Info

The Truth About Real Estate Investing... for Canadians

For Canadians by Canadians sharing the truths about generating wealth through real estate investing. This show is about getting rich slowly, investing is a marathon, no get rich quick methods will be discussed here hosted by award winning investor and three time Realtor of the Year Erwin Szeto aka Mr. Hamilton
RSS Feed
The Truth About Real Estate Investing... for Canadians
2024
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2023
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2022
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2021
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2020
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2018
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2017
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November
June
May
April
March


All Episodes
Archives
Now displaying: 2023
Dec 18, 2023

I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the human beings negatively affected by investing on pre-construction or speculation. There have been many and will be many more people losing their 15% deposits on pre-construction condos and houses and they’re on the hook for any costs and losses incurred by the builder when they resell the property.

In combination with a slowing economy and job losses it’s just awful out there.  

In a country with massive affordability issues someone was going to get burnt and let’s not forget renters who are praying to stay in their rent controlled units as a move could be a disaster in having to pay today’s outrageous market rents.

A friend of mine told me he rented out his downtown Toronto condo, two bedroom, two bath for $3,500 plus utilities and it’s still negative cash flow. Rent went up $500 over a two year period.

If the federal Liberals wonder why their polling numbers look so bad… well they didn’t have the courage to force municipalities to revise their zoning to allow for higher density and they’ve simply allowed immigration to exceed the supply of health care, education and housing.

While the Canadian economy is shrinking in real GDP terms.  The numbers are even worse when you remove the economic growth from immigration.  Housing affordability hasn’t improved much either and it’s about to get worse.

Royal LePage is forecasting Toronto housing prices to increase by 6% by end of 2024.  Between rate cuts and rising prices, this is why I’ve recommended my clients to wait for a rising market to sell to maximise their sale prices.  We investors need all the help we can get with investment properties so out of favour in the current market.

The housing crisis still exists, there are deals out there for short term gains for those with deep pockets and strong stomachs.  I still believe those who create housing, as they always have will continue to be a profitable investment business hence we have a serious expert today in Michael Collins-Williams who is the CEO of the West End Home Builders’ Association.

MCW as he’s known to his friends, has spent his entire working career in Planning and Building with a degree in such from Ryerson University, followed by 18 years at Ontario Home Builders’ Association before taking the big job as CEO almost 3 years ago at the West End Homes Builders’ Association.

I know several members of the West End Homes Builders’ Association.  They are an close knit, active community of members with the major players including folks with hundreds of millions worth of real estate.  Cool party is the crazy rich builders are approachable and humble in my experience.

With all the development craze I’m seeing on social media, if you’re one of them, I can’t recommend enough you check out your local, non-profit, Builders’ Association for low price, high value networking.

There’s a saying in Chinese, the best things are cheap and quality which is why I’m so frugal :).

You can connect with MCW on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikejcw?lang=en, website is https://www.westendhba.ca/ and Mike is happy to speak to anyone interested in joining, just reach out!  Just tell him you heard him on this show.

 

Please enjoy the show!

Erwin

Dec 13, 2023

On to this week’s show!  MacKenzie Wilson is a risk adverse, smart guy as he got into investing in Calgary real estate and wisely knew that screening for the right tenant was absolutely key and that the wrong tenant would lead to a living nightmare.  This coming from a Calgarian! Ask him what he thinks about the investing in BC or Ontario!!

MacKenzie Wilson is an advocate for affordable housing and reduces the risk for landlords and tenants across Canada. With this MacKenzie has created and manages the largest online community of 4,000+ Landlords in Alberta. His online presence allows landlords to learn key fundamental landlord practices, navigating the risks and challenges associated with being a landlord, and maintaining a mutually beneficial tenant-landlord relationship. 

If you’re a fan of development, highest and best use investing, pay special attention to Mackenzie’s current tear down, infill project in Calgary that will qualify for the in demand CHMC MLI select financing of 95% loan to value, 50 year amortization.  He’s already purchased an everyday 60’ by 100’ lot which the correct zoning for which he will intensify into eight units.  Not quite 10X but 8X the housing supply on a single lot is pretty awesome.

Mac as he’s known to his friends also works at Singlekey, Canada’s largest tenant screening service.  The online service I use and recommend my clients use to screen tenants.  I luv how far credit reports have come, they’ve gotten cheaper, faster, digital and more user friendly.  

 

To follow Mackenzie:

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/AlbertaLandlordCommunity

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwyyc/

Dec 6, 2023

On to this week’s show!

We have my old friend Tim Hong, we’ve been associates at Rock Star Real Estate and coaching investors since 2011.  Tim has done several joint ventures in rent to owns, an apartment building, student rentals. Tim has his own property management company for condos to duplexes from Toronto to Hamilton to Kitchener-Waterloo.  In his newest venture, a cash flow play, Tim acquired a private, off market Canada Post franchise and he is approaching one year of ownership and has drastically raised revenues.

He’s done this all while being married, having three young kids and two dogs.

To follow Tim:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_timhong_

Email: tim@infinitywealth.ca

Nov 28, 2023

On with the show! This week we have the lovely Victoria Cluney who has a different journey than most… well at least she is the first career Canadian Armed Forces personnel to be a guest of this show.  Victoria shares her journey of how she stumbled into being a landlord by renting out her home when she was transferred by work to different bases, which made great money but it wasn’t until she developed her cottage property for short term rental income did she realise what she enjoyed most.

