Craig Johnston Personal Real Estate Corporation · Brokerage: Royal LePage Elite West
Tri-Cities investor real estate is a different game than primary-residence buying. The pro-forma cap rate from gross-rent-divided-by-price can overstate true yield by more than a full percentage point. This is the framework I walk every Coquitlam investor through — the 10-step underwrite, the 6-zone tier map, the expense lines pro-formas leave out, and the RTA rules that actually move your spreadsheet.
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Quick answer
What is a realistic cap rate for a Coquitlam investment property?
It depends on the building and on which expenses you actually count. The pro-forma cap rate from gross-rent-divided-by-price overstates true yield — in the hypothetical example below, a 3.15% pro-forma falls to 1.87% after honest expenses. By segment: older Burquitlam condos are the yield plays; Burke Mountain townhomes are more an appreciation play than a yield play; Maillardville lots with suite and laneway potential can add rentable units if the lot geometry permits. The trap to avoid: pro-forma math instead of honest underwriting.
Six Coquitlam zones where investors close, crossed against three tiers. Each cell describes what that zone typically offers an investor at that tier. Rents and cap rates vary building by building, so I underwrite each property from current rent comparables and its actual expenses before you write.
Zone notes are Craig’s professional read, not statistics. For context, the September 2026 Coquitlam detached benchmark: $1,584,400; townhouse benchmark: $976,600. Last refreshed October 7, 2026.
Every investor I walk through Coquitlam follows the same sequence. Skip a step and the math quietly breaks — usually on the fifth mortgage payment, not on closing day.
Rental-property mortgage rates are usually priced above owner-occupied rates — ask your broker for the current spread. Get a written rate hold from a broker who underwrites rentals. Confirm qualifying rate, down-payment floor (20% minimum on a non-owner-occupied 1–4 unit rental; 5+ units move to commercial lending terms), and whether they'll count 50%, 80%, or 100% of projected rent toward GDS.
Pick the zone before you browse MLS. Burquitlam for SkyTrain-walk yield. Lougheed/Lincoln for appreciation. Maillardville for ADU plays. Burke Mountain only if you understand why the cap rate is lower — and have a thesis for why rent outruns carry in 5 years.
For condos: 2 years of minutes, depreciation report, Form B, CRF balance, any special-levy motions. For detached with suite: City of Coquitlam permit history — unauthorized suites are a negotiation lever, not a dealbreaker, but only if you know before writing. For new-construction assignment: developer's disclosure + GST treatment.
Gross rent minus: strata fees, property tax, insurance, a vacancy allowance, a management allowance (even if self-managing — count your time), a maintenance reserve, and utilities not passed through. The worked example below shows the allowances I use. If the net cap is under 3.5% on a condo or under 3% on a house, you're not buying yield — you're buying appreciation speculation. Know which you're doing.
Who fills this unit in 14 days — SFU students, young professionals riding SkyTrain downtown, families priced out of Vancouver, post-grads? Each pool has a different ceiling, different turnover rate, different damage profile. Burquitlam 1-beds rent to professionals fast; Burke Mountain 4-beds rent to families slower but stickier.
Investor inspections differ from owner-occupied. I want the roof age, furnace age, hot-water-tank age, poly-B plumbing scan, and an envelope read on any building pre-1998 — especially wood-frame rainscreen-era. Repairs you'd defer as an owner become cash calls from strata as an investor.
What happens if rent drops 8%? If vacancy hits 12% for three months? If your variable rate spikes 150 bps at renewal? If a $45K special levy lands in year 3? A deal that only works under best-case rent and best-case rates is not an investment — it's a lottery ticket with monthly carrying costs.
Minimum subjects on investor offers: financing, inspection, document review (strata/rental bylaw/Form B), and where applicable, tenant estoppel if currently tenanted. I also add review of GST status on new-construction assignments and review of suite legality on detached.
Personal name vs. corporation vs. joint partners with tenancy-in-common shares — each has tax, liability, and eventual-sale consequences. Talk to your accountant before the offer is firm, not after. BC's Speculation & Vacancy Tax and foreign-buyer rules interact with ownership structure in ways that surprise people.
Even self-managers need: a tenant-screening process, a standard lease (BC RTB form with Coquitlam-specific addenda), a maintenance-call contact, a reserve account separate from operating, and an annual review of rent vs. market. The landlords who get in trouble in year 4 skipped this in year 1.
