Hamilton Income Property Advice

[rahimdream]

Hi, I am considering purchasing a triplex in Hamilton. It is south of Main, just below the mountain, but not in the mountain.

Wanted to get some feedback as to any other owners in Hamilton and their do`s and don`ts.

Also considering a student rental in the Mountain, down street from McMaster, however I am not sure if I would be able to rent on a 12 month lease or whether 8 months is th standard. Any student landlords out there I could really use your advice.

Thanks

Ray Wallani
Swiftsale.ca
416 410 7464

 

[brad]

Hi Ray.

I have a duplex in Hamilton that is South of Main. Being south of Main St. is a must when talking about downtown. The further north you go, the rougher it gets. The key is screening your tenants. You have to be patient and not compromise on who you ALLOW to live in YOUR property. Downtown Hamilton can be tough, but there is money to be made as the right multi family home can cash flow quite nicely. Let me know if I can help out in any way.

Brad Hamilton

 

[BobHudson]

Brad`s advice is spot on - south of Main is important and so is east of Sherman. If you are looking for other properties in that area, I have a fully tenanted 4 plex for sale.

As for student rentals, always go for the 12 month leases, with parents` signatures.

 

[rahimdream]

Thank you very much for the information, I really appreciate it.

 

[LukasWywrot]

For those who know the Hamilton Student market.
What do you look for??
Where is the best are (East of mac, West of Mac or south of mac???)
Where do you see the price of houses heading in the next four years in terms of student housing??

I don`t know too much about Hamilton and want to hear any thoughts.

 

[holymoly]

QUOTE (BobHudson @ Mar 9 2008, 05:09 PM) Brad`s advice is spot on - south of Main is important and so is east of Sherman.
Bob (and others) what do you think of the Corktown area for single family homes? (South of Main but not east of Sherman -- between James and Wellington.) My understanding is that it has been changing for the better... I think it has a lot of potential.

 

[holymoly]

QUOTE (wywrot @ May 22 2008, 12:47 AM) For those who know the Hamilton Student market.
What do you look for??
Where is the best are (East of mac, West of Mac or south of mac???)
Where do you see the price of houses heading in the next four years in terms of student housing??

I don`t know too much about Hamilton and want to hear any thoughts.

I don`t know much about the areas around Mac, and don`t have any experience with renting to students, but I can tell you what I`ve been told about housing Mac students in general.

I went to Mac`s off-campus housing office to ask them about where students rent and the student housing market in general. According to the person I spoke to, there`s an oversupply of student houses in Westdale now -- many homes were snapped up for potential student rentals in anticipation of the double cohort a few years ago, but the numbers of students coming through didn`t end up as high as anticipated. (I`d be interested to hear if this aligns with the experience of members who invested in the area.)

Another thing I was told is that in general it`s hard to get Mac students to live east of the 403 -- that they`ve had a bit of success getting Masters students to move further away from campus but that the younger students stick close to the school.

I also spoke to a number of students on the campus. I showed a map and pointed out the area I was looking to buy in. I asked them if they would consider living in that area and if they thought students lived in the area. Everyone I spoke with said they and their friends live near the campus. (I haven`t been looking around Mac because it`s out of my price range, but at least now I know that I shouldn`t count on filling a downtown house with students.)

I was also given a friendly reminder that, these days, students are usually quite young when they begin university, and may not have a lot of basic day-to-day life skills; so landlords can find themselves in a bit of a den mother position -- explaining how to change lightbulbs, pay for utilities, stuff like that. (Again, I wonder if you guys have had this experience.)