My $22,000 envelope

[Sherilynn]

Greetings.

I am pleased to announce that my $22,000 envelope is ready to mail!

This is our 2nd secondary suite to go through the City of Edmonton`s Cornerstones Grant Program. We were one of the first to complete the program last year and received a $14,000 cheque for our efforts.

This time we should be getting new flooring, exterior doors, basement suite windows, electrical panel, sidewalks, a parking pad, and more...$30,000 worth of upgrades for the bargain basement price of $7k.

We are providing safe, affordable housing and getting an immediate ROI to boot! (Immediate ROI through refinancing and also able to charge higher rent.)

I`ve said it before and I`ll say it again...Edmonton rocks!

Regards,
Sherilynn

 

[tim944s]

Congrats. I recently was looking into this here in St. Albert. Seems like and excellent source of income for the aforementioned upgrades.

 

[JimWhitelaw]

The last I heard the program had been changed such that non-occupant owners were excluded from the program. Has that changed again?

 

[Sherilynn]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Mar 22 2010, 09:57 AM) The last I heard the program had been changed such that non-occupant owners were excluded from the program. Has that changed again?


Orignally the program had several qualifiers, such as being owner-occupied and that you could only charge 85% of market rent. The City had so little response to the program that they revamped it.

Regards,
Sherilynn

 

[JimWhitelaw]

Thanks, I just checked up on the program from your link in another thread. Non-occupant owners are only eligible for the upgrade program. The other three programs for the creation of new secondary suites are for owner-occupants only. Good to see the 85% market rent restriction lifted.

 

[markl]

Congrats that is some great ROI

 

[dianaw]

QUOTE (Sherilynn @ Mar 22 2010, 10:09 AM) Orignally the program had several qualifiers, such as being owner-occupied and that you could only charge 85% of market rent. The City had so little response to the program that they revamped it.

Regards,
Sherilynn


Hi Sherilynn,

I`m confused, I just got of the phone with the City in regards to this and was informed that I wouldn`t qualify because as I`m not living there. I have a deal that closes next week Monday and was looking for funding for a secondary suite. Can you clarify this for me. It would be great if the City will help.

Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.
Diana

 

[Sherilynn]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Mar 22 2010, 10:21 AM) Thanks, I just checked up on the program from your link in another thread. Non-occupant owners are only eligible for the upgrade program. The other three programs for the creation of new secondary suites are for owner-occupants only. Good to see the 85% market rent restriction lifted.


Yes, I forgot about the owner-occupied requirement for new suites (mine were both existing suites). Thanks for clarifying.

Sherilynn

 

[Sherilynn]

Hello again!

I have had a few enquiries regarding how the numbers work, specifically because for five years you must rent to tenants with below median income.

There are three important points to remember with regards to tenant requirements in Cornerstones suites:
1) if you already have a tenant in place before you apply for the grant, that tenant can stay indefinitely
2) the tenant`s income need only be below median on the day they move in. For example, the first tenants we had under the program were two brothers. One made $36,000 pa and the other was a student making next to nothing. Two months later he graduated and was making $60k, but their income doesn`t matter after they move in.
3) most people applying for basement suites make below average income anyway.

I charge about $965 + utilities for my 2-bedroom basement suites. People pay it because they like the quality, and the cornerstones program is a great way to increase quality for very little cash.
There are no tenant restrictions for the upper suites. I charge around $1200 + utilities for the 3-bedroom upper suites. The garage rent is also extra. So the total rent is around $2365 for an 1100 sf bungalow with double, detached garage.

Perhaps we have a slightly higher chance of vacancy because of the tenant restrictions, but we figure the free money more than compensates for that.

Regards,
Sherilynn

 

[Emil1753]

Bravo,

Way to think outside the box and create something out of nothing.

 

[Sherilynn]

I was wrong...it was a $22233.62 envelope!

I mailed the application on Monday. The secondary suites coordinator called on Thursday to ask which contractor (of the 2 required quotes) we would be using. I received the approval letter this morning (Friday).

The Secondary Suites department approved every item as listed on the quote, even a few that I didn`t think they would allow. But I listed a reason for the questionable items (items that didn`t really affect the health and safety of the suite itself) and they were all approved.

This suite is already nice, but in about 2 months it is really going to shine!

Regards,
Sherilynn

 

[Sherilynn]

Greetings.

I just realized why it took so long to get the development permit for this suite. Location.

Secondary suite applications are "automatically" approved in many areas of Edmonton if they are on a corner lot or a service road. As this property is in the middle of a regular street, the City sent letters to all of my neighbours informing them of the application and allowing them to appeal within 14 days.

Had a neighbour appealed the decision, my permit could have been declined.

So two important points: 1) some permits take a lot longer than the stated "3 - 5 week turnaround" and 2) if you have issues with any of your neighbours, be sure to sort them out before applying!

Regards,
Sherilynn