Turning a 22-Foot Lot Into 5 Units | Victoria Suen

Victoria Suen bought her first investment property at 19 years old. She couldn't qualify for a mortgage on her own, so her sisters signed for it. Sixteen years later, she's a licensed architect and the founder of BuildEx Design, helping investors turn some of Toronto's tightest lots into 4 and 6 unit buildings. This episode is a crossover. Erwin's wife and business partner, Cherry Chan, CPA, sat down with Victoria for her Real Estate Tax Tips channel, and the conversation covered ground worth sharing with the full TAFI audience. Victoria walks through the missing middle: the duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and mid-rise buildings that used to be illegal to build on most Canadian lots, and why that's changing fast. She and Cherry get into the real numbers: lots as narrow as 22 feet fitting 5 units, development charges waived under CMHC's MLI Select program (worth $50,000 to $80,000 per unit), and why most investors are getting 80 to 85% loan-to-value rather than the 95% sometimes advertised. In this conversation, we cover:  What the missing middle actually is, and why cities stopped allowing it for decades Why Toronto now allows up to 6 units on lots as narrow as 22 feet, with no parking requirement Why Ottawa is eliminating parking requirements entirely starting September 2026 The 3 moving parts investors need to line up: design, cost, and financing How CMHC's MLI Select program waives development charges and improves financing terms Why most investors leave around $100,000 in a project after refinancing, and pull the rest of their capital back out The most common mistake investors make when projecting rent What happens when a century-old Toronto home hides a crumbling foundation behind the walls Why Victoria started her own firm instead of staying inside a traditional architecture practice 🚨 Free live webinar: "The Strategy That Beat the Market by 28%" — Sat Sept 12 (Oakville + Zoom): iWIN Integrated Wealth Planningor Tue Sept 15 (Zoom only): iWIN Integrated Wealth Planning👉Reserve your spot free