What would you do with 200k in Toronto?

[Jessica Labos]

Hi all - 

I'm new to real estate investing and to this great discussion board!  Thanks to all for sharing your experience!  

I have around 200k CAD and am looking at investing it in real estate in Toronto.  I am 60 years old with a husband and 3 adult kids.  Additionally, I am sitting on approximately 800k in equity in my current residence.  I am somewhat scared of risk given my age.  My goal is to grow a portfolio to include rental properties (for retirement income over time) and fix and sell as my husband is a contractor (we have flipped many years ago before it was sexy and made good profits back then).   The investment properties would also be passed over to my kids and grandchildren to help contribute to their financial security.

Prices in Toronto have sky rocketed in recent years pushing me out of the market however, there has been some relief recently.  

Given current market conditions, plus ongoing rate hikes (and speculated future hikes), what would you do with 200k in Toronto?  

Thank you :)

[Phil Gardner]

Hi Jessica, welcome to BP! 

Given your husbands background in construction, I would personally consider looking into a small multifamily (2-3 units) detached or semi-detached property in the city, that needs some work. Or a single-family that could be converted into 2-3 units. This way you can force in some value up front, save money on construction and if you're lucky/buy right could refinance to take all of your money back out within a year. 

We've had a great year buying in certain pockets of Toronto due to the relief in the market combined with the massive increases in market rent over the past year or two. I'm sure you've read up on the BRRR method on the blog/other posts, I've found that works really well for our market.

Cheers!