$300k CAD available; how do I start my RE investment career?

[Simon K.]

If you had $300k CAD to begin investing in real estate, what would you do? Ontario, Canada. SFHs? MFHs?

[Evan Polaski]

@Simon K. when investing, with the goal to be passive there are several items that I would make sure you properly accounting for and/or reserving for.  Your main expenses will be:
Management Fee - Typically 10% of gross
Principle and Interest - loan payments
Insurance
Property Taxes
Vacancy Factor: 5% is common for a lot of people, and implies you will have one month down every 2 years for each unit, whether single family, duplex, 4plex, etc.
Maintenance and CAPEX: I always lump these together. Based on useful life and my costs, I need to reserve about $250/mo to never be out of pocket for anything. Remember a refrigerator is generally going to cost the same whether you get $500/mo rent or $2500/mo., so using a percentage is not the best practice in my book.
Leasing Commissions: If you are truly passive you will likely find 1/2 to 1 month commission for new leases and 1/4 to 1/2 month for renewals.  If you turn every 2 years (vacancy factor) this is 3.75-7.5% reserve

If you want to think of expense ratio: on $1,000/mo lease, this is about 45% before you factor in PITI.

If you want to be debt free in 10 years, finding properties that will cashflow with enough reserves and the accelerated debt paydown will take some work.