How to start investing in Montreal

Question

Hi I’m new to BP and real estate in general. I would like to start investing in Montreal but I don’t know where to start.

I currently have 20k saved and can save an extra 3 to 3.5k per month due to my current job (senior iOS-backend developer). My goal would be to fully live from rental in 10-15 years if possible (is that feasible in Montreal with my current situation?).

I’ve been looking for a duplex as my first property, so that I could live on one floor and rent the other one (is that a good idea?). The areas I’m interested in are Rosemont, Villeray and Verdun. So far I can’t find anything that could generate a positive cash flow rent-wise.

Benjamin Larouche · Answer

Forget generating a positive cashflow in those areas within the next 3 years unless you're buying something seriously distressed. Anything half-livable will get snatched up at retail price in the plex/single-family home market. The inventory is too low.Options: If you're accounting for the economy in your living situation, you can "cheat" yourself into a cashflow position. Ex: if I were to get into the real estate market in a condo for something similar, it would cost me roughly 1500$ per door. By purchasing a larger home with two dwellings, I can bring this down to roughly 1200$ per month, meaning I'm saving 300$ by living there. This is more of a value-add than a true cash flow position.For actual cash-flowing properties, you have to look outside of the hotter markets (the ones you listed and downtown/Plateau/etc.). Even areas like Anjou and Lachine are starting to become very expensive. I would look towards Pointe-aux-trembles/Mercier/Longue-Pointe for cheaper areas at this time where you might be able to find a deal that you could cashflow after significant renovations. The same can probably said for Longueuil if you're hoping to stay near the subway line. Alternatively, you`ll have to look outside the island and the two surrounding areas for a serious discount on the purchase price of the property. Whether they`re a good place to invest for buy and hold is another story... I would look at Centris stats for information on the market (demographics growth/shrinking, ownership, average age, etc.) for any red flags for rental.

Karl Rivest Harnois · Answer

@Benjamin Larouche my current plan is to buy a triplex in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu following the advices of my agent. I’ll be moving there on the first floor (I work remotely so no need to stay in montreal). My goal with this first property is to learn how to manage tenants and lower my cost of living.

Axel Louis Bastin · Answer

@Karl Rivest Harnois for those areas it’ll be hard to find something cheap. Maybe something worth renovating to gain more value... but I never analyzed that. My guess would be to try to expand you areas where properties will be less expansive and might make your numbers work... Curious to see what others have to say