Good morning guys! We need advise inregards with condo units here in BC. 

we have condos that are currently getting rented right now but not cashflowing due to high strata fees. 

we're planning to sell our condos and pivot in buying single homes. Is that a good strategy? 

Can we even sell our units even if someone is living in it? Still under contract.

At one time in my investing career I owned 2 non cash flowing condos in Toronto. I was short about 600$ a month each. At the time I was ok with that, as i thought they would appreciate. After meeting other investors i sold both and moved into the world of Brrrr and turning single family homes into legal duplexes. A much better and more profitable way to invest. When i went to sell my condo units, there were over 70 other 1 bedroom units for sale at the same time. What a nitemare that was. Good luck

@Elizabeth Gregorio it's likely not just the strata fees that are causing negative cash flow, but also the low rent to price ratio. Regardless, you are providing subsidized housing for your tenants if you aren't cash flowing.  SF in the lower mainland isn't going to be any better unless you can create legal duplexes. Consider looking at other markets where there is no rent control and where the numbers make more sense. 

@Elizabeth Gregorio Yes, you can sell a property even if you have a tenant in it. If the buyer wants vacant possession then you have to file the proper paper work to evict. Or you can offer cash for keys. 

The other option may be to offer a RTO to the current tenants.

Or if you are able to pull out the equity (either though a refi or HELOC) then your can counter the negative cashflow with another higher return investment.

You mention condoS - how many units are you talking about? If you sell, will you qualify under the new rules to get new mortgages? Talk to a mortgage broker and sort this out before selling. Also sounds like setting some time aside to 'plan' out your strategy would be time well spent so you don't go down the SF path and realize in a few years that doesn't cashflow to your liking either. You might find you have enough to get a MF. Good luck. 

@Huong Luu

Many thanks for your advice. Being relatively new to the game we weren't sure if we can sell while condo is tenant occupied and under contract. We were thinking contract has to lapse then we can sell?

I am in the middle of closing 2bdr condo as I got this relatively cheap. Based on the numbers it should cashflow $200/month no problem.

I have several and few more lined up as I got the "cheaper" during pre-sales 3yrs ago. I have pre-approval for few more but after that my broker says I need to start looking into JV and OPM.

What my husband and I are thinking:

Sell 1 condo a year (minimize cap gain) use the money to pivot into SF in secondary market. We are even considering Edmonton or Calgary but that idea might too much of a stretch.

@Elizabeth Gregorio If you are looking to expend into Alberta, You can do so without selling your condos. You can look into VTB and AFS. This will require a low d/p and you don't need to qualify with 'A' lenders. 

If your condos are cashflowing, then I would suggest you revisit your motive for selling. Yes you can sell even if there is a tenant in the unit. Perhaps arranging for a HELOC on the condos may be a better option.

If you are getting several under your belt, you may want to look into putting them under a corp or using Section 85. Good luck.   

@Huong Luu thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my post. I'm thinking Edmonton and shopping around for SF, duplex, triplex.

It's tax season, I'll sit down with my accountant and plan it out. Thanks