All Forum Posts by: Melissa Vass Scott

Hi Jaycee, 

We don't meet any of the three criteria you had mentioned. As I said earlier, this is strictly for investment purposes.

The property does not have to be turnkey, if there is room for improvement that's of no concern as we both have the skill set to invest in whatever upgrades are required. Always happy to increase appreciation in an investment property

Hey everyone, would value your opinions as we are working towards building a real estate portfolio in the US.  As much as we would love to invest in the warmer States it seems as if the MidWest is the place with the best returns. 

What are your thoughts between Cincinnati vs Columbus Ohio?  We would prefer to jump into the market with a duplex, triplex or quad as our first purchase.  More doors, one roof, easier to maintain. We live in Southwestern Ontario and currently it's a 6 hour drive to Columbus. We are looking to eventually relocate to the States so would like to start building our portfolio in a State that has consistent appreciation with room for rents to increase going forward.  After listening to many podcasts with Henry Washington it seems like the MidWest has the best performance overall.

Would love to find some seller financing as we would like to build our portfolio as quickly as we can.  On a side note, my husband is a contractor and I am a licensed realtor in Ontario.  I've owned long term, short term and commercial (industrial) properties in the past, but never anything out of Province/State.

Thanks so much! This is such a great community and we value all the comments!

Melissa

My biggest advice as an agent and investor is: don't get stuck in "analysis paralysis".  These guys always say buying your first property is the hardest, which I will attest to, it took me two years before I jumped in the ring back in 2005.

Start looking, pick your areas, network with people, I have a list of investors that I am always looking for, if something comes up I immediately contact them with the details to see if it suits.

Don't waste your funds on more courses, there is so much free information out there.

Give @Tyler Stiller a call, he is amazing when it comes to financing investment properties.

Use HouseSigma, it's a great app for your phone that can allow you to look things up quickly.  You won't necessarily have access to all the stats that you need to make an informed decision to purchase however it's great if you are out and driving around and see something.

Best bet is to establish a relationship with a realtor that understands your long term objectives, we can give you everything as we have access to the Ontario MLS database as well as land titles.

If you have a property in the South Western Ontario area now is the time to capitalize on property appreciation to either sell or pull money out and invest in a rental property in another province or purchase an Airbnb property in Ontario. I have had a lot of clients this past year either sell their property or refinance to increase their investment portfolio.  During Covid Airbnb's did very well in the Niagara Region as well as in Lake Erie with solid cap rates.  We have seen a significant interest increase in both these areas and it is still affordable. 

In Hamilton, Kitchener and Waterloo (KW) we are seeing price increases weekly at this point.  It is 100% a Sellers Market, for example from last week to this week we have seen an average sale price increase of:  Hamilton $23,868.00 • Burlington $87,453.00 • Haldimand $87,586.00

CMHC is predicting an overall increase of 10% this year and Bank of Canada (BoC) has held their interest rates as of this last week.  This will incentivize first time home buyers this year which of course continues to drive up prices. 

@Mehdi Motevalibashi You bring up all the issues I have been discussing with clients as well.  To get anything in Hamilton for under 500k now is next to impossible.  We are definitely feeling the effects of the mass exodus of Toronto since Covid.  What I wonder is with all this working from home does that make St. Catharines a real possibility for increased value over the next few years.  They have already seen a jump in property values but will it jump significantly again.

I haven't done a deal in St. Catharines yet either, I like the cost of property there though, lower crime rates as well.  Right now I see more potential in Hamilton for bigger growth, with all the building that is happening plus the waterfront development, that changes things signficantly.

Hey all,

I am curious to hear your thoughts on Hamilton vs St Catharines, or both; cash flow, quality of tenants, overall increased value of the property over the next 5 years.

Where do you see the market heading in these two cities and do you favour one over the other?

Currently located in Hamilton but looking at getting some buy and holds, what is the Windsor market like for single family rentals?  What areas cash flow the best for quality tenants?