A big part of the American Dream has always been the ownership of one's own home. It has always been a part of our expansion, and was behind Bill Clinton's efforts to reduce required down payments when people bought a new home. We all want somewhere to call our own, where we can paint and put in new vanity cabinets as we please. Not to mention, home ownership also allows a measure of financial security.

Governments are just as interested in citizens owning homes as individuals themselves. Home transactions provide significant funds into public treasuries; to the tune of $3 billion and more every single year. They also keep local economies afloat; vacuum truck services and other local companies service individual homes more than any other type of customers.

And municipal bodies also have their own individual stake in having as many people as possible own their own homes. Most of the budget in most cities is based on payment of property taxes. Without home owners, there are far less taxes to collect. In addition, homes with no owners make cities look very bad. They house squatters, drug operations, gangs, and other unsavory elements which make a city less attractive. People want Armour Heights, not ghost towns.

For that reason, many major American cities have programs in place which encourage home ownership and help residents to achieve this goal. The city of Chicago is no exception, with several programs designed to help working Americans realize the goal of home ownership.

The first of these initiatives, and one of the most successful, is the Choose to Own program. The program is unique to the city. Through it, a citizen does not have to spend all of the vouchers received through the federal program for rent purpose for that purpose only. Leftover portions which don`t go towards rent can be set aside in order to save up for the down payments and other bills needed for home ownership. The program encourages good stewardship and the development of budgeting skills. It`s success is evident in the fact that none of the 300 homes bought so far through the program have been foreclosed upon. Those are some great numbers, far less than the average foreclosure on other types of Chicago or Toronto real estate today.

Other programs are also in place in Chicago to help potential home owners achieve their dreams. Some of them are based on principles adapted from Bowmanville real estate initiatives, others are home grown right here in our city. They include the Tax Smart program, City lots for City living, the Historic Chicago Bungalow initiative, and many others. Some of these programs focus on creating affordable housing, some on allowing home owners to save money on their home purchase.