Duplex BRRRR, Hamilton, Ontario

Duplex BRRRR, Hamilton, Ontario

Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 25 posts · 15 votes

Hey BP,

Wanted to document my first real estate investment. Purchased a Single Family Home (SFH) in Hamilton, Ontario with the plan the concert it to a Duplex. Not only is this my first investment property, it's also my first Joint Venture (JV), I partnered with 2 other people (friends of mine).

All 3 of us have construction backgrounds. My partners used to and currently work for Mattamy Homes. I’m an electrician in the commercial and residential field.

House details:

2 1/2 Storey SFH Detached w/ basement

3 Bed

1 1/2 Bath

2 Car Parking

1,250 SQFT

Plan:

Duplex Conversion

Unit One:

Basement and Main Floor

3 Bed

1 1/2 Bath

Open Concept Living and Kitchen

En-suite Laundry

Fully Renovated with High End Modern Finishes

$1,650 + Hydro/Month

Unit Two:

Second Floor and Loft

3 Bed

1 Bath

Open Concept Living and Kitchen

En-suite Laundry

Fully Renovated with High End Modern Finishes

$1,850 + Hydro/Month

Numbers:

Purchase Price: $425,000

Down Payment (20%): $85,000 - Cash

Closing Costs: $7,000 - Cash

Mortgage: $340,000

Renovation: $100,000 - Cash

Permit Drawings and Application: $14,000 - Cash

Total Cash Invested: $206,000

Now we have the property, it’s going to be fully renovated and time to rent and re-finance. Let’s see how that will look for us.

Time to BRRRR!

After Repair Value (ARV): $650,000

Re-Financed Mortgage (80% LTV): 80% x $650,000 = $520,000

Payback first mortgage: $340,000

$180,000

Total Cash Invested: $206,000

-$26,000

Total Cash Left in Deal: $26,000

If things go to plan then we will take out 87% of our capital ($180,000) and then we can repeat the process and go look for another property!

Now we control a $650,000 Duplex for $26,000, awesome!

Do we cashflow? Let’s look.

Rent: $3,500

Expenses w/ Mortgage: $3,135

Positive Cashflow: $365 per month x 12 = $4,380 per year

Alright, Positive Cashflow!

What's our ROI?

Cash on Cash (COC) ROI: $4,380/$26,000 = 16% COC ROI

Overall Return: including Cashflow, principal pay down and assuming 3% capital appreciation in Hamilton based on historic rates: $4,380 + $10,257 + $19,500 = $34,137/$26,000 = 131% OVERALL RETURN!

Real estate is something else. I should have bought properties when I was 18. But it’s good to get my foot in the door and keep moving forward!

This is property #1! Starting renovations closer to October, stay tuned, it will be documented as best as we can. Pictures and videos, it will be a fun one!

Any comments and questions please ask, always looking to learn more and connect with like-minded people.

Cheers

Terry

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Most Popular Reply

Rental Property Investor · Stoney Creek, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 34 posts · 4 votes
7y

Congratulations @Terry Nguyen. Great to see a local investor succeeding! Thank you for providing us with that breakdown! Just to confirm, is the unit fully converted yet (and these numbers are actual), or are these figures projected?

See this reply in the discussion

53 Replies

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  • Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Terry Nguyen:
    Originally posted by @Vince Delio:

    Hi Terry,

    Great post, can you elaborate where the $10,257 is coming from? I'm a new investor trying to comprehend your breakdown of the property.

    Thanks

    Hey Vince,

    Sure I'd be happy to elaborate on the $10,257.

    Going back to my OP:

    "Overall Return: including Cashflow, principal pay down and assuming 3% capital appreciation in Hamilton based on historic rates: $4,380 + $10,257 + $19,500 = $34,137/$26,000 = 131% OVERALL RETURN!"

    Cash Flow Year One: $4,380

    Principal Pay Down: $10,257

    Assumed 3% Capital Appreciation: $19,500

    Hopefully that clears it up

    Hi Terry,

    Thank you for the quick response, I appreciate the breakdown. 

    Thanks

  • Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 29 posts · 4 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Terry Nguyen:

    @Mike Oliveira That’s great to hear. Do you know how they make that calculation?

    For Non conforming units, we will typically use 80% - 95% of rent and its 'B' lending. We can not use "A" lending if its non conforming.  If the unit is a legal unit we can use 50% of the rental income with an 'A' lender. 

