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- Sep 18, 2007
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Perception = Reality
Do I need to say more? The truth is even though we may be aware of it our perception of everything in life creates our ultimate belief in how we view things.
Here is a very vivid example: approximately 3 years ago I met my good friend Todor Yordanov of Proact Investments www.proactinvestments.com who had begun investing in Hamilton. He and I were both relatively new investors with one or two properties. He was describing to me his most recent property aquisition in Hamilton. Now this was a place I definitely wanted to stay away from. I had a perception of Hamilton as a dirty steel town with a tough tenant profile.
Cashflow? no way!
When Todor rolled off the numbers on his property I immediately thought this won't cashflow. I went home and plugged the rent numbers into the average price of townhomes in that area and was surprised to see that yes it did cashflow just as Todor had described it. I wouldn't believe it because my negative perception of Hamilton had influenced my beliefs. Todor gave me the name of a very knowledgeable realtor with whom he was working, Gary Vandervelde. I phoned Gary the next day and he was good enough to spend the next 30 minutes on the phone with me asking me about my investment goals and describing his experiences growing up in Hamilton as well as working as a builder and subsequently as a realtor.
The following week Gary showed me several townhomes in the same area as Todor had purchased his and 1 week later I had an accepted offer in the same complex as Todor was invested in!
Hamilton Rocks!!
Almost 3 years later I still own that townhouse and 6 additional townhouses and 1 duplex. That property has an A+ tenant and in the last quarter my investor and I split a very nice cashflow payment well in excess of $1500. Hamilton is rated by the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) as #2 of the top 10 investment towns in Ontario. Hamilton survived the recent recessionary downturn with barely a bump in the road, 4 to 5% increases in values and less than 3.5% vacancy rate.
Here is the real lesson:
Before I actually fully commited to focusing on Hamilton as an investment area I spent some time researching the city as I was trained to do by REIN. Everywhere I looked I saw the types of fundamentals at work that indicate a strong future. Things such as job growth & demand, a strong and proactive Economic Developement office, transportation expansion, areas of gentrification, and a solid plan for the future in cutting edge technologies.
My perception had changed and I had proven myself wrong.
Oddly enough many other investors are seeing the same as Todor and I. Many are also investing in Hamilton and if you would like to learn more about them, or mine and Todor's strategy please contact me and I will help you with further information and put you in touch with any other of these investors and their related professionals.
Please sign up for my blog at www.cfiproperties.blogspot.com
Do I need to say more? The truth is even though we may be aware of it our perception of everything in life creates our ultimate belief in how we view things.
Here is a very vivid example: approximately 3 years ago I met my good friend Todor Yordanov of Proact Investments www.proactinvestments.com who had begun investing in Hamilton. He and I were both relatively new investors with one or two properties. He was describing to me his most recent property aquisition in Hamilton. Now this was a place I definitely wanted to stay away from. I had a perception of Hamilton as a dirty steel town with a tough tenant profile.
Cashflow? no way!
When Todor rolled off the numbers on his property I immediately thought this won't cashflow. I went home and plugged the rent numbers into the average price of townhomes in that area and was surprised to see that yes it did cashflow just as Todor had described it. I wouldn't believe it because my negative perception of Hamilton had influenced my beliefs. Todor gave me the name of a very knowledgeable realtor with whom he was working, Gary Vandervelde. I phoned Gary the next day and he was good enough to spend the next 30 minutes on the phone with me asking me about my investment goals and describing his experiences growing up in Hamilton as well as working as a builder and subsequently as a realtor.
The following week Gary showed me several townhomes in the same area as Todor had purchased his and 1 week later I had an accepted offer in the same complex as Todor was invested in!
Hamilton Rocks!!
Almost 3 years later I still own that townhouse and 6 additional townhouses and 1 duplex. That property has an A+ tenant and in the last quarter my investor and I split a very nice cashflow payment well in excess of $1500. Hamilton is rated by the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) as #2 of the top 10 investment towns in Ontario. Hamilton survived the recent recessionary downturn with barely a bump in the road, 4 to 5% increases in values and less than 3.5% vacancy rate.
Here is the real lesson:
Before I actually fully commited to focusing on Hamilton as an investment area I spent some time researching the city as I was trained to do by REIN. Everywhere I looked I saw the types of fundamentals at work that indicate a strong future. Things such as job growth & demand, a strong and proactive Economic Developement office, transportation expansion, areas of gentrification, and a solid plan for the future in cutting edge technologies.
My perception had changed and I had proven myself wrong.
Oddly enough many other investors are seeing the same as Todor and I. Many are also investing in Hamilton and if you would like to learn more about them, or mine and Todor's strategy please contact me and I will help you with further information and put you in touch with any other of these investors and their related professionals.
Please sign up for my blog at www.cfiproperties.blogspot.com