All Forum Posts by: Zorya Belanger

 Before knowing what we were doing, partner and I bought a $200k condo, with 20% down, and both worked full time as engineers and paid down the mortgage as much as we could. After 3 years we had enough equity in the condo, about $120k to buy 2 rentals. We learned about investing at the end of those 3 years so would we have done something different had we known what we know now? Yes, but what we did worked too. 

I would agree with that. Live where you want to live, as it’s probably where a lot of other people also want to live and you should be able to find a good investment property. That said, I don’t know too much about Guelph. For your second property, if you will not live there, I’d consider other markets, with affordable homes, good employment and no rent control. 

https://moneywise.ca/a/ch-pms/...

Hi @Chris Hamilton From investing in both Canada and the US, I've really seen the difference in publicly available information about sellers / property owners. You can find surprisingly detailed lists in the US, but not here in Canada. So just keep that in mind - that part of the strategy in Canada will be a bit different. 

Hi @Bashar Al Saigh Sounds like a great plan! Happy to chat sometime. I've done JVs in Alberta for the last 8 years, and now we're buying multifamily in the US.

I recommend Nadeem Keshavjee with Greenbirch Capital - he's in Calgary

Hi @Kevin Schmidt 

There are cash flowing properties in Edmonton even after accounting for PM. Yes, you could save money by doing it yourself, but how much is your time worth? A good PM is worth it. It also is possible to self manage from afar if you’d like, and I could connect you with other investors who do it if you need some tips. They often just pay someone to do showings. 

Hi Rohan, It's definitely a tough market to get started in, as it's super unaffordable. I would suggest looking elsewhere where the numbers make more sense, but if you want to move into your next property that does make it tricky. If I know a bit more about your ultimate goal of investing in real estate, I might be of more help.

I see many investors from Vancouver not investing in Vancouver. Even for your first property, it's not as hard as you might think to invest out of province. Buy where it makes sense, not where you live. You're looking at properties 3+ hours away and a flight to Edmonton for Calgary is 1.5 hrs for $100 return. When you do it strategically and have a good team, you don't have to visit very often at all, even when you're in the shopping phase.

Hi @Patrick K. If an investor has 200+ properties, then I'm sure there are some multifamily properties in that portfolio, and they are likely not buying those buildings on their own. Could be multifamily syndications with active and passive investors, and a high net worth individual guaranteeing the loan. Behind the scene, it's just a commercial loan, and the property mostly qualifies for it. You can get pretty good interest rates as lenders see multifamily as the lowest risk asset after personal residences. In general, financing is the same in US and Canada, but lots of details are different.