Very good! A multi-unit (2+) property will get you a place to live, and enroll you in Landlording 101. Will the 1st property be considered your PR or dad`s rental? Make sure your expectations and responsibilities are clear regarding the finances, management and exit strategy. It is not difficult...

QUOTE (RedlineBrett @ Oct 26 2009, 11:22 AM) Oh Brother Thank you for adding nothing to the thread with your condescending post. Hopefully whoever reads this thread remembers this the next time you ask for advice. I think the answers to my questions are pertinent and might expand the...

QUOTE (forzani @ Oct 25 2009, 04:36 AM) Hi All the experts here: I bought this NUERA condo back in 2007 in Calgary, when the house price was at its highest. The price in the purchase contract is 440K The new condo will likely take possession next June. But the current market price in the...

I agree with Garth that too many have gorged on cheap money, and that it will get ugly for those who are spread too thin. I wouldn`t guess he has many fans here.

QUOTE (ottawarentals @ Oct 16 2009, 11:36 AM) Exuse me if this comes across as me being niave... I am new to being a landlord and don`t know all the procedures, etc...One of my tenants has contacted me today to ask if I have a spare key so I can go and let in his friend to water his plants and...

QUOTE (TerryF @ Oct 15 2009, 05:09 PM) Hi Michael, Thanks for your input - very valuable to me to have your opinion. The contract was originally with AES and purchased in November, 1999. Then contract was sold by AES to Epcor before the end of the first 5 year term. Epcor has since quit...

Same boat. Saved a little money over the past 5 yrs with a contract, but chose not to renew for the exact reasons you mention.

QUOTE (Thorin @ Oct 8 2009, 06:18 AM) Hi housedoc Not sure exactly what you mean by this but my wife is at home and does a fine job at managing our home. As far as the property management goes we have a best friend who did PM for years and I am sure she would help us out. We talked about...

QUOTE (Thorin @ Oct 7 2009, 09:07 PM) One challenge that I have is that I am a long distance truck driver so am on the road for 5 or 6 days at a time and home for 2 days and sometime 1 1/2 days. My wife is visually impaired and stays at home with our daughter and we prefer that. Who`s going to...

#3, no ground wires. This is NOT a minor problem (unless your electrical codes are different out there). Do you have insurance? Is it knob & tube or copper? Complete re-wiring may be necessary.

What do you consider "enough money" after 6 months of work? If you`re getting 1600/mo EI, then you were making what, 3 grand/mo?......X6 = 18K gross? You`ve been wanting to buy for a couple of years?....you`re 19! Keep saving....I`d put money on a "no" from the bank.

What am I missing? 900/mo in rent?....doesn`t that make even 100K high for a rental? What`s the cashflow now? Who`s the buyer at 130? FTB? And where is it located? How can it be suggested offhand that 130 is reasonable without a lot more info? Bad reno`s or over renovating won`t necessarily...

QUOTE (ottawarentals @ Sep 22 2009, 08:46 AM) thanks for the resposne. What is your rationale? Is it more of an moral/ethical issue in that I am supposed to be providing safe housing? I am leaning toward the refund, but I cannot control Mother Nature... Did the exterminators just spray...

Advice? You might want to improve you math skills first! 20% 0f 290K is 58K.....5% of 3000 is 150..... You have left out some expenses: LOC, legal, closing costs Where is it located? Learn all you can about landlord/tenant rights and responsibilities. Also, check the legality of the units.

If you`re that picky, then have someone there during the work. You may be able to negotiate a lower price or repair if the workmanship is clearly substandard, not just because your wife doesn`t like the lines. Take pictures. Document everything. Additional work to remove/repair will cost...

Chop `em up, and pack in the students, eh? Sure it`ll cash flow with 6-8 students, but not 4.....who cares? There`s cash flow until they "crack down". You`re providing a needed service and these pesky rules keep popping up, right?

QUOTE (aiden1983 @ Sep 5 2009, 06:33 PM) Located in Calgary and am looking into investing in a duplex so that my wife and I can live in part of it and rent the other. Once we save for another place we will rent both sides and continue. Since you will be living in it, your actual numbers will be...

If I understand correctly, with a long amortization and interest only, you`re basically renting $250K for a forced return of ~7K/year if everything goes smoothly. That`s 2.8% But if you`ve put zero of your own money in, then the ROI is infinite? A few more such deals and you`re living off the...

Either the bricks have failed due to water absorption and freezing, or the mortar may be too `hard` causing the bricks to fail rather than the mortar. If you parge over crumbling bricks, the parging will fail. You need to remove any loose material first. If there`s lots of it, you may have to...

What`s a duplex go for in your area? I`m trying to envision your numbers but keep shaking my head. Is your cash flow made possibble by interest only payments, low interest rates and looong ammortization? Are your rents huge? By financing 100% (what about transaction costs?) do you feel you`ve...