Why You Should Build Habit-, Not Outcome Goals

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It’s January. We’re all just back from vacation and doing our goal-setting for the year. Whether you want to purchase ten more doors or lose ten more pounds, how you approach that goal counts.

Here’s what I mean.

Progress isn’t linear. Life doesn’t have finish lines. If you set an outcome goal, every day you DON’T hit the goal feels like a loss.

Take dieting.

In a weight loss plan we have cheat days and we hit plateaus. Sometimes the numbers don’t move as fast as we think they should. It’s the same with investing. You can make lots of calls, be on top of your networking and even make a bunch of offers, and have frustrating numbers to show.
That’s why building winning habits is so important.
It’s why this year, I’ve only got habit-goals.
Look at it this way. I can aim to buy five buildings by the end of the year or I can aim to spend twenty minutes every day connecting with potential partners.
My goal could be losing ten pounds or it could be to stick to my nutrition plan, eat no sweets and drink 2L of water every day.
When I weigh myself at night, I may feel sad if the numbers on the scale don’t move enough. But if my “reward” is checking off boxes that say:
Today I :

√ Drank 2L of water

√ Stuck to my calorie goal

√ Avoided junk food.

I’ll get a dopamine hit every time I “succeed” at attaining my habit goals.

Think of hitting big targets this way. I must manifest behavior that translates into incremental improvements that stack up over time. Second, I must have faith that the outcomes will come. It’s my job just to stay on track with good habits and time will take care of the rest.
This year, can you set habit goals and have faith that the outcomes will follow?
Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash

If You Quit Now, You’ll Never Know How Close Are…

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Life doesn’t have finish lines.

When you race, it’s for a specific distance. In a Jiu Jitsu or wrestling or boxing match, there’s a time limit.
But in life, very few races come with a defined finish line.
You can spend years pushing—giving effort, time, money, sacrifice—and have no guarantee of when or, even if, your goal will ever happen.
That’s the trouble with life’s undefined finish lines and it’s why it’s really, really difficult to know when to throw in the towel and when to keep pushing.
We all have something in our lives that eludes us.
I can’t tell you if quitting now is the right choice.
But I can tell you this: if you stop now, you’ll never if one more days, week or month might be all it takes.
Every big thing I’ve achieved took a lot of years and just as much faith. Every successful person I’ve talked to (and with the podcast, I talk to a lot of them) says the same thing. You reach goals with cumulated actions, time and faith.
And, when the last little obstacle gives way, it’s almost always a surprise.
If you stop now, you’ll never know how close you are.

Terrie’s Predictions for the Rental Market 2023

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Hold onto your hats. It’s going to be a long, cold winter for a lot of renters. In our office, we have a higher volume of payment defaults than ever before–and it’s mid-December! Usually, January and February are the months when most of our tenants have payment issues. They load their credit cards during the holidays and then have a hard time making rent early in the year. If we’re seeing defaults BEFORE the holidays, my bet is that the rising cost of living is hurting a lot of people’s pockets.

My advice: prepare to negotiate payment plans with your vulnerable tenants or else prepare for a hairy season at the rental board. Rents are marching upwards and vacancy rates remain low in many markets, so I don’t expect that renting units will be very difficult. It will be more a question of managing turn-over, or picking and choosing which tenants you want to help through a rough patch.

Terrie’s Predictions for the Market in 2023

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Rate increases will slow, prices will come down some, and professional investors will start getting antsy in Spring. Jammed up markets will start moving.

Is it time to buy?

Prices of investment properties will come down a bit, but the interest rates will continue to be a problem for profitability for a while longer. I wouldn’t worry too much about long-term profitability of rental housing, though. Here’s why. Housing affordability is decreasing across North America. Interest rate rises have priced some buyers out of the market. Even with prices adjusting downwards, higher payments have actually made it HARDER for first-time buyers to get onto the first rung of the property ladder. This will put increasing pressure on already tight rental markets.

My advice – raise capital or liquidate.

Don’t worry about taking a small price hit if you’re selling. Fill your coffers – deal season is coming! And rising rents will offset this year’s rate hikes.

