A newer suburb like Forest Grove hides its own risks. Lower near-term maintenance can mask a thinner renter pool than an area closer to campus or downtown employment, so a purchase that looks safe on paper can still sit vacant longer than expected between tenants.
Joel checks suite legality against City of Saskatoon permit records before an offer goes in, because only a permitted unit can be underwritten by a lender, and a beautifully finished basement built without a permit will not count toward the numbers a bank actually approves.
That distinction between what a home shows and what a lender will finance is exactly where an automated estimate goes wrong. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.