All Forum Posts by: James Ma

Hi Joseph,

Timing the market is very difficult to do and you are better off making decisions off current numbers rather than expected ones. If the numbers make sense today, that should dictate your decision.

If you are doing a buy and hold strategy, even if the market tanks usually rents don't drop too low and you'll have a 1 year lease anyway with the tenant to help preserve some of your rent income. If you're looking to do a flip, then you're more exposed to being hurt by a market drop so it really depends what strategy you're going for.

I live in a very hot market where condos & townhouses typically close in 7 days or less (not uncommon for it to sell before open house) and usually over asking price. Even here, there are "deals" you can get but it would likely only be about a 1% discount off asking price which equates to a few thousand, but it just really depends on your market as to how much of a deal you can get. As an investor though, you have the luxury of bidding on as many properties as you want where the numbers work for you. 

My advice: Bid often and if the majority of your bids are being accepted then chances are that you're bidding too much. But when a great property opportunity is listed, know how much you're willing to bid up to and jump on it fast.

I agree - always good to not be fully leveraged and to have some capital on hand at all times in case there's a crash somewhere and you can get some huge value IMO. 

@Steve Sell I agree that good RE investments should give 10%+ returns, but usually there's a period where you're leveraged out and need to pay down debts or save up for a downpayment for a new property where investing in the market will help you get money faster to do that.

I use E-transfers for all my rent collection and/or fees. Guaranteed the money won't bounce and usually no fees for either party

@Thomas S. @Steve Sell Would love to talk more about what you guys put your money into to generate 10% returns. I usually do a mix of ETFs and equities, but always like to get other thoughts on alternatives.

Recent years have been great but a big market downturn usually brings the ROI % back down quite a bit. How did your portfolios perform during the 08 crash?

@Brie Schmidt From what I've seen typically HELOCs will have higher interest rate than mortgages but if your mortgage rate or other debts are higher then it makes sense to put money from HELOC towards that and pay down your higher interest rates.

The other alternative is you can take the money from the HELOC and put in the stock market which in recent years has been yielding very solid returns and will allow you to make more than your HELOC interest rate. The downside is if your stock market investment returns less than or even negative which will leave you with a bigger debt.

There's some really good books online, I'd search for the real estate books that interest the strategy your interested in the most - flipping, holding etc.

@Thomas S. Curious where you get the number $866/month from 100K equity ? 

I understand the more equity in a property the less hard your money is working for you but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's no longer an asset since it is still making you money, but it is certainly a less profitable investment

As Thomas said, it depends on their existing lease agreement that you would inherit. However there are workarounds where you can have the tenant move out, check your local laws. 

Also depends where you live as well. In BC, there are limitation with percentages that a landlord can raise rent each year and once the lease is up it will roll month to month unless the tenant wants to resign another term. 

I know in other places once the lease is up, the landlord can choose whatever amount they like to increase it to.

@James E.

Here's some interesting reads on how tech is changing RE industry already

Blockchain reducing property purchases costs in future

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/property-report/blockchain-technology-threatens-the-middleman-in-real-estate-transactions/article37605792/

360 degrees and mobile devices are being used to rent and sell properties

A few different apps illustrating how things are changing and agents / realtors will need to find new ways to bring value and info to their clients as the apps makes things easier and easier for the general public to find or buy properties. 

I thought the coolest app was Feeduck which allows you to have realtors bid on offering their services to you for selling your property. In a hot market like where I live, most condos will sell themself within a week just by having someone open the door and showing the place so having a low commission agent is ideal since selling skills aren't as critical