Buying a home with a rental suite as a mortgage helper is a great idea! Most common questions and concerns are the following:
Q: Will the lender allow me to buy a home with an illegal suite in it?
A: Yes, you can even use the income from the suite as "income" to help you qualify for the home, using either Genworth or Canada Guaranty insurers (if you are putting less than 20% down)
Q: How can I make my suite a legal suite? I don't want to get fined from the municipality.
A: Check with your local municipal website under "Secondary Suites". Here is City of Surrey as an example of what might be required, fees and fines.
Q: Can I have the suite built into my my mortgage when buying it?
A: Yes, you can utilize the Purchase Plus Improvements to build up to $40k worth of renovations right into your mortgage. It can ONLY be done when you first apply for your mortgage.
Thinking of buying a house with a suite over a townhouse? Well lets look at some numbers.
Based on a family income of $75,000 with 5% down, 2.99% 5 year fixed, 25 year amortization, here is the difference. As you can see owning a house CAN be the same or LESS than a townhouse.
Your house will build increase in value faster than a townhouse as well.
Now this is good planning!
Kiki Berg, Mortgage Expert