When people first hear about Larchwoods, the question that comes up most often isn’t about the homes — it’s about the structure. “So do I own it or not?” It’s a fair question, and the answer is worth understanding clearly before you go any further.
There are three ways people occupy a home in Canada: renting, owning outright, and — less commonly understood — a hybrid model where you own the home but lease the land it sits on. Larchwoods is that third model. Here’s what each actually means, and why the distinctions matter.
Renting: flexibility, but nothing to show for it
When you rent, you pay monthly for the right to occupy a property someone else owns. You’re not building equity. You’re not making decisions about the space. Your landlord can raise your rent, sell the property, or decline to renew your lease. In return, you get flexibility — you can move when your term ends — and you’re generally not responsible for major repairs.
Renting is the right answer for a lot of people at certain stages of life. But for most people considering Larchwoods, it isn’t what they’re looking for. They want to own something. They want permanence and a place they can make their own.
Traditional homeownership: you own the home and the lot
In a conventional subdivision, buying a home means buying everything: the structure, the land underneath it, and any improvements on it. Your name goes on title for all of it. You build or lose equity in both the home and the land as values rise and fall. You’re responsible for all maintenance, property tax on both the building and the land, and the full mortgage on the combined purchase price.
In Olds, that combined purchase price for a comparable 3 bedroom new home on a purchased lot typically starts well above $550,000 once you factor in land at current prices. Your mortgage, your property tax bill, and your carrying costs all reflect that full number.
The Larchwoods model: you own the home, you lease the land
At Larchwoods, you own your home. That means a titled asset registered in the Alberta Manufactured Home Registry — a brand-new, fully warranted modular home built to residential building code, priced from $309,000 — that you can mortgage, sell, or transfer. Your name is on title for the home. You are an owner.
What you don’t own is the land underneath it. Instead, you lease the homesite from Larchwoods for $650 per month. That lease isn’t a rental arrangement in the way most people understand renting. It’s a longer term annual agreement that gives you secure, exclusive use of your lot — with protections in place — while Larchwoods remains responsible for community maintenance, snow clearing on common roads, garbage and recycling service, and property tax on the land itself.
You own your home completely. What you’re leasing is the ground — and in exchange, you’re freed from the cost of buying it.
This structure is well established in Canada. Manufactured home communities, certain resort properties, and some urban developments use the same model.
How the three models compare…
| Feature | Renting | Traditional Ownership | Larchwoods Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Own the home? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Own the land? | No | Yes | No — Leased |
| Home on title? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Can mortgage? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Can sell? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Build equity? | No | Yes (home + land) | Yes (home) |
| Land purchase cost | — | $125,000+ | $0 upfront |
| Monthly land cost | Included in rent | In mortgage | $650/month lease |
| Maintenance & property tax (land) | Landlord’s responsibility | Your responsibility | Included in lease |
What happens when you want to sell?
You can sell your Larchwoods home at any time, on the open market, at whatever price you and a buyer agree on. The buyer goes through a standard tenancy application with Larchwoods and assumes the homesite lease — the same process you went through. There’s nothing unusual or complicated about reselling a leasehold home. It happens regularly in communities like this across the country.
Because Larchwoods is an owner-occupant community — no rentals permitted — the quality and character of your neighbours is consistent. That consistency supports resale values over time in a way that mixed-tenure communities often don’t.
The Bottom Line
Questions about how this works? Amanda can walk you through it.
