Being an Investor-it costs money!

Headlines recently about how it's getting more & more expensive to be a real estate investor.  What's an investor?  A person or company who decides to buy real estate for the purpose of leasing or renting it out.

Rising financing costs place a bigger burden on the owner who will be looking for bigger rents to offset those costs.  Bad news for renters but it's always a question of supply & demand that sets price in the end.  It can only be what the market will bear.

In Vancouver it has always been a challenge to cover operating costs & money was made on the lift when the real estate was sold.  There's more attention now on rising costs as owners have been hit with costs of entry, operating costs (maintenance fees in the case of condos), insurance in the case of single family homes, & in the case of older buiildings, the costs of repairs & replacements.  

So we have rapidly rising costs for most landlords but rent controls with existing tenants which doesn't come close to offsetting them.

When a clients wants to know about investing in real estate, this is the information I share.  Investors must be clear on the short & long term costs & benefits to make a decision that makes sense for them