Investing in Northern Ontario?

[Manvir G.]

Hi everyone,

I'm from the Toronto area but have been looking for potential small/medium apartment building investments in Southern Ontario (Waterloo, London, Windsor, St. Catherines, Niagara region, etc). However I haven't really found something amazing so I expanded my search and came across some good deals farther up north. Has anyone in these forums invested there? 

I've been looking at areas closer to Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, etc. The numbers seem good but how do I go about researching the city/towns themselves? Where could I get info on population growth, employment rates, and vacancy rates?

A few of the properties I've seen mention public assistance housing. How does that work? Would the government pay me directly or would the tenant get a cheque from the government that they would then pay me with?

Also, what exactly does a super do? Since these potential properties would be far away from me I was planning on hiring a property management company to handle the day to day while I would trek up there every few months to check up on things. But some of the properties mention a super on site, how does their job differ from a management company? If a property has a super then do I not need a property management company?

I would appreciate any answers you could provide. Thank you in advance.