Laneway Houses
Originating in Vancouver, a laneway house is a wonderful initiative that has been providing a housing solution for the city’s growing population in recent years. A laneway house is a home that is built on a pre-existing lot. Most laneway houses are built in backyards or back lanes and they tend to be small in size. While many might say that laneway houses are a strange phenomenon that are slowly gaining popularity, building a laneway house is a great way to generate more income for your household.
Many times, laneway houses are built to serve as rental homes. While rental properties are already seen as good investments, laneway houses are so appealing because they are small and cost a bit less to build or buy than the average rental property. If you already have property and enough room to build a laneway house, consider the amount of money you could make by renting out a laneway house. You could make enough money to put your kids through college or you could take a nice vacation every year.
Building a laneway house might seem intimidating at first, but it is an investment that is well worth it. On the official Vancouver website, you can download a guide that will help you building a laneway house. On the website, you will also find documents regarding laneway house guides, housing regulations, and submission requirements.
By reading the documents, you will learn how to find out if your lot is eligible for building a laneway house. You will also have to determine the costs and the feasibility of taking on such a project. These resources will help you get the ball rolling if you are interested in building a laneway house. With these extremely useful resources, you will learn how a laneway house should be designed and built.
In the long term scope of things, a laneway house could also increase your property value. This is something to keep in mind if you plan on eventually selling your home. At the same time, if you plan on leaving your property to your kids, they will benefit from the increased property value as well.
A laneway house sounds very nice, but what about the actual logistics of it? As mentioned earlier, a laneway house can be built in a backyard or back lane. If you have a garage that does not get used much, you can convert that into a laneway house as well.
While there are many factors to consider and review, once you get all of the paperwork and building, you will soon begin to see a return on your new investment as soon as you rent out your laneway house. Sutton Select Property Management is a Metro Vancouver property management firm that specializes in rental management (https://www.mysuttonpm.com/services/rental-management) and real estate sales. If you need help renting out your laneway house, reach out to us and one of our property managers we will get back to you within 24 hours!
In a city as big and busy as Vancouver, people will always be looking for nice homes to rent. Consider building a laneway on your property to help fill that need. You won’t just be filling that need for renters, you will be providing a nice boost to your income as well.