All Forum Posts by: Chris Baxter

If you are looking at residential mortgages, lenders look at your ability to service your debt and typically want to see TDS less than 42% https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en...  If you own multiple properties, many lenders only consider half of your rental income as 'income'.  There are lots of great books on getting started in real estate investing targeted at Canadians. Do a quick search in this forum and you'll be able to build a library of 'must-reads'

@Account Closed for me, where we (family of 4) choose to live has no connection on where I invest. We live in BC for the lifestyle and invest where the numbers make sense. For the last few years, our target market has been in NB. An excess of (printed) money has, however, made our preferred market too hot, with 'investors' overpaying for FOMO.  So... we are exploring options south of the border for our next purchase.

If you are willing to grind, you can find undervalued properties in BC, buy as principal residence, rehab, sell, move, and repeat. Not a bad way to get started...

Why not invest in a market where the numbers make sense?   

@Account Closed cash flow in BC with 5% down is a tall order.  BC is not landlord friendly, and market rents do not reflect the reality of property values. Are you planning on turning your principal residence into a rental while living there (also known as 'house hacking' on BP)? 

Hello @Umang Rajyaguru. Welcome to the BP forums! CMHC publishes rental market reports to give you an estimate of market rent in urban centres (https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en...). Your question about 'getting financing done' is a little vague. Lenders like to see a debt coverage ratio (DCR) of 1.1 or greater, which means that you have a 10% cushion on covering mortgage payments (https://www.rentalsoftware.com...)

Hello @Sheng Rao . Have you had a look at the latest CMHC rental market report? It came out a few days a go and has all of the 2020 data for major markets: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en...  

Calgary has seen a softening of their rental market with increased vacancy rates, especially in the downtown core. There are opportunities to be had in any market, though, especially if appreciation isn't you primary concern. Per your point #3, invest for cash flow and accept appreciation as a bonus. 

@Daniel B.  Investing in MF outside you local market is about as passive as it gets, as long as you build a good relationship with your PM. Private money lending is also passive, but you lose the leverage aspect of holding property.   

Perhaps you can donate the space to a community group while it sits empty... get a tax write off a the very least and build good will for the future

@Daniel Singh How did you come to own a unit in a mall? Are all the units owned?

This article was published yesterday and highlights the exodus from major downtown cores into smaller centres: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/...