Winnipeg Market

[wpgwildcat]

Hello,



First post here. I am a young first time real estate investor. Just want to get thoughts on the Winnipeg market. I am looking for a property which I can live in and rent to reduce the mortgage. Also looking for strategies to protect myself against what will be the inevitable rise of interest rates. Housing in Winnipeg already seems overvalued. Looking for any guidance

or advice.



Davis

 

[Thomas Beyer]

Interest rates will not rise much. Winnipeg has some good upside in certain parts of the city, not as much as Alberta but steady as she goes. Avoid the gang invested lower income north side of the city. How do you know, as a rookie investor, that prices are overvalued ? Compared to what ? 5 years ago ? 10 ? 1880's ? London, UK ? Calgary, AB ? GTA ?



Buy in a decent middle class neighborhood, below market price due to condition of the house, then fix it up while living there and while renting out the lower suite. That will likely produce some decent gain in 5 years. However, before you do that ensure you understand the rules of the rental business, and ensure you know what true value of homes are in that area. That needs some indepth research of the area, very very small (say 3 x 5 blocks max) as you must know if a house for $250,000 with 3 BR facing south on XYZ street is $20,000 too high or $20,000 below market compared to a similar house facing north on XYZ+3 street. You must also know how to quantify problems with a house, say a small bathrooms, or a leaky roof or a moldy basement, and assess its cost to fix and its impact on price.



Eager rookies with little patience and no knowledge will usually get burned, so try to avoid that. Patience, readiness in terms of cash and mortgage, and decent knowledge is the name of the game here to be successful.

 

[wpgwildcat]

Thank you for the guidance, positive support, and reminder to BE PATIENT. I need to re evaluate some of the properties I have been looking at.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

indeed. Also join a real estate incubator and education group like REIN, say attending an ACRE event or two and a long distance online membership.

 

[itchycow]

I would echo Thomas' point on joining REIN as an online member and get out to an ACRE event, either TO or one of the West ones. I'm living in Japan, joined REIN two years ago, invest in Canada (as well as here in Japan) and can't tell you how beneficial REIN has been in term of education and meeting people. In March I had the opportunity to attended my first REIN workshops in Vancouver and Edmonton and an ACRE in Calgary. It was truly an amazing experience on so many fronts!

(Thomas might even give you tips on Business Card logo design!)