All Forum Posts by: Nigel Liao

Hi @Roy Cleeves,

Where do you put your dollars? Halifax? I see that rents are quite similar to Kitchener-Waterloo (where I was living for about 7 years!). Prices are much better. I might have definitely considered investing there if I had known about it some time ago.

Are you seeing any properties meeting the 1% rule? I saw a listing for a 7 bed (both sides of a semi) going for about $400K. I think that should fetch close to about $4K in monthly rents. But they're being rented at $1000 per side which I think is quite a bit below market, which can be a tricky conversation especially with recently enacted rent controls.

Thanks for all your valuable insights! Happy for others to continue discussing.

@Steve De Jaham  @Jeremy Heaman  Yeah I think the reason why AB is more affordable is because the historical appreciation hasn't been much! I'm not sure if it's a good indicator of what's to expect in the future though. I think future house prices (or rent prices) are more of a function of population growth, economic growth, money printing and available housing (or rental) supply vs demand.

With new builds having ever-increasing prices it would also make sense in the medium-term for prices to correct. I think the gap between new construction and the resale market would have to get closer. If prices of new builds can't decrease due to increasing input costs, that forces resale prices upwards, otherwise eventually there will be a supply issue.

What places in AB would you recommend (or that you're considering)? As an out-of-province investor, I might want to start with major cities since they have a lower risk (i.e. larger population --> easier to find tenants, easier to find property managers & contractors etc). I personally don't invest in any cities or towns that have a population <10,000 since I find them pretty illiquid (i.e. hard to sell etc).

With regards to ADUs being difficult to be permitted, I think that's definitely going to have an upward pressure on housing and rental prices. The cities with the most relaxed building guidelines would generally have more affordable rents. That being said I'm highly supportive on affordable housing through the permitting of more units for supply to meet demand, rather than through artificial rent controls.

Hi all,

I'm a Canadian rental property investor based in Ontario. As we know, over the past few years prices have gotten pretty high leading to very low cash flow. Ontario is also one of the most tenant-friendly provinces from their Residential Tenancies Act - it can easily take over a year to evict tenants for whatever reason. Rent controls have also led to a large disparity of prices between highly desired vacant properties versus those that are under-rented.

I know there's several parts of Ontario with more affordable prices, but they are all at least a few hours' drive away from GTA. If I'm using a property manager remotely anyway, I might as well also look at other parts of Canada. As far as my research goes, many other provinces have much more balanced regulations for landlords vs tenants, as well as very affordable prices.

For any Canadian investors (whether in or outside Ontario), what is your experience in investing in other provinces? Are there any areas that you would recommend? I've been looking at AB, SK and NB. Halifax NS also has "affordable" prices (compared to GTA) but I've found recently enacted regulations to be much more tenant-friendly.

I would love to connect and hear your thoughts and experiences! Cheers!

I'm looking to purchase some multifamily buildings in Ontario, preferably looking at around 10 units or so.

I'm analyzing some potential deals and there are some well-priced properties, but the downside is that they are severely under-rented (for example, they're around $750 average, compared to market rents of ~$1,300).

Anyone who is familiar with Ontario knows the regulations are heavily skewed towards tenants, with tough eviction processes and rent controls. That being said, the numbers still work for me, i.e. cash flow will conservatively break-even as is, and with great upside assuming I'm able to just turn over a couple of units.

I'm looking for an experienced property manager or partner who specializes in tenant negotiations (or an experienced investor/realtor/lawyer) who can help me out, or refer me to one. My end goal is simple - to get all units to market rent as soon as possible, whether it's getting the current tenants to terminate and immediately re-sign a new lease (if that's legal), or through turnover to new tenants. Rent controls are in place so it is impossible to do large increases naturally. To clarify, I am pretty familiar with the Ontario RTA, but I'm looking for someone that can execute this for me.

I want to do this in a win-win manner for everyone. As such, I don't mind doing cash-for-keys and/or considering any other solutions possible. Perhaps simply negotiating with them might work. Tenants are friendly and cooperative, but I don't know what will happen if they're approached with more aggressive tactics like renovictions etc (i.e. tenants have a Right of First Refusal, and also I have no idea how knowledgeable they are).

