Resource Directory

Tools & How-To-Guides

A calculator that estimates the amount of home equity that could be accessed through a Home Equity Sharing Agreement (HESA). It provides projections based on future property values and allows users to compare different agreement terms.

Tools & How-To-Guides

A strategic guide for navigating Toronto’s 2025 buyer’s market, with a focus on multiplexes, value-add renovations, and growth areas like laneway and garden suites. It includes tools like investment calculators, case studies, and a personalized quiz to align opportunities with investor goals.

Tools & How-To-Guides

A catalog of pre-approved housing designs from CMHC, featuring sustainable and affordable options for ADUs and multiplexes. It provides design concepts, space optimization strategies, and planning support for homeowners and developers.

Tools & How-To-Guides

A guide on key considerations for Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs) in Ontario, covering zoning laws, tenant rights, financing risks, and tax implications. It helps homeowners and investors understand legal and financial impacts before adding an ADU.

Media

A video tour of a laneway house in Calgary, highlighting its design, investment potential, and costs. It covers key considerations for homeowners and investors, including rental income, financing strategies, and lessons learned from past projects.

Tools & How-To-Guides

An interactive tool that helps homeowners estimate the cost of a prefabricated ADU and potential rental income. By entering key details, users can better understand financing needs, ROI, and affordability before starting their ADU project.

Media

A discussion with Tye Reidie, Principal at Canada ICI, on financing middle housing, securing loans, managing debt, and navigating the rental market. It covers CMHC programs, interest rates, affordability challenges, and key insights for middle housing development.

Tools & How-To-Guides

A series of ADU resources for Nova Scotia, covering design, by-law updates, energy efficiency, and sustainable construction. It also explores the Nova Scotia Backyard Suite Incentive Program and real-life experiences with forgivable loan applications.

Tools & How-To-Guides

A guide to the Resimate ADU Financial Calculator, helping homeowners and investors estimate costs, rental income, and financing. It covers key financial factors like loan options, ROI calculations, and budget considerations for ADUs.

Tools & How-To-Guides

A comprehensive guide to converting single-family homes into multi-unit housing. It provides policy insights, case studies, and practical resources to help homeowners and small-scale developers navigate multiplex conversions.

Communities

The mddl Community connects individuals, municipalities, and developers to explore middle housing in Canada. It offers discussions, resources, and access to the mddl Playbook, a guide with designs, policy guidance, and tools to streamline projects.

Media

A video tour of three garden suites in Hamilton, Ontario—a new build, garage conversion, and prefab—highlighting costs, design, and rental potential. It covers investment factors like customization, construction flexibility, and budget trade-offs.

Tools & How-To-Guides

An interactive mapping tool by Resimate that helps homeowners and developers assess ADU feasibility by address. It provides insights on zoning, lot size compatibility, and ADU options, assisting with early-stage project planning.

Media

A multi-generational housing project in Delta, B.C., where the Higgins family replaced a rancher with four homes. The video highlights the approach to keeping family together while addressing affordability challenges for seniors and younger generations.

Media

A YouTube playlist on ADUs in Canada, covering permitting, construction, investment, and rental income. It features real projects, including a 600 sq/ft unit earning $2,300/month and a garage conversion, helping viewers understand key factors in ADU projects.

Communities

A Facebook community with 14.2K+ members for Toronto homeowners, builders, and small-scale developers to discuss ADUs, laneway, and garden suites. A space to share experiences, navigate regulations, and attend events for networking and learning.

Media

A tutorial on building a one-page multi-family pro forma in Excel to help investors assess opportunities. It covers property costs, financing terms, revenue, expenses, NOI, DSCR, return metrics, and loan scenarios (LTV vs. LTC) for investment analysis.

Media

A breakdown of the construction costs for a 600 sq/ft garden suite, including cost per square foot and key factors that influence pricing. The video provides a real-world example to help homeowners and investors estimate expenses for building an ADU.

Media

A YouTube series on adding secondary suites and converting single-family homes into duplexes. It covers property selection, zoning, financing, construction, and rental strategies, with step-by-step guides, case studies, renovation tips, and investment insights.

Media

A step-by-step guide to understanding how to build a financial model for co-ownership projects. Covers key considerations such as budgeting, financing options, ownership structure, and long-term financial planning to ensure a successful shared housing investment.

The mddl GIS is an interactive mapping tool that helps users find middle housing opportunities in Canada. It provides data on zoning, density, and development potential, aiding municipalities, developers, and homeowners in making informed decisions.

