We had a chance last week to reconnect with Jerome Trail, who we have been working with for over two years now, on Laneway House Financing.
He provides this update for all:
The increased activity on the Laneway Housing development front has forced lenders to rewrite the rulebooks for residential mortgage financing.
Upon city approval, and in the 2019 and 2020 early days of Laneway Housing development, the lending community had rules in place that prohibited property appraisals to include “outbuildings” and a number of other factors that posed problems in refinancing a property upon completion of the new Laneway House. The most successful borrowers had the equity already in place to accommodate the increased borrowing requirement, or, were forced to endure an ad hoc financing process during and upon completion.
Fast-forward to the spring of 2022 and we now have a number of institutional lenders who have made qualifying rule accommodations to make the whole process much easier. Those measures include:
- Square Footage Minimums
- Bathroom and Kitchen Requirements
- Laneway Entrance
- Fully Self-contained
- And a number of other notable changes to Appraisal requirements
The majority of the recent Laneway Houses already meet these standards.
It took the lender rulebook awhile to get caught up. With another successful Laneway Housing mortgage process completed last week, we have come a long way in a short time.
Please let us know if you have any Laneway Housing financing questions – we are an email, phone call or text away.
Jerome Trail
Mortgage Broker
License #13052
647-523-8202
www.themortgagetrail.com