Most investor spreadsheets I see arrive with five expense lines: mortgage, strata, property tax, insurance, and "maintenance 1%." That math produces a cap rate more than a full point higher than the deal will deliver. Here is what an honest buy-and-hold underwrite looks like on a hypothetical $900K Burquitlam 2-bed condo renting at $3,200/month — the same property modeled two ways.
That is a 128-basis-point spread on the same building. Neither number is "wrong" — they are both arithmetic. The honest underwrite simply accounts for the fact that tenants move, units need work, strata corps special-levy, and your time has a price. Investors who last through a cycle plan against the honest underwrite and treat the optimistic number as a stretch case. The investors who do not, sell at year 4 and say real estate doesn't cash flow in the Lower Mainland.
British Columbia is a strongly tenant-protective jurisdiction. Most out-of-province investors arriving from Alberta or Ontario underestimate how much the RTA constrains landlord behaviour. Six rules that most materially move the spreadsheet:
You must serve a proper Notice of Rent Increase (RTB-7) at least three full months in advance, and you can only raise rent once every 12 months per tenancy. Miss the window and you forfeit that year's increase — you cannot stack it next year. Most first-time investors miss the paperwork on year 2.
Some landlords still write 1-year leases with a vacate clause at end. In BC, unless the landlord or close family is moving in (s.49), that clause is unenforceable and the tenancy automatically becomes month-to-month. You cannot evict simply because a term ended.
Both cases now run on the same clock. If you or a close family member are moving in, you give three months’ written notice (since June 18, 2025; it was four months before). If the tenancy is being ended for a buyer (or the buyer’s close family) on a sale, it is three months’ notice, served only after you have an accepted contract with the buyer’s written intent to occupy. Either way you pay one month’s rent as compensation, and whoever moves in must occupy for at least 12 months or the original tenant can claim 12 months’ rent. Verify the current periods at gov.bc.ca/landlordtenant before you rely on them.
If a tenancy is below market and you need vacant possession (sale, renovation, move-up), a mutual-agreement-to-end-tenancy (RTB-8) paired with a cash payment is faster and more reliable than fighting through the Residential Tenancy Branch. The amount is whatever you and the tenant agree to in writing — get legal advice before you offer.
You cannot hold a full month as damage deposit. Half a month as security deposit plus half a month as pet damage deposit. Deposits earn interest at the rate the province sets each year (use the RTB deposit interest calculator). You must return within 15 days of the tenancy ending or file an RTB claim within that window.
Bill 44 (2022) struck down most blanket rental bans, but buildings can still impose short-term rental (Airbnb) restrictions and age-55+ restrictions. Read the bylaws, the rules, and the last 24 months of minutes. A building tightening its rental policy is a building to pass on.
Not legal advice — see a BC landlord-tenant lawyer for your specific situation. This is the operating framework Craig walks every investor client through before writing an offer.
Free download
Selling a Tenanted Home in B.C.
Planning your exit from a tenanted property? It’s a printable two-sided guide. One side is for you as the seller-landlord. The other is written for your tenant and covers notice, showings and the two ways a sale can end.
Download the guide (PDF, 2 MB)Want the detail? Read selling a tenanted property in BC.
4.9 stars across 36+ verified Google reviews. Three below from clients on pricing, negotiation, and follow-through.
“We received seven offers, and Craig held firm on our priorities: no subject to sale and achieving our price. We took the home off the market over Christmas, but behind the scenes Craig continued working. When we re-listed in January, it sold in just three days to buyers he had been nurturing — at the price we wanted.”Jim Turnbull
“Craig worked with my wife and me for over 3 years to find the perfect home. He was endlessly patient with us through the process. Eventually, we found our perfect home and he moved fast to execute on our behalf. He negotiated fairly and thoroughly with the sellers and was our advocate all throughout our first home purchase.”David Catterall
“Craig kept me informed of the local market for a couple of years before I asked him to handle my Coquitlam sale. He laid out the strategy upfront, the listing generated a lot of interest, and we had an acceptable offer in under a month. I was stressed going in — Craig helped me overcome a lot of my anxiety. I’ve already introduced him to my sister, who plans to sell soon.”Fj Young
Twenty minutes is enough to re-underwrite your pro-forma against the honest expense lines, screen the zone, and tell you whether the cap rate you're seeing is real or appreciation in disguise. No pitch.
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September 2026 Coquitlam detached HPI is $1,584,400, -6.6% YoY. What that means for your investor math — without the salesy fluff. One email per month.
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