Aaah, taxes. Always more complicated than we think, or would like. Building or buying a home with a laneway house ? Sigh.  Best to check with the professionals (tax accountant, lawyer & Realtor) before you get going.

A laneway house is a small detached residential infill house that typically fronts on the lane of a larger principal house. 

If you own a principal residence and you hire a builder to build a new laneway house, then rent or lease the laneway home to a non-relative, the CRA considers you to be the builder, and to have:

* sold, repurchased, or “self-supplied” the laneway house at its fair market value;
* self-assessed and collected the GST on the sale; and
* paid the GST on the repurchase of the laneway house

This is just once scenario provided by the CRA, and it gets more complex from there. In for some bedtime reading ? You could read the CRA’s, "The HST/HST Implications of the Construction of Secondary Housing Unites (Laneway Housing)".

Did you know?

A laneway home can increase the value of a home. Building a laneway home:
* could affect your eligibility to claim the Home Owner Grant because of the increase in property value beyond the price thresholds; and
* may also result in increased property taxes.
* can affect a your principal residence exemption

It’s important for property owners to understand their options before building a laneway house or buying a property with a laneway house. Get professional advice first !

Have you owned your current home for ten years ?  The North Van benchmark price for detached property has gone from $648,333 to a record high of $1,167,000 in that time period !   WOW that’s 80% in 10 years - CRAZY !!!

Ten years ago a benchmark townhome would have sold for about $425,000; today in North Vancouver, that number is $634,000.   And, while the re-sale apartment market has been slower these past 5 years, if you have held your apartment for ten years or more, you will on average have seen an appreciation of about 45%.  There’s a whole new meaning to, “Time is money”.

Real Estate is a hot topic today, and has been, especially in the Lower Mainland, for quite a while.  It really has always been an excellent, LONG TERM investment.  Don’t worry so much about the media stories of “bubble”, “affordability”, and “crash”.  You have to live somewhere – even if it means starting out with a small space and a room mate.  Invest in your future – invest for the long term.

And to those who only hear how much it costs to own a typical home on the West Side of Vancouver (now at about $2.5 Million) it may interest you to know that the MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $684,400. This represents only a 9.4 per cent increase compared to May 2014.

As always, we are here to help you navigate the process of Buying, Selling, and Owning.  On our team, we have over 60 years’ combined experience in the industry, and we are here to help!