BC Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership (BC HOME Partnership) assists residents of British Columbia who are eligible first-time homebuyers by providing repayable down payment assistance loan

The BC Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership (BC HOME Partnership) assists British Columbia residents who are eligible first-time homebuyers by providing repayable down payment assistance loans.

The BC HOME Partnership Loan contributes to your personal down payment, up to a maximum of five per cent of the purchase price. You need to ensure that the amount of your personal down payment, plus the BC HOME Partnership loan, meet the minimum down payment requirement for an insured first mortgage loan.

The BC HOME partnership loan is for an initial 25-year term, which is interest and payment free for the first five years. The loan will be registered on your property title as a second mortgage.

To qualify for BC HOME Partnership loan, anyone who appears on the title of the home must meet the following criteria:

Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident for the last five years
Have lived in British Columbia for at least the full 12 months preceding your application
Be a first-time homebuyer who has not owned an interest in a principal residence anywhere in the world at any time and has never received a first-time homebuyers' exemption or refund
Purchase a home that is $750,000 or less.
Be eligible for a high-ratio insured first mortgage for the home

Other criteria are:

The combined, gross household income of all individuals on the title must not exceed $150,000.
The home being purchased must be used as the principal residence of all individuals on the title for the five years after purchasing.

Source: www.bchousing.org