0If you are looking for an investment that will exploit Greater Victoria’s absurd housing market, look no further than a listing in Esquimalt.
It’s a real goldmine – you just have to find a way to get rid of the tenants.
The listing has been on the market for more than 40 days at 860 Carrie St.
It’s a 16-unit apartment building that is selling for $5,350,000.
The building has been “extensively renovated and completely rebuilt” for resale.
“This highly desirable apartment building is a superb opportunity for an investor to acquire a stable cash-flowing asset with below market financing in the amenity rich township of Esquimalt,” reads the listing, adding that it’s got an “assumable mortgage locked in at 3.2 per cent until 2029.”
But here’s the catch – there is “rental upside” according to the listing, but only after “tenant turnover” as the rents are currently below market.
The listing doesn’t say it, but the implication is that once you find a way to kick out the old tenants, then you can really cash in by hiking the rates.
To be clear, I’m not advocating that landlords do this - I’m simply pointing out what’s happening in the rental market right now.
B.C. has frozen rent increases at two per cent and there are plenty of stories about landlords finding ways to get tenants to leave – like claiming you are moving in family members – so they can raise the rents as much as they like.
This is an unintended consequence of freezing rent hikes at a low amount - it’s happening, in some cases illegally. The other is that many landlords have stopped putting any money into maintenance to offset the loss in rental income.
“Property is held in a bare trust, offering a purchaser the opportunity to save on the property transfer tax,” the listing says about “investment highlights. “Entire building and all suites have undergone significant renovations. On-site parking and in-suite laundry for all tenants.”
Sounds like a nice old building.
If you can afford it.
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Chris Campbell is an editor with Black Press Media in Victoria. You can follow him on Twitter @shinebox44.
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