I’m 101 days into comparing a 1,020 sq ft retail unit with similarly priced student housing in Montreal. I’ve asked for the full statement rather than relying on another verbal estimate. The retail option looks easier to maintain, while the housing may offer more control but larger irregular bills. I’m already modelling vacancy, insurance, energy use and resale liquidity. What should I examine for shared-building reserves, tenant turnover and management workload, and which costs tend to become visible only after the first year?
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Montreal: choosing between a 1,020 sq ft retail unit and student housing after 101 days of comparison
- Thread starter small_quill
- Start date
rhea.north
Homeowner
The retail unit may require less day-to-day attention, but a single vacancy could leave all the income gone while you wait for a suitable business tenant. Student housing spreads tenant demand differently, though turnover, cleaning, minor damage and frequent communication can consume time. I’d compare actual historical energy and insurance figures, not estimates, and separate recurring expenses from delayed building work.
rhea.north
Homeowner
One missing detail: is the student housing a whole property or a unit in a shared building? Also, is the retail space itself in a divided-ownership building? Those answers change how much control you really have. Reserve contributions can make maintenance look predictable, but they do not necessarily remove the risk of an unusually large assessment.
DailyMeter
Landlord
I’d push back slightly on the idea that retail is inherently simpler. The physical wear may be lower, but leasing and resale can depend on a narrower pool of occupants and buyers. Student demand may be broader, yet management intensity can rise sharply if leases and move-outs cluster together. Before choosing, request comparable statements for both properties, details of planned building work, current insurance terms, past vacancies, included utilities and the responsibilities allocated to owner versus tenant. Montreal-specific lease and tax implications should be confirmed locally rather than assumed to be the same for both types.
That distinction helps. I was treating “control” too broadly when the shared-building documents may limit it in either case. I’ll wait for the full statement, then put both options into the same cash-flow table with separate lines for total vacancy, turnover costs, reserve contributions, possible irregular building charges and management time. If the seller cannot support the verbal estimates with records, I’ll model the higher-cost case rather than the optimistic one.