Basement Apartment Design
Creating an Apartment in your PEI Home
Many people have decided that they would like to supplement their income and help to pay their mortgage by creating a rental apartment in their home. While there are many good and reasonably priced duplexes in PEI and it might be easier to market your existing home and buy one of these, it is certainly possible in many cases to keep your home and create rental space.
Firstly you should look at the layout of your current PEI home and decide where there is space to create an apartment. Is there space that is not being used? Do you have to give up some of your living space to create your income suite?
You can look to basements to provide the space you require. Island basements, particularly in older homes, may provide the space required to build a suite, however this will only be an option if your basement is high enough, dry enough and your foundation is poured concrete. Many older island homes have clay or stone basements. If this is the case or there is not enough head clearance then you will have to have your home lifted and a poured basement created. This will cost upward of $15,000 for the average sized home. When you have this work done ensure that the home is raised sufficiently to allow windows for your new basement suite.
Alternatively, I have seen upstairs/downstairs apartments. In this case you will lose living space as most likely you will rent the top floor and live on the ground level. You will have to consider access. Sometimes access is outside stairs but ideally there should be an inside staircase as well. Central staircases which feature in many island homes provide access to the upper apartment through the front door. You simply have to block the stairs off from the rest of the house which is usually just 2 small pieces of wall.
You may be lucky and live in a larger home. Summerside heritage homes usually have attics that can be made over to a suite without affecting the living space that you and your family enjoy.
You will want to secure all necessary approvals to create a suite from the town or other local authority. Also ensure that you have a building permit and get all construction inspected at the appropriate stages. You should also ensure that rental accommodations do not invalidate your insurance or your mortgage. Taking extra insurance is important.
As you are designing the new space a good rule of thumb is to consider what you would like if living in it yourself. Make sure that it is functional and that colors are neutral and likely to suit the largest percentage of prospective tenants. Be sure to interview your applicants as these people will effectively be living in your home. While it is not legal to deny rental for many reasons, you do have some say in who lives in your home. On PEI you should check with IRAC to be aware of rent control and how it would apply to you.
Rental accommodations can effect the sale of your home should you decide to sell. In general they bring in a 50% return on investment, however you should be aware that it defines your sale market to those who wish to be landlord’s (in most cases) and may mean that the sale of your PEI real estate takes longer to realize.
About the Author
R. Parker works with PEI realtors to promote relocation to Prince Edward Island and provides information on entering the PEI real estate market. PEI real estate is represents some of the best values in Canadian property.
Basement Apartment (Sarah Harmer Cover) – Kady Savard, Randy Austin
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