Owning a home also gives you stability (ie your landlord can't decide to sell your home), flexibility to do what you want to with the home and the money you are paying is paying down your mortgage, not your landlord's.One other question is do you plan on moving anytime soon? 

Will gladly work with her again if I have anything where a Realtor adds value - she's local, knows the properties and the people involved.

However, longer-term bonds (1-5+ years) are subject to interest rate volatility:If rates rise, bond values drop, potentially leading to negative net returns.If rates fall, bonds appreciate, but gains are capped by their fixed coupon rates.While Treasuries provide stability, they offer limited upside and carry hidden risks for medium- to long-term maturities.Why Real Estate Is a Stronger Option in Today’s MarketMultifamily real estate, particularly value-add properties, presents an asymmetric risk-reward profile that Treasuries simply cannot match.

Prioritize your financial stability.

If this is your first real estate purchase I would stay away from auctions, there's too much risk involved especially with where price points are in your market.

To be clear, the potential guest involved wanted to walk through the rental prior to booking it. 

That was when the market was stabilized, rates were sub 4.5% and distressed properties actually sold for a significant discount.Today, distressed properties sell for a premium and cash out refi rates are over 8%. 

Add to that there is currently a ban on foreign buyers in Canada (only a few exceptions and as far as I know they all involve living here).Capital gains taxes apparently used to be higher (before my time). 

@Apryl Skahill To get your risk-averse spouse on board with real estate investing, start by educating him with beginner-friendly resources that highlight the long-term stability, cash flow potential, and tax benefits of real estate, such as depreciation deductions and offsetting W-2 income.

You can also not include those extra spaces, and then you simply have some association spaces that are excluded from calculating the percentage.In my admittedly limited involvement with the leasing exhibits etc, my experience has been that again it depends.