An investment opportunity in Oshawa
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Price: $549,000
Neighbourhood: O’Neill—Oshawa
X-Factor: This detached threebedroom home is selling for just $549,000 in Oshawa and could be a great spot for a potential investor in a part of the Greater Toronto Area that currently has a booming rental market.
It’s not too far from Toronto with about an hour drive to the city, has a nearby GO Transit station and is fairly close to downtown Oshawa.
If you’re a first-time buyer, you might be wondering, is this a good deal?
We brought in our expert, real estate agent Othneil Litchmore, to gain a better understanding of why this property costs what it does.
Why is it priced this way: This three-bedroom home, which has been recently equipped with new appliances, is considered relatively cheap considering there aren’t many selling at the price range of under $600,000 in Toronto. It’s estimated to go for $606,768, but Litchmore thinks it could go for even less than the actual price tag of $549,000 as the person making the sale would likely want to get a deal done soon.
It has been on the market since mid-August and before that was purchased less than five months ago. The person selling it is looking to flip it after making some renovations on the place as it sold for $490,000 back in March.
“I would suspect that the owner of this property wants to make a deal sooner than later because it’s an investment,” said Litchmore. “They want to get their money back as soon as they can. You can go in and negotiate because they want to get out of this investment and get their return and profit.”
Litchmore estimates they put at least $15,000 toward renovations, but the quality isn’t there and considering how much they bought it for a couple of months ago, they won’t be getting a good return in the flip at the current price tag.
“This is a flip gone horribly wrong,” said Litchmore. They’re struggling to sell it at $549,000.”
He’s a bit skeptical about the renovations on this place and wonders if potential buyers have gone to visit and seen flaws in the renovations, which could be a reason why it’s still on the market after 30 days.
Litchmore says it’s still a good deal as there are only about 10 homes in the Oshawa area at this current price range of under $600,000 with three bedrooms. It’s also an older home and back in 2003 sold for a mere $113,000.
“This home is meant for somebody that wants to invest. I wouldn’t suggest somebody buy this home as an end-user.”
The property, located at 340 French St., would be for someone that wants to rent the place out to people.
Litchmore says it’ll probably cost a bit over $2,000 a month considered it’s a whole house.
Prospective tenants could be drawn in for the neighbourhood or if they have work or family nearby.
It’s also important to note that this place only comes with one bathroom while most three-bedroom homes have at least two.
Tips to finding a place like this:
Litchmore says Oshawa is a great place for a potential investor as you can get homes for a reasonably cheap price and it has a very strong rental market.
It’s close to impossible to find a three-bedroom home super close to Toronto, but a bit out of the city there are a lot of very good deals.