5 Successful PEI Real Estate Investment Strategies

1. The Local Market - Great Buys on Rentals Summerside, the second largest city on PEI, offers some really great PEI real estate investment opportunities. These can be broken down into single family and multi- family units. There are single family units available in all price ranges but perhaps the under $100,000 range offers some of the best opportunities for a profit without a high risk or the need for a lot of capital. Many of the homes that you will be looking at in this category are located on the west side of the city and are situated near the waterfront and the boardwalk as well as being ideally situated to shopping and recreation. In short they are located in an area that is desirable but currently underpriced. This, combined with a healthy need for rental units means that these properties will earn the shrewd investor a return on investment while providing income right now.

2. Tourist Accomodations There are many tourist operations available on the market throughout the island that would interest the investor, but perhaps none so much as the tourist accommodations. These range from family homes that have an extra bedroom/bathroom to larger homes both in Summerside and the surrounding country with up to a half dozen bedroom/bathroom combinations. Recently a 24 room "mini-hotel" was sold well under its asking price of around five hundred thousand. If you are feeling up to the challenge there are many older heritage homes in Summerside and larger country homes also that could be renovated to create really amazing bed and breakfast operations. This would be an ideal scenario for the buyer with a construction background. Remember that your bed and breakfast must pass inspection with the provincial government and you will also want to adhere to standards that will get it well rated by services such as Canada Select.

3. Waterfront development There are still large tracts of land available for development in the province that offer the investor a chance to make considerable money. Waterfront land is in scarce supply and to find the type of land available here on PEI in other provinces or on the eastern US seaboard represents a huge investment. This is your chance to purchase and develop a waterside subdivision. There are basic rules that must be adhered to, but zoning is less strict than in many other places. Local developers have been working on cottage lot subdivisions for quite a while but in many cases they are simply surveying and then hoping people will buy before roads and services are put in. If you have the financing and vision to put the plan in place before people buy you will have a property that will be in demand.

4. Summer Homes for Fun & Profit Summer Homes and Cottages provide a great holiday for you and your family now, income from renting to other vacationers to help offset the mortgage costs, and of course a great vehicle for equity building. You can purchase anything from a small cottage to a large home and use this property for your own vacation. When not using the property the home can be rented out by the week. There are property managers available on PEI that will help non-resident property owners, including finding guests, maintaining the property, cleaning between guests, and checking on the property in winter. These types of waterfront properties make excellent long-term investments. If buying in a cottage lot subdivision make sure that the covenants allow the use that you intent to put the home to and be aware that to buy waterfront, if you are a non-resident, requires IRAC approval. Make sure that your realtor puts "subject to IRAC approval" in your offer.

5. Living your Business The final idea for investment in PEI real estate is a little more specialized in that if you have a skill, craft or art that you can market here on the island, these are very much in demand and it makes more sense if you can market them directly yourself rather than paying stores to carry your items. There are PEI properties that afford you retail space on the ground floor and living quarters above. What makes these properties different from live/work situations elsewhere is that these can be found in the country. It is the country roads and drives that tourists take that present the largest opportunities for selling arts and crafts. If buying this type of property make sure that you are on one of the main tourist drives or at least can get a government sponsored "blue" directional sign pointing to your business. Whatever your interest I encourage you to consider investing in PEI real estate. Our market, while not given to rapid assents, is also protected from the downturns as well. PEI makes the ideal place for the novice real estate investor to get his/her "feet wet" in the industry with minimal investment and minimal risk while still being able to realize reasonable returns on investment. I recommend contacting a local realtor and have discussing some of the investment opportunities in this article as well as any other ideas and opportunities they may be able to offer.