Quote:
Originally Posted by Wookie
See that's where I'm running into confusion, do I need to cover my costs? Obviously to some extent, however, I'm living free and will continue for the short term. What I'm hoping is that in the time I am living for free I can pay down the mortgage a bit faster to make the cash flow work if it doesn't cover the costs (that said, it'd be awesome to have positive or break even NCF).
Any idea what insurance costs are? As well what appeals the most to renters? Close to c-train, schools, downtown? I guess it all factors in.
Oh I know they don't pay the condo fees directly.. Just wondered if you can charge rent - then say "condo fees are $220.00, that covers all your heat, water etc. so I you've gotta write me a cheque for that every month" 
Thanks |
There's different ways of looking at it. You don't need to cover all your costs if you think that the property is going to appreciate enough that, over time, you can sell it and cover any payments you have been making. If you don't think it's going to, then there's no point in investing in a rental. Right now, with a slow sales market and a hot rental market, there's no reason why you wouldn't be able to find a place that at the very least covers your costs. I'm finding a lot of people are trying to sell (dump) properties right now, that they bought in the hopes of renovating and flipping. You could probably find one of those and lowball it, then turn around and rent it.
All the factors you mentioned will make it more appealing to renters.
I don't know the specifics, but I would assume you can't charge extra for condo fees. You would be bundling that into the rental cost, and instead of charging $500/month + $200 in condo fees, you would advertise it for $700/month, including heat and water.