80 - North Shore News — Friday, November 26, 1999

Financing your renovati

DISCUSS the options for financing your home zeno-
vations with your lender before you start pianning.

‘NORTHLANDS |.
5 years old 59 x 121 ft lots.
3 bathiooms * Family room &

’-.“ PENTHOUSE LIVING
© The “Olympic” - North Van's finest * 1430
Sq.ft. © 270° view © Upper floor master suite * §
piece ensuite with jacuzzi tub « Kitchen with
: eating area © Second bedroom or den * Gas
fireplace ° Expansive decks + Floor to celling
windows * MUST BE SEEN! ¢°

FIGURING out how
to pay for your new
kitchen or revamped
family room may not
be as tricky as you
think.

“Financing your home
renovation has never been eas-
ier,” says Cathy Penfold, a
member of the Greater
Vancouver Home Builders’
Association and a mortgage
manager with the Bank of
Montreal. “Financial institu-
tions offer a number of conve-
nient options that give home
owners maximum flexibility
and control.”

One of the most popular
financing options for renova-
tions is a personal line of cred-
it. It is a revolving line of cred-
it with an established limit
that you can draw against as
you need the money. For large
amounts, you may need to
seeure the line of credit with a
mortgage on your property.
Once the work is completed
and the actual cost is known,
most financial institutions
offer you the choice of staying
with your credit line or turn-
ing it ints a conventional
mortgage.

A personal loan may be
your best choice if you prefer
to make regular, fixed pay-
ments over a relatively short
period of time (up to five
years). When you need to bor-
row 2 large amount, a home
equity loan lets you spread
ene ayments over a longer

(up to 25 years).

Petyou can arrange financing
before finalizing your renova-
tien plans. Meet with your

Day id & Lisa |

e Guiet street ¢ One bedroom - = over 700 54: ft e
© 12 years old ¢ Fully appiianced kitchen «
2°’ In-suite laundry.» Woodburning fireplac:

. © Ovarsized balcony ¢ Lots of storage space

* Move-in condition * Lots of updating ° Walk to

“everything « NOT LEAKYI«

2 ACRE
* Quiet street in Westlynn * 1376 sq.ft. rancher +
* Renovate or bulld your dream home «
* Detached garage « Newer furnace and hot
water tank « Massive flat lot » Neads TLC and
handyman ° Fruit trees & “rider mower”
included * OPEN SUN :2-4F-4 +

lender carly in the planning
process to talk about your
plans and how much you are
thinking of spending. Based
on your financial circum-
stances (c.g., savings, equity,
income) and the size of loan
you qualify for, your lender
will assist you in selecting the
most suitable financing plan.
Penfold strongly suggests
that you get pre-approval
from your lender.
“Pre-approval lets you
know up front exactly how

much you have to spend, so.

you can plan your renovation
with confidence. There is no
cost for pre-approval, and it
does not oblige you to go
ahead with your project or
loan. Once you make a formal
application, the funds can be
available very quickly, often
within 24 hours if no collater-
al mortgage security is
required,” she said.

It is important to deter-
mine if you need access to the
money ali at once or in stages
—— you don’t want to pay
interest on borrowed moncy
sitting idle in your account.
Just as important, you want to
create a payback schedule thar
is comfortable and realistic.

Eariy in your planning,
your renovation contractor
can offer you ballpark figures
for discussion with your
lender. Many professional ren-
ovators have long-standing
relationships with financial
institutions and can provide
you with and assistance.

For more information on
home renovation call the
Greater Vancouver Home
Builders’ Association at (604)
590-5256.

CoLumaa's

ROWAN

', Fuee-Senvice Rea. Estate
\ Company ©

NEW home construc-
tion in Canada is slow-
ing a bit —which is
nothing new in this
province, where it’s
been a trend all year.

Housing starts in Canada
slipped 2.2% in October to
147, 500 units* from a revised
150,800 units in September,
according to Canada
Mortgage and Housing
Corporation (CMHC).

Urban mukiples rose for
the third consecutive month,
by 0.7% to 54,700, while
urban singles decreased 5.1%
to 72,100 units.

“There are two opposing
factors at play here,” said
Kenneth Lyons, economist at
CMHC’s Market Analysis
Centre. “Recent strength in
commodity prices, which raise
input costs to housing con-
struction, could soften the
housing market. But, on the
other hand, a robust econo-
my, thriving export market,
improved business contidence
and improved commodity
prices, could translate inte

igher disposable income and
spending which would have a
positive effect.”

i British Columbia | oo
slipped marginally to 13,6
ans from 13,980 in
September, as a result of a
stall drop in urban singles.
Varcouver, after showing
signs of improvement in
September, slipped to 7,300
units from 9,300. Starts
remain below last year's pace.

Prairie urban starts, at
26,900 were 14.5% higher
than September. Manitoba
and Alberta were up while
Saskatchewan - was down.

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Quiet cul-de-sac with great street appeal. Almost 3000°
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with lovely easterly view. Lot size 62’ x 120°, priv.

backyard offars greenery & solitude...

Multiples were the primary
source of surength with a
29.9% increase. Annualized
starts in all three Prairie
provinces are higher than
cither 1997 or 1998,

Home building in the
Atlantic region remained
essentially unchanged in
October from the previous
month. Urban singles, u
20.9%, offset a decline in m
tiples. Overall activity in the
region remains stronger so far
this year, than for 1998.

Ontario starts, at 59,400
units were down slightly from
September's 60,360. Urban
multiples were up 18.3% to
28,409 over September. This
was the fourth strongest
month since May 1992 and
was only exceeded by March ¢
1998 as well as May and June -
1999. Singles declined slight:
ly but overall construction
remains above year-ago levels.

Quebec declined 21.8% to
21,200 units from 27,100 in
September. September's :
strong pace, especially ‘in
Montreal multiples, was not
sustained. As a resulr, multi- -
ples in Quebec fell 37.6% and
singles showed a smail decline
of 2.5%. However, Quebéc
starts in October were the sc
ond highest level registered
since January 1995." and”
matched starts levels of March

“All starts ‘figure
Seasonally Adjusted a
Rate (SMR) — raw nthly
figures adjusted to remove nor:
mal seasonal variation: and
multiplied by 12 ta reflect an
annual pace. Other° CMHC
local and provincial releases
may present analvis using ra
figures.

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‘views, Architectural design has all features imaginabla:
5 bdms ail wensultes, games & play rooms and much
‘more. Elegant, formal & comfortable’ informat
‘space of approx. 4600 3q,ft. Lot size approx: 65’ x 190".
certali ,

ving