All Forum Posts by: Tony Akhigbe

Congrats @Kishanchandra Golla Looks like you executed this project excellently.

Hello @Jeremy Johnson I second the suggestions by @Tchaka Owen I have used some of these when I was flipping in Calgary. My preferred method was LOC's as most times the interest rates from HML's were a bit too much for me to swallow. I think I started out with a $15k LOC, and over time got more with other banks and every 3-4 months I called in to increase the limts on them.

For property LOC's, I got one my primary residence and another rental I had at the time. I think most banks do these but I used Manulife's M-One account (basically 1 big checking/savings/LOC account - all your income goes in, pays down the loan which is then available for your use). I think Canadian Tire's account is the same. I stopped using M-One because of the lack of branches and atm's. Now I have a Scotiabank STEP mortgage which is the same thing - as I pay down the mortgage its available to me as an LOC. I got to a point where I could do a "cash" buy of about $400k or so from opm, can't remember now.

You could also try mortgage brokers. I worked with a mortgage broker who had some good options. At one time he got a non-bank lender who was willing to finance the loan plus repairs. But the purchase fell through so I never used them.

Then of course, I've used investors on a couple of deals. In my case friends & family.

The LOC way will take time to build but I believe its a good way to go. If you need to get this deal done now I'd say find a mortgage broker and an investor or several.

Hope this helps.

Hi @Nathan Hillier I'm also interested in investing in the US, currently working on it. I've been involved in a syndication deal in Houston but now I'm focused on Memphis, currently trying to build a team there. I'm open to networking with like minded Calgarians, and very willing to help (I'm still learning myself) as this can get overwhelming at times.

@Snehann Kapnadak from the description of your process, I think you already have a good grasp of how to use the SDP, so you should be able to tell if it works or not for you very quickly. I've found it a big help, I don't think I'd have been able to paint as good a picture as it does. I tend to follow your process myself (I've focused on friends so far). I never bring up the SDP till at least the 2nd or 3rd meeting (your step 2). Then I usually email it to them, give them some time and discuss it at a later meeting/call. The response has been very positive after the SDP.

Congrats @Michael Ohman Way to go!!

Hi @Brandon Johnson based on a 6.7% the expenses look to be low. Seller may not be giving you the full picture, or he's not keeping up/scrimping on maintenance. If you did raise rents to market value, then property would be worth closer to his ask. 

But then why are rents lower: he didn't keep up with the market or units are not up to neighborhood standard.... That goes back to deferred maintenance and you having to put to in more cash.

@Brad McClain I know this was directed at @Travis Hewlett but I'll chime in. I'll recommend Calgary Real estate investment forum. It's hosted by 2 realtors, meet once a month, always put on an educational talk (some very good ones) and lots of networking opportunities. I haven't been to REIN but a couple of friends have, they say it's ok. You can try it out, can always opt out if it's not a good fit.

Good idea about the universities @Cody Weiss, I didn't think about that when I was doing my research. Good luck.

@Cody Weiss you might have to get that from the real estate board (depending on how you approach them). Even Realtors may not know, unless they're interested in the history of the business (my experience). 

Congrats @Travis Hewlett , looks like you got quite a deal. Calgary is an equity/appreciation market, so 1% or 2% rules are just about impossible, but getting that much in cashflow plus that amount of upside - sweet!

You've managed to add to cashflow to what I think your niche is (adding basement suites?). I didn't know garages could go for that much, good work with testing the market. But if built to spec, and you can push the envelope, take it! But I'll add to what @Carson Wilcox said about noise/odors, might want to have some rules in place to control the various tenants.

What communities are you buying in? (Looks like older, established neighbourhoods). Also how do you handle splitting utilities between tenants?