All Forum Posts by: Cal Ewing

Hi there, we are about to start a rehab on a property east of Columbus and are looking for a realtor with experience investing and working with investors who might be able to advise us on what repairs would make the biggest impact on our re-sale price and help us sell it?

Can anyone recommend anyone good?

Cal

@Account Closed

Thanks for the great feedback Hunter. I really appreciate it. I have spent most of my efforts either buying from the tax auction or using a realtor.

So in general:

a) get a deal that looks like it has potential

b) run numbers, get an ARV, confirm everything, run numbers again

c) schedule to see property

d) determine rehab costs and if numbers still work...

e) make an offer and pay the earnest money. 

Is this correct? 

Once an offer has been submitted and earnest money paid. Are the timelines typically the same for due diligence as if I was using a realtor and buying off the mls?

I too am interested in whether or not this is available to Canadians investing in the US. Also, please send me more details on this program. [email protected]

Thanks.

Hello, I am looking into the idea of working with wholesalers as a way of acquiring properties. I already am receiving numerous deals in my email inbox from a variety of wholesalers but have not yet pulled the trigger on any deals. 

Can some of you BP wholesalers take me through the process of buying from you? 

Most deals I see have a statement similar to: 

"$2k non-refundable deposit locks up this deal"

So say there is a deal that interests me based on numbers provided and I want to act quickly so as not to loose an opportunity. Do I need to have my own purchase contract ready and send the wholesale company my $2000 along with an offer to purchase? If so, how much time do I have for due diligence? Is it the same as if I am buying off the MLS?

What happens if I see the property and realize that the repair costs are more than advertized and the deal doesn't make sense and I want out. Is that $2k non-refundable deposit truley gone if I back out? 

If this is the case, how can a person look at a lot of deals without blowing all of their investment capital on earnest money for deals that aren't the right one?

Or do I have it backwards? Do I go check out the deal first and try and varify the wholesalers repair numbers before locking up the deal?

Thanks in advance for any feedback on this. 

Cal Ewing

@Brandon Haughey

Welcome to BP Brandon. You have come to the right place. I feel that my real estate investing knowledge has quadrupled ever since I found this forum, the blog and the podcasts. More and more Canadians are signing up to the site which is great. But if you want to know anything about Canadian real estate @Roy N. is the man. 

@Jesse Shields @Dustin Avadar @Tony Akhigbe @Chris Nordsveen

Thought you guys would be interested in seeing this thread about a Calgary BP meet up.

Absolutely I'm in. @Marie Shaug and I were just discussing the idea of putting on a BP Calgary group that had a focus on US investing. That would be great if you are able to be in town for it @Marco Santarelli.

Stephen, it has worked well for me thus far. You don't need a green card to own property in the U.S.  Your success really depends on the kind of team you have set up in the city you are investing in. You will need property management and it will cut into your cashflow but on that note, I would always buy rental properties with property management fees factored into the numbers no matter where I invest just because there might come a day even in Calgary where you don't want to manage your rentals. 

You can build a team yourself with the help of Bigger Pockets by asking members to refer you to good property managers, contractors, realtors etc. You can work with a turn-key company who will typically have their own team that you can plug into and they will do all the work for you. Do your research and ask around BP for the good turn-key companies. 

Or, you can partner up with an investor who has already built their own team. You could be the money partner, or you could find the deals or you could be the person finding people with money to invest and they could be the partner who does the work with the use of their US power team. 

There are ways to make it happen if you really want it. And really, the same rules apply in Calgary. You will need a team of professionals to support you in achieving your goals.

Welcome to BP @Stephen Darker

I know what you mean. The market here in Calgary is pretty intimidating, however there are investors here who make it work. As they say, money can be made in any market if you are a smart investor. If that is the route you want to take, you are doing the right thing by getting on BP but also look for Calgary real estate investing meet-up groups. Canada Real Estate Investors Club (Canada REIC) has them often and they are good. 

I personally have decided to avoid the Calgary market and have been investing on and off in the US since I was in university back in 2009. There is definitely a lot to learn when it comes to investing in a different country but at the time I didn't know anything about investing in Canada so the learning curve was the same. BP is has so much US related info and it has made it easy for me to learn the way things work in the States. If you do choose that route though make sure you get a good accountant who specializes in cross-border taxation.

Best of luck

Cal

Love seeing the BP Calgary community grow!