All Forum Posts by: Huong Luu

@Alexander Mohr

Give REIN (out of Toronto) and Rockstar (out of Oakville) a try. Also look on eventbrite.

all the places @Scott Isbister mentioned along with 

https://www.rentboard.ca/
, specific issues of Canadian Wealth Magazine and specific issues of REIN magazine. 

There are 1 person I would recommend. I will message you separately. 

HI @Sherri Morrison, An indep appraiser can run you around $300 to $500+. Hold off on getting an appraisal until someone tells you to get 1. The reports are only valid for a 30-90 days. 

I haven't done a 'for rent' sign in over 10 years. There are many free on-line platforms (facebook, craigslist, rentboard, etc) to find A-grade tenants. On-line platform allows you to 'sell' the property without as much work as a lawn sign (ie pictures and descriptions, etc) so you are filtering out tenants before they call you. 

A 'return to work' letter is a letter showing the lending that you have a "secure" position/employment to go back to so the lender will consider your salary as income. This will help reduce the % when they calculate your debt load. Whether she goes back to work or not and when is another matter. I can't comment on that. 

While on mat leave (ideally before going on mat leave), if the intention is for her not to go back to work, then you guys should put into place a strategy to replace her income. 

Congrads. You have done well. The next step should be in alignment with you end goal. What is it that you and your wife in 5 yrs, 10 yrs? Once you know this, then figuring out your next step will be easier. If your wife is on mat leave and can get a letter of 'return to work' from her employer then refinancing right now might be a good option as the rates may go up and the requirements may get harder. Just make sure you are positive cash flowing and not over leveraged. Good luck

Hi. Great question and great situation to be in. I would suggest keeping the property and renting it out, only if you can cash flow it. There are other things you can do with your money that will give you a return (and without the headaches of being a landlord). I hear what Roy is saying about the appreciation, but you can't count on that. Being close to Sarnia, the appreciation growth has been good. Also keep in mind, most lenders will give you 80% LTV of their appraised value. Regardless of what you can sell it for in the market or what another appraiser says or what your RE agent says, the lender will use their own appraisers.

Have you considered staying in this house, refinancing with a HELOC and then using the HELOC to buy an investment property? This way, your investment property would be a full tax write-off (including the land transfer tax(es), along with the HELOC interest. Also, this would probably allow you to access more funds to buy a multiplex.

Good luck

If you are in a competitive market, then you might need to put in an offer without conditions. Normal conditions, include financing, inspection (building and environmental), title search, etc. I would not recommend you out in an offer without conditions, as you will lose your deposit if you back out of the deal. The way you can get around this is use the wording 'approval from lawyer'. This is a technique I know others have used in a competitive market when there are bully bids and multiple offers. Also, you should have your team lined up which would include your money lender. Good luck. 

I have done both the self-extermination and hiring a professional. In either case, this is something you will have to stay on top of for a few months, up to a year until the problem is completely gone. Depending on the area you are in, you might be able to charge the fees back to your tenants. Or split the bill with them. You don't want to ignore this, as it can be a health issue, and depending on where you building is, there may be a public recording, which will reduce your changes of renting to higher quality tenants in the future. I agree with Olszak about not using regular products you can buy from HomeDepot or Lowes. You can buy professional grade products from your local Pest Control Companies. Take into consideration, if the current tenants have pets and young kids, as this will help determine the best product for you. Also, determine what caused the roaches and provide some educational materials to the tenants. Keep in mind, the tenant that did not bring in the roaches may request a rent deduction for their inconvenience. This is up to you as to if you want to give this. Good luck.

Hi Fellow Investors. Recently, I learned about IFA's and did a video recording with 2 experts in the field. However, I would like to hear from other Investors as to if they have IFAs, the pro and cons, past problems, etc. So far it seems like a great idea and another strategy for investors to access OPM.

Huong Luu