 90 per cent of the cost. Where in the world can you get a loan that is below prime and will cover 90 per cent of the work? The work can consist of HVAC, paint, walls, data systems etc.  Basically the city will help you with the lowest loan possible if you are willing to put up 10 per cent of the funds to create office space in the downtown.  So fix up your property, add value and entice new tenants with a state–of–the–art property.      It seems too good to be true but apply for the grants or loans, follow the rules, and you can add value to your property — it is just about that easy. There are also interest free loans for condo conversion available. If you would like more details about these programs or other programs the city is offering just email me and not  only will I send you the information I can arrange a meeting with the city to get the money flowing.  I can also help with providing the post appraisal of what your property will be worth once the work is done. Free and cheap money is just sitting there waiting for you to take it! V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at mail@uniquerealty.ca.