Investment property real estate agents in Canada
An investment property real estate agent (often searched for as an “investment property realtor”) helps investors buy and sell rental properties, condos bought to rent, houses with secondary suites, duplexes to fourplexes, and small apartment buildings. The work is different from helping someone buy a home to live in: the questions are about rent, expenses, vacancy, tenancy law and financing, and the agent should be comfortable with all of them.
The agents listed here work with residential investors across Canada. Larger multi-residential and commercial properties are covered on the commercial pages.
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Are you an agent? List here freeBuying rental property in Canada: what to check
Start with whether the property can legally be rented the way you plan. A basement suite may not be a legal secondary unit; a condo’s bylaws may restrict rentals or short-term rentals; municipal rules on short-term rentals vary widely and change often. An illegal suite affects insurance, financing and what you can do with a tenant.
If the property is tenanted, the tenancy usually continues after you buy, on its existing terms. Ask for the leases, the rent ledger and any notices served. Provincial tenancy law decides whether and how rent can be increased and on what grounds a tenancy can end, and it differs a great deal between provinces.
Cap rate and the numbers behind an investment property
The capitalisation rate is a property’s net operating income, rent minus operating expenses, before mortgage payments, divided by its price. It lets you compare properties of different sizes. A higher cap rate means more income per dollar of price, often with more risk or more work attached.
A listing’s figures are the seller’s. Rebuild them yourself: actual rents rather than potential rents, a realistic vacancy allowance, property tax, insurance, utilities the landlord pays, maintenance and a reserve for capital repairs. An agent who works with investors should help you test the numbers, not just repeat them.
How to find investment property
Most investment property is listed on the same systems as any other home; the skill is in filtering and in moving quickly. Investors also find properties through agents who know landlords planning to sell, through estate sales, and through properties that need work the average buyer will not take on.
Financing shapes what you can buy. Lenders treat rental income in different ways, and the treatment decides how much you can borrow; the rental property mortgage brokers on this site can explain the options before you make an offer.
Common questions
What is a good cap rate for a rental property?
There is no single good figure; it depends on the location, property type, condition and interest rates. Compare a property’s cap rate with similar properties in the same market, and check how the figure was calculated before relying on it.
Can I evict a tenant if I buy a rental property?
Only on the grounds and following the process that provincial tenancy law allows. In many provinces a buyer who intends to live in the unit can end a tenancy with proper notice and, in some, compensation; the rules differ widely. Check them before you buy a tenanted property you intend to occupy.
Do I need a different agent for investment property?
Any licensed agent can act for you. An agent who works with investors will be faster at reading rent rolls, spotting illegal suites and estimating expenses, which is worth having when the numbers decide whether the purchase makes sense.
Is a multiplex a residential or commercial purchase?
Up to four units is generally treated as residential for financing and is often handled by residential agents. Larger buildings are usually underwritten as commercial property, on the building’s income, and involve commercial agents and lenders.