Victoria is now levelling up into commercial, recreational property, specifically a BRRRR motel in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia a vibrant and historic coastal town known for its unique architecture and rich maritime heritage.  The perfect location for a vacation property.

https://www.instagram.com/thebreezemotel

It hasn’t been a smooth and easy journey to success as Victoria shares on today’s episode and I do think this is a good one as more and more, Canadian investors want diversification away from long-term rentals. Commercial is one way to go!

 

To follow Victoria:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriacluney/?hl=en

Ottawa InestHer Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/the-real-estate-investher-meetup-ottawa-canada/

Motel: https://thebreezemotel.com/

 

Please enjoy the show!

 

Nov 20, 2023

On to this week’s show!

Our guest is basically a Canadian as he grew up in Minnesota near the border. Ryan grew up further north that the vast majority of Ontarians so he knows snow, hockey, black flies and cold winters.

Then he smartened up and moved to Florida and participated in some roller coaster markets including the financial crisis and housing market crash of 2007-2009.  Ryan will share his experience on how they made a killing back then.

Ryan is well beyond just being a Realtor, he’s the founder and CEO of RealTrade Inc. which is like the Facebook Marketplace for real estate professionals and real estate listings, a smart diversification play for Realtors to keep control of their listings vs the Zillows and Redfin.

On the Florida real estate side, Ryan recounts how he made money buying bad mortgages from the banks in 2009, the current market inventory and demand, short term or hybrid rentals which is a split between mid-term and short term rental, hurricane insurance and changes to construction, the landlord, tenant laws and tax benefits, what to do for fun the south Florida.

50% of survey respondents wanted to hear more about Florida so here you go! I give you Ryan Poole, please enjoy the show!!

 

To follow Ryan:

Ryanpool@realtrade.io

 

Nov 14, 2023

Investing for positive cash flow, areas of job growth and warm weather, regaining control of the retirement investment plan and legacy portfolio; all this and more on today’s episode of the Truth About Real Estate Investing Show for Canadians.

I’m your host Erwin Szeto, landlord since 2005, Realtor and Coach to investors since 2010, 4X Realtor of the year, $400,000,000+ in client transactions, and host of this little podcast that could that is ranked #81 Business podcasts per Apple iTunes.

We have a different podcast for you today as I am the one being interviewed by today’s guest of the show Andrew Kim, CEO of Share, a technology based asset manager of single family rental properties in the USA with focus on the landlord friendly states of the southern USA.

After months of research and due diligence on both investing in the US and on Share, I’ve convinced my wife Cherry the risks we bear with the Landlord Tenant Board with an eight month backlog just for a hearing, rent control that makes inflation our expense to bear and with better, simpler investment opportunities in the USA it make sense to sell some, if not all our rental properties here in Ontario.

On today’s episode, the tables are turned: Andrew asks me all about the decision to invest in the USA via direct ownership of real estate. Direct ownership, unlike what others out there in doing in raising capital or OPM is I own the property with full title. I have complete control over the house and do not share ownership with others like joint venture, or shares in a company.  It’s just me, the bank, and my wife Cherry.

As always in how our nearly two decades of investing has been, direct ownership, if done correctly, means higher returns to get ahead in life.  I bear all the risk and keep all the upside.  Worst case, I own a quality house in a quality location that I can renovate, move into, or sell.  That’s how I’ve always invested.  

My wife and I don’t take on partners, you don’t need us as joint venture partners, I can show anyone how to invest just like my 45+ millionaire and multimillionaire real estate investors in the most efficient path, with the least stress as possible via direct ownership.

Let’s never take our eye off the goal of every real estate investor: a comfortable, maybe earlier retirement.  With easy financing in the US available for unlimited properties, the tax part I’m not worried about as the worst case scenario if done correctly is one pays the same amount of total tax but split between US and Canada, the biggest risks to the real estate investor are removed when investing in the southern, landlord friendly markets… there are risks like there always are but I’m choosing to invest my hard earned money where there are a lot fewer risks and more potential for cash flow.

Everyone has to do their own research and due diligence. I’ve done mine including a site tour around Atlanta, Georgia and I’ve grilled Andrew probably more than anyone ever has.  Poor guy was seated next to me on the flight home from Atlanta and there was no inflight entertainment on our ghetto Air Canada plane.  Just 2+ hours of me asking questions :))) 

Have a listen to Andrew asking me the most common questions Canadians are asking about investing in the United States.  Please enjoy the show.

For more information on SHARE and investing in the US:

Web: www.iwin.sharesfr.com mention Erwin or iWIN or you’re in pursuit of the truth about real estate investing and they’ll take good care of you.

Nov 7, 2023

Hello and welcome to the Truth About Real Estate Investing for Canadians, my name is Erwin Szeto, residential real estate investor since 2005, and in my experience, the investment that has gotten my over 350 clients ahead in life is direct ownership of real estate as they own the property, manage it themselves or hire a property manager, and grow their portfolios by borrowing cheap mortgage money. My team here at iWIN real estate has been coaching clients to do so since 2010 and it’s been a great run.

Yesterday, I was supporting one of my clients who I’ve helped acquire several properties whose tenant has not paid rent in 13 months even though they won at the Landlord Tenant Board five months ago.  He also shared with me how his rental portfolio was the highest source of stress in his life.

Another client, a real estate mortgage professional, he’s had minor basement leakage in one property in a brand new renovation and in his other brand new renovation, the tenant move out because the floors are out of whack having been installed onto of an uneven floor.  The tenant said the flooring edges are sharp and too dangerous for their baby to be crawling around on. My client is back and forth with the flooring manufacturer and the general contractor and it’s been months.

