Condo or Townhouse Unit With a Mortgage Helper?
It has been a long-time practice in the lower mainland to build rental basement suites in single-family detached houses or duplexes thereby allowing homeowners to subsidize their mortgage payments with rental income from the suites. On the other hand, zoning restrictions in most municipalities prohibit the construction of such suites in condo or townhouse units so condo and townhouse owners do not have such an advantage. This may very soon no longer be the case. Real estate experts say apartments with built-in rental suites point to the future for families looking for new ways to pay the mortgage. Increases in real estate prices over the last few years have created the need to allow this new type of attached housing in condominiums and townhouses so that homeowners who are now shut out of the single family dwelling market can still have the advantage of a ‘mortgage helper’ suite.
The Coalition of Progressive Electors or COPE council is working on amendments to Vancouver’s city by-laws and regulations to allow new condominium and townhouse developments to have “mortgage helper” secondary suites. An example of a “mortgage helper” secondary suite would be a two or three-bedroom condominium with one of the bedrooms designed as a self-contained bachelor suite with its own kitchen, bathroom and a separate entrance from the corridor. The self-contained bachelor suite would have to conform to existing minimum size requirements and building code regulations. The owner could occupy the main suite and rent out the self-sufficient bachelor suite. Renters get privacy and live separately from the apartment owners. Now, that is a “mortgage-helper in the sky” which could help in delivering affordable housing. This type of development was recently built at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and students who had been living around the campus in basement suites, snapped up the units.
So if you have been shut out of the real-estate market by rising prices, a “mortgage helper in the sky” could be the answer to your prayers. This model could help solve the housing affordability crisis in the Lower Mainland of B.C., where housing prices are among the highest in the country. It will give people more options to get into the market.
This article alerts you of the by-laws and regulations to allow new condominiums and townhouses to have a mortgage helper which provides you with some financing options that can reduce the total cost of your home and the time required to pay it off. We have many similar reports that are available at no cost to you.
