Summer is in full swing now that we’ve had our July Halton REI meeting and taking the month of August off but don’t worry, there will be a tour mid August for investment opportunities in St. Catharines.

 

This past Saturday, our Street Smart Tour brought us to a city truly open for business in Brantford, Ontario with my team, the Team Titans and our friend Paisley Mackenzie, former Economic Development Office of Brantford.  Paisley has nearly 30 years experience working around investments and Brantford so it was a special treat to have her along.

 

Brantford is an underrated market as many regular Brantford investors know who are enjoying the returns in a market that is flying under the radar.  Brantford is situated between Hamilton and Cambridge, Ontario and there are not many hotter markets than these two for those who care about the ripple affect.  Also what many do not know is how good the Planning Department is, they are actually consistent in following Ontario Building Code and sadly, not all cities can say the same.

 

Days on market are some of the best I’ve seen in years as this is summer when prices typically retreat and we toured two pretty sweet properties that have been on market for around 60 days at prices mid 300 to low 400,000.  Terrific affordability when compared to the neighbouring KWC and Hamilton markets.

 

On to this week’s show!!

 

Preacher’s Son, Ran Away From Home at 12, 365 Days In Rehab To Real Estate Success With Ben Oosterveld

 

Today’s Ben Oosterveld is crazy successful. Dad to four kids, happily married, booming business, he earned over $800,000 in 2017, in one 14 month stretch he acquired 41 properties.

 

By all definitions, Ben is killing it but he wasn’t always successful.  Ben, a preacher’s son ran away from home at 12, abuse drugs and alcohol till the age of 20, crawled home to his parents, checked into a 12 month rehabilitation program and turned his life around.

 

Ben talks about learning lessons on raising a challenging child such as himself, owning investments with other people’s money during the crash, being bullied by an investment partner, what he would do differently with his investments if he could do it all over again.  This is the first time Ben has publicly shared his challenges as an investor.

 

The young and brilliant Ryan Carr is back to share his current project where he is turning his poorly performing property into a winner but adding an 850 square foot coach house in the backyard of an existing property and rent for 1,500-1,600/month plus utilities.

 

If you haven’t heard Ryan’s previous interview, go back to the episode titled ‘How a Mechanic Invested in 20 Properties in Two Years’ or google truth about real estate investing dot ca ryan carr to find it.

 

Ryan updates us on his ultra conservative investment strategy while acquiring 1-2 properties per month and his current lifestyle as a tenant.  Quick refresher, if you believe the market will decline, sell your home and rent, deploy your capital else where for higher returns.  Ryan is putting his money where his mouth is.

Susan is a veteran investor who started in 2006, the perfect time right before the Financial/credit crisis of 07/08.  She’s done flips, legal basement suites, 30-40 rent to owns, student rentals and currently holds over 30 properties.

 

We talk about raising capital and credit from investment partners for joint venturing, her forecast and equity splits for investment partners, her strategy for the “infinity house” as in infinite returns, favourites books she recommends, how she develops talent so she may delegate and limit her active work to only 15 hours a week.

 

You will want to have a listen to how she does what we all want, more money, limited investment of time so she may spend more time raising her family.

 

youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHh7SUOjTdwdnr6DUZEQshg

 

website: http://www.libertypropertysolutions.ca/about/

 

 

 

What can I say about Jay, he had it all, successful investments, business, a growing family till tragedy struck and took the mother of his three young children.  Thanks to his real estate, his portfolio was able to support Jay and his kids while on leave for three years to mourn and care for the kids.

 

We go deep into what happened, how it affected the kids, how Jay got through it now four years later, lessons learned, what Jay would have done differently for his wife and Jay’s three sources of passive income that allow him to be a full time dad, yet still living in one of Canada’s most affluent cities.

 

This is part one of a two part series of the most difficult interview I have done. If you’re a parent or ever plan on being one, have a listen.