Looking for a co-owner to share the mortgage? Swipe right

With the Toronto real estate market completely out of reach for many home buyers, two Toronto-based realtors are making it easier for buyers to co-own a house via their online platform, Husmates. The platform matches potential co-owners who can share the costs of a mortgage and down payments.

“Coming from a South Asian background, this approach made a lot of sense as co-ownership in a form of intergenerational living or too many siblings living under one roof and sharing resources and combining finances together is very normalized in South Asian culture,” says Husmates co-founder Parimal Gosai. “What [co-founder] Lesli Gaynor was working on resonated with me immediately.”

In 1993, Lesli Gaynor, a social worker and a single parent in Toronto, was nervous about her landlord and wanted to stop renting and own a house. Given her stagnant minimum wage income and house prices, even back then it seemed nearly impossible to own a house on a single income. So, she collaborated with a friend to buy a semi-detached duplex house in Parkdale for $246,000. Ms. Gaynor and her friend each put up a $7,000 down payment.

“To co-own a house in the 90s turned out to be the best decision for me and my son. Not only economically, but also, socially. Though the time has changed, the gap between house prices and ownership is only getting wider,” says Ms. Gaynor.

Skip to three decades later, Ms. Gaynor, a realtor focusing on co-ownership for the last seven years with the help of her business partner, Mr. Gosai, is now matching fellow Torontonians so they can co-own a house in the city.

Mr. Gosai and Ms. Gaynor decided to build a platform that works like most dating apps. But instead of creating a romantic connection, the app helps you find the perfect partner or group of people to co-own property with. Ms. Gaynor admits that co-ownership may also not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Husmates soft-launched in December 2021. “The app is still in Beta, and we are looking for initial seed funding to build it out properly,” adds Mr. Gosai.

While the concept of co-ownership has already gained traction in cities like Vancouver, it’s now picking up momentum in Toronto.

Arla Good, a 35-year-old researcher at Toronto Metropolitan University, joined forces with a couple in 2019 to buy a semi-detached house in Toronto’s Little Italy for $1.12-million. Ms. Good put more cash down as a down payment, so they did an equalization where the couple paid more on the mortgage till the trio reached 50-50. The house, now valued at $1.55-million, is up for sale. Apart from being financially feasible, the social elements of co-ownership aligned well with Ms. Good’s ideology.

However, thanks to the pandemic and the arrival of a baby, the trio split up as the couple moved to the east coast. The partnership didn’t work as planned and there were more bumps on the road than Ms. Good initially anticipated. “Divorces are hard, but should that stop you from marrying someone? No, right?” she says.

“I grew a lot from that experience. There were roommates’ challenges, of course. With co-ownership, some things are always out of your control,” she says. “For me, it’s never been about sharing just finances, it’s about sharing a lifestyle together.”

Despite these challenges, Ms. Good is diving in again and has found her next co-owners through Husmates.

In co-ownerships, there can be conflicts and disagreements over finances and other issues, so Ms. Gaynor says solid agreements and dispute mechanisms are vital to making this work.

“Each group designs every conflict agreement through open and honest communication. It’s not a one-size-fits-all formula. Having said that, we recommend and provide examples of strategies that people can use,” she says.

One recommendation is to incorporate a conflict resolution process involving mediation into the co-ownership agreement. Then, when a conflict cannot be resolved through mediation, an arbitrator can get involved.

“Articulating conflict agreement can be a painless process; it can pinpoint underlying issues and areas of concern that may require greater attention,” explains Ms. Gaynor.

Brent Bellamy, 37, an instructor at Trent University, moved to Toronto from Edmonton in 2016. Even with the help of their families and despite having ‘dream’ jobs, owning a house in Toronto seemed like a far-fetched dream for Mr. Bellamy and his partner. He went to an event on co-housing in Toronto in 2018 and the idea resonated with Mr. Bellamy and his partner, who works for Toronto Public Library.

By 2021, when the house prices rose exponentially, the duo had decided to plunge into co-ownership. Before aiming to co-own a house with complete strangers, they approached their closest family and friends but to no avail. They turned to GoCo Solutions, a real estate agency that specializes in co-ownership that is linked with Husmates.

Mr. Bellamy and his partner decided to set criteria for their meetings with potential co-buyers – like they shouldn’t be homophobic, and should have strong views on climate change, among other issues. “GoCo’s [Husmates’] matchmaking service is hilariously similar to dating apps. It’s a life-changing decision because you are definitely going to be committed to each other for the first few years of mortgage payments,” says Mr. Bellamy.

“We sat for discussions over a Zoom call with multiple people. For instance: we would browse profiles and if we liked someone, we would approach Mr. Gosai and Ms. Gaynor. If the person liked us back, we would then sit for group calls. You don’t talk about money right away, at least we didn’t. We matched with two people, and we made a big group out of it,” he says.

“There’s a big comprehensive package that you go through before that. For example, what space is shared and what space isn’t shared and questions like that. There are a lot of meetings. But you end up making serious connections with people you didn’t know a few months or days ago,” says Mr. Bellamy.

Mr. Bellamy, with three other parties including Ms. Good, looked at a three-storey home in Toronto and if they agree, they will finalize the purchase by August 2022.

“All people who sign a mortgage in co-ownership are 100 per cent responsible, which could seem daunting. I don’t want to give anyone the impression that this is an easy task. But I would never buy a condo where we have to struggle for space. There’s no better way for us to buy a house in Toronto. My apprehensions on co-ownership have changed over time, I am overall very optimistic about it,” says Mr. Bellamy.