How‌ ‌to‌ ‌Find‌ ‌a‌ ‌Real‌ ‌Estate‌ ‌Agent‌ ‌that‌ ‌Adds‌ ‌Value‌ ‌How‌ ‌to‌ ‌Find‌ ‌a‌ ‌Real‌ ‌Estate‌ ‌Agent‌ ‌that‌ ‌Adds‌ ‌Value‌ ‌

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The first realtor I worked with latched onto me like a leech. I was twenty-six, inexperienced and looking at buying my first rental property: a triplex. The man was from a firm that (I later discovered) was known for fake leases, cash in suitcases and fraudulent financing. After I called to visit a property he had listed, he basically attached himself to me. He kept calling and calling, pressuring me to see buildings and to work with him. I didn’t know how to get rid of him!

After two weeks of searching, he pressured me into making my first offer. I wasn’t sold on the deal, but I was also insecure and after he kept the pressure up, he “closed” me and I signed on the dotted line. 

The property ended up being profitable and relatively trouble-free. I still own it today. But our relationship was very unpleasant. I can still remember the stained wall-to-wall carpet and fluorescent lighting in his office and the way he pressured me to make a decision I wasn’t ready for. 

When it came time for my next purchase, I vowed to do things differently. 

Do Realtors Add Value?

While Real Estate agents have a reputation for being sharks, I do believe they add value. 

When I buy and sell properties today, I work with a broker, even though I am a licensed realtor and have enough experience to manage my transactions personally. A second opinion—a professional one—and the second pair of eyes is worth the commission cheque. 

If you’re starting out, the value-add of a realtor—the right realtor—is even greater. Here’s why.

Negotiation

Realtors negotiate for a living. Negotiating is both an art and a science. Getting the best deal depends on knowledge of the market. Realtors see a lot and therefore know a lot. It’s their job to keep their nose in the marketplace. They’ll have access to comparable sales. They’ll know the reputations of other realtors—which ones are crooked, which ones ethical. Their knowledge is a value-add.

Professional Networks

Realtors also have a professional network behind them, including inspectors, contractors, lawyers, architects, etc. This team of professionals will advise both you and the realtor if there is any uncertainty. For example, when I have doubts about a transaction, I call the director of the brokerage firm I’m affiliated with. When I’m unsure how to structure a complex offer or build protection into a deal, I, unlike my clients, have someone more knowledgeable to speak to. All of this is part of the value-added by working with a competent realtor. 

And why not? For the buyer, it’s essentially a free service.

The Real Estate Board

In terms of due diligence, the real estate board heavily penalizes realtors if they don’t follow prescribed processes. Your agent will need to check the tax bills, any liens, the leases, the certificate of location, and so on. They will also be better at doing due diligence than you are. This is how they obtained their Real Estate license.

Professional Insurance

Realtors have professional errors and omissions insurance. If they overlook anything, are negligent, or jeopardize the transaction, there’s insurance coverage for you, their client. Working with a realtor offers you a certain level of security that private sales don’t.

Don’t Trust the Listing Agent

If you visit properties on your own and end up dealing with just the listing agent, don’t think you’ll end up in a better bargaining position. Many people think that the realtor will cut his or her commission to give them, the buyer, a good price. Don’t be fooled. The listing agent wants to do a deal and their first allegiance will be to the seller. This won’t put you in a position of strength in the transaction. You’ll also end up paying commission anyway (indirectly as part of the sale price). 

Get a broker in your corner. Being represented by your own realtor will likely add no cost to you. If you work with someone competent, it will almost certainly save you money through the negotiation process. There’s basically no downside to being represented by a realtor when you shop for a property.

Show Me The Money

One caveat: Real Estate agents make money at closing. From a business standpoint, their motivation is to make the sale. Your realtor wants you to buy a building. Preferably without too much lollygagging. You, on the other hand, want to purchase the right building. Notice the difference in motivation?

Finding a property that meets your needs can take time. No matter how ethical, realtors want you to choose any building in the least time possible. Their commission will be the same whether you visit one property or twenty. Consider the pressure this puts on them. When realtors push people to make a purchase, it can be because they’re simply motivated to close the deal. 

Then, factor in that not all sellers pay the same amount of commission. Realtors make between 2.0% and 3.5% on a sale. Do the math. On a property worth $450,000, that’s a difference of $6,750! This places realtors in an ethically difficult position. They’re expected to present properties neutrally despite vastly differing commission amounts. As a realtor, it’s difficult to avoid encouraging your clients to buy a building where the seller offers more commission, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Realtor or Investor?

