Buying and Owning Short-Term Rental Properties In The Blue Mountains
Investing in a Popular Four-Season Community
The Southern Georgian Bay area is in high demand for vacation rentals as it’s a popular tourist destination which allows STA owners to maximize their rental income by raising fees during peak seasons. Collingwood and The Blue Mountains Ontario has a thriving tourism destination seeing over 1.5 million people annually. The area provides robust four-season vacation destinations for everyone and anyone young and old. Located just 2 hours northwest of Toronto this thriving community is home to Ontario’s largest ski hill, Blue Mountain Resort which is part of the Niagara Escarpment. There is great potential for return on investment if you are looking to buy a rental property in this area.
Short-Term Accommodation (STA) is a great rental property investment, especially if you are looking for income revenue and not necessarily for personal use. There are many reasons why one would consider a short-term rental property, the biggest generally being that investors are looking to generate extra income revenue. If this is the case investment properties can be good investments.
As a seasoned real estate agent for Collingwood and The Blue Mountains area, I feel it’s important to pass along some information that will help you along in the buying process. STAs tend to be a good investment for passive income that can produce more revenue than seasonal rentals. They can also be extremely flexible if you want to use the property for personal use during the cottage or ski season.
Short Term Accomodations (STAs)
An STA is a dwelling or unit that is rented for weekend/week-long rentals, which can range from 24 hours to less than 30 days. This differs from long-term or Seasonal rentals which are leased for 30 days or more. You can often find these places listed with such sites as Airbnb, Vbro and booking.com.
Like in any city or town there are local governments and by-laws surrounding rental real estate. The Town of Blue Mountains has a strict by-law regarding rentals and depending on what zone your property is in will dictate what will apply to you.
Blue Mountain has cultivated a flourishing 4-season resort that has driven up the short-term rental market. There is a large community of such properties situated in ideal locations that allow short-term rentals in and around Blue Mountain Village.
Communities Near Blue Mountain Zoned for Short Term Accomodations
Although this is not a complete list of areas zoned for STAs, these are popular properties that bylaws allow to have short term rentals:
- North Creek
- Chateau Ridge
- Cachet Crossings
- Mountain Walk
- Wintergreen
- Sierra Lane
- River grass
- Snowbridge (only the townhomes and condos)
Blue Mountain Village Association
With these properties, 1% of the total purchase price is due to the association upon closing. Example: You purchase a property for $1m and then you have to write a cheque on closing to the BMVA for $10k. There is no way around it since they are on the title. Once an owner joins then the property is grandfathered into the program.
If you do decide to purchase as the property owner it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the Blue Mountain Village Association ( BMVA):
Blue Mountain Village Association is a non-profit that promotes the village and runs the shuttle service. There are certain discounts as well that your family can enjoy such as dining and shopping as well as you’ll get access to the Blue Mountain Private Beach and some discounts for Plunge Aquatic Center. Click here for more information.
If you are looking to invest in short-term rental properties or vacation homes I urge you to do your due diligence and let your first step be to speak to a professional real estate agent. Short-term rental investment is an exciting way to diversify your investment portfolio as well as increase your cash flow.