The truth about real estate investing is it can be stressful and there are challenges.  I have my own stories too for another day but this is not why I first got into real estate.  I started investing for an alternate source of income. I would side hustle as a real estate investor for a return of more freedom, more control over my finances and bring my clients along for the same journey.

It’s always my job as chief investment officer of my household and for my clients to find ways to optimize their portfolios including reducing risk.

In the current environment with inflation, rent control, dysfunctional Landlord Tenant Board, and elevated interest rates.  Add to that how anti landlord the politicians and media are, I don’t feel I’m in control anymore hence I see the writing on the wall.  Cherry and I are selling several if not all of our rental properties in Ontario to take profits, pay off debts, raise cash to take advantage of other opportunities mostly in landlord friendly locations in and around the top 10 cities for investment in the USA.

Both Americans from California and New York along with Canadians are making the move to red, sunbelt states.

The business environment in certain states where I will be targeting offers better numbers and less risk. No question.  At my stage of investing career, I’ve invested in over 40 houses, done many advanced BRRRRs but because I can cash flow better on single family houses in the US, 5-7 cap rates, the same cap rates past guest of this show do with apartment buildings after 5-10 years of renovating, turning over apartments.

I see no reason to take on so much risk when there’s an easier way.

I finally have easy financing, it’s actually easier to get a Mortgage in the US than in Canada. Scott Dillingham of LendCity, who I’ve been working for years to get me mortgage brokers on income properties shared with me in the summer he would soon be able to offer easy, commercial style mortgages for Canadians to invest in an unlimited number of American income properties.  No credit needed.

Investing in real estate without mortgages makes little sense hence I’d never taken US investing seriously but Scott opened the door, I walked through it and went all in on my due diligence.

I’ve never been so frustrated as an Ontario landlord.  For example, did you know tenanted properties for sale are getting next to no showings?  In my nearly two decades, I have never seen showings volume so bad for turnkey income properties at the same time the LTB is so broken, the allowable rent increase so far below inflation, the government anti landlord rhetoric so bad.  I just witnessed a turnkey duplex in Hamilton, ON sell for almost 30% off from peak this past weekend.

But that’s OK, I’m going to pivot to investing the the USA but big but, I’m risk adverse and I’ve seen so many deals go sideways when remote investing.  Plus I don’t like sharing my investments, I prefer to keep all of the equity and all of the upside returns to myself.

Then by fate, a past client of mine, Brent introduced me to his friend Andrew and it was as if the universe was telling me something.

Andrew Kim, I read about his start up, a tech, Ai, enabled asset management company in the Toronto Star and Brent out of the blue introduces me to Andrew. 

First off, what’s an asset manager? Let’s first start with explaining what a property manager is as we’re most familiar with that. Per ChatGPT a property manager handles daily operations, tenant relations, maintenance, and rent collection to ensure the property runs smoothly.

An asset manager manages the property manager, focuses on maximizing the property's value and investment returns, dealing with acquisitions, dispositions, and strategic financial planning like when to refinance.  That’s what Andrew’s company SHARE does specializing in single family rentals.

 

I’ve invested the last three months conducting due diligence on investing in the US, on Andrew’s Share, Scott’s Lendcity (I’ve researched their competition, checked references), and we delivered our first ever US investing workshop to much success. Feedback rating was 9.5/10, we’ll announce our next one mid January and we raised $5,400 for charity.  Win-win-win-win, the way I like it. A win for Andrew, Scott; a win for my business iWIN, the attendees loved it, and $5,400 goes a long way at my charity the Hamilton Basket Brigade.

My trip to Atlanta, Georgia was hosted by Share, I invited along another real estate investor friend of mine, we got to hang out with both Andrew and Chief Investment Officer Dmitri who is a real estate investing wizard having experienced acquiring and managing 20,000 apartment units or $7 billion as an Executive Director of Investments at Starlight. Dmitri easily has the most institutional experience of anyone I know personally and for someone who has a million questions like I do, I was super excited. 

Our tour of investment properties in the suburbs of Atlanta was led by a nationwide, institutional, top tier property management company who manages 2,800 single family houses in America with 800 alone in the Atlanta area.  I was thoroughly impressed by what I saw: well oiled systems, reasonable renovation budgets and turnaround times, no rent control.

I had a deadline to complete my due diligence by the end of the Atlanta trip, to understand the asset I was investing in plus the operations and just as importantly the leadership.

As we were exiting the baggage area of Pearson Airport, we’re walking out together and we see a family with small kids.  Mom and dad are pushing three, fully loaded luggage carts, mom is trying to push two carts while herding her four year old.  I take a step in their direction to help out, Andrew, CEO of Share who’s been struggling with pain the whole trip due to a partially herniated disk in his back beats me to it and pushes one of the mom’s carts.

What a Boy Scout like I was growing up.

As my due diligence is complete, I have some exciting news to share effective immediately:

iWIN Real Estate is proud to announce its strategic partnership with SHARE, a Canadian real estate asset management company specializing in streamlining the end-to-end process of vetting, buying, and managing high-return single-family rental homes in the USA for investors. Using IWIN’s influence in the Canadian real estate investor community, more frustrated, everyday investors will have the opportunity to improve cash flow, diversify, and make real estate investing great again!