Conflicted motivations aren’t the only thing to be aware of. How much do you know about the qualification process for becoming a realtor? It has nothing to do with investing. Many agents are great at making deals but they may not know whether a property is a good investment. While they can negotiate and fill out contracts competently, most residential realtors don’t know much about cash flow statements, leases, or tenant issues. 

When selecting an agent. You’re going to need to pick someone who knows rental property. Learn how to select an agent. 

Learn more about being a mindful landlord, get your copy now.

How to Manage Contractors When Investing in Real Estate

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Who doesn’t have a horror story about dealing with contractors?

Getting gouged by greedy and incompetent construction men is almost a right of passage for investors.

The Mason From Hell 

My top debacle happened shortly after I closed on my third property. It was early in my Real Estate career and cash was tight. The building inspection report had mentioned an issue with the brick facade. I didn’t really understand the problem, but—I was sure of one thing—I didn’t have enough money to pay for expensive repairs. After getting three bids panic was setting in. Two quotes were for over ten thousand dollars! It was money I didn’t have.

The expensive firms gave me written estimates with technical drawings. They explained that to do the job properly, they had to dismantle the wall, install new anchors, and then rebuild the wall straight. “You can’t repoint brick that’s sagging,” they told me. 

The third guy gave me a verbal estimate that was a fraction of the cost of the other two. 

Which guy do you think I picked? 

We shook hands. I handed over my deposit and the cheap guy went to work.

He showed up on a Saturday with two guys in the dirty pickup. It struck me as strange that they were working on the weekend. Later I realized they did this to avoid city inspectors, who patrol job sites on weekdays. Of course, the “contractor” had neither a construction license nor a permit to carry out the work.   

Three hours after he’d started the job, the guy called me. “Re-pointing won’t solve your problem,” he said. “Brick is separating from the house. We need to take down the wall and rebuild it.”

He now wanted triple the price: the exact figure the other two contractors had quoted me! This guy had chucked in a low bid, knowing full well he wasn’t quoting the real price. With half my money in his pocket, the crooked mason was suckering me for more cash to do the job right. With no written contract, I couldn’t even argue about what was involved.

“Get lost,” I told him. “I’ll get someone else to finish the job.”

“I’m not leaving without the rest of my money,” he said.

I drove off in a huff. A few hours later, I found the mason and his two buddies parked in front of my house. As I tried to get in, they blocked my path. It was a bad situation.

In the end, after a shouting match in the street, I paid them for three-quarters of the job even though their work was useless. After calling back one of the more reputable guys, I paid for the job twice. The expense went on my line of credit, and it took me a year to pay it off.

Do It Right The First Time

Dealing with contractors can be a major challenge. Maintaining and repairing properties is expensive, and therefore anxiety-inducing. Construction attracts all sorts: from the expensive and highly competent to the fly-by-night and dishonest. Add this to the fact that at least initially—we, the investors—don’t fully understand the work we’re subcontracting out. 

Who fully grasps plumbing, electricity, masonry, roofing, drainage, and HVAC the day they close on their first property?! 

For me, the main issue when dealing with repairs has been the learning curve of knowing whether the intervention proposed is the right one. Often, different contractors propose slightly different solutions. If we don’t know fully grasp the principles at work in maintaining something, it’s hard to know which intervention is the right one.

Don’t despair! There are things you can do to minimize the headache and uncertainty and to educate yourself before you award expensive contracts. 

How Not to Get Hood-Winked

Here is a list of do’s and don’ts that will save you from the mistakes I made early in my career. 

