All Forum Posts by: Huong Luu

@Joe Brown This is just the tip of the ice burg question regarding land development. 

Some SFU may not allow for rezoning. This has to be checked with the city. This can be put in as part of the conditions of sale. As part of the re-zoning, the neighbors get notified and are part of the discussions, so this will add holding cost to the analysis. Your friend can do most of the work or hire a firm to help do the rezoning. With the cost of material now and labor, that would also factor in the over cost. 

The best advice I can give you regarding analysis is to start and share it with someone who has experience. Understand the numbers and the minimum returns and success KPIs.

If possible, shadow someone who has the experience before you do this on your own. Land development is a long term project and requires deep pockets and network.

Good luck

@Jefferson Mondragon If you are in a large City, you can connect with a mortgage agent/broker to see if you quality. Not all lenders will lend to you if you live in a small city. You have 5% down payment and another 3-5% for closing. However, did you calculate having about 3 months worth of mortgage payments? If this 50-80K is your only savings, I would suggest you top up your RRSP for the FTHPB and utilize that as part of your d/p. Will you be house hacking?  Your mortgage payment assuming 3%, 25 yr amm is $3,600/m. What strategies are you going to use to support this mortgage? What is driving you to be a $800K prop? What about buying in a lower amount somewhere else as an investment that will give you cashflow while you still rent? 

Good luck. 

@Adam Fortier I use email if the file is small, otherwise I use Gdrive for signing leases and other 'non-serious forms' that don't require signature/ proof of delivery. My portfolio is small and I self manage, so I am still able to give my cell to all my tenants. I hand select my tenants so I usually don't have any issues with them (in the last 20+ years, I had less then 5 bad tenants). I believe in my tenants are my clients so I want a direct line to them to ensure communication is great. Good luck

There are still deals in Durham and S. Ontario. One option is tax sales. PM me if you want more info on this strategy as it is not a strategy for everyone. Another option is to find a prop that needs repairs to force the appreciation. Usually the maintenance fees on condos prohibit the CF, but may be something to look at. 

@Elijah Williamson You can do a google search for Standard form of lease or residential tenancy agreement or rental lease forms + province (they are standard forms like form 2229E for ONT) and you will get get most current for your Province. If you are in AB or ONT, if you PM me, I can send you the form I have. They will be pdf format and free to download. Good luck

@Mannny Lubana 

1. If the property is negative CF, see what potential there is (ie: can you charge for parking, laundry, storage, is the rent too low, can you reno and increase rents, etc). Keep in mind, you want to buy at the value it is at now, not what the potential is. Just because other people buy doesn't mean it is a good deal. If you are looking at MF, you will need 20%+ d/p. Depending on the appraisal, the lender may require higher. 

2. It is not just about CF/door. You have to look at the mortgage paydown, expense ratio, debt servicing, market, your client profile, reserve, etc. If the building is going to require some major repairs in 5 years, then your $100/d will be eaten up very fast.

3. Some people don't buy for CF. Sometimes, they put in offers to get it under contract and then negotiate the price down after their due diligence. They may have another use for the property that you are not seeing. ie, I recently got into a 3 unit property where we knew we could convert it into 6 units. Some people buy at 'potential' value.

I am assuming you are having a 2nd set of eyes on your analysis. Also not putting in too much buffer in your analysis. Good luck.

@Ibrahim Elvis if you are investing from out-of-state then you are not limited to Calgary. Also your location says Grande Prairie AB, so do you live in AB? Before looking for PM, research on the areas first. This will allow you to then narrow down on the PM, after you confirm the market you want to be in. You can change the PM, but you can't change the location. Good luck

@Elaine Lee The 2 accountants I would recommend are licensed for AB but based on Toronto, Ont. If you want their contact, message me. One advantage in having an AB based accountant is the networking they will be able to help you with, as it will be focused more in AB. If you plan to expand outside of AB, then it doesn't really matter. The benefit I find with an out of province accountant (or one that covers several provinces) is their insight to where the deals are and what other investors are seeing/doing. Good luck. 

@Heidi-Marie Jones what a great position to be in (Iam assuming the land is worth $150k)! When talking to your step dad and mom, ensure they are okay with you putting a 'lien' on the property. This will prevent them from getting a 2nd mortgage or heloc on the property and putting debt on the land which would mean someone will have some legal rights to come after the land. You may want to consider something similar to an AFS (agreement for sale) contract. Ensure they know they will not be able to put a reverse mortgage on this property. 

Some other things to consider: 

-if you pay it off ($150K) does that mean you can kick them off the land, if things get 'nasty'?

-as you pay down the $150K, can you access any of the equity?

-if you walk away from the deal at any point, do you get any of the $400/m back?

-is there other family members who may want part of the land as part of their inheritance?

Find out what the zoning allows for that land, ie can you sub divide. 

Talk to your lawyer/accountant about the implication of land transfer tax on this, as it will be based on the future value.

Good luck

Hi BP family

I was recently approached to invest in the US so I could get a US citizenship through the EB5/E2 visa process. Has any one done this? What benefits and shortfall are there in doing this? Being Canadian and not really planning on working in the US, not sure this would be worth it due to the cost to set this up and the continued double taxation. 

Thanks in advance.