Vancouver Island on the ground knowledge

[Adrian Masterskaya]

Hello all,

I am masonry contractor (brick, block, stone, etc) who is moving to Vancouver Island (likely Victoria) in April with my wife. I lived in Vancouver for 15 years previously and know the Island and coastal areas fairly well. 

I'm asking for advice of anyone with experience property investing on Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, Sea to Sky area corridor and/or the Gulf Islands. We love these areas and are wondering what opportunities there are for investing in these areas long term. My intention is to transition from contracting to investing. Some questions I have are;

• is there opportunity for wholesaling? would this be in the older towns (Duncan, Port Alberni, Nanaimo) or somewhere I wouldn't suspect?
• Are pre-sales for apartments offering good returns on Vancouver Island?
• Is there a demand to convert commercial/industrial (mostly masonry) buildings into residential? 
• How do you invest for cashflow successfully in isolated communities (Gold River, Quadra Island for example)?

Any help would be appreciated, thank-you, 

Adrian