Should I put a basement suite in my personal residence?

[DonCampbell]

Ever considered putting a basement suite in your personal home - as a mortgage helper?

Well there are both good and bad aspects to doing so. Over and above
what you may learn in this recent Globe & Mail article, please:

1. Make sure your insurance company knows about it
2. Choose your tenants even more carefully than you do your other rental units
3. Have a very clear lease, with very cleared rules and regulations
4. Check your local zoning to ensure that a suite is possible
5. For sure make sure there is off-street parking for the tenant

And in all cases, don't use this extra rental income for more Starbucks
and trips... use it to pay down your mortgage more quickly. then once
that is done.... Starbucks to your heart's content

Remember, having a suite in your personal residence changes your lifestyle, so think it through carefully before going ahead for financial reasons.

If you have any good (or bad) stories about having someone live in a
suite in your home. Feel free to share it here. Let us all learn from
each other

Here is the Globe & Mail article I mention above :Basement Suites Good or Bad?

 

[sbh]

Dani and I lived in two of our rentals with basement suites prior to buying a house without a suite.

We had the best tenant in one of our places who was hearing impaired. He was the best tenant for the "lifestyle" part of having a tenant. If looking at renting to a hearing impaired tenant I would recommend getting the proper fire safety equipment. After we moved out our tenant left a pot on the stove and fell asleep. He did not hear the smoke alarm but the upstairs tenants did due to the interconnected detectors. The Fire department showed up and kicked the door in and rescued the pot off the stove. We learned the fire department does not pay for kicking doors in....AND fire safety for hearing impaired tenants is VERY important.

It's looking like Calgary might open the zoning up to legal secondary suites in wards 7,8,9 & 11. If you are considering building a legal secondary suite in your home in Calgary and want some help on doing it feel free to contact us.