Thanks Garth, yes Canadian Western does them and yes they do have to be insured and not on rentals but there must be other companies doing them with out all the restrictions. The way I read this so far is it has a very limited usefulness. Maybe that is why no one has heard of it. LOL

As it turns out the prohibition on lending RRSP money to yourself is no longer in place. Mortgages can now be done for your own properties. (this has been the case for a while now but I just found out) I have only found one trust company that is doing these loans but they have too many...

I like the clients to come to me first (biased yes) but then once I get to know the client a bit I can often pair them with a Realtor to get the job done. Two reasons for this. The client spends a lot more time with the realtor than with the mortgage broker so a personality fit with the realtor...

Talk with your mortgage broker. We deal with MIC lenders all the time. We have a pretty good idea about some of the players and get a feeling for some of them. Is their model sustainable? Do they actively solicit on both sides ie. look for lenders as well as borrowers?

You can get comps from your realtor on what properties have sold for (not listed) in the area. You should be able to do your own appraisals and be fairly close. An appraiser has to justify his numbers and you have access to pretty much the same info he does. Realtors pricing is rarely close to...

Most real estate deals are "cookie cutter" until there is a problem. Find a good lawyer, if they are cheap you should ask why?

I have a client, went to school graduated, been working for 4 years. Now making over $200,000 per year. Just getting started in the real estate investment business. Do you think he is going to have a pretty good chance getting a strong start in Real estate? If you read Thomas`s 5 things post you...

Vendor financing could maybe help with a bit of the down payment.

You could try my friend Ben Bansal 204-295-7089. He has been in the business for a while and understands the investment business.

There are so many ways to make money in the real estate business. My plan was to buy a bunch then in many years sell a few. Then I would put the cash from the sales into mortgages and with the interest on the mortgages and the income from the properties I could live the lifestyle I want.

Talk to your broker. There are deals out there at less than prime.

I live close to Drayton Valley (Leduc 100 km`s away) and have often thought of buying there. It`s economy is based on lumber (OSB board) and oil and gas exploration. I think over time it has a lot of upside but strong management and quality tenants is something to look at very carefully. If you...

In answer to # 2. Truth is always the right way to go. I always used the answer, "it is for investment purposes." It leaves you wide open to do what ever you like and you are absolutely telling the truth.

We can learn from every one. The more we educate ourselves the better we are. Most of us do not follow every single thing REIN says. We take what we need and develop our own methods as well. Let`s keep an open mind and listen to other successful people. We may just hear one technique that will...

I am in the mortgage business and love the industry. Previous background was the oil and gas industry. Although I absolutely do not regret the change it has not helped in the real estate investment business so much. Right now the lenders like full time regular employed people. The new knowledge...

It seem that in Ontario you have a government that is against business. That is unfortunate because it makes the system even more adversarial than it needs to be. As the owner of my property I feel that I should be able to choose who I rent to. I support the idea of non discrimination but not...

In my mind right now there are two ways to look at it. Short or long (hows that for clarity) Go variable if you like the short term rates and look at the 10 year products if you are security conscious. My concern is where rates are going to be in 4 or 5 years.

Yes CMHC will allow you to pay fees only on the "new" money borrowed. You won`t have to pay on the whole amount of the loan because you already paid on a portion.

Sometimes we get creative for the sake of being creative. Look for the easiest solution not the difficult one. Your own RRSP money can not be used for a property that you have ownership in unless you are a first time home buyer.

Sit down with your mortgage broker and plan ahead for what you are trying to accomplish. Like Rob said, more info is required to give you any advise that would have value to you. There are many ways to do the real estate business, but knowing where you are going is a major step.