Jordan Whitfield bought a house in Calgary in his early thirties, finished the lower level, and has been renting it out ever since. He is not an investor with a portfolio and he is not an advisor. He is one guy with one mortgage who writes down what the arrangement actually costs and what it actually pays.
One house. One mortgage. A finished lower level with its own entrance that somebody else pays to live in. That arrangement covers a real chunk of what I owe every month, and it also costs me things that never show up in the online calculators.
Because the two versions I found online were both useless to me. One was a spreadsheet fantasy where the rent arrives forever and nothing breaks. The other was a horror story. The real thing is in between and it is mostly boring, which is why nobody writes about it.
Not a broker, not an advisor, not an accountant, and definitely not a guru with a course. I am one guy who did this once and keeps notes.
Calgary House Hacker is written by Jordan Whitfield. One homeowner, one mortgage, no sponsors. Nothing here is financial or legal advice.
I am a homeowner writing about my own arrangement. Talk to your own lender, insurer and the Province before you copy any of it.