Guaranteed Rental in Canada
Any of you reading Irish newspapers last Sunday may well have come across a fairly substantial advert (see left) for apartments in Toronto built by Minto, apparently Canada’s ‘#1 developer’ and an ‘award winning builder’. I don’t know of them so I can’t argue.
It’s a sure sign that the Irish economy is on the rise if estate agents are, once again, trying to get us to venture overseas in search of ‘investment’ properties. It seems like only yesterday that Irish property was so cheap that it would have been foolish to go anywhere else for an investment.
I have to nail my colours to the mast right now – I hate guaranteed rental property, always have, always will. If you have to say that the rental is guaranteed then there is something wrong. If you are only guaranteeing it for two years then there is something very wrong.
I do not claim to be an expert in Canadian property in any way, I haven’t been to the lovely country in almost 7 years and haven’t been in Toronto since I was in my 20’s (it’s a fair while ago). What I do know is that Canada is not a cheap place to live, it’s not experienced the economic woes of its nearest neighbour, the US, so prices have kept on rising. As with most high cost economies, taxation is also fairly stifling. At starting prices of €220k (that will be for the smallest unit with the worst orientation) I suspect you’re not getting a bargain and, when that two year ‘guaranteed rental’ runs out you may be in for a bit of a shock.
If you do wish to purchase one of these, and I don’t advise it, just ask them to take the guaranteed rental off the price, they have simply added it on there to begin with and you’ll pay tax on it when you get it back. It just makes no sense.
On the positive side, it’s good to see that agents feel positive enough about the Irish economy to pitch overseas property to them again. Perhaps the days of austerity are, indeed, behind some of us in any case.