All Forum Posts by: Chris Dittrick

Hey Himanshu, 

I'm also in Calgary. Certainly there are opportunities in Calgary. I agree that it is better to add more than 1 door per property, as the cost of a property here is relatively high relative to rental rates. 

However, since this is your first property, it might be best to get something close to you that you could oversee and most importantly learn from? I'd say the value of the first one is not necessarily the return on investment, but more so the learning and experience that you gain. 

I've got a couple legal suited up/down duplex's here, and have some learnings but the biggest challenge is going to be to get a worthwhile valuation - making the purchase price even more important (if your goal is a successful BRRRR). Regular side by side duplex's will be valued higher. With that said you can still create cash flowing properties with a number of strategies, and given enough time, the financials usually work themselves out. Part of the beauty of real estate.

To answer your 2nd question, my preference is always to rehab properties as it can be tougher to get a good deal on a place that is turnkey. Also, I just like the process, and enjoy creating beautiful places. Maybe not always the cheapest or absolute best ROI, but creating those wonderful spaces is one of my goals in and of itself.

As for Q3 - locations. Similar to most cities I'd say. Stick to places close to transit and universities, or employment hubs. In Calgary, Brentwood, Varsity, Capital Hill would be my choices amongst others. But you can find opportunities in lots of areas too.

Anyway, good luck!

Thanks @Brianne H.! For this one it looks like we might have found a way to structure the whole deal with First Calgary instead. I did talk to Calvert, they were also willing to take a look and were interested. 

Absolutely! The total investment was $90k (after already owning the home, I did the conversion). I did quite a lot myself, and brought it to a higher end level of finish I believe. I think it will help with high quality tenants in the end. With the 90k investment I am hoping that the added value to the property will be somewhere in the $120-170k range, but we will see. I will do a full break down once I get through the Refi!

Thanks Chris! The info on their website looks good. I'll give them a call Monday. Still holding out hope we can get the deal back, but if not definitely want to be ready. May also look to someone like them for my investments going forward. 

Sorry for the delay! It was just a basement, but very little ended up being helpful. Hard to speculate on extra ARV but I would say it is close to the difference between a regular basement and a legal suite. It's hard to value it for anything if it is not legal. I'd personally give it an extra 50-100k depending on finish quality, square footage, etc. I don't have the refi completed yet but expect to so that in the next few weeks. Have it pre approved, just fixing a few things in the upstairs suite before ordering the appraisal.

Hey all, might anyone have recommendations on HML's in Calgary? I just lost the contract on a deal as conventional financing let me down too late in the timeline to be able to recover from. I don't want this to happen again, so have to find new sources of financing.

This one in particular was a personal home for us that we'd reno and refi, but would have enabled me to go from 1 to 3 doors once complete. Sadly we had fallen in love with the property and lost it. Anyway, hoping for some help to be better prepared on the next one! 

Significantly greater effort and expense to do a legal suite almost all around. However, if you do not do a legal suite your ARV will be significantly impacted, not to mention the risk you would place on yourself with potential safety issues. I would always go for a legal suite, it is worth it for both peace of mind and financially in the long run.

NW, Silver Springs. I live upstairs while completing the suite conversion. Planning to move out and rent up and down. Even after refinance, will cash flow easily. Next will repeat with my partner's house which is in the same neighbourhood. I expect it to work just as well. From there we plan to move in together in a new home and all of a sudden be up to 4 rental units together!

I think there is opportunity in Calgary, but it is hard to find a straight forward deal. I like single family homes which you then convert to a legal secondary suite (ie a duplex conversion). If done right, your property will appreciate with the work in enough to make it worthwhile, and the property will cash flow. I'm just finishing my first one up now, just received my legal stickers and in the next few weeks I'll finish up the Rent and Refinance R's. Then straight on to Repeat!

Wondering what BP'ers think of the newly proposed BC Speculation Tax? (for those not in the know, see http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/speculation... for details) Seems that actual details are light and not even solidified yet, however it sure is causing a lot of panic locally, especially for those that own properties to live in on a part-time basis. This makes it very difficult to qualify for an exception as it would be challenging/impossible to rent out as a "long term rental" - which I can't quite tell what is defined as.

Any thoughts on strategies or ideas on how to deal with this, aside from simply selling and getting out? (especially if you're looking to reside in the property part-time) Short term rental by airbnb/vrbo is one possible solution to offset the cost, but you'd be faced with the tax in full and everything involved with property management would apply. 

FYI for an appraised $500k property, you'd be looking at an additional $10k in tax over and above normal property taxes.