 Profile
Jan Luistermans brings three decades of professional experience as an analyst, valuation consultant, and manager in his current post with Realty1. Providing sound property inspection advice, Luistermans’ goal is to find funding for projects based on fair and true values. Luistermans has become a leader in the industry with his efforts and expertise.
Working on both large and small projects, Luistermans considers market trends and development potential when assessing properties. Luistermans has traveled all over the country in order to help his clients, and his business savvy has allowed him to connect builders with reputable funding corporations. Luistermans works with Realty1, a leading real estate brokerage firm, to facilitate the deals the company comes across.
Luistermans attributes his success in evaluations and property inspections to the continuous study of his craft. Jan Luistermans learned the value of research while attending the University of Western Ontario, a leading research-intensive university with an international reputation for graduate success. The prestigious school promotes an entrepreneurial research culture and encourages innovation of ideas and practices. Jan Luistermans conducted general studies at the University and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. Soon after, Luistermans began his career as a manager and analyst for various Canadian companies, including Pullman-Kellogg and 3M.
In addition to his extensive professional resume, Jan Luistermans has built a life based on charitable efforts. Luistermans supports various organizations in his community, including the Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons, and Significant Others (JACS). Jan Luistermans has given to this organization, which encourages and assists addicted people and their families through recovery, as well as promotes awareness for the disease of addiction. Of particular importance to Luistermans is his work with the Humane Society and the Animal Love Foundation, a rescue and adoption program in Ontario. Luistermans adopted his two dogs from agencies, and he promotes pet adoption from shelters, so neglected animals can have the chance to live in safe and loving environments. Luistermans enjoys spending time with his three children, landscaping his yard, and reading great classics like Ernest Hemingway's “Farewell to Arms.”
According to Jan Luistermans of Realty1 innovative financing makes affordable housing possible in a sought-after neighbourhood. Mr. Luistermans observes this in Somerset Gardens. Low-income families in Ottawa have few options for purchasing houses: down-payments can be a barrier even if their incomes are stable, and high housing prices are driving people farther from the core, increasing the burden on transportation systems.
Somerset Gardens, an attractive, 11-storey, 119-unit condominium is proof that a development can be 100 per cent affordable in Ottawa’s sought-after downtown neighbourhood, without any ongoing government subsidies—and it’s the result of collaboration among some very different players.
Teron Inc. is a private developer that created a subsidiary (Somerset Gardens) dedicated to affordable housing. Teron reduced the selling price to 20 per cent below market and all units are affordable to people within the 40th income percentile. Through an agreement with the City of Ottawa, Teron set up an Assisted Home Ownership Program (AHOP), under which the City and Teron deferred the payment of a total of $11,315 per unit. For purchasers to qualify, they must be within the 40th income percentile and live in the unit. Interest accrues while they own the unit, but is deferred until they sell. If they sell to another qualifying purchaser, the deferral can continue; 42 purchasers have taken advantage of the program. CMHC recognizes this deferral as the down payment and therefore Teron requires the purchasers to contribute only one per cent towards the down payment.
Jan Luistermans is pleased by the Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI) that is a charitable organization created in 2002. Its members come from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Unitarian faith communities. One of its members, St. John’s Anglican Church, sold its parking lot as land for the building of Somerset Gardens.
Action Ottawa, the City’s affordable housing program, provided MHI with a grant towards purchasing 10 of the units, requiring at least six to be rented to people on the city’s Below Market Rent (BMR) Housing Registry. MHI also received funds through the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement, and was able to leverage more than $200,000 in loans and donations from faith communities and individuals—all of which contributed to creating six affordable rental units at $460 per month. Four units are rented at $793, well below the true market value. Members of St. John’s Anglican Church purchased four additional units that are being rented at subsidized rents—creating several levels of affordability in the same building.
With balconies, lots of natural light, barrier-free mobility throughout, and a rooftop garden managed by a residents' club, Somerset Gardens blends with the neighbourhood and creates a mix of all ages and family types. While it features only 23 parking spaces for 119 units, it is close enough to the downtown core that most residents do not need a car.
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