By Xavier Bélanger, residential real estate broker, eXp agence immobilière. Updated September 16, 2026.
At IPG, no property receives an offer before going through a 13-criteria grid: we read every document, reconcile the seller's numbers with the supporting documents, normalize the expenses, run three financing scenarios with every ratio, and deliver a clear verdict: buy or walk away. The initial analysis is free of charge. Here is exactly what we look at, in order.
Why a grid, and not a feeling
You've surely seen a plex listing with “potential income” in big print and a GRM that looks fine. The problem is that the number that makes you buy is never the one that makes you lose money. That one hides in a non-indexed lease, an insurance bill that doubled, a roof that was “repainted” in 2019. A grid is just a way of forgetting nothing, deal after deal. And if in the end the property doesn't deserve an offer, we tell you. It stings in the moment, but it costs less than a bad purchase.
The 13 criteria
1. Full document review
We read everything: leases and annexes, rent increase notices, municipal and school tax bills, insurance policies, energy and maintenance invoices, certificate of location, inspection reports, the seller's financial statements. Not a summary, not the Centris listing: the documents. Nine times out of ten, the story that matters is in an annex.
2. Reconciling the numbers
Every stated income must match a signed lease. Every expense must match an invoice or a bill. When the seller says $92,000 in income and the leases add up to $87,400, the gap isn't a detail: it's 5% of income that doesn't exist, so roughly $55,000 less in value at a GRM of 12.
3. Actual income versus potential income
Actual income is what comes in today. Potential income is what would come in if every unit were at market rent. We analyze with the actual, we dream with the potential. And we quantify the path between the two: how many units are below market, by how much, and how fast that can legally change (mostly at tenant turnover, not at renewal).
4. Normalized expenses
The seller who does their own management, painting and snow removal shows you expenses at 25%. You're going to pay someone. We rebuild the expenses as if you were the owner: taxes, insurance (at the price of a new policy, not the old one), common-area energy, maintenance, vacancy reserve, management. The calculator on our site starts at 38% as a guide; the analysis replaces that figure with the real one, line by line.
5. Flexible financing
We don't calculate with a single loan. Down payment at 20% or 25%, amortization over 25 or 30 years, conventional or insured loan, residential or commercial from 5 units: each combination changes the cash flow and the return. We look at what you can actually get, not what would look nice. For that, we work with partner mortgage brokers, residential and multi-unit.
6. Three scenarios, every ratio
For each property, we produce three scenarios: as presented, normalized to reality, stabilized after optimization. And for each one, every ratio: GRM (price over gross income), NIM (price over net income), cap rate (net income over price), debt coverage ratio, cash flow per door. To give you a reference, in the first quarter of 2026, Montreal plexes were selling between 12 and 14 times gross income and average cap rates hovered between 4 and 5% according to APCIQ/Centris data. A single ratio always lies a little; the five together, rarely.
7. Return broken down by source
A 13% return on the down payment, where does it come from? From cash flow (the money left over each month), from principal paydown (the share of the loan your tenants repay) or from appreciation (an assumption, never a certainty). We separate the three. A property whose entire return rests on appreciation is a bet, not an investment. You're allowed to bet, but you're going to know it.
8. The deciding issue and the verdict
Every deal has one issue that decides everything: a roof, a tenant paying $600 in a 5½, uncertain insurability, zoning. We name it, we quantify it, and we decide: green light or red light. Not “it depends”. If it's a green light, we tell you at what price.
9. The ceiling price: the 0.85 ratio
Before negotiating, we set a buyer's ceiling price. Our starting point: 0.85 times the value given by the normalized income in the realistic scenario. It's not a magic rule, it's a discipline: above it, the return only holds up through appreciation. It keeps you from falling in love with a property.
10. Risks before numbers
Insurability (a property no insurer wants at a reasonable price isn't financeable), compliance (non-compliant units, work without permits), financing (a commercial loan that fails the coverage ratio), rents (a pending TAL case). We check all four before finishing the calculations, because any one of them can cancel out the rest.
11. Regulatory potential
What the city allows: adding a basement unit, densifying, changing the use, subdividing. That's checked against the zoning by-law, not “according to the seller”. Our urban planning partner looks at this when the property warrants it. An undocumented acquired right is worth zero.
12. Rents and the TAL
We project the coming years' income with the TAL reference rate, not with the market. For renewals from April 2, 2026 to April 1, 2027, that rate is 3.1%, versus about 5.9% in 2025, using a method smoothed over several years. Catching up to market happens mostly at tenant turnover (subject to the new tenant's right to ask the TAL to fix the rent), and we estimate it conservatively.
13. Exit and refinancing
A good property is bought with the next one in mind. At what point, with what rents and what expenses, does the property free up enough capital at refinancing to fund the down payment on the next one? That's the IPG cycle: analyze, acquire, optimize, refinance, reinvest. If the answer is “never”, the property may be fine, but it doesn't build a portfolio.
What you get
A PDF document with the reconciled numbers, normalized expenses, three scenarios with every ratio, the return broken down, the deciding issue, the verdict and the ceiling price. The same template we used on a 56-unit portfolio in Côte-des-Neiges or an 11-unit building in Villeray, presented under a confidentiality agreement.
How much it costs
Nothing for the initial analysis. We're paid through brokerage when a transaction closes. If we tell you to walk away, we've earned nothing, and that's fine: the next deal will be better.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an analysis take?
A quick first read after the call, then the complete analysis within a few business days of receiving the documents. The timeline mostly depends on how long the seller takes to provide them.
Do you analyze a property I found myself?
Yes. Send us the listing and whatever documents you have, through the calculator form or by email.
Do I need to be pre-approved?
No. Financing is part of the analysis, and our partner mortgage brokers can help you.
Is the calculator on your site enough?
No. It gives an order of magnitude in 30 seconds with simplified assumptions. The analysis replaces every assumption with a document.
Looking at a property right now?
Send it to us: we run the 13 criteria, free of charge and with no commitment. And if it isn't worth an offer, you'll know before you go see it.
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Figures cited are for guidance only; no analysis guarantees a return. Sources: APCIQ/Centris (Q1 2026), Tribunal administratif du logement (2026 reference rate). This text is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.