With a booming real estate market, low-interest rates and the rise of the home improvement trend, we started a new blog series to help navigate this unprecedented time. Wading through a plethora of information can be overwhelming, we know! So we enlisted Mortgage Consultant Meghann of The Mortgage Minds Inc. to walk us through various options when it comes to homeownership and home renovations.

Our initial article was all about Purchase Plus Improvements for first-time homebuyers. This next article is about financial options available for current homeowners to help fund home improvements. Welcome to our Spring Mortgage Moment.

Photo by Jacquie Troy Carter

They say that it’s ‘easier to renovate a home than neighbourhood’. ...so maybe you read our March Mortgage Moment and thought to yourself, ‘Hey, I’d like to renovate BUT love our neighbourhood. I don’t want to move, just want to improve. Wonder if there are any financial options for me?’

Well, you’re in luck! There are a couple of options to help you achieve the goal of improving your current home and making it the sanctuary you’ve been dreaming of using the equity you’ve already built up. Once you’ve determined that there is at least 20% equity in your current home and have made the concrete decision that your home improvements necessitate borrowing money, there are a couple of options to consider to get your project underway.  

Archive Project: Fulton Place Window Replacement

Archive Project: Rhatigan Ridge Back Deck

1. Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
A HELOC is an appealing option to fund your home renovations, repairs or other household projects. Added onto your mortgage as an auxiliary type of loan, you’re able to use it all at one or as you need. You only pay interest on the portion that has been used.  To note, it comes with a higher interest rate than your mortgage (usually a full percentage) but lower than other options like high interest credit cards.

2. Refinance
Simply put, this means restructuring your financial needs using the current equity in the house and including it into a new mortgage. The benefit to refinancing is that you’ll get a low interest rate (not paying any more than your current rate) and there is an opportunity to extend the amortization period to as much as thirty (30) years, therefore decreasing monthly payments. 

3. Refinance Plus Improvements
With a refinance plus improvements mortgage, there is an 80% loan to value limit. Generally, the amount of how much you can borrow is based on a completed home appraisal plus the determined cost of home improvements. In other words, the loan amount is based on the predicted improved value of the property rather than the existing value up to 80%. This is where getting a reasonable quote from an experienced contractor is key to ensure accurate numbers for the proposed project are provided.

“Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful.”

— Hazret Inayat Khan

Archive Project: Belgravia Custom Garage Suite

Archive Project: Rhatigan Ridge Bathroom Renovation

Investing in home and property renovations improves the livability and comfort of your home. Given the amount of time we’ve all been spending in our homes over the past year, we need to live in a space we can enjoy and feel safe in. Although you may not be thinking about selling at the moment, improvements and renovations will also increase the property value in the long run (which is never a bad thing!). 

Of course, any of these options will depend on your financial goals and how long you are willing to commit to paying the money off. Talking with a trusted Mortgage Consultant like Meghann can help determine your budget, formulate an achievable strategy and ultimately, set you on the best course of action to create the home of your dreams without serious implications to cash flow. 

Meghann can be found on Facebook and Instagram (@wendellmortgages). She will also be with us for our next Mortgage Moment when we discuss secondary home purchases.

Replenish. recharge. refresh: three words that have become increasingly more important over the past year when faced with the pandemic, its’ lockdowns and the many restrictions.

Replenish your energy levels.

Recharge your soul.

Refresh your mind.

Finding ways to nurture these elements within the confines of your own home has been the mandate of late. Luckily, the warmer days are increasing (and hopefully going to stick around) so it is the perfect time to start thinking about extending our living to the great outdoors and spending as many days as possible enjoying our outdoor spaces.

Bring the Indoors Out
Backyards, porches, decks are now part of everyday life: outdoor home office, outdoor dining, outdoor entertaining spaces, you name it. Consider what you love about your indoor space. Reflect that indoor vibe outdoors with playful colour (see Let’s Talk About…Colour), inviting furnishings, tantalizing textures and maybe even modern conveniences (outdoor TV, anyone?).

But maybe it’s time to step it up a notch further.

Define Your Deck
A straight-forward upgrade like redoing a deck can dramatically improve yard aesthetics by creating definition amongst the wilds of nature. Take a page out of nature’s book and slow down a little; create the perfect look of luxurious serenity or a bold, modern retreat. With many choices of wood materials, the aesthetic you’ve been visualizing can easily come to life. However, with the price of lumber at the moment, composite materials are a viable and affordable. Composite doesn’t have the same natural look wood does but will provide a stylish, low maintenance and durable option.

