More Homeowners Turning to Land Lording

Some homeowners across Canada are turning back to a tradition as old as time: land lording. With so many new immigrants coming into Canada and more moving to the major metropolitan areas, the rental market is becoming hotter than real estate. Luxury homes for sale in particular are being converted into short term rentals for people on holiday, in the country on business or just looking for a home of their own. But what can you get by renting out a portion of your home or the whole thing?

Mortgage Interest Write-Off

If you buy a home as an investment property (even a luxury real estate) you can write off the interest. You won’t have to put down 20% because you can take tax deductions on all the extra interest as a business expense come tax time. If you can put down just 5% to buy a property you’ll be able to pay it off within 15 to 20 years while renting it out. If you put down 20% and flip it within six months you might actually end up paying more in interest than you should have to. You’ll want to work with a broker to figure out which would be the right way to do it.

Treating Things Like a Business Pays

It’s important to remember that tenants are tenants, not friends. You can be friendly, but this is your livelihood. They can always move to another home, but you can’t crawl out of bankruptcy so easily. It’s a business – it’s okay to make some mistakes, but you want to make the most out of your arrangement. It can take decades to pay off an expensive duplex if you’re using it as an investment property for rent, so you’ll want to have a real plan of action going in.

Property Management Saves Time

If you’re an owner-landlord, it’s important to have professional help with your investment. They typically charge 5-6% interest collected and deal with the day to day problems. Why work on credit checks and other stuff when someone can do it for you? They’ll do the heavy lifting for a small fee and you won’t have to worry about calls in the middle of the night with stopped up toilets. Only work with property management services that come highly recommended! You don’t want to put the future of your property in the wrong hands.

Renters in Your Home

More and more landlords are creating on premises residences that are completely separate from your main home. You’ll want to work with a real estate lawyer to understand the implications of a basement or mother in law apartment where you live.

Long Term Trends Will be Good

If you want to buy an investment property, there’s no better time than now. Even if you’re just a real estate agent that wants to buy a home in move in condition and flip a profit, you can.

The Goodale Miller Team is the #1 team in Canada for Century 21 8 years running. Specializing in Oakville luxury real estate including Lakefront homes, infill building lots, condominiums and more. Visit http://www.goodalemillerteam.com/ for more information today!