BCBusiness

March 2015 BCBusiness 55 best-known developers, is a new con- cept in the Lower Mainland rental mar- ket—and, according to Bosa Properties, unique in North America. It operates on the assumption that renters, in their move toward ownership, would appreci- ate a little help—and if that help comes from the landlord who's cashing their rent cheques, so much the better. According to Daryl Simpson, senior vice-president of Bosa Properties and Bluesky Properties (both part of the Rob- ert Bosa Group), "tenants may not know what their rental plans are but knowing that they have this bonus waiting for them is often the difference between renting from us and renting from some- one else—so we want to keep them in the family." Tenants living in any Bosa or Bluesky Properties rental building now have 15 per cent of their rent placed in a "Bosaequity" credit account, which can then be put toward a down payment for a new home that the company has devel- oped (up to a maximum of three per cent of the value of the home, and within 24 months of their lease ending). "The value of the rent is deter- mined by the market," Simpson says when asked if there is a rent premium to offset the Bosa rebate. "People who have been renting from us well before this program was in place are getting a 15 per cent credit on their market rent. Because we are a developer of market rental apartments that we retain ownership on and condo- miniums that we hope to sell to people, it's a seamless transition or relationship." 4. Laneway Living When it comes to laneway homes, the City of Vancouver doesn't permit strati- fication (buying and selling the laneway house independent of the principal residence), but formalizing the housing agreement through a mortgage agree- ment is allowed. In response to mem- ber requests, Vancity developed the "Laneway Mortgage": a product unique to them, and one which formalizes an arrangement that is frequently arranged in the family but through the mortgage process allows a degree of separation. 5. Sharia Financing Islamic financing—be it mortgages or other kinds of loans—is centred on the concept of sharia law, which forbids the payment or receipt of interest. In Can- ada, with its relatively small Muslim pop- ulation, financial institutions' interest in developing sharia banking is driven not by domestic demand as much as a desire to access the staggering wealth of the Gulf states, many of which complete deals requiring sharia financing. According to a 2010 report commis- sioned by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Commission ( CMHC), there are no legal roadblocks to banks includ- ing sharia-compliant mortgage products in their arsenals. How- ever, the report goes on to state that the CMHC has no plans to insure sharia mortgages or change its current legis- lative or administrative practices, effectively relegating this type of mortgage product to small institutions, as major lenders would be hesitant to offer mortgages without CMHC insurance. Besides, say the report's authors, the demand—even in countries with a Muslim majority—isn't there: "The take-up rates for [Islamic financing] retail products is invariably extremely low, even in juris- dictions such as Malaysia and Pakistan where government support has been strong." While all the major Canadian banks offer some level of sharia-compliant investments— RBC and BMO have the largest operations, which exist primar- ily to service overseas clients—none offer sharia mortgages for the domestic market. With the 2011 bankruptcy of UM Financial, an Islamic financial company based in Toronto, Assiniboine Credit Union in Winnipeg—the ninth largest credit union in the country, in terms of assets—is currently the only sizable financial institution in Canada to offer sharia-compliant mortgages. ■

• Cover