34 - Wednesday, April 3, 1991 — North Shore News 4h, The first tip on financing a renovation? Choose your money supplier with the same care you choose your other suppliers. We've Known renovating homeowners to spend hours, for example, shopping for French doors, flipping through catalogues, touring the showrooms. It’s even more important to ‘comparison shop’, if you will, your supplier of money. Second tip? Budget accurately and always allow for cost overruns. Finding yourself short of money before the roof goes on can be a shock. Drafty, too. Third tip? Examine your financing options carefully. Essentially you have three choices: cash; a personal loan; or a second mortgage. i/4 B9% When should you a use cash? When you have a lot of it! Cash will eliminate your cost of financing. fH When wouldn’t d you use cash? Wher the renovation consumes all or a large percentage of your savings, think twice. If you lose your job or fall into some other financial ambush, cash reserves are the things that keep you afloat. 2 That depends on how much the renovation will cost. For most of us, the upper limit of a personal loan is likely to be $15,000 - $20,000. In 1989, the most recent year for which figures are available, the average cost of a Lower Mainland renovation was $40,000. Obviously, 2t that cost you're into second mortgage territory. But if your renovation falls into the $15,000 range, a personal loan may be preferable for a couple of reasons. First, progressive financial institutions, this one included, do not ‘lock in’ persona! loans. They can be paid off early. Second, you can easily get insurance On a personal loan, both life insurance and disability insurance. In point of fact, at North Shore we offer disability insurance on all personal loans at a very reasonable rate. We also, rather uniquely, give you $30,000 worth of life insurance. free. on all personal loans. When is a personal loan preferable? What are the advantages to a second mortgage? Well, a second mortgage can accommodate the higher costs of a major renovation. The interest rate on a second mortgage is also likely to be less than the interest rate on a personal loan. And the amortization period on a second mortgage can be longer than the amortization on a personal loan. This gives you the option of spreading the cost over a longer period. For some, this makes renovation more affordable. Why choose us? Good question. We started out by saying that renovating homeowners should choose their money supplier with great care. What you ideally need is one that understands renovation and construction. a lender who will give you 2s much flexibility as possible. That's our advantage. We ‘underwrite a great number of construction loans, We also offer mortgages on recreational property — not a house, just the land will do. In other words, this is something we've done before, many times. We're comfortable doing it. Keep in mind, you can borrow not only money from us, you can borrow from our experience. You may not have done this before, but we have. Why bother at all? Another good question. Why renovate at all? Why not just sell and move to a bigger, better home? Well, it’s not that easy to sell homes right now. It’s also not easy to find the ‘perfect’ home. It may be easier to change the one you have. if that’s the case, your timing is impeccable. Interest rates have dropped dramatically over the past few months, reducing your financing costs. Even more importantly, local construction has slowed. Less available work means more competitive bids from contractors. It also likely gives you more contractors to choose from. BURNABY BRANCH LYNN VALLEY BRANCH 6626 East Hastings Street 1247 Ress Read 2080 Park Rayal South, Phone: 299-1404 Phone 980-6556 Gailery West Level Tue. - Thur 19:06 - 5:36 Tue. - Thur 10.00 - $.30 Phone. 926 B571 Fri 1090-600 Sut. 30-300 Fei 1900-600 Sat. 930-300 Mon - Wed 1000 500 Thur - Fri 1000 600 DOLLARTON BRANCH MARINE DRIVE SRANCH Sat 9.30 460 399 Dollarton Hwy North 1089 Morine Diive Phone 929-8111. Phone: 986-1116 VILLAGE BRANCH Tue - Thur 1000. 5 30 Fri, 1OGO- 6M Sat 9 30- 3.00 Mon. - Thur 10.00 - 5.00 Fri. 1000 - 6:09 Sot. 930-300 Phone: 985-8221 Tue - Thur 10.00 - 5.36 PARK ROYAL BRANCH 313) Edgemont Boulevard NORCU INSURANCE SERVICES LTD, lonsdale Office 101 - 1112 Lonsdale Ave Phone: 986-4321 Mon. - Thur. 10.00 - 5-00 Fri 10:00 - 6.00 Sat 9.30 - 300 LYNN VALLEY NORCU OFFICE 1247 Ross Road Phene. $86-6351 Tue - Thur 16.00- 5:30 Fri 10.00 600 Sat. 9.30 - 2.00 LONSDALE BRANCH PACIFIC LANDMARK Fri 1000 - 4.00 Sat. 9 30-300 1100 Lonsdale Avenue 1095 West Pender Street Phone 986-4321 Vancouver WHISTLER BRANCH Mon - Ther 1000 - 5 00 Phone 685-9302 432) Vill:ge Gate Boulevard Fri 1000-600 Sat 930-300 = Mon. - Fri 8-00 - 5.00 Phone 932-5314 Mon Thur 1000 - 430 1006 Fr 1000 600 Sat 430