First Property, Local or Remote?

[Eagle Yeh]

Hi,

I am looking to pick an area to start my first investment property. I live in Greater Toronto Area in Ontario and looking to invest around Hamilton, London, Waterloo/Kitchener area.

However, housing price there is around 500-600k for single-family homes. I will need 30%+ down to possibly break even on cash flow. Alternatively, I could go further (Sudbury, Winsor, or even cross-province to Saskatchewan/Alberta) to find <200k properties.

Question to my fellow BPer and experienced investors. As my first investment property, do you recommend starting somewhere local that I can visit when needing to? or do you have success stories to start remote with property management as long as the cash flow works out?

Thank you,

[Roy Cleeves]

Quote from @Chris Baxter:

@Eagle Yeh welcome to BP! Invest where the numbers make sense, regardless of where you live. There is no need to live close to your investments, but I do recommend that you visit a market to build a team and to understand the local scene.  @Roy Cleeves is a great resource for KW, and there are many other investors in this Canadian forum that can help with insight on other markets.  

 Thank you @Chris Baxter and hello @Eagle Yeh 

I am happy to help you with choosing a location.  I have properties locally in KW and properties farther away in Nova Scotia and in Florida. 

I do not visit the local ones any more than the ones farther away.  I use property managers for all units. 
cash flow is critical for your first property and you also want appreciation to help you regain funds for your next purchase.  Look for a balance. 

Feel free to connect with me directly anytime and best wishes.