     Best of luck, 

    Anibal 

    Mortgage Agent

  • Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 16 posts · 4 votes
    7y

    @Terry Nguyen great case study, clear and really well detailed. I'm eager to hear about your progress.

    How much of the work are you and your partners doing yourselves?

  • Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 25 posts · 15 votes
    7y

    @Anibal Mejias thank you for the insight Anibal!

  • Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 25 posts · 15 votes
    7y

    @Evan Aagaard Thanks Evan! It’ll be a great process and hopefully we hit all our targets. Reno, rental, and refinance targets.

    My business partner and I are very handy. He used to work as a foundation supervisor for Mattamy Homes and I’m an electrician, commercial and residential. We’re going to be doing the electrical and demolition ourselves but the majority of the work will be subbed out through our contacts.

  • Member since 2019 · 24 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    This is very inspiring. I am a newbie and just learned about BRRR.

    I am from GTA, and debating whether if I should invest in Hamilton, Barrie, Waterloo-Kitchener.

    Questions:

    1. Why did you pick Hamilton?
    2. Is it a student rental?
    3. I find it hard to find properties that can meet the 1% rule. Can you share some tips on this?
    4. Did you buy the house using personal income, or corp income?

    Thanks so much!

  • Member since 2019 · 24 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    This is very inspiring. I am a newbie and just learned about BRRR.

    I am from GTA, and debating whether if I should invest in Hamilton, Barrie, Waterloo-Kitchener.

    Questions:

    1. Why did you pick Hamilton?
    2. Is it a student rental?
    3. I find it hard to find properties that can meet the 1% rule. Can you share some tips on this?
    4. Did you buy the house using personal income, or corp income?

    Thanks so much!

  • Investor · Kingston, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 13 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    @Terry Nguyei did something similar in Kingston, and with CIBC they take 80% of the rent into account for your income/debt ratio.

  • Investor · Kingston, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 13 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    @Kim Ng

    1% is tough in Canada unless your doing student rentals or investing in more rural area. Expect more around .8%.

    I'm no where near being an expert. I'd consider myself new as well, but I use the 1% rule sort of like a quick analysis on properties. But even there you can miss out the good ones. I have three units and in all of them I had to find some hidden value or rooms in the house to make them work as investments.

  • Rental Property Investor · Hamilton, Ontario · Member since 2015 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    Hi Terry,

    Good luck with your conversion! I invest in this area as well. Your ARV might be a bit aggressive. I think you can get those estimated rents with the right style of finishes and area. Looking forward to hearing about your progress!

  • Member since 2019 · 24 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    @Charles Gaucher

    Thanks for the info! 

    Based on your experience, is student rental a good investment? 

    -----------------

    I see that most meetups are in London, Windsor etc.

    Are there any meetups in the Markham, Richmond Hill, Newmarket etc., that I should be aware of?

    Looking to connect with other REI!

  • Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 29 posts · 4 votes
    7y

    @Kim Ng there is Real Property Investments in Markham at Bayview Golf club which may be closest to you. They hold regular meet ups.

    A bit further is the Reite club (I haven’t been yet) which is in Burlington who also have regular meet ups.

    Good luck,

    Anibal

    Mortgage Agent

  • Member since 2019 · 24 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    @Anibal Mejias Thank you! I will check it out.

  • Real Estate Agent · Windsor, Ontario · Member since 2017 · 835 posts · 214 votes
    7y

    @Kim Wu, student rentals CAN be a good investment if you buy right and are willing to actively manage the property and tenants.  Hope that helps.

  • Member since 2019 · 24 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    @Scott Innocente So based on my understanding, London and Windsor (for example) properties have a high chance of generating a positive cashflow through student rentals. 

    How does one manage these properties when they live in Toronto / GTA themselves?

    Wouldn't it be too far to travel back and forth to manage?

    And even before that, how would they rent out the units? Potential tenants (students) might show up on different dates etc. 

    I am sure I missing something here? Thanks in advance.

  • Real Estate Agent · Windsor, Ontario · Member since 2017 · 835 posts · 214 votes
    7y

    @Kim Wu yes, you would need a property management company if you were investing from a distance.  They would handle finding tenants for you.

    Windsor has more cash flow for student rentals, in general, than London as prices in London have jumped much further so far than Windsor.

  • Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 25 posts · 15 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Kim Wu:

    This is very inspiring. I am a newbie and just learned about BRRR.

