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The Blueprint Build Plan is a construction and renovation mortgage for Ontario homeowners and investors. It lends up to 80% of what the property will be worth once the work is done, pays the build out to you in inspected draws, charges interest only during construction, and becomes a regular mortgage at completion. It works on purchases and refinances, up to four residential units.
Stephen Green, Mortgage BrokerWaterloo Region · serving all of Ontario
Nearly 30 years in Canadian financial services
General information about construction and renovation financing through the Blueprint Build Plan in Ontario. Everything is subject to full qualification, lender approval and final terms.
One mortgage for the property and the project, sized on what the property will be worth once the work is finished rather than on what it is worth today.
Homeowners adding a basement apartment or a garden suite to help carry the mortgage.
Investors adding units to a rental they already own.
Buyers of a house that only works once it is extended or rebuilt.
Owners of a tired property ready for a full rebuild, up to four units.
The order matters. The quote comes before the approval, and the money follows the work rather than the invoices.
Drawings, the permit position and an itemised contractor quote. This is what everything else is built on, and the most common cause of delay.
An approved appraiser values the property as it will be once the work is finished. The mortgage is sized at up to 80% of that figure.
Your existing mortgage is paid out, or your purchase closes. Interest-only payments begin on the amount advanced.
An inspector confirms the percentage complete, and the draw is paid to you, less a 15% holdback. You pay your contractor.
A final inspection confirms the work is done, and the lender releases the holdback.
The mortgage converts from interest-only to regular payments, on the term set out in your approval.
A home worth $625,000 with $440,000 owing, and a $300,000 garden suite expected to earn $2,300 a month. The as-complete appraisal comes in at $925,000.
| Stage | Mortgage balance | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| Approved, 80% of $925,000 | $740,000 | — |
| At closing, existing mortgage paid out | $440,000 | $2,227 interest-only |
| Every draw paid, holdback still held | $695,000 | $3,517 interest-only |
| Finished, holdback released | $740,000 | $3,599 regular payment |
| Less the estimated rent | — | $1,299 left to carry, before landlord costs |
Illustrative, not a client file. The build stage uses a six-month term at 6.15% and the finished mortgage a five-year fixed term at 4.19% over 30 years, both with Canadian semi-annual compounding. The rent is an estimate. Your figures depend on your approval and final lender terms.
They suit different projects. The question is what the work adds to the property and when you need the money.
| Blueprint Build Plan | Purchase Plus Improvements | HELOC | Refinance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | New units, additions and rebuilds. | Updates on a home you are buying. | Smaller projects, drawn as needed. | A known sum on a home you own. |
| Sized on | The finished value, up to 80%. | The improved value, with the renovation capped. | Today’s equity only. | Today’s value, up to 80%. |
| When the money arrives | In inspected draws during the build, less a 15% holdback. | After the work is done and verified. | Whenever you draw it. | At closing, in one sum. |
| Payments during the work | Interest-only on what has been advanced. | Regular mortgage payments. | Usually interest-only, and it moves. | Regular mortgage payments. |
| Does the new unit count? | Yes, from the start. | Yes, for the improvements. | No. | No. |
Since the More Homes Built Faster Act (2022), most serviced residential lots in Ontario can hold up to three units as of right: the main house plus, for example, a basement suite and a garden suite. Your municipality still sets the zoning, setbacks, parking and permits, so check those before anything is drawn.
Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, and the townships around them, each publish their own additional-unit rules. Rural lots on wells and septic add their own servicing questions. Waterloo Region →
London, St. Thomas, Woodstock, Stratford, Sarnia and Chatham. Student-rental neighbourhoods near Western and Fanshawe carry their own licensing rules. London & Middlesex →
Hamilton, the GTA, Niagara and Ottawa. Mortgage lending is provincial rather than local, so the plan works the same way wherever the property is. The bylaw is what changes from city to city.
None of these rule a project out. They are what turns a good plan into a stressful build when nobody mentions them early.
Interest-only payments sit on a short term that is usually priced higher. Near the end of a build they can come close to the finished payment.
The lender keeps 15% of the build money until the final inspection. Keep money beyond that for timing gaps between draws and for the surprises every build has.
Vacancy, tax on rental income, insurance and upkeep all come off it. A unit that pays the mortgage on paper can fall short in its first year.
A new unit changes both. Call your insurer and check the assessment before you build, not after.
The same plan, written for the three people who usually need to understand it. Free to download, print and pass on.
Who it suits, how the money moves, the worked example above, and what to have ready before the first conversation.
Download the homeowner guide — PDF, 2 pages ↓The listings it opens up, an example buyer, how to time the financing condition, and how it differs from Purchase Plus Improvements.
Download the realtor guide — PDF, 2 pages ↓The jobs it funds, how inspected draws are paid to the owner, the two holdbacks, and what makes a quote move quickly.
Download the builder guide — PDF, 2 pages ↓It is a construction and renovation mortgage from The Financial Collective for Ontario properties. It lends up to 80% of the property's as-complete value, pays the build money out to the owner in inspected draws, charges interest only during construction, and converts to a regular mortgage once the work is finished.
An appraisal that values a property as it will be once the planned work is finished, using the drawings and the contractor's quote. The Blueprint Build Plan sizes the mortgage on that figure, so a new unit counts toward what you can borrow before it has been built.
Yes. The Blueprint Build Plan covers basement apartments, garden suites, laneway homes, additions and full rebuilds, on a purchase or on a home you already own, provided zoning allows the unit and the finished property has four residential units or fewer.
Up to 80% of the as-complete value, less what you already owe, subject to qualifying on the full mortgage as it will stand once the project is finished. There is no cap on the build budget itself.
No. During the build you pay interest only on the amount advanced so far, on a six-month term. That term usually costs more, so near the end of a build the interest can come close to the finished payment. Regular payments start once the work is complete.
The lender keeps 15% of the build money until a final inspection confirms the work is finished, then releases it. You need that amount available to keep the project moving in the meantime. Savings, a gift or borrowed funds all count.
The draws are paid to you, the owner, after an inspector confirms the percentage of work completed. You then pay your contractor, so agree a payment schedule with them that lines up with the inspection stages.
The work has to be completed within 6 to 12 months of closing, as set out in your approval. A build that starts to slip is worth raising early, while there is still time to plan around it.
Purchase Plus Improvements suits updates to a home you are buying, with the money paid once the work is verified. The Blueprint Build Plan is for adding units, additions and rebuilds, works on a refinance as well as a purchase, and pays out during the build.
Drawings, a quote, or just an address and an idea. Tell us what you want to build and we will work out what it supports, what it costs to carry during the build, and what to line up first.