In real estate, "free with purchase" usually means a stove and fridge thrown in.

In this case, it is a steaming pile of dog poop on the living-room floor encircled by flies.

Scott McGillivray, real estate mogul and host of the HGTV series Income Property, has allowed us to tag along on a typical scouting trip for properties. The dog droppings are on the top floor of a triplex on Royal York Rd., listed at $484,900 for three rental units.

Plastic glasses full of cigarette butts and playing cards litter the kitchen table; beer empties are scattered among the garbage heaps on the floor. It looks like a flophouse.

"The asking price has just dropped 25 per cent," jokes McGillivray, who is a ringer for a young Tom Cruise but owns and manages more than 20 income properties.