By combining SHARE’s U.S. investment expertise and IWIN’s commitment to delivering exceptional results and pioneering investment solutions, investors of all levels can access a wealth of benefits, from streamlined investment process, quality education, and coaching.

“Frustrated Canadian investors, especially in Ontario and BC are looking for diversification in a more landlord-friendly environment and modern solutions, including supercharged systems where everything an investor needs exists under one roof,” said Erwin Szeto, Founder of IWIN. “Together with SHARE, we aim to make direct ownership of income properties more affordable, profitable, less risk, and rewarding for the everyday mom and pop investors.”

SHARE offers investors a comprehensive suite of services for Canadians, including sourcing and acquiring high-quality single-family rental homes in prime locations, professional property management, financing options, legal structuring, and investment portfolio diversification.

“With SHARE's diversified inventory and proven track record of generating high returns, investors can access even more lucrative opportunities with reduced risk,” said Andrew Kim, CEO and Co-Founder of SHARE. “Partnering with IWIN allows SHARE investors to tap into that passive income element and portfolio expansion all while knowing their assets are protected.” 

Partner With SHARE

SHARE offers real estate service providers with existing customer bases or audiences like iWIN Real Estate the opportunity to expand their investment offerings for a mutually beneficial relationship and provide clients with a comprehensive and seamless real estate investment experience in the USA.  Book a call with Erwin  to learn how partnering with SHARE can add value to your investment offerings.

End of press release.

 

My plan is to continue operating iWIN Real Estate as we are carrying more properties for sale than we ever had in my 13 year career as we continue to help our clients with their real estate needs.  Our offerings of real estate investments have simply expanded and when new investors come to me and ask what they should invest in, I simply present, side by side an $800,000 duplex or $1.2 million triplex here in Ontario vs. a single family for $100,000-300,000 in the US that cash flows better along with all the reasons a US investment is easier and they can decide for themselves.  

Officially, I’ve joined Share’s advisory board to guide the growth of the Canadian market as a part time role as part of my full time role as chief investment advisor for my family, to our hundreds of mom and pop investor clients, and my favourite people, our 17 listeners of the podcast.

The truth about real estate is, I haven’t been this excited about real estate investing since legal duplexes in 2015 and now with US investment properties on the table, I see the path to no longer have to subsidize the out of control housing inflation for my current tenants and make real estate investing great again.

Oct 30, 2023

On to this week’s guest Francois Lanthier has already exited his long-term rentals in Ontario a while ago and now lives in Costa Rica with his wife and teenage kids.

Francois has investments in New Brunswick, Alberta, Michigan, Florida, Dominican Republic, Dubai, with plans to find more investments in Eastern Europe and Panama. It’s like he trying to buy up all the spaces on a Monopoly board!

On this show Francois details what he thinks is an ideal investment in Costa Rica and a three day real estate investing conference that Cherry my wife is speaking at in Costa Rica.  You can learn more at www.investinpuravida.com

Francois shares a bunch of his research on where he invests and why and his path to leaving his Canadian tax residency.  His non-negotiables for choosing where to live. Also interesting is what his kids are doing for school since they’ve moved from Ottawa to Costa Rica.

I’m sure many will find this to be a fascinating episode.

Please enjoy the show!

 

To follow Francois:

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/wine_and_real_estate

Oct 24, 2023

We have Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corporation in the house! OR Calvert for short. The specialise in short-term financing for flippers, BRRRR investors, even pre-construction investors who need short term financing to close a property so they may immediately sell said property.

As a real estate geek, I enjoy learning about what’s going on the in market, where investors are putting their money and borrowed money from Calvert to work. Where do they find deals? What cities, provinces, on or off market and I hope you the listener enjoy it too. 

I even turn the table on both Ryan and Garret who both live in Calgary and ask where they invest their own money.  For anyone who wants to lend their funds privately, I think it’s a good idea to listen to how professional lenders invest their money because if it’s good enough for an insider… well just have a listen.

For more information, their website is: www.chmic.ca and you can reach Ryan at ryan@chmic.ca.

Please like, subscribe, leave a 5 star review on iTunes or Spotify, funny enough our spotify rating is higher therefore Spotify is now my favourite podcast platform.  And please enjoy the show!

Oct 18, 2023

On to this week’s show!

We have the lovely Lena Guirguis on the show!

Her Asset Management company NV Property Management since 2005 manages 168 units including 32 of her own. Her portfolio is incredibly diversified from owning a commercial flex space in Richmond, residential properties around the GTA and apartment buildings in Cleveland, Ohio.

Lena is the founder of Stilettos and Hammers, a networking and educational real estate investment network for investors at every stage. They’re evening hosting a Hallowe’en social on October 26th at night in Etobicoke, ON. Link in the show notes https://stilettosandhammers.com/event/halloween-social-networking-event/ or you can find details on https://stilettosandhammers.com/

On today’s show, Lena shares her journey of strategic growth of her business and portfolio in partnership with her commercial contractor husband.  We discuss the state of today’s market and how she as a professional investor with established power team will invest going forward.

Lena came to Canada as an Iranian immigrant so be prepared for an inspiring example of what dedication, knowledge, talent and hard work can achieve.

I give you Lena Guirguis

Please enjoy the show!

Oct 10, 2023

On to this week’s show we have my old friends Mai Nguyen and Jonathan Lim who’s travel agency business was hit hard by Covid but thanks to their experience as early adopter AirBnb hosts were able to successfully pivot into short term rentals, specifically AirBnb and now own a couple and manage a total of 30 Airbnb properties.

