First-time homeowners get first dibs on new Iqaluit lots
19 residential lots at Joamie Court subdivision up for sale by ballot draw
Nineteen new residential building lots are up for lease by lottery in a new Iqaluit subdivision. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF IQALUIT)
The City of Iqaluit is putting 19 new lots out to lease at its new Joamie Court subdivision.
The lots will be awarded by lottery, with priority given to first-time homeowners.
That lottery takes place on Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Applications are due by the end of day on Jan. 7.
Applications require a non-refundable $300 ballot fee and, for a priority ballot, proof that you have never owned a home in Iqaluit.
There are 25 lots in total at Joamie Court, but six lots are set aside for other use. Of those lots, two will be used for affordable housing projects that will be contracted out later, three are being given to the Nunavut Housing Corp., and one is set aside for a Habitat for Humanity housing project.
The new lots range in price from $89,505 to $148,725, and they’re zoned for low-density residential use, meaning they are cleared for single and semi-detached dwellings, duplex units, home-based businesses or bed and breakfasts.
Under certain city conditions, the lots could also be used for building mobile homes, day cares and boarding homes.
First-time Iqaluit homeowners who have lived in the city for more than two years will be given top priority in the lottery, followed by first-time homeowners who have lived in the city for fewer than two years.
The City’s acting chief administrative officer, Amy Elgersma, will lead the draw.
Forms for the lottery are available online or for pickup at Iqaluit City Hall, and you can contact the City of Iqaluit’s planning and lands department for more information.
“Lots are leased on an ‘as is’ basis,” the city said in a document describing the lottery. “It is the responsibility of the Lessee to check the zoning of the land, location of services, and the city accepts no responsibility for soil conditions or the location of bedrock on the lots.”
Ballot winners will have 15 business days from the time of the draw to pay a 10 per cent deposit on their lot and a quarterly land-lease payment.
You can’t apply to the lottery for someone else, and the city is requesting that applicants be present for the draw.
This is BS. I was a first time home buyer in Iqaluit and paid $200.00 to be in the lottery for the plateau. I saw rich business men/women who put their children’s name into the draw. When the children were drawn, the parents marched them up to the map and told then what to select.
This BS will happen again.
Why not advertise how much it is to be in the lottery and state that its non refundable.
It’s right there in the article: “Applications require a non-refundable $300 ballot fee and, for a priority ballot, proof that you have never owned a home in Iqaluit.”
I’m also more than a little skeptical of your claim that kids’ names were put in the draw, given the requirements that have to be met during the application (https://www.city.iqaluit.nu.ca/sites/default/files/final_-_eng_ballot_draw_procedures.pdf).
oops i skimmed the article and notice my error after I pressed post.
I wanted to buy a house so bad when Plateau happened. 2 people younger than me with rich parents put their names in for the draw. They didnt have good paying jobs. when their names got drawn, their mother took them up to the map and chose the lots for them.
I watched as more and more young 19 year old’s got selected for units. Me and a few others were so discouraged and felt ripped off.
This will happen again.
Ill just get all my employees to put their names in. I can then buy all the lots, build houses and sell them for profit…. Its not like there are any rules against doing that.
No 1 and 3 , you are so right!!
THis has taken place for years. Look at who owns all the big multi residential units .
Look at who got to sell overpriced houses in the last years.
This is not a coincidence. This is a system that has worked so well for a few.
If you want have the City show who was drawn and who ended up selling a house on that same lot. If they want to do it you will see that the diced were loaded from the word GO
Thanks
Buy at your own risk, in the dark while the ground is frozen.
Yep, that sounds like Iqaluit.