Terra Housing Consultants Ltd. helps Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and municipalities develop housing for low and middle-income households. Since 1982, Terra has worked with clients to complete over 230 housing projects. We have also been consulted by NGOs and governments to assist with research, policymaking and program development.

Terra offers expertise in the following areas:

• Financial Modeling Terra helps to create situation-specific financial models for housing projects. The models address: savings plans, capital costs, sources of financing, cash flow management, contracts and security instruments and loan repayment systems. We work with our project partners to create the models and manage their implementation.
  
  
• Project Management Terra is experienced in managing the development of large-scale housing projects. We work with the sponsoring organization through each stage of planning and developing its low-income housing. Terra works with its clients to clarify their objectives and establish plans for implementation. We then assist them to co-ordinate the activities of architects, lawyers, realtors, lenders, contractors and others involved in the development of the projects. During the construction phase, Terra provides coherent financial and administrative systems. At occupancy we assist with move-in and management start-up.
  
  
• Capacity Building Terra has more than 20 years of experience assisting housing providers become independent property developers and managers.
  
  
• Research and Consultation Terra has done research for the Village of Whistler, the City of Port Moody and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities among others. In 1996 we were contracted to the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association to prepare the NGO report from Vancouver for submission to the United Nations Habitat II conference held in Istanbul, Turkey.
  
  
• Property Management Terra also specializes in the following property management services: Financial Management/Services, Tenant Services/Relations, Maintenance and Repairs, Preventative Maintenance and Board Liaison.

OUR PARTNERS
Terra's core partners are Non-Governmental Organizations and Municipalities seeking to provide housing to low and middle-income households. The key to effectiveness in providing quality affordable housing is to work in close collaboration with various other stakeholders: the private sector (architects, lawyers, engineers, developers, etc), funding and government agencies and the communities themselves. Terra provides assistance to municipalities in developing their housing policies and community plans, and we consult to various government and non-governmental organizations regarding projects in operating difficulty.

INTERNATIONALLY
Terra focuses on capacity development in the areas of financial modeling and project management of housing developments. Since the spring of 2002, Terra has been active in South Africa developing projects with local Black Economic Empowerment companies and the Gauteng Department of Housing. In the Philippines, where Terra continues to work, assistance is being provided to strengthen the capacity of the national co-operative sector to develop and manage all aspects of the co-operative housing development process. In Zimbabwe, Terra assisted a local organization, Housing People of Zimbabwe (HPZ), to be able to manage the development of their housing projects in a mortgage-financing environment.

In addition to the Philippines and Zimbabwe, Terra staff members have also worked in Australia, China, India, Thailand, Spain and Ecuador. Terra has established partnerships with consultants, locally and internationally, and we look forward to increasing our collaborations in the future.