Saskatoon builder looking to flip abandoned homes to first time buyers
A Saskatoon man wants to play matchmaker for the unloved homes in the city.
Andrew Hunter, the owner of Homes by Hunter is looking for boarded up homes to refurbish and flip.
“Every time I drove down this area (Caswell Hill) I realized that there were a bunch of boarded-up homes and nobody knew what to do with them. Maybe it was out of their control, out of their expertise, but it was something I knew I could tackle,” said Hunter.
Hunter works with Triple H Ventures looking for properties, mostly on the west side of Saskatoon, that are boarded up and abandoned.
“It is our mission to the community to purchase and restore each boarded up home,” said Hunter.
Hunter’s hope is that the homes become economically viable for people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford them. To help make it even more viable, the builders are adding basements suites to offset mortgage payments.
“We’re building in these basements suites. Some can’t even afford the bare minimum, if we add in the legal basements suites, they are able to subsidize that with the income that they get to afford the home,” said Paul Hampson CFO of Triple H Ventures.
Hampson uses a home selling for $280,000 in Caswell Hill as an example. He says the basement suite could get anywhere from $1100-$1300 and if someone was also renting the upstairs it could net almost $1400 more.
Hunter hopes this opens up opportunities for homebuyers who might not be able to afford them otherwise.
“Everything is going up and it’s hard for millennials. They are stuck in this cycle that they just can’t afford to by a home,” said Hunter.
According to the City of Saskatoon’s former director of planning Alan Wallace, there are several positives to fixing up boarded homes. For him, he says it provides housing to the market while resolving issues a boarded up home brings to a community in terms of crime and safety.
“This will be good for the supply, good for the street, good overall and so far I would applaud their efforts,” said Wallace.
Hunter and Hampson are currently working on flipping their first abandoned home while keeping their eyes on several others.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.