|
"Impecunious house-hunter, honest, flexible, employed, seeks same. Must be willing to commit."
Canadians who want to get their foot on the increasingly steep real estate ladder are about to be offered an on-line matchmaking service that has been a runaway success in Britain and Australia.
Co-buywithme.co.uk, launched just four months ago from a basement in London, already has 500 customers registered in Britain. The startup of the Australian service grabbed 200 clients in its first two weeks.
"The trend has happened; co-buying is already starting to become mainstream in the United Kingdom," says Theo Michaels, the 29-year-old business recruiter who started the site with his brother Stephan, 23, in May.
The brothers haven't yet quit their day jobs, but have reason to be optimistic about the venture.
HSBC Bank in Britain recently unveiled a new mortgage product aimed specifically at co-buyers, Theo Michaels said in a phone interview from London.
"It all started six months ago with me text-messaging Stephan and saying, 'I've got it: an on-line dating network for people who want to buy houses,' " Mr. Michaels said.
At first he thought his market would consist of people who were a mirror image of him: in their 20s, unable to afford a first home, and willing to share living space, he said. But he was quickly surprised to find that there was another market equally as large — people who wanted to buy half or one-third or one-quarter of several homes as an investment.
"That way you're not banking on one location to bring the chips in," Mr. Michaels said. "People can split their capital across three properties and not have all their eggs in one basket."
He estimates that 40 per cent of the British site users want to live with their co-buyers, 40 per cent want to co-buy as an investment, and a further 20 per cent sign on to find an overseas holiday property for a combined time-sharing arrangement and investment .
Mr. Michaels said he co-bought a house in London with two other people two years ago and still lives there. He has also co-purchased a ski chalet in Bulgaria with six partners.
The Michaels brothers chose to expand into Canada because they saw the housing market here as following a pattern similar to that in Britain: Prices have escalated beyond the reach of many first-time buyers, who have become desperate enough to consider new ways of buying real estate. They hope to have the service up and running by the end of this month.
"I have some Canadian friends and I think Canada is quite an embracing country, not closed-minded. What we need is people to consider a new idea."
The brothers did their own research on legalities. Each country has its own legal framework and home-buying process, and Canada's is complex because of provincial differences.
The service in Canada — to be at the website co-buywithme.com — will be nationwide, and prospective buyers will need to get legal advice to ensure that they have proper contracts in place before making a co-purchase.
What buyers need, regardless of country or province, is a property purchase agreement, a co-habitation agreement if they're going to be living together, an up-to-date will, and income-loss insurance to cover their mortgage share in the event they lose their job.
There will be no fees for users, Mr. Michaels said. Down the road, he hopes to make money by partnering with lending institutions that develop co-buy mortgages.
The site will work exactly like an on-line dating service. You don't reveal much personal information at first. You e-mail back and forth about your general requirements, the size of down payment you can offer, whether you want to live together or just invest.
Then you can agree to meet in person on neutral ground like a café for a first date.
If it goes well, and more good dates follow, it's time to go to business. You exchange credit-check results and police checks, then proceed to lawyers for draft contracts, to insurers for an income-protection policy and to a bank for a preapproved mortgage.
Then the house-hunting can begin.
| 