Tools & How-To-Guides

Garden Suite Cost Calculator provides homeowners and investors with an estimate of building costs. It explores key cost variables like materials, labor, and permits while offering guidance on effectively using the calculator for project planning.

Media

A short guide outlining key cost considerations when building a laneway home in Vancouver. Covers permits, design, construction materials, site preparation, labour, energy efficiency upgrades, and finishes to help homeowners estimate project expenses.

Media

A short article outlining the financial advantages of building a laneway home in Vancouver, including how ADUs increase property value, generate rental income, and provide long-term financial stability.

Communities

A Facebook community for Secondary Dwelling Units (SDUs) in Hamilton. It connects homeowners, developers, and investors to discuss zoning, financing, construction challenges, and experiences with ADUs, garden suites, and duplex conversions.

Media

A podcast with a CMHC financing expert on funding real estate projects in the $2M-$10M range. It covers key CMHC programs, loan structures, eligibility, and strategies for securing financing for multiplex and mid-sized housing developments.

Media

A video breakdown of financing options for multiplex project specific to Toronto, covering lender considerations, financing basics, challenges, and renovation.

Media

The City of Calgary’s Secondary Suites webpage provides key info on zoning, permits, and compliance for homeowners building or legalizing suites. It covers eligibility, building codes, applications, financial incentives, and safety requirements.

Media

An RBC article giving a brief description of the different kinds of multi-unit projects available to homeowners (duplex, triplex, multiplex, garden suite, laneway home, basement suite, and modular homes).

Media

A video walkthrough of a 600 sq/ft garden suite ADU in Hamilton, Ontario, highlighting construction, rental income ($2,300/month), and investment benefits. It covers zoning, costs, service separation, and key design considerations to maximize value and tenant appeal.

Tools & How-To-Guides

An investment return calculator to help homeowners and developers assess the financial feasibility of a laneway or garden suite. Users can input project costs, financing details, and rental income to estimate potential returns and cash flow.

Media

An RBC guide answering six key questions about adding residential units to a home. It covers financing options, zoning regulations, construction considerations, and the potential benefits of secondary suites, laneway homes, and garden suites.

Tools & How-To-Guides

A resource hub with best practices, insights, and guides on gentle density housing. It provides tools, case studies, and regulatory guidance to help homeowners, developers, and policymakers plan and build small-scale housing like ADUs and multiplexes.

Media

An official Halifax resource on secondary and backyard suites, outlining zoning, permits, and policy changes to expand housing. It helps homeowners navigate requirements for adding legal secondary suites to existing properties.

Media

A podcast episode featuring a senior mortgage broker from National Bank, diving into the key financing considerations for ADUs. The discussion covers mortgage options, HELOCs, refinancing, and strategies for securing funding for an ADU project.

Media

A master class for the Canadian Real Estate Women's Association on converting single-family homes into 3- and 4-unit multiplexes. It covers key legislative updates (Bill 23), zoning, layouts, costs, and real-life case studies.

Tools & How-To-Guides

A guide on HST rebates for Laneway Homes, explaining how different uses—personal residence, long-term, or short-term rental—affect eligibility and rebate amounts. It also covers tax implications for homeowners and small-scale developers.

Media

A blog post from Ottawa Home Pros on home additions for Ottawa homeowners. It covers budgeting, local regulations, design, and how additions like secondary suites, extensions, and renovations can enhance space and property value.

Media

This video follows an investor in Clarington, Ontario, who converted a bungalow into a legal duplex with a garden suite. It covers zoning, financing, costs, rental strategies under Bill 23, short-term rental potential, refinancing, and insights for multiplex conversions.

Communities

A knowledge hub with real estate tools, funding opportunities, educational resources, and events. It helps small-scale developers, homeowners, and industry professionals navigate ADU and multiplex development, financing, and policy updates.

Media

A Toronto couple built a $550,000, 1,200 sq/ft laneway house as a future retirement home while renting it for $3,200/month. Their story highlights design choices, investment strategy, and laneway housing’s role in sustainable urban development.

Tools & How-To-Guides

An interactive tool that helps homeowners navigate zoning eligibility and determine if their property qualifies for an ADU based on regulations. It provides site-specific insights on feasibility, size limits, and building requirements, making it easier to plan.

Tools & How-To-Guides

An interactive proforma tool that helps developers and homeowners estimate the financial feasibility of their ADU or multiplex project. Users can input project costs, rental income, and financing details to assess potential returns and overall viability.