All Forum Posts by: Luc Boiron

Hello RE investors in the GTA!

I've recently started a meetup to network and meet more RE investors, and share stories, contacts, and ideas.

The meetup can be found at: https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Real-Estate-Investo...

The first event is on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 from 6:30pm to 9pm

I hope we can have a big turnout of BP members. 

The meetup is at the Royal LePage Terrequity office at Queen's Quay and Yonge, there is no fee to attend, and no sales pitch. It is simply a meetup for investors to chat about real estate, help each other, and grow as professionals.

I hope our local investors will be able to make it!

This is amazing - now if I could find these at a reasonable price in Canada...

@Kenneth Noronha I also recommend you don't drop out.

If you want to do some real estate, get your RE license as has already been recommended. It is hard at your age to become a full time real estate investor, and you won't find a job making a ton of money either.

Ideally, you finish your university degree, do well, get a good job, work a couple of years and use that income to buy a few rental properties as a solid base, then go into RE full time.

I bought my first rental at in 2007 in my first year of my undergrad business degree at Schulich. I managed that property, eventually sold it, went to law school, got my JD from Osgoode and an MBA from Schulich, bought a few more properties, got licensed as a lawyer, and then went into RE full time. I am now in a position where my RE can explode in growth, and it is, but this happened because of putting myself in the position I am.

To really grow in RE as an investor, you will need investors. Investors are less likely to invest with drop-outs. Also, some of my investors are friends from school. They have good jobs, work hard, but aren't presented with the same investment opportunities that I am, so I am able to help them and make money doing it.

Stay in school!

@Pamela Trull I'm not sure I fully understand the problem, but if the problem is just old hinges, pretty much any handyman should be able to change hinges.

If it's just rusty and doesn't move well, try some WD-40 to lube it up first.

@Sergey S. The heads I used were similar to the ones on the amazon link that @Matt Geerts posted, but my plumber provided them. He didn't really have experience with sprinkler system either, but connected them with Pex, and the city inspector came in and said it looked sufficient.

I think it was like checking a box for him, either fire rated drywall in the furnace room, or sprinkler heads. I think the plumber charged me around $100 and it took him next to no time, and maybe also charged me a small amount for the heads. Definitely was a much easier solution, but it may vary city by city on what the inspector allows.

@James Adair It sounds like you've already found some great people to speak to. 

As a flipper in a different market than yours, I would give you some additional advice:

You make money when you buy. I know everyone says this, but it is true. I manage renovations on my flips, but the money is made when I buy right. I always say that I make the money when I buy, and then all I need to do is not screw up the renovations and the sale. If you buy poorly, it's very difficult to make up for it by renovating very well.

Also, when you run numbers, make sure you include the cost of any work you do. You need this to work as a business, so if you were to pay a contractor fair rates, you would still make money. If you would break even paying a contractor and you are only profiting because you can do the work yourself, than you are simply buying yourself a job.

You are in a great position with the knowledge you have. Treat this like a business, and you can do very well. Good luck!

That's a great strategy @Tan Wang, it's always best to educate yourself and read up first. House hacking is also a great way to cut your teeth in real estate, even if that just means renting out a larger space and subleasing rooms out to keep your living costs low.

 This is exactly it.

Yoni, I'm not sure why so many people are concentrating on your agent. If your agent is willing to work with you and put in a lot of offers, great. It most likely comes down to the price you are offering. So I would repeat Eric's question, have you looked at what the properties you offered on sold for?

I buy properties off the MLS, among other ways. Here is my process:

- See the property as soon as it is listed with my agent.

- Have my agent call the listing agent to get a feel of what their client would like to see (not always willing to discuss the price), and what is the ideal closing.

- Analyze the comps to see at what price the property makes sense. If the price comes back somewhere it would make sense, I offer that price, with no financing or inspection contingencies, and the closing date the seller wants.

Sometimes this works, often it doesn't. My last MLS purchase was a bidding war, I paid $431,000, I believe the asking price was $406,000. In my market the other day, a property was listed at $1.1 million, and sold firm for $2.3 million, more than double asking. The property was probably worth just under $2 million in my eyes. The asking price is just a suggestion. Figure out what the property is worth to you, and offer that. If all the properties sell for more than you are offering, than you are not offering enough, and either need to reconsider what returns you are willing to accept, change markets, or take a break from real estate.

@Lior Zilber It depends where in the Toronto area you are looking. Cap rates have come down a lot in Toronto proper, you sometimes see 3-4% cap rates. Within an hour of Toronto cap rates start going to up to something a little more reasonable. You may want to connect with @Claude Boiron to ask about cap rates in different areas.

@Shawn Penner sadly we can't really get those from the courthouse. I believe it is possible to get some lists, such as homeowners over a certain age. It's better than mailing blindly, but definitely not the detailed lists that you can get in the US.