With the benchmark price up 2.8 percent year over year, holding for further appreciation is a real option, but it only works if the rental income covers the mortgage, property taxes, insurance at landlord rates and a maintenance reserve, and refinancing a rental is capped at 80 percent of value with no default insurance available.
The Residential Tenancies Act governs deposits, notice periods and rent increases once you have a tenant, which is a different set of obligations than owning the home yourself, and it is worth understanding before committing to landlord status for the year.
Compare the after-tax rental return against what selling and reinvesting the equity would earn before deciding. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.