For those of you who've heard the saying, "Crisis is a blessing and blessing is a crisis" you'll really resonate with the story I'm about to share. The best thing that happened to me from the downturn is I changed from a SPECULATOR into an INVESTOR! This was a result of making some mistakes...

First off, good on you that you checked out Greg's RRSP secrets! That was an awesome series that I got sooo much value and knowledge from. I'm actually quite surprised that after listening to all the cd's, you're still unclear on if a 2nd mortgage is "safe" But no worries ;-) anyways about...

Might we say the belize of sitting on a beach drinking Mai tai's is a dream of the "masses". I don't know about you but any successful person can't do that very long before they get the "itch" again to do "more" With more money, comes more responsibility. People in the rat race chase this...

I would agree, this strategy is for people with more experience and would not be recommended as a first deal. Difficult but not impossible. What typically happens because the complexity of doing this deal, is that the few deals become hard to find, and the few found becomce difficult to sell...

Hi Michael, Actually what I was referring too wasn't about fixed or variable mortgage. What I was referring to was taking the "extra payment" used for mortgage paydown and reinvest it into another investment that pays net profit better than the mortgage interest rate. Money that the bank...

Personally, I believe paying off MORE principal than required might not be the most effective choice unless the interest rate on that mortgage is higher than the returns on other investments done with that money. Personally I'd make my payments small as possible, keep a healthy reserve fund...

So here's the general scenario: 1. I've got a large negative cashflow portfolio because I did speculate and buy some potential flips that ended up biting me in the ass, where now i'm just burning money in the fire pit. 2. So my plan of action is to sell a few properties I have money in...

Everyone's always got some sort of problem that they are dealing with in their portfolio. Currently my issue is that of resturucting some negative cashflow and selling off the ones with equity to put me in a cash strong position. I'd love some suggestions on "Real life" portfolio...

Hi Erwin, I don't yet but thanks for the suggestion! I'm going to do that as my next blog entry.

You dog example gave me a "bust gut" laugh. Sorry no intelligent comment to add to yours LOL

You're right, being an investor for self would be easier but being a business of investing other people's money is what I was comparing it. Thanks for the contrast!

What information from that book finally tipped you over into taking action? I think that'd be a great tip to help other people finally take the plunge!

HI Brett, I totally agree on that, especially for rookies who are fixed on buying on "massive discounts" and putting in ridiculous offers. They may get lucky here and there but overall, they'll lose more great investments than they've bought. Let's look at the profile of someone who's...

Hi Kris, That's a great tip on training the Realtor! If you need an insurance guy to add to your team, let me know. Guy I'm using is very familiar with this kind of stuff and is super helpful and has made going above an beyond the standard. I've actually got 2 people. Msg me and I can...

I'd still love to hear you DJ some time Joey. Possible to bust some beats?

1 think I did that really helped me quick scan potential properties was I reversed engineered the minimum Characteristics for a rental property potential. so that I wouldn't waste my time looking at properties that definitely didn't fit the bill. This was based mostly on purchase price because...

The only two aspects you, as an investor, should focus on is: a) find the right asset (as this is hard to delegate) b) find money (as a mortgage) or via investors for JVs once your own cash is tied up in 3 or 4 properties The above quote about 2 aspects an investor should focus on. Do...

Hi Rickson, I'd almost agree because your advice on purchase price does correlate to the "complexity of the deal" but also when the other guy said buying 2 properties for a higher GROSS amount your advice doesn't ring true. But if you look at the value of the individual units, you are right...

I'm just curious if anyone else expectation of investing in Real Estate was different from what they originally thought before joining REIN. What really changed for me is that the real skill is about "managing" the asset, not just buying. I found buying properties easy, but managing it over...