Wheww! This is the last post in this series and I am very excited to share this story with you. Negin bought her condo in downtown Vancouver earlier on in the year when she came into an inheritance. She rented out this condo because at her current salary, it made more sense to rent it out and get a house mate than to pay the mortgage on her property. A week before her tenant moved in, her apartment got flooded. Negin shares all the tea from things she wishes she knew and tips for people who might want to get rental properties.
When did you buy your place?
I got my place in Feb 2022.
How long did it take you save for the downpayment?
I lost someone close to me and came into an inheritance.
How much did you put down?
Since this was a rental, I had to put down more than the 5% required. I put down over 35%.
Where did you buy your place and what kind of place did you buy?
I bought a one bedroom condo in Yaletown, Vancouver.
What made you decide you wanted to buy a house?
I didn’t want to have my inheritance in my bank account because I was worried I was going to spend it or it would lose its value due to inflation.
I also didn’t want to put it in stocks because that’s too volatile at the moment especially for the amount that I would have put down.
Did you buy your home alone?
Yes, I did.
Do you live in your apartment?
No, this is a rental.
Why did you get a rental?
At my current salary, it was more sensible to have a housemate than to live in my apartment and pay the mortgage. The difference between living alone in my own unit and renting with my house mate is about $800 so I decided to rent it out instead.
Do you have any tips and tricks for people who might want to get investment properties?
- First of all, wait till 2023. Interest rates will rise but I think it will be better next year.
- Get pre approved for a mortgage before your buy.
- Leave a percentage towards closing costs, maybe about 5 to 10%.
- Save some money for some renovations.
- If you can, don’t get an older building, those come with more problems maintenance wise.
- If you are getting an apartment, read six months of the strata meeting because they might be doing a special levy. (A special levy is money collected from strata owners for shared expenses or specific purposes)
- If you are renting out, keep in mind the taxes you will have to pay. In addition to that, you don’t get first time home buyers benefit. Don’t do turbo tax in the year you buy your property, go see a professional accountant.
- I suggest you don’t go through an agency to help you rent your apartment if you live in Vancouver. I put up my apartment on rental.ca and I manage my apartment myself.
- Get insurance even if you have a tenant, I can’t stress this enough. My place got flooded before my tenant moved in and we had to change the flooring which took a week to replace. I got my flooring replaced, my tenant compensated and I only paid $500 because I had really great insurance coverage.
- If you go through your friends, be very clear about how things are going and make sure you can easily leave if it isn’t working for you. I.e if your friend is your mortgage broker, lawyer, realtor or insurance broker.
Any Horror Stories?
My apartment got flooded so that’s one. I had to deal with all of that, lol. I think opening the news and seeing the dropping cost of real estate bothers me a bit. Sometimes, I kinda wish I waited a bit but I think I got my apartment at a good price.
That’s it for this post. I hope you have enjoyed the series. I know I have and have enjoyed sharing the first time home buyers stories and have learnt a lot. If you missed any of the posts or maybe you are new here, you can check out Ani’s story where he spoke on getting a property with a friend; Or Veronica who bought a home mid pandemic in 2020 with her husband. There’s also Debbie, who bought her property as a way to diversify her portfolio; S&G took advantage of a government grant in their city catered to first time home buyers and Ada shared all about getting a pre construction and her biggest fear as she waits for her apartment to be completed.
Talk Soon,
AwahShasha 