Joel DyckReal Broker SK Ltd.
Saskatoon · From the topic map

Should I buy a two-family home?

A two-family home can work well in Saskatoon if you want rental income to offset your own mortgage payment, but the City of Saskatoon requires a building permit for a legal secondary suite, and an unpermitted unit will not count as income when a lender qualifies your application.

The financing math changes with a legal two-family home, since a lender can add a share of documented rental income to your qualifying income, which increases what you can borrow compared with a single-family purchase at the same price point. That only applies once the suite is permitted, inspected for egress and fire separation, and documented.

Ownership also means becoming a landlord under Saskatchewan's Residential Tenancies Act, with real obligations around notice periods, maintenance and rent increases, which is a meaningfully different commitment than living in a single-family home alone.

Whether a two-family home beats a single-family home for you depends on whether you actually want the landlord role, not just the extra income line, especially near the Saskatoon benchmark of $444,700. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.

Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.

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