Joanne Kuipers – My 2nd Suite

www.my2ndsuite.com

I kept hearing the same message. That there is an affordable housing shortage and that people want to build legal second suites in their homes, but that they did not know how to go about it, and had very little knowledge on how to be a landlord. A light bulb literally went off in my head, and I thought that I could bring that all together in one package.

I started My 2nd Suite at 53 years old. I started the business because people are interested in creating a legal second suite in their home, but do not know where to start or how to be a landlord.

My 2nd Suite is a start up company. I help people put legal second suites in their homes to help off-set the costs of home ownership. I handle the whole process, from looking into zoning to see if it is feasible, getting the permits, constructing the unit, guide the home owner with insurance requirements, and finally screening and placing the tenant.

CMHC has invited me to their innovation lab and will be helping me to market my business, once this first unit is done. They told me that they have never seen a business model like this one and really liked it. They recognize that this will help with the housing shortage and affordability.

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