With the desire to be as energy efficient as possible to save money and create a smaller footprint on the earth, our budget and our values can sometimes be at odds while house shopping. Luckily there is a solution for when you find your dream home but it is not as energy efficient as you had hoped. With a combination of lender financing options called Purchase Plus Improvements and BC Energy and Efficiency Grants you may be in for a win-win situation.
Purchase Plus Improvements is a program where you can add a certain dollar value of money to your mortgage. Suppose you purchased a $450,000 property and you wanted to do some upgrades. You could add up to 10% of the value to the property price for renovations. Now you will have a purchase price of $495,000 and would need at least 5% down payment on $495,000 versus $450,000 BUT you would have that extra money to do renovations and improvements on your home.
To get even more bang for your buck, utilize some of those funds to create a more energy efficient house, including new windows, upgraded insulation, changing to an efficient heat and hot water source you may receive rebates from utility companies, government and even the high ratio insurance providers. https://efficiencybc.ca/incentives/ is a great place to start to see what rebates and incentives you could be eligible for.
I have personally utilized these incentives to make a 1913 home more comfortable and affordable to live in. If the house you love isn’t perfect, there are a lot of options to make it work for you. Call me if you would like further insight into the available programs.