I prefer to keeps things a tad simpler - 5% vacancy, 5% property management, $500/unit/year for maintenance. Your property management is the easiest to predict assuming that you have looked at a few property managers in your area. Maintenance is at your discretion most of the time but I have...

I have a 4 plex in Hamilton that appraised OK when I bought it. Not all of the units are legal. It is south of Main Street and east of Sherman. If the property you are looking at is north of Main and/or west of Sherman, move on. The cash flow may look attractive but don`t do it. You will have...

Our "tenant from hell" played the game very well and managed to stay in one of our properties for 6 months without paying rent. It was a lease option deal where she was clearly trying to use up her initial (non refundable) deposit as she knew she would not get it back just walking away from the...

I agree with Fay`s comment on the importance of location. I have non-conforming suites in Hamilton and - so far - all is OK. I`m not crazy about them but do recognize the income. When we were shopping in London, Ontario we were strongly cautioned to avoid non-conforming suites as the City of...

My accountant is George Dube. He is terrific. He is a real estate investor and REIN member. His main office is in Kitchener but he has satellite offices in Stratford and Guelph. He is worth the drive! My lawyer is Bob Rose in Oakville. Bob is a real estate investor. He and his staff are great...

Speak to REIN member, Guy Lew at the contact info below. Guy has been getting approvals on these mortgages in Ontario for the past few weeks. Target properties are 1-4 units. CMHC allows 80% of your portfolio rental income instead of the usual 50% so Guy says that approvals are a breeze.Guy`s...

Show me the money!!Quite often, people ask me how I find cash investors to participate in our lease option deals. Along with finding an appropriate house and finding a qualified tenant, money is the third important ingredient for us. The model that my partner, Thomas, and I use is geared to...

I have had some success with a small, inexpensive company called Apartments of London. They are looking after a townhouse there for me. Contact is Olivia at phone (519) 709-7368 or e-mail: [email protected] "Lease to Own" Bob