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Buy anywhere to build equity. Rent where you want to live. The new Vancouver strategy

January 19th, 2016 · 14 Comments

I started hearing this kind of story that last few months almost, it seemed, every time I went out of the house. People who told me they were renting out the condo they purchased years ago, but had moved on to renting a larger house somewhere. My son-in-law was urged by a friend to buy in Squamish while just continuing to rent in West Van. (He chose not to.)

I tracked down some people doing this, one more strategy that people are using to try to get a foothold in the Vancouver market. It depends, of course, on two things: You can get reasonable rent for the condo that has now become your investment. And you’ve got some kind of favourable renting situation yourself. Everyone I talked to for this story had one thing in common: I’ve got an amazing deal where I’m renting. Apparently they still exist here.

My Globe feature on this is here. After this came out, more than one reader told me they have friends and colleagues doing this. It’s definitely a thing.

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