Rhatigan Ridge Deck and Pergola

Create Your Oasis
A pergola is something else to consider. A simple yet striking structure, this adds to back (or front!) yard appeal but it also provides the practical use of protection from the elements. Adding greenery such as climbing flowers and leafy plants overhead can create a dense covering that could result in a serene sanctuary providing peacefulness and the warming comfort that we’re all seeking these days.

There are so many options to optimize the space in your backyard, front yard and even side yard. By creating distinct outdoor areas, these spaces can serve different purposes: relaxing, dining, entertaining (socially distanced, of course) and if you’ve got kids, a play area!

Sherwood Path Front Deck and Pergola (Photo: Archive Client)

Sherwood Park Backyard Basketball Court (Photo: Archive Client)

Once upon a time, the idea of ‘indoor/outdoor living’ was a something you’d see on HGTV. It became a slow moving trend but has gained popularity over the years. Homeowners have realized there were many benefits that optimizing outdoor living spaces can bring: a quicker, more economical way to enhance a home without a huge renovation or addition and increased the value of the home to name a few. But it cannot be denied that spending more time outdoors provides enormous benefits to our health and well-being which is something that we all need in these uncertain times.

For that reason alone, are you ready to upgrade your outdoor living space?

With a booming real estate market, low-interest rates and the rise of the home improvement trend, we decided to start a new blog series to help navigate this unprecedented time. Wading through a plethora of information can be overwhelming, we know! So we’ve asked Mortgage Consultant Meghann of The Mortgage Minds Inc. to walk us through various options when it comes to homeownership and home renovations.

Our first sit-down (virtual, of course) resulted in chatting about a good option for first-time homebuyers, or even as a buyer purchasing a secondary property as an investment or rental property. Enjoy our first foray into what we are now calling our Mortgage Moment.

Photo by Jacquie Troy Carter

The sunnier days of Spring may very well be here….or it could be Fool’s Spring….who knows in this Edmonton climate.

We know that with Spring, the real estate market usually starts to gain momentum. However, this year it’s already been hot for some time now, even in the face of a global pandemic.

Because of the pandemic and its lockdowns, industry restrictions and increased ‘work from home’ scenarios, we’re all forced to evaluate our living space and surrounding areas. Need more space? Want an outdoor retreat? Have you been driving around your ideal neighbourhood looking at inventory? Has your HGTV binge-watching fuelled the need to take on a construction project?

Whatever the motivation, it’s a seller’s market out there these days. More buyers are looking to buy than there is inventory to sell, which means the competition in the marketplace has increased.

This demand puts pressure on housing prices resulting in homes being:

• on the market for fewer days,

• going for above the asking price, and

• in some cases, facing a multiple offer situation.

That’s a tight real estate market. And because the demand is far outweighing the supply, it’s a fast market too. As if the idea of buying a home isn’t stressful enough, right?

Well, there’s good news. Mortgage interest rates are at historic lows across the country. So what does this mean? If you are looking to move and can afford to, now’s the time to take the plunge into the real estate market and lock in a reasonable rate.

The idea of purchasing can be intimidating (especially for first-time homebuyers). Still, there’s one way to ease the situation and get what you want: which is to purchase a house with potential in an ideal neighbourhood and turn it into your dream home.

Archive Project: Rhatigan Ridge Bathroom Renovation

How?
With a Purchase Plus Improvements mortgage.

What’s that?
The Purchase Plus Improvements program allows qualified home buyers to renovate their new home and include the improvements into their mortgage. Improvements can be up to $40,000 or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is greater.

Where can it be used?
New homebuyers can use this money for several renovations. However, they have to remain with the property.

This can include:

• a new kitchen or bathroom install,

• windows and doors upgrade,

• a flooring upgrade, or

• basement refinishing.

Archive Project: Holyrood Basement Development

Who does the work?
You must obtain a quote from a qualified contractor (this is where Archive comes in!) and provide it upfront with the Offer to Purchase. Once your mortgage lender approves the work, they will commit those funds to you at the same rate as your mortgage.

Is there a timeline?
Typically the work needs to be completed 90 days after the day of possession.

When do I get the money?
When the work is complete…which means you have to figure out how to pay for the improvements up front. In other words, only after the job is finished and an appraisal performed are the funds released.


More info please…
You probably have a lot of questions, so this is where we hand it off to the expert. Meghann is more than willing to talk about options. She can easily be reached on both Facebook and Instagram (@wendellmortgages) and is ready to answer all of your burning mortgage questions.

There IS one glaring question that we will answer in an upcoming blog post, though: What if I don’t want to move but want to improve? 

Don’t miss our April Mortgage Moment, where we tackle the options surrounding how to finance home improvements for current homeowners.