Advice on a specific area in Edmonton - Londonderry

[Mitch Collins]

Hi Everyone;

I am looking at purchasing a home (with a basement suite and seperate garage rental) for my wife to live in while she is finishing up her degree at U of A.

We are looking very closely at a fully renovated half duplex with a nice basement suite and seperate garage. It`s located about a block away form the Londonderry mall...I live and invest in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, and while I will be going down to Edmonton shortly to view the property, I was really hoping to hear anyone else`s thoughts on that area.

The property is being offered for $270,000 - but here is the great part. The owners live away in BC, and it has been vacant for nearly a year! They renovated it and did not want tenants to make a mess out of the new reno`s before they sold it...and it didn`t sell nearly as fast as they would have hoped. It`s for sale by owner, and they came to a $270 asking price as they had an appraisal done last Fall for that amount. Over the phone they have stated that they need out badly and are needing to sell ASAP for `much` less than asking price.


Anyone have a good idea about how much prices in Edmonton have come down since last Fall - July `08 to present?


This property looks like it should cash flow approximately $1,000 per month with the garage rented and tenants paying utilities...and it looks in really good shape!

So..anyone with info on Londonderry area and price changes in Edmonton over the past 10 months or so would sure be appreciated!

Thanks in advance;

Mitch

 

[Mitch Collins]

I guess the actual neighbourhood is called York..but it`s two blocks east of Londonderry Mall.


Thanks!

 

[invst4profit]

Wow! You can get rent in the $3000/ month range for the house, apt. and garage. Nice.

 

[housedoc]

QUOTE (invst4profit @ Feb 20 2009, 06:20 AM) Wow! You can get rent in the $3000/ month range for the house, apt. and garage. Nice.

Let`s see if I can ask this as neutrally as possible.
Does that include rent from the wife?

 

[PaulPoulsen]

Hey Mitch;

We own a house in York. It`s a mature neighbourhood with homes from the mid-60`s. There`s also a small pocket of development where newer houses were built about 15 years ago. There`s lots of shopping nearby (Costco, Safeway, Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Londonderry Mall) and the LRT is in relative proximity.

All in all, it`s a very nice neighbourhood. I suspect both you and your wife would really like it.

 

[Mitch Collins]

Thanks Paul;


I will be heading down in a couple of days, was hoping for any insights from people in the area before I got there!

Thanks again

Mitch

 

[Mitch Collins]

Hello Paul;

I`ve done a lot of research in the area for rents, but in your experience, what would a nice 3 bedroom top floor suite rent for? Includes shared washer/dryer, new reno`s (paint, flooring, bathroom), and a large fenced yard.

And also a seperate 1 bedroom basement suite? Also been renovated, nice large kitchen, private entrance and also shared use of washer/dryer in a common area.

There is a nice garage in the back, powered overhead door (Furnace works but I probably wouldn`t offer heat with it), not quite a double garage though...

What do you think is `fair market rent` for these types of units in this specific neighbourhood? I wasn`t able to find comps within 6 blocks unfortunately.


Thanks in advance!

 

[PaulPoulsen]

Well, I don`t currently own any suited properties so I don`t have any first hand experience to draw upon but here`s my uneducated expection as to what I`d be aiming for. I basically would be looking to get condo/apartment rent out of each suite.UPSTAIRS: If it`s nice and has a few extras like a dishwasher, I`d expect it to rent for $1,200 -> $1,350/mth. DOWNSTAIRS: Again, it really depends on the finish. I`d anticipate rent anywhere from $750 to $1,000/mth.
GARAGE: I`ve never rented a garage separately so this is even MORE of a guess than the above. With no heat, I`m gonna say $200/mth. However, you might be hard pressed to get anything for it right now because of the approach of spring (it IS coming, I promise!). I`d assume that a garage is a garage is a garage and there won`t be a huge variation in what a garage in York rents for as opposed to Millwoods or Riverbend. Maybe someone with actually experience renting a garage can speak to the dollar amount that should be expected.

And just as an extra heads-up, it`s my understading that side-by-side duplexes zoned RF3 typically can`t be legally suited in Edmonton. There usually isn`t a problem suiteing a single house zoned RF3 (one building, two suites) but a side-by-side duplex is also zoned RF3 and already has two "suites" (left and right).

From the City of Edmonton`s website concerning RF3:
Secondary Suite means development consisting of a Dwelling located within, and Accessory to, a structure in which the principal use is Single Detached Housing. A Secondary Suite has cooking facilities, food preparation, sleeping and sanitary facilities which are physically separate from those of the principal Dwelling within the structure. A Secondary Suite also has an entrance separate from the entrance to the principal Dwelling, either from a common indoor landing or directly from the side or rear of the structure. This Use Class includes the Development or Conversion of Basement space or above-grade space to a separate Dwelling, or the addition of new floor space for a Secondary Suite to an existing Single Detached Dwelling. This Use Class does not include Duplex Housing, Semi-detached Housing, or Apartment Housing, and does not include Garage Suites, Garden Suites, or Boarding and Lodging Houses.

 

[kanabel]

QUOTE (MitchCollins @ Feb 19 2009, 04:40 PM) Hi Everyone;



The property is being offered for $270,000 - but here is the great part. The owners live away in BC, and it has been vacant for nearly a year! They renovated it and did not want tenants to make a mess out of the new reno`s before they sold it...and it didn`t sell nearly as fast as they would have hoped. It`s for sale by owner, and they came to a $270 asking price as they had an appraisal done last Fall for that amount. Over the phone they have stated that they need out badly and are needing to sell ASAP for `much` less than asking price.


Anyone have a good idea about how much prices in Edmonton have come down since last Fall - July `08 to present?


This property looks like it should cash flow approximately $1,000 per month with the garage rented and tenants paying utilities...and it looks in really good shape!

So..anyone with info on Londonderry area and price changes in Edmonton over the past 10 months or so would sure be appreciated!

Thanks in advance;

Mitch


Hi Mitch,

It looks as you are very well positioned for good cash flow, however I would still do VERY DETAILED analysis of expenses vs. income, unexpected loss, including higher vacancies, as Edmonton is heading to vacancy increase overall.
As for prices, I assume they dropped somewhere 7-10% since last fall, and I would even push for lower.

Good luck!

Dejan

 

[JeffSmith]

MLS overall average residential selling prices since Oct. 08, not including Feb. stats., have remained relatively stable at $317,000-$318,000. for each month in Edmonton.
Jan. 1 08-Dec.31 08 saw an overall average sales price drop of approx. 7%-8% compared to the same time frames of 2007.
CMHC predicts a massive vacancy rate of 3.5% later this year. I think Mr. Poulsen`s rental figures are correct. Could go as high as $250 on the garage if in good shape/secure.