Insights
Analysis from inside the group.
Market reads, project lessons, and events, written by the people doing the work.
The held position
The first pieces are in preparation. Leave your email and they find you when they publish, along with invitations to TESA events.
The blog
Land
How to Run a Site Analysis Before You Buy a Toronto Multiplex Lot
Before zoning permissions or legal due diligence even apply, a site analysis checks whether the ground, the services, and the neighbours will let you build what a Toronto lot's zoning allows on paper.
August 11, 2026
Construction
The Engineering Behind Cold-Formed Steel Framing on a Toronto Multiplex
Once a multiplex is framed in cold-formed steel, the questions change from whether to build in steel to how to sign off the shop drawings correctly. Here is the technical literacy a developer needs before that set goes to permit.
August 9, 2026
Land
Where a Fourplex Is Legal in Toronto and What the Zoning Requires
Toronto legalized fourplexes citywide in May 2023, not November. Here's the exact by-law, the setback, height, and parking numbers that still apply, and the zones where the permission stops.
August 9, 2026
Capital
How a GP/LP Structure Works for a Toronto Multiplex Deal
Most GP/LP explainers are written for apartment syndications. A Toronto multiplex deal is a $200,000 to $800,000 equity gap on a single property, and that changes what the GP can put in, what split the LP will accept, and how the deal gets papered.
August 7, 2026
Capital
House Hacking in Canada: How Owner-Occupied Financing Actually Works
Most house hacking guides assume a US loan product that doesn't exist in Canada. Here's how CMHC-insured owner-occupied financing, rental income offset, and Toronto's multiplex zoning reform actually work for a duplex, triplex, or fourplex.
August 7, 2026
Land
What You Can Build on Your Toronto Lot, Based on Its Zoning and Size
Five lot inputs (zoning, frontage, lot area, lane access, and heritage overlay) decide whether your Toronto property qualifies for a basement suite, a garden suite, a multiplex, or a severance. This guide ranks every option and the exact measurement that rules each one in or out.
August 4, 2026
Capital
MLI Select for a Toronto Multiplex: What the Discount Actually Costs You
MLI Select's lower premium and higher leverage come with a binding 10-year rent cap and reporting duties. Here's the breakeven math against CMHC Standard financing, and where the discount stops paying off.
August 4, 2026
Land
What a Garden Suite Actually Costs to Build in Toronto
The advertised prefab price for a Toronto garden suite rarely includes servicing, permits, or financing costs. Here's what actually drives the final number, and how long it takes rent to pay it back.
August 4, 2026
Land
MLI Select multiplex financing: a developer's guide
August 3, 2026
Land
Construction financing for small developers in Canada
August 1, 2026
Land
The role of due diligence in property transactions
July 31, 2026
Land
How to Choose a Multiplex Development Course in Toronto
Choosing a multiplex development course is a purchase decision with a real cost of getting it wrong. Here's how to vet a provider on Toronto-specific curriculum, instructor track record, and format before you pay.
July 26, 2026
Construction
Light Steel Framing for Toronto Multiplexes: The Complete Guide
Light steel framing gets confused with heavy structural steel, but for a Toronto multiplex the real decision turns on OBC storey and area thresholds, insurance pricing, and panel lead times, not marketing copy.
July 26, 2026
Land
Multiplex Zoning in Toronto: What's As-of-Right and What Still Needs Approval
Toronto's zoning by-law spells out exactly what a multiplex is, and the 2023-2025 reforms made two-to-four-unit buildings as-of-right citywide, with six allowed in select wards. This piece maps where that holds and where it still needs a variance.
July 25, 2026
Construction
What It Actually Costs to Build a Fourplex in Toronto
A line-item look at what a Toronto fourplex actually costs to build in 2026, from hard costs and development charges to permit fees and financing carry, benchmarked against real industry figures.
July 24, 2026
Land
Lot Severance in Toronto: What It Takes to Split a Property Legally
Splitting a Toronto lot is a Section 53 consent decided by the Committee of Adjustment, a different legal and financial path than converting a house into a multiplex. This piece walks the frontage math, the statutory tests, real costs, and how the two paths compare in value.
July 18, 2026
Capital
House Hacking in Toronto: Live in a Multiplex, Rent Out the Rest
A plain-language guide to buying a legal Toronto duplex, triplex, or fourplex, living in one unit, and renting the rest to cover the mortgage. Covers the CMHC financing rules, a worked cash-flow example, and the tax exposure that decides whether it pencils out.
July 17, 2026
Land
Best Toronto Neighbourhoods for Multiplex Development, Ranked by the Numbers
Nine Toronto wards allow six-unit multiplexes as-of-right; every other ward caps at four. We rank neighbourhoods by the four numbers that decide whether a multiplex actually pencils in 2026.
July 17, 2026
Capital
CMHC MLI Select: A Complete Guide for Toronto Multiplex Owners
CMHC MLI Select scores a rental building on affordability, energy efficiency, and accessibility, then converts that score into loan-to-value, amortization, and premium terms. For a Toronto 5-to-10 unit infill project, the points are won or lost at the design table, not at the mortgage application.
July 13, 2026
Land
What is construction management: roles, phases, and process
July 13, 2026
Land
How to assess land purchase for development
July 12, 2026
Capital
How GP/LP Partnerships Work in Canadian Real Estate Investing
A plain-language breakdown of how general partners and limited partners split liability, control and profit in Canadian real estate raises, using Ontario law and Toronto multiplex deals as the reference case.
July 12, 2026
Land
Toronto Garden Suite Rules Explained for Owners and Builders
Garden suites are permitted as of right in most Toronto residential zones, but access, tree protection, and TRCA rules disqualify lots that otherwise look ready. Here's the eligibility test to run before you design.
July 11, 2026
Land
How to attract investors to your property development project
July 10, 2026
Land
The Toronto Multiplex Feasibility Study: A Complete Guide
A Toronto multiplex feasibility study tests five inputs: zoning capacity, hard costs, rents, financing, and contingency, before anyone commissions drawings. Run against a narrow infill lot and a wide corner lot, the same test produces opposite verdicts.
July 7, 2026
Land
How Multiplex Development Actually Works in Toronto
Most multiplex projects go sideways because an owner falls for a floor plan before confirming what the lot is actually zoned to hold. Here is the fixed sequence, the vocabulary, and the team roles that keep a multiplex project on track from day one.
July 7, 2026
Construction
What a Toronto Multiplex Actually Costs to Build
Real Toronto multiplex cost benchmarks by unit count, from duplex to 6-plex: hard cost ranges from Altus GTA data, the city charges you will and will not pay, and the variables that move the number.
July 4, 2026
Capital
How to build an investment property from scratch in the GTA
What it takes to build a rental from raw land in the GTA, and how the financing actually works in Canada.
July 2, 2026
Land
What a multiplex feasibility study answers
What you can build, and whether it pencils.
July 1, 2026