This is a market I've been looking at recently - would love to hear any experiences.  Anyone invested in Sandwich Town?  Thoughts?

I am interested in Windsor as well. I am looking at areas outside of the downtown core and away from West end.

One thing that I noticed is that the number of house for sell is very high.  Does that mean that the economy is bad and people are moving out?

Any recommendations for an investor friendly agent?

I would love to hear what others think about investing in the Windsor area in general.

Windsor has its pros and cons. The city's unemployment rate is higher than the nation's average (it was at 10% not too long ago and has been declining) and the wages are lower; however, the prices are much lower as a result.  It is probably one of the few cities in Canada where you can cover the 1% rule with a population over 100,000. When driving through the city you will notice a ton of empty commercial buildings.

Good areas include Walkerville, South Windsor, Jackson Park, etc. There are definitely way more, but that's just a few. I don't know enough about Sandwich town, but I do know near the bridge there are quite a few empty houses that have really brought the area down. There is also Ford city and an area near the casino (Glengarry to Marion to Elliott St) that isn't too great. Some of the areas in the city are very big hit or miss. You could be driving two blocks and be in a nice area and then hit a completely different area a few blocks down the road.

The amount of listings in the 2-4 unit space and even multifamily for that matter have probably halved over the past year alone. Last year the amount of listings in Windsor were roughly as follows: duplex (60), triplex (10-12), fourplex (10) - plus minus a few here and there. There is very little inventory now compared to then.

Windsor itself as a real estate has been crazy over the last 3-5 months. Multiple offers. Bungalows that were listed from the 95-110k range last year are now posted at $110k to start. Multiple homes used to listed below $90k (decent ones too that required a bit of work). Just spoke with an agent about a multifamily property that was very well priced and there were 10 offers on it with multiple over asking.

@Annabelle Lee I'll PM you my contact for a Realtor.

@Jay Shaw @Taylor Servais @Frank D. @Igor Tomic

Does anyone have recommendations of good/reliable General Contractor for Windsor?

Banking on cash flow at this stage with very little capital appreciation considering the low interest rates and historically high prices (nationally speaking). However, on a relative basis (rent to price), Windsor is still attractive and much more inexpensive. The city has appreciated quite a bit over the last year alone as the secret of Windsor has kind of been exposed, but challenges do remain for the area. 

Unfortunately, I do not know of any contractors. 

I don't know any reliable contractors either.

Hello, (first post on bigger pockets!)

I have recently moved back to Windsor after being in Saskatchewan for the past 4+ years. I currently have a rental here that I have owned for the past 8 years. I am looking to network with other investors in the area as I would love to get back into rentals/flips as this market seems very hot right now. My background is electrical (Red Seal Journeyman Electrician about to challenge the Masters Exam) and I will be starting an Electrical & General Contracting construction companyin the next month or so.

I see great potential in the area as I grew up here and have seen a flat market all my life. Things are picking up quickly. I'm looking for anyone that could provide help or information on obtaining mortgage/loans being self employed? I had a very difficult time securing the mortgage on my primary home recently due to my Electrical business in Saskatchewan being less than a year old, I can only see this being harder now that I'm starting over again.

Hi Dan,

Welcome to BP & welcome back to Windsor. We live between downtown and the University, just off Riverside & just bought our first rental property, a duplex across the street from us. I'm with you in thinking about Windsor being a hot market and I believe it has good longer term potential.

I'm self employed as well and remember the headache getting our first mortgage. One of the 'Big Three' simply refused to pre-approve us, rather, telling us to make an offer on something and then come back and see what they thought.... Our realtor suggested we try the Windsor Family Credit Union. Pre-approval within the hour. We bought a house and switched all our banking over. Never looked back & only went to them for this last mortgage. My 2c's.

I'm going to PM you too. It happens I have some electrical work to be done, we should talk. Happy to get together and chat anytime!

Cheers,
Greg

Hi fellow investors,

I've invested in Windsor for the past 2 years, and am making some excellent returns. I currently own 3 properties in the Windsor area, 2 triplexes and a single family home. These are the numbers on a triplex that I purchased 2 years ago:

Cost: $255,000

Gross Income: $36,000 + utilities

Net Income: $27,000

Cashflow: $15,500

Cash on Cash Return on $56,000 investment: 27.7% per year

I would definitely recommend multi-family, as your cash on cash return is almost always higher than single family for a variety of reasons (more income, lower vacancy, CCA, etc.). Check Kijiji and MLS. My Realtor down in Windsor gives me the pocket listings before they hit MLS, so that's usually where some good money-makers are to be found.

If you are open at all to looking at some potential deals Windsor, I'd highly recommend it! The market and economy has really started to pick up, with house prices still well below Ontario's average - lots of potential growth for sure. I can connect you with my Realtor and put in a good word for you if you'd like. 

Also my investing partners and I are purchasing a larger apartment building this year, something similar in size and CapRate as this one: 

https://www.realtor.ca/Commercial/Multi-family/17040993/525-WYANDOTTE-Street-West-WINDSOR-Ontario-N8Y2Z8  If you're interested in learning more, please message me. 

Would love to hear from some fellow Windsorites and investors, looking forward to connecting!

P.S. Stay away from Sandwichtown, far away. Walkerville is where it's at! 

I agree with the above posts...NO RELIABLE CONTRACTORS in Windsor....Crazy huh? when you consider people say there is no work .....and city has 200K population......

I bought a duplex and had to bring my crew in from HAMILTON

@Dan Carlini I am sure that in a city of 200K that their maybe and probably is some reliable contractors 

I am not speaking in absolutes but in general (from my experience)  80-95% of the contractors in Windsor are Unreliable, Unprofessional, or both......

Forward your contact info and schedule maybe we will work together in the future...Thank you

Anybody know of good selling agents in Windsor? I am interested in selling our rental duplex and it is so overwhelming trying to find an agent, especially one that specializes in investment properties.

@Rob Cadete, It's closing next week! Fingers crossed. 

It has been great working with you @Stephanie D., glad to have helped you sell the duplex! 
It is always a pleasure working with like-minded investors in Windsor.  :)

Likewise, @Cassidy Logsdon! Anyone looking to buy investment properties in Windsor should look her up!

@Stephanie D. _ how did the closing go ? Everything smooth ?

@Haseeb Awan, yes, everything was perfect! Lucky timing and great help from @Cassidy Logsdon. 

Congrats @Stephanie D.

Anyone know of any decent property managers in Windsor?  Looking for someone to maintain properties which already have good tenants in them.

@Navroze Phiroz we use Home 2 Home property management for all of our rentals in the Windsor area. Haven’t had any issues and the property manager answers fairly quickly to any concerns we have.

Appreciate this.... do you by any chance have a contact at Home2Home, you could suggest I speak to?