Desk notes
How this desk underwrites Canadian income property
7 short notes on the questions that decide a deal — MLI Select eligibility, what a fourplex actually caps at, the qualifying rate. Written the way the desk models them, with the figures named. Not advice: verify every number with your lender before you waive a condition.
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MLI Select requirements
MLI Select is CMHC-insured financing for five or more residential units. Size gets you in the door. Energy, affordability, and accessibility points decide the tier — and whether the leverage you modeled actually exists.
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Cap rate on an Ottawa fourplex
Cap rate is NOI divided by purchase price. On Ottawa fourplexes this desk screens about 4.3%–5.6% going-in, with ask per door around $275k–$475k. The listing’s advertised cap is often seller NOI. Recast it from the rent roll before you offer.
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Fourplex vs 5-unit financing in Canada
Four units is residential. Five units can be CMHC MLI Select. The extra door is not free optionality — it has to be legal, finished, and worth the insured stack after points and the premium.
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Ottawa planning applications
Ottawa publishes planning applications on DevApps. This desk pulls those filings, plus Toronto and Calgary, onto the Develop tracker so you can see what neighbours have applied to build before you offer.
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DSCR vs cash-on-cash in Canada
DSCR is the lender’s coverage test: NOI divided by annual mortgage payments. Cash-on-cash is your year-one cash yield on money in. In Canada you also re-run DSCR at the qualifying rate — the higher of contract plus 2% or 5.25%.
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Qualifying rate on a rental property in 2026
Federally regulated lenders underwrite a 1–4 unit rental at the qualifying rate — the higher of your contract rate plus two percentage points, or 5.25%. In 2026 that means a low-5s contract quote is stress-tested in the low 7s. Run DSCR at both rates before you offer.
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Duplex vs fourplex as an investment in Canada
Both finance as residential 1–4 unit files at the qualifying rate. The fourplex usually wins on per-door basis and vacancy resilience; the duplex wins on entry price, buyer pool at exit, and owner-occupied leverage. The decision is basis and downside, not door count.
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