Mortgage Helper | The reality
What Can Go Wrong
None of these are reasons not to do it. They are the things that turn a good plan into a difficult year, and every one of them is cheaper to think about now.
The short answer
The main failure modes are vacancy, a lender not counting the income you assumed, a strata or municipal restriction you did not check, a difficult tenancy in your own building, and an unauthorized suite catching up with you. All are checkable before you buy.
Homes that state a suite
282 active listings
- Median list price
- $1,449,700
- Median price per sq ft
- $574
- Median size
- 2,449 sq ft
- Median strata fee
- $305
- Median annual property tax
- $5,012
typical range $1,130,000 to $2,289,900
typical range $411 to $1,046
typical range 1,775 sq ft to 3,553 sq ft
typical range $76 to $659
14 of 282 listings state one
typical range $2,701 to $9,751
116 of 282 listings state one
Measured across 282 active listings on .
Where these homes are
Click a pin for the photo, the price, and a Street View link.
265 of 282 homes plotted. 17 listings have no coordinates in the feed and cannot be placed. Click a pin for the photo, the price, and a Street View link. Zoom with the plus and minus buttons or by pinching.
Homes behind these numbers
$599,000B 2020 VIEWMOUNT COURT
FVREB Out of Town · 3 bed · 1,648 sq ft
$819,9002 8745 ASHWELL ROAD
Lower Landing · 4 bed · 2,417 sq ft
$859,900
Freehold
8576 DUNBAR WAY
Mission · 4 bed · 2,233 sq ft
$859,900
Freehold
8548 DUNBAR WAY
Mission · 4 bed · 2,233 sq ft
$879,9004 8745 ASHWELL ROAD
Lower Landing · 5 bed · 2,413 sq ft
$899,000
Freehold
1 46018 BONNY AVENUE
Chilliwack Proper East · 5 bed · 2,201 sq ft
$899,0006 6165 144 AVENUE
Sullivan Station · 4 bed · 2,005 sq ft
$899,0005 6165 144 AVENUE
Sullivan Station · 4 bed · 2,005 sq ft
$899,0008 14391 61A AVENUE
Sullivan Station · 4 bed · 2,128 sq ft
$899,000
Freehold
32529 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 6 bed · 3,149 sq ft
$899,000
Freehold
32531 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 6 bed · 3,145 sq ft
$919,9001 8745 ASHWELL ROAD
Lower Landing · 5 bed · 2,480 sq ft
270 more active listings are not shown here. Search every active listing . Prices are the list price. Most new homes have GST added on top.
The income does not arrive
Vacancy between tenants is normal and the mortgage payment does not pause for it. A plan that only works at twelve months of rent a year is fragile by construction.
Worse is a lender counting less of the rent than you assumed, which does not reduce your income later, it reduces the price you can buy at now. That is why it belongs before the offer.
Someone says you cannot
Strata bylaws can restrict rentals. Municipalities can act on unauthorized suites. Neither of these is exotic and both are checkable in an afternoon during a subject period.
The version of this that hurts is discovering it after you have relied on the income to qualify.
The tenancy itself
Most tenancies are uneventful. The ones that are not are considerably harder when the tenant lives in your building, and the process for ending a tenancy has specific grounds and takes time.
Good screening is the main control you have, and the pressure to skip it is highest exactly when a vacancy is costing you money.
- → Model eleven months of rent rather than twelve
- → Confirm lender treatment before writing an offer
- → Check strata bylaws and municipal permit status during subjects
- → Screen properly even when the suite has been empty a month
Read next
Common questions
What is the most common thing that goes wrong?
Assuming a lender will count more rental income than they do. It does not show up as a shortfall later, it shows up as a smaller maximum price now, which is why it needs confirming before you write an offer.
How likely is a difficult tenancy?
Most tenancies are uneventful. The ones that are not are harder when the person lives in your building, and ending a tenancy has specific permitted grounds and takes time. Screening is the main control you have.
Can I just stop renting it if it goes badly?
Not immediately. Ending a tenancy requires permitted grounds and notice under the Residential Tenancy Act. If your budget depends on being able to reclaim the space quickly, that assumption needs checking against the actual rules.
Where these figures come from
- VanPlex active listings, MLS® data
Active townhouses, half duplexes, and row houses built in the last two years across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
Checked
- BC Residential Tenancy Branch
Checked
- CMHC, rental market survey data
Average market rent by zone, used for rent-to-price comparisons.
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Find homes with a suite
Every figure in this hub comes from listings you can open. Search the full set and combine a suite with price, bedrooms, parking, and distance to a station.