    I am from GTA, and debating whether if I should invest in Hamilton, Barrie, Waterloo-Kitchener.

    Questions:

    1. Why did you pick Hamilton?
    2. Is it a student rental?
    3. I find it hard to find properties that can meet the 1% rule. Can you share some tips on this?
    4. Did you buy the house using personal income, or corp income?

    Thanks so much!

    Hey Kim,

    Great to see another real estate investor looking at getting in the game. I was brand new earlier this year and still fresh in the grand scheme of things!

    I'm from the GTA as well and decided to invest in Hamilton versus other areas. My partner and I actually looked at investing in Windsor earlier this year but it didn't meet our investment strategy.

    We chose Hamilton because it meets our strategy for optimizing the BRRRR method. There is still a good amount of distressed properties in the areas of Hamilton where there is a lot of development going on (Buy and Renovate). The rental market is strong in Hamilton right now so that gives us an opportunity to cashflow on our investment after the renovation is complete (Rent). Since there is a good amount of other investors doing the same model as us it gives the area some comparables when it comes time to (Re-Finance) the property and then we can hopefully (Repeat) the process.

    Not a Student Rental. A Duplex and a Triplex. All self-contained units (kitchen, laundry, entrances)

    Yes it is hard to find properties to meet the 1% rule, but that is just a preliminary metric. Any tips would be to figure out what you're investment will achieve for you, are you aiming for the cashflow to replace your income? Is this a long term investment for retirement, ie. In 25/30 years when the mortgage is paid then you can sell it and this will be your retirement nest egg? Our properties definitely do not meet the 1% rule BUT they will hopefully re-finance at the ARV we are projecting and we will own a rental property with little to no capital left in.

    We bought the houses with personal income. We have talked about incorporating a Holding Company for our investing because we are going to be purchasing commercial multi-family (6+ Units) and it will be a better tax structure for us.

    Hopefully this helps and I'm glad you found some inspiration in this!

  • Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 25 posts · 15 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Charles Gaucher:

    @Terry Nguyei did something similar in Kingston, and with CIBC they take 80% of the rent into account for your income/debt ratio.

    Hey @Charles Gaucher, Thank you for letting me know, let's see what Scotia will say when it comes closer to re-fi day.

  • Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 25 posts · 15 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Deirdre Laundry:

    Hi Terry,

    Good luck with your conversion! I invest in this area as well. Your ARV might be a bit aggressive. I think you can get those estimated rents with the right style of finishes and area. Looking forward to hearing about your progress!

    Hey @Deirdre Laundry,

    Thank you, hopefully it will go as smooth as possible and on or under budget. We should meet for a coffee one day! Hopefully the ARV will stick, there are some comps of other duplexes in the area around the same with the same level of renovations. Definitely stay tuned, it will be a good one!

  • Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 25 posts · 15 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Anibal Mejias:

    @Kim Ng there is Real Property Investments in Markham at Bayview Golf club which may be closest to you. They hold regular meet ups.

    A bit further is the Reite club (I haven’t been yet) which is in Burlington who also have regular meet ups.

    Good luck,

    Anibal

    Mortgage Agent

    Hey @Anibal Meijas,

    Thank you for the tip about the Bayview Golf Club one, that is close to me. I'll check it out, do you come out to this meet up?

  • Rental Property Investor · Toronto, ON · Member since 2019 · 29 posts · 4 votes
    7y

    @Terry Nguyen I haven’t been over to their meetings in a while but found them very beneficial. They definitely helped us a lot and they’re genuine in helping you achieve your real estate and financial goals.

  • Member since 2020 · 1 post · 0 votes
    6y

    Hi @Terry Nguyen, just found this thread while looking for loca investors. I'm in Hamilton as well and looking to get started with a duplex or triplex soon. How did this project go? I'm curious to know if you got your ARV and whether the lenders used cap rate to re-evaluate your property. Also, how has the lock-down affected your business, if at all?

    Thanks!

  • Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    6y

    @Terry Nguyen Would love to hear the numbers on how this project turned out!

  • Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    4y

    Hey, I hope 2 years is not too late to join the conversation. I am moving to the area and I'm looking forward to building my RE network. No substantial experience in the field so far, but expecting to put all the theory learnt into practice soon. 
    I hope we can connect sometime! 

  • Investor · USA · Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    4y

    Excellent Deal man! What kind of permit did you need? Did you rezone through the city also?

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