Did you hear the news? There’s a new kind of housing option in Toronto that’s both beautiful AND affordable!
If you’re a first time home buyer, have children ready to leave the nest, want to keep an elderly parent close by, or simply want the freedom to live a lifestyle that’s affordable and unique, then you may want to Take the Laneway Home…
As Real Estate agents in Toronto, we are quite cognizant of the current marketplace and know that Torontonians require options when it comes to housing. The steady rise of condos and basement apartments have contributed to the City’s shrinking land availability and soaring housing and rental unit costs.
Enter the Laneway Home as a solution to our current housing shortage.
The myriad of benefits – from financial to lifestyle – are considerable. Supplementing income and increasing the supply of affordable homes in desirable neighbourhoods are just the tip of the iceberg for this burgeoning housing market. Offering a prospective renter a chance to live in a detached, ground-oriented downtown property, while offsetting your own mortgage just makes good financial sense.
Purchasing a house with secondary dwelling potential has provided new homeowner April and her husband Robert with an investment opportunity that far exceeded their expectations. “Our original plan was to buy a condo and rent it out,” she says. “However, once we were introduced to the concept of a Laneway home build, we crunched the numbers and discovered the profitability of this kind of investment. We were sold. Now, we have a property with two units to rent, and a laneway home option on top of the garage – giving us THREE units to rent out,” she adds. Undoubtedly, a financial win-win!
Tony Cunha, Architect and Senior Manager at Lanescape, Toronto’s leading Laneway and Garden Suite Design Firm, agrees. “It is very rare for a financial schematic not to reflect a positive ROI from day-one,” he says. “It’s still early days, so there is a limited data pool to draw from. But in my experience, applying a modest cap rate to the income potential of these builds almost always vastly offsets the total investment. We find this typology is one of the best investments you can make in the current housing market and it’s exciting to be part of the first frontier in expanding housing options in neighbourhoods,” he says. “Torontonians now have a new option for housing loved ones while generating income and flexibility.”
Many of our clients have other types of wish lists too; for example, those looking to make or augment lifestyle changes. Some want to create a private home office, or build that coveted hobby or entertainment space. In fact, throughout the pandemic and likely for the foreseeable future, the demand for this kind of alternative space is expected to grow.
Wait…there’s more! Laneway homes present an opportunity for multigenerational households to stay close, perhaps with adult children not quite ready to leave the nest (or can’t afford it) or elderly parents who require caretaking. Residents in the primary dwelling and the Laneway suite get the best of both worlds – independent living with support and care nearby.
“I don’t just design these homes, I’m also my own client,” says Tony. At 31 years old, he and his fiancé have plans to purchase a home where they will build a Garden Suite (secondary dwelling that does not need to abut a laneway) on the property for his recently retired mother. “It was the perfect option for my fiancé and I to purchase a detached home while ensuring long-term stability and flexibility for all of us.” he adds.
For the surrounding neighbourhood, Laneway homes and Garden Suites improve the appearance and safety of the community by bringing infrastructure, lighting and more eyes to the streets. They also create an opportunity to build exciting new modern structures in many of Toronto’s older neighbourhoods. Indeed, the value-add to the neighbourhood translates to value-add to your home.
So, whether it’s supplementary income or lifestyle changes you’re looking for, the choice is yours. Check out our many current listings and Take the Laneway Home!
by Paula Ashley | https://thewriteink.ca/
