How Do Homeowners Pay for a Multiplex on Their Own Lot in Vancouver?

Every lender asks the owner to put money in before it lends the rest. On a lot you already own, that money is mostly the land itself. CMHC's Improvement page says the down payment on a new build is based on the lower of market value, purchase price or cost of construction, and that for an owner-built or contract-built home the borrower holds title to the land by the first advance. No loan money is advanced on vacant land, so the lot has to be in your name before the first payment moves.

The lender also asks about money for later in the build. CMHC asks the lender to consider the borrower's financial capacity to cover cost overruns, which means money you can reach if prices rise halfway through the build. In the REW video about Costar, Louis Nguyen, our Director of Sales, puts the common problem in one line: in some cases the homeowner cannot finance the project themselves, because they do not have enough money to meet the equity requirement. The rest of this page is about the ways around that.

A regular mortgage pays once, on the day you buy. A construction loan pays in parts as the building goes up. CMHC calls these payments progress advances, and its Improvement page says new construction loans are advanced through a progress advance option. Before each advance, someone confirms that the stage is done. Under CMHC's Full Service option, CMHC validates up to 4 consecutive advances at no cost. Under Basic Service, the lender checks them itself.

Two rules shape the schedule. First, CMHC must approve new construction financing before construction starts, or at an early stage, so talk to your lender before the drawings are final. Second, BC's Builders Lien Act, section 4, says the person paying on a construction contract keeps back 10% of the greater of the value of the work and the payment, and a savings institution lender may hold that money for the owner. Our post on how construction loans work on a multiplex walks through each stage, who inspects it and how interest is charged while you build.

The number of homes, and whether your family lives in one, decides which CMHC rules apply. These figures were read on CMHC's pages on November 11, 2026.

Some lenders now sell a loan built for this exact job. Vancity's news release of April 8, 2026 describes its Multiplex Construction Mortgage for owners turning a single-family lot into a duplex, triplex or fourplex. By Vancity's own account, the loan offers financing of up to 80% of project costs, interest-only payments during construction for up to 18 months, terms and amortizations for co-owners, and rental offset options to help you qualify. Those are the lender's own words about its own product. The rate, the fees and whether you qualify come from the lender.

Whatever lender you choose, ask the same four questions: which stage releases which payment, who inspects the work and who pays them, how interest is charged during the build, and when regular payments begin. Get the advance schedule in writing before you sign the building contract, so the two documents agree.

If you own the lot and do not have the cash to build, one path is to build with a partner. In the REW video, Louis describes Costar's version: the homeowner and Costar form a limited partnership, the homeowner is the limited partner and Costar is the general partner. By his account, the limited partner has limited risk, does not run the project day to day, carries no construction financing risk and does not put their personal property up as collateral. That is Costar's own description of its model, and every deal is set in its own written agreement.

BC's Partnership Act sets the rules for any limited partnership, including what happens to your land when it goes in and whether you get a home or cash back at the end. Our post on co-developing a multiplex as a limited partnership explains those sections and the questions to ask. Read every page of a partnership agreement with your own lawyer and your own accountant, because the other partner is the builder.

By Costar's own account on our process page, we agree a cost plus arrangement with the client for transparency, sign a written contract before construction starts and track progress and expenses in CoConstruct software. With costs and progress written down at each stage, you have the papers ready when the lender's inspector asks for them. Our Quintet Townhomes page shows a five-home multiplex at 2240 E 40th Ave in Vancouver from our project gallery, with pre-design, permit and construction management in its scope.

Before any loan talk, find out what your lot allows. Our page on how many homes you can build on your lot and our Multiplex Check are the places to start. Then take your plan to your lender and a mortgage professional, because only they can tell you what you qualify for.