A major impediment that threatened a lakefront development on reserve land on Osoyoos Lake has been removed, says the developer of The Cottages on Osoyoos Lake.
The problem was getting mortgage insurance through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Canada (CMHC) for homes built on federal reserve land.
According to Van Maren Group of Companies, which is developing a lakefront community on Osoyoos Indian Band land, CMHC has historically provided mortgage insurance to homeowners buying homes on land leased from First Nations on reserve lands.
But nearly two years ago, CMHC changed the rules to require a new lease clause, something that Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development objected to.
Without CMHC mortgage insurance, many lenders might not provide financing to buyers, if the home was on reserve land, said the Van Maren Group. That, in turn, threatened to scare off developers.
“First Nations sit on an exceptional land base, but unfortunately, without CMHC mortgage insurance, not enough developers could look at First Nations land as accessible, causing an impediment of such significance that the impact on developing on these lands was huge,” said former COO of the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation Chris Scott.
Working in partnership with the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corp., the Van Maren Group has been able to resolve the problem.
Residential homebuyers can now once again obtain CHMC mortgage insurance for homes built on long-term lease agreements with First Nations on reserve lands.
“We could see that change was needed to prevent stunting the growth of residential development on native land, so we made it a priority to work with both parties to remove this impediment,” said Eric Van Maren, co-founder of the Van Maren Group.
“We’re happy to say that, with our determination to help streamline and facilitate the economies of First Nations land, a solution has been reached that all parties are happy with – enabling the ability to grant buyers with mortgage insurance for all leasehold properties across Canada.”
