If you’re considering buying a home with the intent to lease it out, your homeseeker journey will be slightly different than others. Rentals come with special considerations you should think about before buying.
Otherwise, you may not end up seeing any return on your investment; or you may even lose money. To help understand what to look for before buying a home you want to rent out, we asked Vincent Lim, PREC at RE/MAX Crest Realty, to explain the details.
“I think there'll be two separate types of investor,” said Lim. “There will be a purely investor and there will be a home buyer with an investment option.”
That is, if you’re buying a property purely with the aim to rent it out, you’ll follow one path. On the other hand, if you are a buyer looking for a place to live but may also rent out your basement suite or laneway home, you’ll be taking a different approach.
There are some commonalities between these journeys, but they require unique considerations as well.
Buying a property with the intent to lease out the entire unit
For the first type of buyer, who is looking for properties with the express intent to have tenants but not live there themselves, Lim usually notes that aiming for a price point of under around $600,000 for a one-bedroom condo unit is a good benchmark. That way, you can charge rents that are in-line with what the market is doing overall.
But it also goes beyond the rent you’ll be charging. According to Lim, aiming for a lower purchase price lets you take advantage of the classic adage, “buy low; sell high.” Because property values tend to increase over time, a smaller initial investment can lead to greater returns later, he explained.
Basically, you are setting yourself up for two income opportunities: collecting rent and a future higher sale price.
New build or established building?
With a price point in mind, the next point to consider is the type of property. Should you go for a new build or pre-sale, or an already constructed, slightly older established building?
The stereotype of most rental investors is someone who buys a pre-sale condo and then rents it out upon completion. But in this market, that may not be the best option, said Lim — especially for beginners.
“I would say it's probably ones that are about three, four or five years old — the ones that have been lived in — that are getting more of the value for investors.”
The situation with pre-sales requires many factors to align to see a good return on investment.
“Pre-sales wise, I would say, it really depends — even though there's an exemption from the government up to $1.1 million for the GST — you’ve got to think developers right now are struggling, because they're also trying to sell future prices, right?” said Lim.
“If you were to buy solely there for investment, your risk is actually going to be quite high because you don't know how much the property value is going to appreciate three, four or five years down the road when it's complete. And when it completes, an influx of units are going to be available in that building; so you're competing with rental too.”
Location still comes out on top
Location, as always, is paramount — this is real estate, after all.
Once you find a suitable place to buy and it’s at a good price point, you should also consider your anticipated monthly mortgage payments versus the rent you will be collecting.
As mentioned above, if you aim for less than $600,000 for a one-bed condo, you’ll end up paying a mortgage of around $2,871 or less per month (with a 20% down payment). If you charge around $3,000 for rent for a one-bedroom apartment, that may work in neighbourhoods like Downtown Vancouver or Point Grey, but it’s a tougher sell in Strathcona or Hastings–Sunrise.
“Each area is very different,” Lim said. “But I would say the rent is increasing if the people are continuing to rent things out. But if there's a ton of vacancy in the area, then obviously the rent has come down a little bit.”
Even a drop to a purchase price of $500,000 brings the monthly payment down to $2,393, allowing a rent of around $2,500, which is much more palatable for one-bedroom apartments in many more neighbourhoods.
Buying a home with a secondary suite
If you plan to live in the home you are buying while renting out a secondary suite, such as a basement or laneway house, your experience will be a little different.
Like most homeseekers, you should consider what matters most to you and your family first: do you like the layout? Is the home located close to schools, amenities and other places that are important to you? The usual questions that come into buying a home.
Where your journey differs begins with the ability to factor in the proposed rents for your secondary suite(s) into your mortgage payment. This could help bring down the cost of your monthly payments. However, as Lim explained, location still matters here.
“It would have to be at the market rent. You're not just fluffing up a number… it has to make sense… it has to be market,” he said. Look at comparable rents around the home you're considering to come up with a reasonable expected rent.
Other than that, your considerations will be more focused on the details. For instance, will you cover your tenants utilities? What is included in the rent? Will you allow pets? These aspects will be highly personal in your case. Take into account the fact you will likely be doing routine maintenance and upkeep on your house to begin with. More crucial than many other factors, then, will be finding the right tenant.
Some additional considerations before you buy a rental property
For property investors buying a condo with the intention of renting it out, read over strata documents and deficiency reports. Consider the strata fees in your overall costs, too. Keep in mind if the unit goes unoccupied for long enough, the B.C. speculation vacancy tax will kick in. You’ll have to declare your property regardless, too. Also, Vancouver’s empty homes tax is a separate tax you’ll need to file separately.
You may want to consider a property management company.
“We have a property manager that I work closely with and he basically handles things in terms of placing the tenant, to interview the tenant,” said Lim.
This removes the burden from you. In fact, “they will give you the option to explain to you what the tenant is [like] and you make a decision whether you want to go with one or not. And then they handle basically any strata situation, any maintenance there,” he added.
“Therefore, you literally don't need to see the tenant or even go back to your place to view it if you don't if you don't want to.”
If you are renting out a secondary suite in a property you plan to live in, a property manager may also be worth the cost. Especially if you live a busy lifestyle or don’t want to bother with handling tenants yourself.
“My advice is if you can get a rental manager, a good, solid, trustworthy rental manager, it is worth every dollar as a landlord,” Lim said.
Whether you decide to invest in rentals or just want to purchase a home with a mortgage helper secondary suite, becoming a landlord requires some forethought and planning. But if you approach it properly and engage the help of a knowledgeable real estate agent, it can be a worthwhile investment.