With the right negotiator, I'm willing to split profits for each unit that's turned over to market rents. I'm aiming to sell or refinance the property in 1-2 years with the higher realized NOI, and that's when the profits will be realized. Or I can pay $X immediately per unit turned over. I'm also happy to sign a property management or JV contract if needed.

Please reply here or DM me if you're interested to work with me. Please kindly note - I'm looking for EXPERIENCED people only. For a more specific location, I'm looking at around the Niagara region in Ontario (e.g. St Catherines, Niagara Falls, Thorold, Welland etc).

Thank you

@Tyler Stiller @Dan Weber

Thanks Tyler and Dan!

Yes I thought the final loan after renovations would probably be classified as residential but just wanted to make sure...

The current zoning does allow for commercial to residential conversions, but the commercial storefront/façade needs to stay. There's no "minimum" requirement for the size of that though. Do lenders have a threshold for that? Say, floor area-wise we're maybe looking at 97% residential and 3% commercial (which of course isn't usable for commercial purposes).

I do have adequate cash for the purchase and it is now a firm deal, so fortunately initial financing (which would definitely fall under commercial) isn't a problem. I plan to refinance after getting all necessary permits from the city, and the residential leases signed. This would essentially be a BRRRR.

Thanks again!

Hi everyone,

I would like to seek some advice / expert opinion here. I'm looking to purchase a mixed-use property in Ontario, which is currently zoned General Commercial (this permits a commercial storefront with residential units behind or above).

Currently it's a residential duplex, with an attached hair salon. My plan, after consulting for renovation expenses and rents, is to convert the hair salon into another unit, thus making this a 3-unit residential. I plan to refinance this after I find tenants and get the 3 leases in place.

My question is regarding the financing of this property. Would I qualify for a residential loan (i.e. 1-4 residential units), or would it be commercial (i.e. if the lender only looks at the zoning info). Or would this vary based on the lender? I'm really leaning towards residential financing due to more favourable rates and a higher maximum LTV of 80%.

As you can see, for all intents and purposes, it would be used as a residential triplex. The bylaws require that I keep the original storefront (around 50 sqft of it), but it wouldn't really fit any commercial use.

An alternative that I know is to get it fully re-zoned, which would permit me to remodel 100% of the square footage to residential. But given the permit fees and time needed for such an application, I'm unwilling to go down that route.

Thanks so much

Hi all,

I'm currently considering a real estate deal: It is a piece of vacant land in an up and coming area for around 10,000 sqft. The land is valued at around $100k, and is zoned residential. I have clarified with the city could split the land into two equal sized lots, of which it is possible to build a fourplex on each lot. Other uses e.g. commercial/mixed-use is possible (subject to application and approval).

Given the possibilities and the appreciation that I foresee, I think it would be a good opportunity to purchase the land. However I only have limited capital right now to finance the land purchase, and not the development costs. I also have no prior experience in building developments etc, besides just reading a ton of information online.

Thus, I'm hoping to get some advice on the best way to proceed, given that some people that I talked to have differing opinions. 

• Given my limited experience, is it best to seek partnership with an experienced developer to proceed? Is it possible that I bring forward the deal (the land, the zoning application/approval etc), and the developer supplies the building costs and completes the construction? If so, how can such a deal be structured? I am flexible and open to suggestions.
• Should I supply capital? I do not have spare cash lying around but might be able to be approved for a construction loan. How do the profit splits differ, assuming I now provide part or all of the building capital? Given the holding costs from interest rates etc, is it typically worth it that I do that?
• Typically, would developers want to instantly sell the property after construction is completed, or are they open to holding on for a couple of years? The cash flow would be pretty decent and appreciation is quite solid.

A new fourplex in the city would cost around $400k depending on finishes; however the appreciation has been very strong and prices have risen by ~15% annually for the past 3 years and is foreseen to rise for the next few years (though by a bit less). Current rents are around $1k per unit where tenants pay their utilities.

I very much appreciate your time and feedback. Thanks!