I like #1 as well for most of the same reasons as David. One thing I`m wondering about is having your RTO and wholesaler info etc on the same site. For my buying site, I have deliberately kept it simple and focused: http://mrhousebuyer.ca That may or may not be a superior approach in reality...

Depends how "quick" the deal is. Where we`ve flipped via assignment of contract, no other inspections, that was left to the ultimate buyer. If it`s a deal where we`ll actually take title, then yes, I want to know what we`re getting, even if we plan on a relatively short term hold. I don`t want...

Seems to me that a PM that can`t handle abrasive people and confrontational situations is in the wrong line of work. How is it that the condo association hires a PM that can choose whether or not he deals with heating issues and tenants? Probably I don`t have the whole picture. Anyway, it seems...

QUOTE (mughals @ Nov 1 2010, 07:47 PM) does anybody have any recommendations on how to "simultaneously" set up their buyer`s list? this is probably a can of worms but thought i`d ask. Two things that have worked for me: 1) Advertised on kijiji for "Handyman Specials" for sale. If you keep that...

QUOTE (TodorYordanov @ Nov 1 2010, 03:42 PM) What would be a typical lead, that you did "not see the deal" before and what are you seeing now in a typical deal? What is a typical deal for you these days? Jim did you have a similar experience? David answered this very well. Early on, I was...

QUOTE (DavidSandbrand @ Nov 1 2010, 02:41 PM) I have two employees in our quick turn business, one full time and one part time. The full time employee answers the calls directly during business hours, and forwards to the service after hours. but with all that being said, I would endorse Jim`s...

I`ve had good experience with Victor Howard at: Pahl Howard Rowland Llp 780-986-8428 100-5306 50 St, Leduc, AB T9E 6Z6

QUOTE (bizaro86 @ Nov 1 2010, 10:08 AM) Has anyone purchased or viewed and has any thoughts? What I don`t understand is why there is continued interest in this kind of investment. D. Campbell is often critical of these "investments" in pre-built condos and a number of highly experienced...

David has some great advice here. I`ve run a yellow letter campaign as well and I`d like to add a bit of advice about how to handle the calls. In my experience, using a live answering service (esp PATLive) is not worth the cost. Some of the people who call will be suspicious of you (fewer if...

Usually the maintenance company has their own contracts. Monthly rate for snow removal in Edmonton for a typical house with double garage/driveway is $150 - $175.

QUOTE (gwasser @ Oct 27 2010, 08:07 AM) Your mortgage paydown is part of your net rental income. Only the interest is tax deductable. Positive cash flow is not the only portion of your rental income that is taxable. If you did not include mortgage paydown in your rental income on your tax...

QUOTE (Mecheng @ Oct 27 2010, 09:20 AM) Personally if using an HELOC to invest I would ensure the cost of borrowing is covered by the cash flow from the property. This way your tenant pays the interest and your cost is truly $0. That being said, I do not consider a HELOC to be free money. It is...

QUOTE (housingrental @ Aug 14 2010, 11:27 AM) anadooby - What exactly are you proposing? Should the investor have all the upside when things go right but be saved from any downside risk from other people`s money who didn`t make the same money losing investment? Shouldn`t the investor choose...

QUOTE (BenSanderson @ Oct 22 2010, 01:05 PM) To add to your reasons why the investor is the cause of such high failure rates... 3) The investor didn`t screen the tenant buyer nearly well enough. They were blinded by a big, fat option fee from the tenant and neglected to investigate the factors...

QUOTE (gwasser @ Oct 22 2010, 09:25 AM) One of the big concerns I have regarding RTOs is the large number of transaction failures that appear to exist based on a hands-up survey by Don Campbell at one of the REIN workshops. RTO education on your site may help potential renters better understand...

QUOTE (neill @ Oct 21 2010, 08:48 AM) Hi Jim - long time no talk! How is your national rto website progress? Oops, I forgot to answer this earlier. The site has launched at http://www.easyhomebuycanada.com/ and we`re gradually building the userbase. There`s about 30 properties listed on the...

QUOTE (neill @ Oct 21 2010, 08:48 AM) We get responses from and have bought houses directly due to: bandit signs, kijiji ads, newspaper advertising and referrals - one from a realtor (someone called him and asked if he bought houses and he told them no, but he knew someone that did....), one...

QUOTE (neill @ Oct 19 2010, 08:23 AM) We quickly realized that we could get more than enough prospects by focusing on just Airdrie (we are a pop of 40k 15 min N of Calgary) - in Sept alone we bought 5 houses, and 2 have lease-purchase tenants in already, 1 has a renter (the original owner - we...

QUOTE (RedlineBrett @ Oct 15 2010, 06:04 AM) All I really need is a database plus some simple report generation from it. I`ve got around 1000 data points stored on spreadsheets and paper and it`s time for the next step. I have used these two systems fairly extensively in the past for creating...

At last night`s REIN meeting in Edmonton, Don once again reminded us that the key economic data underlying the real estate market is more important than the actual real estate statistics themselves. I had to leave the meeting early, but when I got home I wrote this blog article that outlines the...