Real E$tate Investor$: A Que$tion

[FuZzYknUckLeS]

What would you say are the pros and cons of buying more than one unit in the same building? I feel there are 2 ways to look at it:
one - don't put all your eggs in one basket, and
two - definitely worth it for the convenience, and, if you know the building well, and are confident, it is a sound way to invest.
Thoughts?

 

[sdw]

What would you say are the pros and cons of buying more than one unit in the same building? I feel there are 2 ways to look at it:
one - don't put all your eggs in one basket, and
two - definitely worth it for the convenience, and, if you know the building well, and are confident, it is a sound way to invest.
Thoughts?

If it's a condo building you can't own too many suites. The last thing you want in a condo that you intend to rent is a strata council that puts in a bylaw that prevents or limits the number of rentals. The number of suites that you and other investors own governs how many votes you have at a bylaw approval meeting.

If you are buying to repair/upgrade and then resell, exactly the opposite applies. People don't like to buy into a building that allows a lot of rentals because of the problems that tenants cause and the notorious cheapness of investor owners. It's hard to get the approval to spend funds to keep the building looking good if there are a lot of rentals in the building.

 

[Lady Companion]

Are you looking to reassign or to complete/have tenants?

If you decide you want to keep the condos long term and deal with tenants, then I would suggest having all your units in one building. It will give you more pull on Strata (and you should be able to be grandfathered in even if it turns into a low precentage rental building).....which is actually what you want if you are holding long term. Tenants are a pain in the ass, and I woud definately try to minimize the drama by having them all in one building.

If you are looking to buy and reassign, there isn't a lot of drama in holding properties in multiple buildings if hedging your bets makes you feel better. There may be a few hours of extra work entailed, but nothing substancial.

There still are some benefits to purchasing in the same building, even if you are looking to reassign them.

-Often you will get a slightly better price for buying multiple units in one building.

- Many real estate agents will also give you you a slightly better price for listing reassgingments in the same building.

- Most notibly, property developers keep preferred client lists. The more properties you puchase over time from one developer, the higher you rise on the list. This gives you first dibs on future developments (usually at a reduced rate) prior to the public being able to purchase in the development. In good buildings, the best suites are already snapped up before phase one sales become public.

 

[sdw]

If you decide you want to keep the condos long term and deal with tenants, then I would suggest having all your units in one building. It will give you more pull on Strata (and you should be able to be grandfathered in even if it turns into a low precentage rental building).....which is actually what you want if you are holding long term. Tenants are a pain in the ass, and I woud definately try to minimize the drama by having them all in one building.

If you are looking to buy and reassign, there isn't a lot of drama in holding properties in multiple buildings if hedging your bets makes you feel better. There may be a few hours of extra work entailed, but nothing substancial.

There still are some benefits to purchasing in the same building, even if you are looking to reassign them.

-Often you will get a slightly better price for buying multiple units in one building.

- Many real estate agents will also give you you a slightly better price for listing reassgingments in the same building.

- Most notibly, property developers keep preferred client lists. The more properties you puchase over time from one developer, the higher you rise on the list. This gives you first dibs on future developments (usually at a reduced rate) prior to the public being able to purchase in the development. In good buildings, the best suites are already snapped up before phase one sales become public.

There are some developers that you don't want to deal with a first time, never mind a second time. That's why I posted the thread on the Coquitlam Townhouses where the developer canceled the pre sale contracts and put them back on the market. There are also developers who have built more leaky buildings than others, despite building fewer buildings. If I have the money available I'm usually game to look at pre market sales in a Bosa or Adera building, others I pass on until I've seen substantial completion. I realize that Bosa had a leaky building an the NWest Key, but they were good about fixing the problem. Adera also responded well with their leaky building.

 

[littlejimbigher]

but the down side is that you definately don't want a leaky condo situation.

Wouldn't that be a disaster. Two or three units and the place turns out to be leaky.