From Muskoka Cottages two hours north of Toronto, to downtown condominiums, to recreational properties in Niagara Falls they have quite a bit of experience on what works, what doesn’t work, the good, bad and the ugly. The truth about short term rentals is they are a hospitality business: that means lots of customer service, cleaners are critical to the business, location and amenities mean the difference between success and failure.  It’s totally doable and comes down to education and execution. 

Mai and Jonathan tell it like it is, including the mistakes they made when they first listed their home on AirBnb, to how it funded their travel, what types of properties to buy, red flags for potential guests, scams, and if you should be buying a property today to AirBnb.

Before buying a recreational property or course, I highly recommend giving this episode a listen

Please enjoy the show!

 

To connect/follow Mai and Jonathan

www.shortstaysintl.com

info@shortstaysintl.com

Direct business line: 416-521-3141

Airbnb host referral link: www.airbnb.ca/r/main8

IG: https://www.instagram.com/mainguyenlim/ and https://www.instagram.com/shortstaysinternational/

Oct 2, 2023

Our guest today is Andrew Kim, with ten years of real estate experience starting in the GTA, before building a portfolio of 20, fully managed properties in the state of New York, Florida, Atlanta and Dallas.  He’s a serial tech entrepreneur who’s worked in Silicon Valley startups and is now combining his passion for real estate investing with his technology. 

Andrew’s company combines the expertise to handpick quality investment properties for Canadians in the US., writing offers to arranging ownership structuring, taxes, property management, financing partners, renovations and setting lease rates, it doesn’t get any more passive.

To me this is the dream, as the investor I’d have direct ownership and control over the house but passive as the property generates enough rent to pay for top notch management.

[iWIN Hybrid Workshop] How to Invest in the US Real Estate Market: https://iwinworkshop.eventbrite.ca

With inflation getting out of control, rent control, uncertainty of receiving rent here in Canada for mainly Ontario and BC investors, I think it’s advisable to give this episode a listen.

To follow Andrew or interested in learning more about Share go to iwin.sharesfr.com. To view current and past US deals, you do need to sign up, let them know Erwin sent you and they’ll take good care of you.

 

Website: www.sharefrs.com

Article in the Toronto Star: https://www.thestar.com/business/priced-out-of-your-neighbourhood-this-real-estate-investment-ceo-suggests-looking-south/article_a5704a4f-7524-5f53-a40d-fc78f477fd48.html

 

Sep 25, 2023

We have a long-time friend of the show Kayla Andrade, President of Ontario Landlords Watch, a grass roots, not for profit organisation, there’s almost 10,000 Facebook group members. Kayla has been advocating for landlords ever since her local city passed a by-law that if a tenant doesn’t pay their water bill, said debt gets applied to the landlord’s property tax.  Got to love how landlords are expected to back stop the tenant’s debt.

Kay is here to share about best practices and how we may advocate for our rights so we may all come together to make a healthier rental market for everyone including the vast majority of tenants who are great.  We discuss challenges we face, how she’s pausing growing her portfolio, and the always amazing, upcoming Ontario Landlord Watch Conference on October 28th, doors at 1pm and dinner is included.

I’ll be there along with many wonderful speakers and a certain member of Parliament Kayla announces for the first time on this show!!

Link to receive more information and tickets available here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ontario-landlords-watch-5th-annual-private-housing-sector-conference-tickets-681955085017?fbclid=IwAR2BgiOKha4BOJhFvCHjY9MSN7UwA2AUISHy-tUsPRgMZO6hqNOUlpajMUI

Again that’s Saturday Oct 28th, doors at 1pm, my friends from SingleKey and Front Lobby will be there too. Dinner buffet included!

Please enjoy the show, I present to you Kayla Andrade.

To Follow Kayla:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayla-andrade-b4855648/?originalSubdomain=ca

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/818378618219840

Personal FB: https://www.facebook.com/Kayla.Andrade.olw

Website: https://ontariolandlordswatch.com/

Sep 18, 2023

If you need help improving your record, myself and my lovely friend, today’s guest Elizabeth Kelly loves to help too.  It’s why we get along so well.

Hopefully Elizabeth Kelly does not need an introduction.  She tells it like it is. Elizabeth was a paid, professional educator for Rich Dad Canada since 2012 and taught a couple thousand investors, including many of today’s influencers, coaches, full time real estate operators.  

She has own property management, Sandstone Property Management that manages hundreds of doors across multiple strategies, apartment buildings, AirBnb, Rent to own. Elizabeth has done around 100 rent to owns. 

She’s the longest time investor in New Brunswick I know so before going there please listen to this show, reach out to her, she doesn’t mind.

Elizabeth is hosting her 2nd conference after the highly successful, inaugural Real Estate Resilience online event she’s back again for 2023.  The price is very affordable at $74, link is in the show notes: https://www.accelevents.com/e/resilience2023?aff=Elizabeth

There are several friends of mine and past guests of this show and event a client on the speaker panel. If you want to go deeper into what the successful pros are doing you want to check out the Real Estate Resilience summit, a two day event, Saturday & Sunday October 14-15th.

 

Please enjoy the show!

Sep 8, 2023

In this episode, I am breaking down the newest updates from the Bank of Canada on what's happening with interest rates. There’s talk of a possible recession and the economy slowing down, and we're here to get to the bottom of it all.

 

Using fresh info from Stats Canada and the Bank of Canada, I look at how the continuous increase in interest rates is affecting not just the big picture, but our day-to-day lives too. From what we are spending at home to what's happening in the housing market, we’ll see how big world events, like China's economy slowing down and wildfires here in Canada, are having a ripple effect on our economy.

