Investor Guide
How to start investing in Ontario real estate
Here is what we actually tell new investors when they sit down with us. No theory, no buzzwords. Just the moves that have worked for our clients across Hamilton, Burlington, and Niagara.
1. Get clear on why you're doing this
Are you after long-term wealth, monthly cash flow, or a home that pays for itself? Your answer picks your strategy. For most first-time investors in Ontario, the smartest move is a property you live in and rent part of. We call that house hacking.
2. House hacking in Hamilton
Hamilton is the most house-hack-friendly city in the GTHA. Buy a duplex or a home with a legal basement unit, live in one side, rent the other. The rent covers most of your mortgage while you build equity in the background.
You can do it with 5% down on owner-occupied financing up to $500K. In a lot of Hamilton neighbourhoods there is also a clear path to convert a single-family home into a legal duplex later. It is the cheapest way to get your first investment property.
3. Duplex and small multifamily conversions
A regular single-family home in the right zoning can often be turned into two or three legal units. When that is done well, the new rent supports a much bigger mortgage than the place started with, and the property gets valued on its income, not just the house next door.
4. Run the numbers properly
A real underwrite includes property taxes, insurance, a vacancy allowance, money set aside for repairs, property management (even if you plan to manage it yourself), and honest rent assumptions. If a deal only works on paper with zero buffer, it does not actually work.
5. Work with someone who has done it
The fastest way to lose money in Ontario real estate is to buy the wrong property with a friendly agent. We have owned, renovated, and managed these properties ourselves, so we know which deals to chase and which ones to walk away from.
Sandy and the Found Spaces team have closed hundreds of investment transactions across Hamilton and the surrounding markets, manage rental units through Found Spaces Property Management, and have coached thousands of investors through the podcast. When you sit down with us, you are sitting down with operators, not just agents.