All Forum Posts by: Huong Luu

@Devin Solberg

I have done both in the past (ie used agents from the same brokerage and different) and personally found it better to use an agent from a different brokerage. The reason for this, is the 'coffee machine talk'. When agents are not in the same office, there is less coffee machine talk (ie pillow talk). I want to know for sure my agent is working 100% in my best interest, thus having them at as far distance as possible from the seller agent the better. good luck.

@Scott Galloway If the market is depreciating, and the rental income can be lost if there is a major repair, then it doesn't make sense. Why be in a market when there isn't cashflow, APPRECIATION and mortgage paydown. It doesn't matter if it is NO money down. Money can be made. Time is something you can't buy more of. Spend your time investing in areas that have all 3 so you can have more time. AFS is a great strategy. And there are reasons why many sellers are willing to do AFS. Just because it is there, doesn't mean you have to do it. Please me separate and I can share more about this. Good luck with your course. Your education will serve you well. 

@Devon Rollison You spend some time working on your plan! Good for you. Give what @Jaysen Medhurst wrote another read. If your forecast is truly achievable, then refi with A bank with option for 2nd mortgage. Get a private 2nd. Your ROI will allow you take on a 2nd at 12+% not issues. Ensure your 1st mortgage has a revolving HELOC option. Also have someone check your ARV and MAO calculations. Good luck.

@Navroze Pirza. What a sh** position to be in! I was in a similar situation with a portion of my tenants who just wanted rent forgiveness. The approach I took was writing them a nice email informing them that it is not 'forgiveness' but a deferral. They would have to eventually pay it. Within 5 days, most of the tenants paid. A couple of days before the 1st of the month, I updated the email and resent it and included links for the government programs. I also phoned each and texted each tenants. I know this sounds like a lot of work but it was worth it. The 1st of the month came and most of the tenants paid. I also have in my back pocket a legal contract to garnish their wages in the future, which I haven't had to use yet. 

If you want to avoid having your tenant stay on, offer to pay them to leave. It sucks, but better to have the place to rent to someone else then have no rent. 

Send me a message with you want a copy of the email I used.   

@Dylan Bergum Great question and I get this all the time from friends and coaching clients who live in Alberta. If you live in Alberta and restricted to investing in Alberta than there are pockets and deals to be found with potential to make positive cash flow. There is also a higher chance of buying with no money down. Here is why I don't think Alberta is a great place to invest in the next 6-12 months and longer term. You won't get appreciation, and there is higher chance you won't positive cash flow. You usually don't see positive cashflow until the P&I is below a certain amount. 

You can take the same amount of investment down payment money and buy a property else where that will give you positive cash flow and appreciation. Appreciation is not guaranteed but it can be from 2%+ depending on the area year over year. This adds up as it is compounding. Also mortgage pay down will exist regardless of where you invest, but you want the mortgage pay down to be from your tenants. Not from you. If you are in a higher vacancy area, then you are doing the mortgage pay down and not your tenants, as you are making the monthly payments. 

Cash flow is only 1 aspect. Run your numbers.  

Yes, if the seller is eager to sell, you can negotiate. Some sellers may be looking to off load their building if their tenants can't pay rent. Thus you are buying a building with tenants that may not be paying rent fer a few months. The seller may be open to doing a VTB. Also, since you can't really do an inspection, and many buyers are in 'wait and see' mode, the seller may get nervous as they haven't been able to sell. 

I would suggest you tell the students the rent will be deferred, not forgiven. If they do understand this, then do not rent to them. There are people who are looking to rent now and will and can pay rent. Keep you own rented unit and advertise for new tenants. I had a 1 bedroom unit come up for rent on March 26 and was able to find paying tenants within 3 days. Good luck.  

The better area is ON the mountain. The downtown (below the mountain) is rough. There are some nice pockets below the mountain thou. You will want to be close to the GO and hospital. From your question, it sounds like you are not from Hamilton. Am I correct in that?

Look on kijiji, craigslist, FB and your local sites to see owners who are renting a unit. Contact them and offer your services. You will need to have a short script done up before calling them and offering them 'your services'. You will be looking for tired landlords who don't want to deal with it anymore. You can offer to help them rent out their unit at ie $200 and then build a relation with them. You can also use this strategy on Airbnb.   

Nice try. You can only write off what you ACTUALLY spent. You need to keep receipts and proof of payment. Note the date and purpose. If we were able to claim what you suggested, all investors would be super happy! Keep good records. CRA reported they hired more auditors specifically to target real estate investors. So it is no IF you get audited, but WHEN. Good luck.