 

We will also go step by step through the newest facts and figures from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, all fresh from August. Whether you’re thinking of buying a condo or a standalone home, I've got the latest scoop on trends, prices, and tips for both buyers and sellers to help you make the best decision.

 

So sit back and enjoy the show as we unravel what’s really happening in the Canadian real estate market, making it simple and easy to understand for everyone.

Sep 6, 2023

On to this week’s show! 

As always, I look to bring you a variety of guests to share their unique experiences and journeys. Today we have old friend Greg Habstritt back on the show to share what he’s up after dominating the influencer scene, owning a $100 million dollar real estate portfolio, going through dark times both economically and personally.  He invests in Calgary Alberta afterall. To his current personal interest and finally aligning his personal passion with curing mental health via medial psychedelics.

Greg and I are not medical doctors so none of this should be taken as medical advice so please speak to your own health professional.  Greg does share his own out of body experience, flashing back to his childhood trauma allowing him to understand his adult insecurities.

This episode is not for everyone, we have hard core real estate guests all the time, you may want to check out a past episode if that’s more your liking but if you’re into bleeding edge or want to better understand yourself how a childhood trauma helped shape who you are today or learn about the best big thing after Cannabis then you’ll enjoy this episode with Greg who is a super smart dude.

His website is https://alightment.com/

Please enjoy the show.

Aug 28, 2023

If you follow the real estate news in Canada as much as I do on paid and free sources as much as I do then you will have already heard of my guest this week in Ron Butler who started in the Mortgage Brokering business just after the housing crash happened in the late 1980s and his business Butler Mortgage is one of the largest Mortgage Brokerages in Canada.

Ron is known as the Angry Mortgage guy. His podcast is literally called Angry Mortgage where he rips on all the things wrong about real estate in Canada on both his podcast and to his 56,000 twitter followers where he has no filter so I’ll warn you now, there is some adult language not appropriate for the young ones during our episode. Ron is also a regular expert who is regularly interviewed on pretty much all the major, mainstream news outlets. 

He’s here today to give you an insider’s view on why this current housing market is different than the crash of the late 80’s, who’s actually buying real estate today, advice to young people who don’t have rich parents, how he called my strategy of buying houses for my kids a sickness and ridiculous.  

But before we get to Ron, I do hope you’re all having a great summer and getting ready for what will be an opportunistic fall/winter!  For buyers, this will be as good as it gets before rates peak and the rhetoric from the Bank of Canada is pause and rate cuts.

For sellers, the smart, motivated, those who cannot hold on for the next year or two while rates are higher.  They will successfully exit or else be stuck holding the bag till the spring.

I’ll be sharing more of my research, what our clients and I are investing in including the stocks I’m buying on the cheap if there’s interest at the September iWIN Meeting Tuesday night, September 19th for those interested in the truth about what successful, everyday investors are doing with their investments.  We have a big time developer how they can still make money in this market, how folks can participate in the development and building of preconstruction without having to take possession of a property because personally, I wouldn’t want to own, rent out, pay out of my pocket massive negative cash flow.

I’d rather make money alongside the developer and only risk my investment. Unfortunately, some preconstruction investors did not realise they can lose more than their investment if the property drops more in value than their deposit.

If you’re already on our email newsletter, you’ll see we’ve already announced the event and how to register. If you’d like to be on our email newsletter like the over 10,000+ iWinningest investors in Canada are already receiving to gain that information advantage, go to www.truthaboutrealestateinvesting.ca to stay connected, be informed like a sophisticated investor should.

There’s a right way to use leverage and a wrong way and if you don’t believe me, you can hear it from the biggest real estate bear I know personally in this week’s guest, the Angry Mortgage Broker, 30+ year mortgage veteran, Ron Butler!

Again, a warning, the language used by Ron to express his opinions are not appropriate for those easily offended, nor children and they are Ron’s opinions, not mine nor that of any of my businesses.  If you do offend easily please skip this episode. 

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ronmortgageguy

Website: https://www.butlermortgage.ca/

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8vl-_vvvf7VZcxKPJ-v-Xg

 

In seeking any truth, getting opinions from several expert sources is ideal. 

 

Please enjoy the show!

 

Aug 21, 2023

On to this week’s show!

The Ottawa Senators recently dominated the hockey headlines as it’s been reported they sold for around $1 billion dollars US.  While Bruce M Firestone is no longer the owner, I’m sure he’s proud that what he started has ballooned to a massive success.  Imagine if the Sens had kept future hall of famer, defenceman, Zdeno Chara then the Sens like every NHL team would have a Stanley Cup before the Leafs but I digress.

As mentioned before, Bruce has built 1000s of homes, dozens of commercial plazas and office buildings.

For fun and to give back, Bruce was an entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Ottawa’s Business School, Telfer School of Management.  Per his wikipedia, Bruce was a university professor as he does have his Masters in Engineering and a Phd in Urban Economics.

Bruce now focuses more on coaching real estate investors as he finds the work really rewarding so he’s here today to share the journey of his super successful career, how to be a successful leader/CEO, how he overcame much opposition to building an NHL arena on farmland, what his everyday investor coaching clients are doing to create cash flow in their portfolios.  

The industrial land, co sharing, garden shed workshop strategy is particularly fascinating.  That’s all on one property by the way. Pay particular attention to that part as that same real estate startup is now for sale for a couple million dollars.

