Short answer: Before you offer on a flip or a rental in Calgary, know four things: what it rents for in that community, whether a legal suite fits, what it sells for once renovated, and what the land alone is worth. The last one is your floor if the plan changes.
1. What it rents for
Use live rental listings in the same community, filtered to the same size and type. A citywide average hides a lot: a three-bedroom upper in one community can rent for hundreds more than the same unit a few kilometres away.
2. Whether a legal suite fits
Lot size, zoning and the City's suite registry together tell you whether the home can take a legal suite, and whether it already has one on record. A suite changes a rental's numbers more than almost any renovation. More on suite potential.
3. What it sells for after the work
For a flip, the number that matters is the resale price once renovated. I look at recent sales of renovated homes in the same community and check them against their City assessments, so one unusual sale doesn't set your target.
4. What the land alone is worth
Older homes on good lots carry a land value of their own. If the renovation runs over or the market turns, that's roughly where you land, and on some lots it's a better exit than the flip. How I value land.
Sources: Method notes. Rent figures come from live listings at the time of each analysis; sales and assessments from the MLS® System and City of Calgary open data.
Investment property is my other specialty, mostly flips and rentals. Tell me what you're looking for and I'll run the numbers with you. Have a property you're weighing up?
Send Me Your Buy Box