Here's a personal example.
I bought a single family house with 3 bedrooms and 2 bedroom basement suite with fenced back yard and double garage in Millwoods' Daly Grove neighbourhood in April 2010. On a quiet residential street but easy access to Anthony Henday and Millwoods Centre.
My realtor found it searching MLS for two suited houses under $350,000. I looked around the neighbourhood and on Google Maps. I saw a big park one block away, schools nearby, community centre nearby and a major traffic artery one or two blocks away. House and location perfect for families.
I thought about the tight economy, how I'd read families or groups of friends were sharing two suites in houses. This house was perfect for two families.
I looked online at sites like rentedmonton.com to see how many of such properties were listed and what rents were. I found rents for main three bed suites and basement two bed suites in houses but few, if any, houses for two families. An opportunity. You also could phone a few property managers to ask about rentability of the kind of house and area and you're considering.
My property manager advertised my Daly Grove house for two families mid April and two families moved in May 1.
I didn't do all the REIN analysis I should have and I haven't specialized in that area, although I owned a fourplex in Millwoods some years ago, but this two family house has generally worked out well. Analysis with some common sense work best for me. I do a lot of number crunching and ask lots of questions too.
Hope this helps,
Margaret
Mama Margaret & Friends Cooking Adventures in Italy
www.italycookingschools.com