Please enjoy the show.

 

To connect with Bruce you can find his information on his website: https://brucemfirestone.com/

 

Aug 14, 2023

On to this week’s show where we discuss deflation and how to be on the winning side of AI.

Our guest Nicholas Ning likes solving complex problems making them easy to understand and creating value.  Over the last 10 years, he’s worked for Fortune 500 companies on multi-billion dollar projects around the world in strategy, finance, design, and marketing.

He’s also been hired by real estate companies, big time developers to design business models using numerous AI tools to design and market real estate projects and he’s here today to share how we small investors may learn, borrow some of these ideas for our own businesses.

Nicholas shares the story of using an AI tool to break into his bank account, what him and the bank’s CEO discussed, why the hype in AI is justified, tools he used to build a business a website to sell furniture in 15 mins for what a traditional Marketing firm would want $35,000 to 60,000 for. The moment Nicholas say the writing on the wall his day job was at risk to AI and resigned.

What he’d be teaching his children (if he had some) to prepare them for the AI revolution and the question we investors are all asking, “are real estate investors safe from Ai?”

Me personally, I’m using AI tools quite frequently these days and don’t see myself ever going back.  I can’t recommend enough that everyone pay attention to what’s going on and this episode is a great place to start your journey so feel free to share with anyone you care about. 

I’m subscribed to Nicholas’ free newsletter and you can find it at https://gptea.beehiiv.com/ and his Ai consulting firm’s website www.farpointhq.com

Please enjoy the show.

Aug 10, 2023

We have my friend Darvin Zurfluh who has a huge private equity brokerage called Pinnacle Wealth Brokers.  If you’ve been around the investor community, you’ve likely seen them around at events but today we have the founder of the company joining us from Calgary, Alberta.

If you’re not familiar with private equities, well you need to be as good as private equities is part of the reason you’ll hear me say, it’s better than ever to be rich as the options for investing have never been so good and available.

I was introduced to Darvin when I asked my own Pinnacle Wealth Broker representative Steve Blasiak for a large scale podcast guest in the recreational investment space since so many of my listeners are interested in AirBnb.

Darvin having been in the investment industry since 1997 starting out at the bank, has since progressed to owning a couple hundred acres, hundreds of RV sites, cabins, campgrounds, a hotel, a golf course.  Darvin details the story behind the purchase of the golf course, the analysis, and value add strategy which I find particularly fascinating.

This is a fascinating interview into entrepreneurship in the private equity, real estate investing space at large scale that is also available to middle class investors to participate in passively.

Active or passive investors will appreciate this interview and if you enjoy it, Darvin has confirmed as guest speaker at the online, November 21st, monthly iWIN Meeting. There Darvin will go more into detail what private equity investments are, how to start one to raise capital, and the story behind starting his recreational properties investment fund so make sure you’re on our email newsletter like the over 10,000 plus iWinningest investors in Canada at www.truthaboutrealestateinvesting.ca.

As we are discussing securitized investments please enjoy the show both the show and this legal disclaimer as required by the iWIN Legal Department.

If you’d like to learn more about investing with Darvin’s company Pinnacle Wealth Brokers:

Steven Blasiak
Dealing Rep – Exempt Market
Pinnacle Wealth Brokers Inc.

7 Kingslea Gardens

Toronto, On M8Y2A7

Phone: 416 464 3085

Steven.Blasiak@PInnacleWealth.ca

Book an appointment with Steve - https://calendly.com/steven-blasiak/30min

www.pinnaclewealth.ca



Disclaimer:

The information and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be considered as investment advice. The hosts and guests of this podcast are not licensed financial advisors, brokers, or registered investment advisors, and their comments should not be construed as recommendations or endorsements of any specific investment, security, or strategy.

Investing involves risks, including the possible loss of principal. Before making any investment decision, you should conduct your own research and consult with a licensed financial advisor to determine the suitability of any investment for your specific financial situation and investment goals.

The hosts and guests of this podcast make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any information discussed in this podcast. The podcast is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information.

Listeners are advised to use their own judgement and seek the advice of professionals before acting on any information provided in this podcast. The podcast shall not be liable for any damages, including but not limited to direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages arising out of or related to the use, inability to use, or reliance on any information provided in this podcast.

Jul 31, 2023

On to this week’s show!

Tim JP Collins is an old friend of ten years or so, one of our most successful clients and has achieved the cash flow goal almost every new investor has when we first meet with them. $100,000 or more passive cash flow per year so they can vacation more, not worry about money, retire their spouse, etc…

Tim is back on the show to update us on his journey from high paid, high stress Tech Sales Executive to being debt free, over $10k cash flow per month from his stock portfolio, and being a full Realtor on his terms at REAL Broker.

Ever since I’ve known Tim, he’s done things differently. He invested in himself heavily by hiring a coach, getting educated, taking massive action, buying student rentals, several with joint venture partners.  As a Realtor at REAL Broker, it’s just him and his admin assistant. No team, no plans to build a team so less moving parts and people to manage.  Tim likes making money and keeping his life simple which I think we all want more of in our lives.

He’s a father of three boys, husband, debt free living in the lovely Nanaimo, BC, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu white belt and has much to teach us all.

If you enjoy the show you’ll want to tune in when Tim is our guest speaker at our Tues, October 17th iWIN Meeting. 7:30 pm EST. I’ve asked Tim to present on how he built his 7 figure bank roll in real estate and what he now invests in to generate that $10,000+ cash flow per month.  He’ll also share his experience belonging to REAL Broker including saving money on commission splits and their revenue sharing program. 

