Financing the renovations for your house, condo or cottage is crucial before you can give your project the green light. Here are some ways to finance your home improvement projects.

Whether you want to update your kitchen, expand your bathroom or refresh your basement, home improvements are costly and you have to plan for them.

financer les rénovations d'une maison - Via Capitale

Louis-François Ethier, Mortgage Director with National Bank, hones in on the best strategies to adopt before applying for a loan for a renovation project: “There are two key options that homeowners should consider: Mortgage financing and a personal line of credit.”

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You first need to determine where you’re at and what your current and future needs are, says Desjardins financial planner Angela Iermieri: “People who are close to retirement, especially empty-nesters, often realize they’d be better off to optimize their living space.”

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Do more with less

As a general rule, smaller costs less. Less taxes, less maintenance, less overhead. And let’s not forget the potential gains from the sale.

“Keeping your home provides great economic leverage, as your home continues to appreciate in value. However, some people have always considered this asset as capital that would serve them well in retirement, and others sometimes reach retirement with a level of debt that’s higher than their forecasts. Selling a home becomes a necessary source of income.”[……]

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If you don’t want unpleasant surprises next spring, ones that will involve large expenses and major repairs, it would be wise to assess the condition of your home’s foundations right away. Do you see any cracks?

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If you ignore a new crack that appeared, water will infiltrate into your basement during the spring thaw period, and you will start having problems. Don’t be negligent. The earlier you take care of your cracked foundation, the less likely it will affect the value of your property.[……]

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Taking the ecological path alone is a difficult task. Family and friends tend to discourage us, there is a lack of knowledge about environmental infrastructure, and the cost of going green is pretty high. There is one solution: the eco-district.

Let us take an actual case. Geothermal energy> is promising, but implementing it, for most homeowners, is inaccessible and unaffordable. This is why there are so little projects in residential markets right now, even though geothermal energy qualifies for the RénoVert grant from the government of Québec.

Geothermal energy consists of transferring heat from the ground to the inside of the home during the cold winter months and cool air during the summer months. How about working collectively? That is a good way to start. In 2016, citizens living in the Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie borough, located in the heart of Montréal and including a very dynamic eco-district, have gotten financial support to study the possibility of implementing a very small-scale geothermal energy project in their alleyways designed to heat the homes.[……]

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Imagine a blue colour throughout a bathroom; an all-white dining room; a completely yellow bedroom; and, a lounging area dressed in green, from floor to ceiling. This includes the walls, floor, ceiling, and even the furniture and fabrics. Intriguing, don’t you think?

No matter the colour you choose, a monochrome colour scheme always makes a striking impression. We are left speechless in front of such harmony. Let’s face it: it’s perfect harmony, but you have to be bold to try it. A monochrome design commands admiration.

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Its look varies from one colour to the next. Violet creates a deep and intimate atmosphere, while an all-white space conveys inclusiveness and airiness.[……]

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Whether you are selling or buying a property, you will get acquainted with the certificate of location. It is an essential document. It is not too complicated although it is a little technical. Let us shed some light on this issue.

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The certificate of location is the work of an accomplished land surveyor. It basically contains numbers, such as the dimensions of the land and buildings, the number of floors of the property and its structure. But it mostly contains the general plan of the property: location of the land and pool, cadastral data, limitations, encroachments, servitudes (utility corridor), and the geographical position of all the elements present, from the shed to the hedge, including the vehicle access.[……]

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This is a chronic problem for a number of homeowners: lack of space. If your budget doesn’t allow any expansion or room extension under normal conditions, what is there to do? Here are a few great ideas.

A well-structured attic, no matter how small, is an interesting option. It’s the perfect space to set up a home office. The space under the roof offers a quiet place. The natural light from outside is easy on the eyes. The staircase serves as a psychological border between work and family life. The feeling of working in complete isolation is similar to that of working in the basement or backyard shed.

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A living room in the attic has multiple advantages. You’ll enjoy tranquility; if you install skylights, you will have more sunlight than in the basement; if the beamed ceilings and traditional dormer windows have been preserved, you’ll achieve an invigorating design; not to mention a beautiful birds-eye view of the exterior landscape, especially during the fall and winter. Again, here, the staircase isolates you from the rest of the world.[……]

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