KWC vs. Barrie - which is better for starting investors?

[ltam68]

I`m reading various threads where people are living in one strong Ontario town and investing in another. i.e. Living in Barrie/Orillia and investing in KWC or living in Oakville but investing in Orillia. I`ve read the Ontario top 10 towns report but the evidence for selection doesn`t jump out at me. Is there any obvious pros and cons between the two? The one that I can imagine is cost to start; KWC would be more expensive for those starting. Is that correct?

Your thoughts...

 

[housingrental]

KWC is larger - a significant factor if looking for multi-family as minimal inventory is an issue. Huge student population in Waterloo. Possible greater financing and saleability in KWC in the future - possilble only, might not matter - Nothing wrong with Barrie.

 

[invst4profit]

It depends a lot on where you find the best deals.
The vast majority of investors do not even know a top 10 list exists so generally invest where it works best for them.
For myself I would never look beyond my own back door and have always managed very well.
The right numbers make the investment work not the name of the city.

However if you only want to invest money and have nothing to actually do with the physical property itself flip a coin to pick a top ten and find a deal.

 

[JamesB]

I personally like to invest in a top ten town.

I chose to invest in KWC for the following reasons
1. The top of the top ten towns
2. Close enough to Toronto that I could pay a visit if needed. (Havent needed to due to excellent property management)
3. My family lives there so its easy for me to tie a dinner or a visit into a business trip.

At the end of the day, I think it would be smart to weigh in all of "lifes" factors prior to making a final decision.

Cheers,

James

 

[markl]

Both areas have great fundamentals but at the end of the day your going to have to go to these places meet with some possible team members get a feel for the town do your own property gold mine analyzer. I think once you have met with a few prospective team members realtors and property management being probably the 2 biggest local factors you can make a better decision.

 

[JoeRagona]

Hi,

This is very broad question to answer but I will try to answer in a way that has helped my first purchases. I agree with the previous posts (about investing in Top 10 and driving to each to get a feel for them), because I too live in Oakville which is basically in the middle of both within 1 hour driving distance.

I began initially in Barrie because I had fellow REIN members point me to individuals who are now part of my team. At the same time I was more familiar with Barrie than KWC. I invest in REINs suggested TOP 10 Investment Towns for many reasons, but mainly because the data and information steered me away from a MAJOR speculative investment here in Oakville. (Not to say Gregg is wrong investing in your own backyard)

I was originally planning to buy a home for over 800k because the `market was hot` in Oakville and that would have tied my funds up for many years as the house sat there (it was a new build) for over a year trying to rent. In fact, the agent trying to sell it bought it and who knows if it cash flows?

Upon joining REIN and learning the systems and what to look for, their information and research helped me get started and forced me to dig deeper into an investment town that filled what I was looking to do.

I now invest in both of those key areas while learning every day about the KWC region to be as knowledgeable as possible. I have built a secondary strong team there who have been the most supportive foundation for investment into a new area. My first property there has already increased by over 20k in market value in less than 12 months.

I think it really comes down to knowing what type of property you want to invest in, what your tenant profile is, what your 5 year plan is and ultimately like the others have suggested, which town fits that system?

I can personally tell you that both of those towns will cash-flow if you know what to look for.

If you need any other help, please feel free to contact me.

 

[ltam68]

QUOTE (JDRInvestments @ Oct 17 2009, 11:06 AM) Hi,

This is very broad question to answer but I will try to answer in a way that has helped my first purchases. I agree with the previous posts (about investing in Top 10 and driving to each to get a feel for them), because I too live in Oakville which is basically in the middle of both within 1 hour driving distance.

I began initially in Barrie because I had fellow REIN members point me to individuals who are now part of my team. At the same time I was more familiar with Barrie than KWC. I invest in REINs suggested TOP 10 Investment Towns for many reasons, but mainly because the data and information steered me away from a MAJOR speculative investment here in Oakville. (Not to say Gregg is wrong investing in your own backyard)

I was originally planning to buy a home for over 800k because the `market was hot` in Oakville and that would have tied my funds up for many years as the house sat there (it was a new build) for over a year trying to rent. In fact, the agent trying to sell it bought it and who knows if it cash flows?

Upon joining REIN and learning the systems and what to look for, their information and research helped me get started and forced me to dig deeper into an investment town that filled what I was looking to do.

I now invest in both of those key areas while learning every day about the KWC region to be as knowledgeable as possible. I have built a secondary strong team there who have been the most supportive foundation for investment into a new area. My first property there has already increased by over 20k in market value in less than 12 months.

I think it really comes down to knowing what type of property you want to invest in, what your tenant profile is, what your 5 year plan is and ultimately like the others have suggested, which town fits that system?

I can personally tell you that both of those towns will cash-flow if you know what to look for.

If you need any other help, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks Joey. I`ll be visiting Barrie in the next couple of weeks and contact you after that.

Thanks again.

 

[ltam68]

Thanks to everyone for offering your insight.