So save the date! 7:30pm EST, October 17th iWIN Meeting. Online only as Tim will be joining from Nanaimo, BC. Got to love technology!

Please enjoy the show!

 

To follow Tim JP Collins:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timjpcollins/?hl=en

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjpcollins/?originalSubdomain=ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timjpcollins/

Jul 25, 2023

On to this week’s show!

Today we have a full time real estate investor who’s really really smart. I’ve known Christian for a couple years but only in this interview do I get a better understanding of how he transitioned out of an executive position in the tech industry into a full time investor.

What’s especially interesting is how Christian originally capitalised his investing and how he found a bunch of cash flow, enough to replace his job income in mixed commercial/residential real estate.  If you’re a geek like me, you’ll enjoy this episode as I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head who’s as successful in mixed use commercial/residential… the worst commercial too: retail, yuck!

In my experience, financing is expensive when investing in mixed use but Christian has cracked that nut so if you want to learn the truth about how someone replaced their job income with real estate cash flow from operations you’ll want to take notes, listen to this episode more than once.

You can find Christian on the web: https://aliferous.ca/ or instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aliferousproperties/, facebook and LinkedIn @Aliferousproperties.  FYI Aliferous means to have wings. I’ll ask Christian to explain why he chose the name on part 2 of this interview but I’m guessing if you want your retirement planning to have wings, then invest in real estate.

Please enjoy the show!

Jul 18, 2023

On this week’s show we have a very real conversation with full-time, professional investor Austin Yeh who does it all: wholesales, flips, BRRR’s, negotiates his own cash for keys, podcaster, meetup host and it’s not all pretty.

Austin shares how he’s had to rebalance his portfolio, wholesaling market slow down, which are short-term problems as he’s successfully transitioned out of his corporate job in Feb 2022 to investing in Windsor, Sudbury, even downtown Toronto.

Austin shares how he got started networking at local investor groups, connecting with locals to build out his teams.  We walk through the numbers of a couple deals and Austin doesn’t candy coat the challenges that come with buying ugly properties including a case of arson where his property was intentionally burnt down by criminals, the phone call his partner received from the police, the sleepless nights if the insurance would get paid out… How his target markets and properties have evolved over his career. 

This is a very real, truth about real estate investing episode where problems are not always worth the profits.  Hopefully you, my friend, one of our 17 listeners can takeaway how to improve upon your real estate business, leverage the lessons from this episode and the 300+ episodes before this one.

To follow Austin Yeh, you can find him on Instagram @AustinYeh6 or Austin’s podcast and meetup network @risenetworkevent.

Please enjoy the show!

 

Jul 10, 2023

This week we have our friends from Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corporation back to give an update on the private lending/mortgage market including lessons from the downturn: e.g. what did in default real estate investors do wrong have in common so you the listener, my clients and I may avoid the same mistakes.

Please keep in mind, real estate investing can easily be done wrong and less right.  Ask anyone who speculated on pre-construction and is negative cash flowing or does not have the means to close.  Long-term, that could be a fine investment but most can’t handle today’s interest rates and strict lending guidelines.

Anyways, on today’s show we have Garret LaBarre, Underwriter at Calvert. He’s the guy who actually reviews mortgage applications from a risk perspective and determines if they’ll lend and Jesse Bobrowski, who is Vice President of Calvert.

One of the magical things about real estate investing is the asset is so good that banks will lend me a lot of money which suits my objective of keeping the deal and equity to myself. This is why learning about all your financing options is key to being a successful investor BUT debt is a double edged sword as your risk is greater as you’re about to hear about in this interview. Such is the truth about real estate investing.

Since Jesse and Garret live and invest in Calgary, they share a market and economic update on Alberta which I know is a hot topic for investors.

As we do discuss securitized investments, here comes the disclaimer.  You can check out Calvert at https://chmic.ca/.  Please enjoy the show!

 

The information and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be considered as investment advice. The hosts and guests of this podcast are not licensed financial advisors, brokers, or registered investment advisors, and their comments should not be construed as recommendations or endorsements of any specific investment, security, or strategy.

Investing involves risks, including the possible loss of principal. Before making any investment decision, you should conduct your own research and consult with a licensed financial advisor to determine the suitability of any investment for your specific financial situation and investment goals.

The hosts and guests of this podcast make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any information discussed in this podcast. The podcast is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information.

Listeners are advised to use their own judgement and seek the advice of professionals before acting on any information provided in this podcast. The podcast shall not be liable for any damages, including but not limited to direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages arising out of or related to the use, inability to use, or reliance on any information provided in this podcast.

Jul 3, 2023

On to this week’s show!

We have Hart Togman, owner, founder of Rent Panda who’s been helping our clients locate tenants for my clients’ investment properties.

How good is Rent Panda? Hart tells me they’ve had one non-payment of rent issue among 900 to 1,000 successful leases.  That’s pretty darn amazing so if you want to know how to be a successful landlord with paying tenants you will want to listen to this episode. 

Rent Panda also now offers Property Management Services and Hart shares step by step how to create a rental ad and how to automate as much as possible how to handle the deluge or responses because if you bought right like our 350+ clients, your property is in high demand.

Please enjoy the show!

You can find Rent Panda at their website: www.rentpanda.ca, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RentPanda/, and Instagram: www.instagram.com/rentpanda

1 2 Next »