When I find more distressed sellers willing to offer low money down on cashflowing properties, then - yes, you should :) A caution to others aiming for properties from distressed sellers: not every distressed seller has a property worth buying or terms worth accepting. I have been contacted...

As mentioned, the properties I am currently buying were contracted before oil crashed, so we had no choice but to buy now. Because at that time we bought at a discounted price and because the properties are purpose-built, legally suited houses in a good area, they still appraised at the...

That's exactly what we were saying then. We had exhausted all of our personal resources by September of 2007 and didn't have the reputation built up to attract JV partners to take further advantage of discounted prices. And yes, legally suited houses can be a great strategy in any part of...

That's what I thought you meant. Some people act like every downturn is another Enron or NorTel. Stocks and real estate aren't even close to the same thing. And there are those who fall prey to the preachers of: "Yes, the sky is falling! Everyone sell me your properties (at a steep discount)...

I certainly wouldn't call the Edmonton market "totally defunct." There is no doubt in my mind it will recover. Yes, I will be very careful about what I buy, but I'm always watching for a good deal. It is virtually impossible to perfectly time a market, and what does it matter if the price...

I was posed this question today regarding our activity in the Edmonton market: "You seem to be continuing to invest in strong cash-flowing properties in the area whereas (another seasoned investor) is actively advising investors to not purchase until 2019/2020....Why?" Short answer: we're both...

Unfortunately it's the luck of the draw. Most banks will hire their own appraiser without your input, and in many cases it is a computer generated selection, meaning the bank cannot specifically request someone with experience with legal suites. We are closing soon on 3 purpose-built...

Suggest to the condo board they charge a $100 deposit for each remote. They could even make it $200. People would be less likely to lose the remotes and then security wouldn't be an issue.

When you operate an RTO business, you take on the responsibility to make a reasonable effort to create a win/win situation, that being the tenant buying the property and you making a reasonable profit as fee for service. At the very least, reasonable effort includes periodic review of credit...

Not only are requirements different in each municipality, but also they change periodically within the municipality. For example, when we received our Cornerstones grants, our only requirement was to rent to people making below median income. We could charge any rent we wanted and the...

It's me...I know it. What have I done to offend you??? Kidding, of course. ;) I used this feature a while back for someone who was constantly spouting negative crap. Really, how many times can the sky possibly fall? Blocking him was like letting a fresh spring breeze into myREINspace. :)

Yes, I have read your posts on mobile home park investing. There are so many interesting opportunities in the world of real estate. :)

In my opinion, a mobile home is never an improvement. ;)

Knowing what I know now, I'd walk away from the $8k. Legal battles are seemingly endless and unnecessarily costly. And as previously mentioned, even if you win you may not collect. So you will still not have your $8k, and you will have spent precious time fighting for it. We are currently...

Agreed. Your gross income must cover your time, risk, opportunity costs, and administrative expenses, rather than simply covering your interest expense. To answer your question about the buyer defaulting: you would have to foreclose. In an AFS, the buyer is indeed a "buyer with equity" rather...

Even though it is possible to save money on FSBO's, I still prefer using realtors for purchases with conventional financing. I find I end up doing the bulk of the work in most FSBO transactions. I'd rather pay a small amount extra to encompass realtor fees and have realtors do it. Since the...

Our Calgary-area tenant buyers work with Miranda Pearson. [email protected] 18552545315 I highly recommend her.

Only include items demonstrating your expertise or aptitude for investing. No one cares if you like dogs or have a fancy for knitting. They may care if you have a degree in business or accounting, or have 5 years of experience in the construction industry.

I'm confused. Is the seller trying to get a higher price based on the premise you will be able to collect grant money from the City? I agree this is not possible. It is of no benefit to you to for her to receive the grant. The house is worth the same amount regardless of how the...

Andino Glass has done great work for us, especially on repairing/replacing parts of older windows. For a whole house replacement, we usually use Durabuilt. We get great pricing from them, so I'm not sure how their regular prices compare. Reasons we use them: I like using the same company to...