CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — The Blackstone Property Group has spent the last four years developing and building affordable condo projects in Washington County that cater to first-time homebuyers, young professionals and empty nesters. Following is a conversation with one of the owners, principal broker and managing member Brady Deucher.
We met a few months ago about your condo projects in Washington City and Hurricane. How are things going?
Things are great. When interest rates go up, our properties become a lot more desirable to buyers. We have a product that appeals to anyone with a budget – and let’s face it, if you want to own in Washington County, you’re either spending over $500,000 or you have a budget.
Tell us about the new $20,000 grant.
We’re so excited about this grant. It probably isn’t half enough – with $50 million, I think it’s only going to cover about 2,500 buyers — but it is tailor-made for exactly what we’re building. It’s for first-time homebuyers of affordable, never-been-lived-in, new construction. All of that is us. There are income requirements and lender qualifications; in fact, our lender is on the board and has been putting this together, but it’s a game-changer for buyers.
That sounds amazing for buyers. Is it something they have to pay back?
Yes. Think of it like having a rich uncle who wants to help you buy a house. He gives you $20,000, and you can use it for the down payment, closing costs or buying down your interest rate, or even a combination of all three. Your uncle wants to be paid back when you sell, so there will be a second mortgage on your house that you will pay back when you sell, but there are no payments and no interest on the loan until then.
If you’re borrowing $20,000 less, your payment is significantly lower. If you buy down your interest rate, it’s significantly lower. That’s why this is such a game-changer.
What kind of projects does the grant work on?
It works for new, never-been-lived in homes up to $450,000. We would like to see that maximum value be a little less, simply because if you’re buying a home for $450,000, $20,000 isn’t a lot of money to use for what you need.
But if you’re buying one of our condos for $250,000, that $20,000 represents roughly double the benefit to a buyer than if they’re looking at a much more expensive home. And in Washington County, $450,000 for a home is still tough to find, and new construction at $450,000 is nearly impossible to find.
That leads to my next question. Besides you, what else is out there in the “affordable” category?
Absolutely nothing. Nobody is building affordable condos. We’re the only game in town and the only builder addressing affordability. It isn’t really the fault of any city or builder, although some cities have a much better vision than others, but mostly it’s because building condos and making them affordable is tough to do. We’ve just been doing it in Utah for 40 years and have the kinks worked out, and know what to do to pass on a very nice condo to a buyer on a budget.
What do you have for sale right now?
We have condos in Washington City that will be ready right about when the new grant goes into effect. I think we only have about five left in that building. In Hurricane, we have a 24-unit building that will be ready in July. We’re just starting sales in that building, so it’s wide open for kids to buy a condo and use that grant.
How do they reach you?
Go to AffordableCondos.net. That has contact info and all the current projects we’re working on.
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