Need advice about buying an 8plex (Canada, Montreal)

[Cloud Renji]

I bought my first property in 2005. It was an 8plex that I purchased for 400k. The 2015 valuation is 610k but I believe it would sell easily for 750k, or 800k (fair price) just by comparing to similar properties. In 2010 I bought a 2plex that I currently live in and rent one unit. This one pays off the mortgage but no other expenses which cost about ~4000$ per year (because I live in it). The 2plex is worth 315k and I've paid about 50% of the mortgage. The mortgage of the 8plex is 170k. I'm thinking of buying a new 8plex which is quite expensive. It was for sale for 1 425 000$ but I negotiated the price down to 1 280 000$. I did some quick calculations and I'm very interested but at the same time I'm very hesitant. I should add that I live in Canada, Montreal and 95% of the properties seem to have close to ZERO cash flow (often negative). To buy this new 8plex I would have to refinance my current 8plex and increase the mortgage from 170k to 510k (170k+320k for new 8plex+20k for acquisition fees or other things)

• This is my current property (8plex)
• This is my current property after refinancing (8plex)
• This will be my new 8plex

I should also add the the new property is in very good shape. The municipal valuation is 1 227 000$, it has very good location (decent neighborhood) but most importantly less than a minute walk from the subway station. Looking forward to hearing from you guys, any advice is welcome!

[Guillaume D.]

Hi @Cloud Renji,

Your calculations seem to be off. At the price of $1 280 000 with an annual revenue of 88k, bank won't finance 75% of your purchase price, but rather 75% of the economic value determined by revenue and expenses. In this case, economic value will probably be around $1 150 000 which means they will finance 75% of this amount and you will have to cover the difference meaning you'll have to give an extra 130k in cash down (320k + 130k = 450K). You could chose to finance through CMHC and they will finance 85% of the economic value so that could help. Your interest rate will be lower, but you'll have to pay a 4.75% fee that will be added to your mortgage. 

By the way, not all properties in Montreal have zero cashflow, but all of those listed on the MLS do ;)! You have to find properties that are NOT listed if you want to get a good deal.

Where is your current 8-plex and how many bedrooms per apartment? Your revenues seem very low at 53k/year. 

Good luck with your purchase!

G