The smaller counties have better margins, but less demand so the risk and vacancy is going to be higher.

Luckily I do put back 15% of gross from every property for expenses/ vacancies, so it’s not a big deal for us.

But some general rules of thumb I look for: it needs to cash flow when accounting for PITI, repairs, maintenance and vacancy reserves, AND a standard management fee, typically around 8-10% cash on cash not including potential appreciation. 

If you sell today, you will have to find a new place, and with the low vacancy rate in Ottawa, you would be hard-pressed to find cheap rent.

If you find that the apartments have a low vacancy, that is a good sign.

Have you run the numbers on the duplex to make sure that they'll cash flow after paying the mortage, expenses, vacancy, capex, etc?

If there is a vacancy in 1 or 2 of the units in a given month, I can still cover the mortgage and expenses with the rents from the other two units.

But I do like the idea of buying something to rent out, basic idea would be to get a condo that total out of pocket is like 30% of what I have in the bank, including down payment/rehab/vacancy etc.

Vacancy of 5% is 1 month out of 20 months.

Look for places with low vacancy rates.