All Forum Posts by: Stevo Sun

Hey everyone,

Hoping to get some advice on a risk/reward scenario in BC Canada.

I have a property just outside of Vancouver and Victoria BC Canada. I am just completing the subdivision off of a parcel. 

In discussions with planners on what to do with the property, the idea of rezoning for a purpose built multifamily rental has come up. It would likely be in the 40ish unit range and would not be above 56 units. 

The cost to rezone could be around $150k. (CAD) There are 3 aspects of the rezoning process with the possibility that the re-zoning does not complete. If I were to give a percentage chance of failure to each I would say 20%, 30% and 35%. 

As for post-subdivision value of land there is essentially no other comparables and the area is notorious for the inability to rezone. There is one property that has been listed for 4.4M and has been sitting on the market for years. It has a disaster of a trailer park on it and the listing realtor openly says the value in the property is to build the allowed 28 single family homes on it. It is not zoned for a multifamily build and the height is limited to single story. The 2021 cap rate at that price was 3.5% though I expect lower now with issues and current expenses. The land size is almost the exact same as my new lot. (3.75 acres). 

My property is currently only zoned for a house, cottage and outbuildings and has a barn that is currently rented for $1300/month. 
If I were to list for sale as is, I could probably get $550k for it or $500k if I wanted to sell quickly. 

The cost to re-zone would be everything I have- and considering I have loans that exceed this -it would technically be leveraged. 

I have also gone as far as possible running numbers on completing a build, without actually having a building designed and priced out. At 39 units, using today’s rents and conservative values the cap rate could be as low as 4%. Increasing unit number or using less conservative, or increasing rent numbers or lowering vacancy rate could be close to a 6% cap rate.

The area is known as a tourist destination, is geographically constrained, has a massive housing crisis and isn’t expected to ever build enough housing to meet demand.

There may also be the opportunity to sell the property or a completed building to the local government. 

What do you think? If this was yours would you take the risk? 
I’m looking at it as a great opportunity but worried about taking on so much risk given where I’m at.

Hey there,

I'm a newer investor in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, and I am just finishing my first flip project which I am excited to share in the coming weeks. I'd like to next buy a duplex/triplex and step foot through the multi-family investing door while continuing to do single-family house flips.  As I run the numbers on local listings, I'm curious to see if anyone has any advice on estimating insurance costs on small multi-family in our region. For other variables such as tax rates and heating costs, I find it easier to get a good evaluation. But, I haven't been able to get a decent ballpark on insurance costs. Is it all property-dependent? Is there a certain cost per unit I can expect to pay based on the condition of the building? From what I've read, insurance is a bit more complex than costs to rebuild, when it comes to multi-family. If anyone has any advice based on their own experiences or can point me in the right direction, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. 

Hi folks, 

I recently moved to Canada and I want to start investing in real estate. I am interested in cash flow positive properties but not sure where to start. I am open to investing anywhere across the globe. For now I've been looking at a few locations in Canada outside BC and ON and across europe. Would love to connect with folks who have some insights into these markets.

Hi Calgarians, 

I am looking to find some like mind people for conversations about flipping and renos. Please dm me If anybody is interested.

Thank you Enjoy.

Hello All,

I just completed the purchase of a property in Port Hope, Ontario and will be doing renovations to make it a 2-unit dwelling. I'm obviously not yet at the tenant stage but I'm interested if anyone in Ontario has experience using tenant screening services (such as SingleKey, RentCheck, FrontLobby, etc...)? Is there anything you would recommend?

Thanks,

Chris

Hello,

So finally after just reading forums about RE investing, I finally jumped and do a house hack in Edmonton Alberta. The new single family home will have a legal basement suite which will be done by April 2024. My question is for anyone who is in similar situation in which the utilities is hooked in one meter for the house, how to split the water and electric bill? I am thinking of 70/30 split. Also, does Telus do two connections in one house? I would prefer two routers for privacy purposes.  Also, does short term rental works here in the westside Secord area in edmonton? Thank you.

Hey all, 

Currently own a rental property that has been great for the most part from a tenant perspective and maintenance perspective. I’ve owned this property since 2015 and am coming up on my second renewal in July 2025. 

Throughout my ownership I’ve always thought that the best play is to pay off the property and then have the cash flow as income after doing so, to date I’ve never really been cash flow positive but always paying the maximum I can on the mortgage while having the rent cover all of those expenses. 

I have quite a bit of equity in this home now and haven’t touched it, which is starting to feel like a waste of money at this point. Curious what my best options would be given our current economy with interest rates and home prices in Canada. 

Do I stay on course and keep paying it down, or pull equity and get another rental property and snowball that into multiple? Any and all advice appreciated!

Hey guys,

Im completely new to this and living in Calgary,Canada. Was just wondering if this site has any benefit to someone living and looking to invest in Canada? Are there any people from Canada on here? Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Hire a property manager.  I use one in AB and they charge 9% of the rent each month and when there is a vacancy, there is a fee (I should know, but can't remember-$500 plus advertizing) to find a tenant.  At turnover, there is usually a 1 month vacancy.  The one I use also has a relator's license, so they can help find a home as well.  When buying out of province, you will need two notaries/lawyers to handle closing. The one in ON  where you are based would simply go through the documents and witness your signature and the one in AB would prepare all of the documents.

Hello,

I am an aspiring real estate investor who is on my path to purchasing my first rental properties. I live in Ontario (GTA), and as you might know, the property values are really inflated. Given the tough situation, I am looking at out-of-pronvince properties, such as houses in New Brunsick or Alberta. My question is how do you purchase and manage out of province properties? I am really noob so any help would be much appreciated.