  1. Always get more than one quote. Make sure the estimates are detailed and that each line item is properly explained. You’ll want to compare pricing, but you also want to understand the solution being quoted.
  2. Consult Uncle Google. If you want to know the state-of-the-art way to repair something, do a little research. Many construction firms post blog articles that explain the proper way to repair and maintain building systems. Do your homework before awarding a big contract!
  3. If you don’t completely understand the construction principles behind the work being done, make the contractor explain them. Get technical drawings. Make each contractor walk you through the proposed solution. Asking questions also serve to gauge overall competence and willingness to take time with you, as well as the quality of the proposed solutions.
  4. Compare the quotes. What are the differences? Are all the contractors quoting the same solution? Are you comparing apples to apples or apples to oranges? Be aware that the cheapest price might not address the whole problem.  
  5. Make sure the contractor is licensed. (The license number should appear on the quote.)
  6. If there are any changes along the way, make sure the contractor amends the original quote in writing. You always need to have up-to-date documentation reflecting what’s been done. This will serve not only to guarantee the work but also to protect you if anything goes wrong.
  7. Define your payment terms. This is a big one! Insist that an amount be paid on completion (ideally as large an amount as possible). This ensures the contractor doesn’t get fully paid until everything is done to your liking and all the debris is taken away. 
  8. Get referrals when you can. Consult other landlords in the neighbourhood or fellow investors before you ask Yelp or Facebook. What specialized firms have your investor colleagues used? How was their experience? Networking is a great way to find honest, reliable contractors.

Take Your Time

Whatever you do, don’t rush the process of awarding big construction projects. 

  • Focus on getting it right, not just getting the best price.
  • Take the time to understand what’s getting repaired and how. 
  • If you’re ignorant of the construction principles involved, learn about what you’re paying for. 
  • Get a feel for how contractors respond to you. Do they take the time to explain things properly? Return your phone calls? Show up when they’re supposed to? Is their paperwork in order? 

Construction jobs can be unpredictable. You might know where certain repairs start but not where they end. Make sure the person handling the project is honest, polite, responsible, and easy to deal with.  Treat the quotation process like a job interview: let each contractor show you who he or she is.

And, a final word of advice, always gets everything in writing!

Learn more on how to become a successful landlord, get your book reserved. 

How to Make A Multi-Year Maintenance Plan For Your Buildings

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How to Make A Multi-Year Maintenance Plan

For Your Buildings

Every landlord is also a maintenance manager. The day we pick up the keys at the notary is our first day on the job. If we researched buying Real Estate before making a move, very few of these hours are spent learning about building maintenance! 

Is it any surprise that this aspect of investing is a struggle for many new landlords?

Here are a few things you can do to simplify building maintenance. 

The Building Inspection

Maintenance begins with the pre-purchase building inspection. The inspection report is like a general medical check-up. When you purchase a building, one of the conditions of sale (hopefully) is having the property inspected by a professional. This service costs money, but the takeaway is normally a fifty-page report with photos and maintenance recommendations. A good inspector will also place time frames on the issues he or she identifies. 

A report is a tool you can and should use to negotiate a lower sale price.

But don’t put that precious document in a drawer and forget about it! 

Use your building inspection report to prepare a maintenance schedule. The inspector will flag issues in the report, coding them according to the level of urgency. 

You will them listed as follows:

  • fix immediately
  • fix within the next year
  • will need repair in one or two years
  • keep under surveillance

This report is actually a blueprint to plan and budget for these repairs. It does the work of planning timelines for you! 

Make a Plan

How do you turn the report into a plan?

Create a spreadsheet or print this form.

Follow this guideline in order of priority:

Before or Immediately After Closing

  • Fix any major issues that are not up to code (wiring, plumbing and fire-code violations).
  • Address items that are a risk to tenants (missing guard rails, electrical issues, doors that don’t lock properly etc.)
  • Fix or replace leaky plumbing, caulking, and insulation. Fix any water infiltration.
  • Address ventilation issues (bathroom fans that don’t work, humid crawl spaces etc.).

Ongoing

  • Organize a biannual check-up in spring and fall.
  • If you have a flat roof, get someone to inspect it twice a year. Make sure no leaves have accumulated. Make sure the roof drains are free and open. Add or spread out any gravel as necessary.
  • Check and empty the gutters.  
  • Check the caulking on the windows.
  • Check the basement and/or crawl space. Check the humidity levels and look for any water infiltration.
  • Check all bathrooms and kitchens. Look for mould. Check the grout and silicone seals to make sure they’re watertight. Look under the sink and counter to make sure there are no slow leaks. Check any fans and ventilation.

 As Per the Inspection Report

 Fix any issues in the following order:

  • Water. Fix any existing water leaks or infiltration that involve the building’s shell (windows, brick, roof, foundation, etc.). If you don’t have the budget for a permanent solution, patch what you can. Keeping water out is important while you save up to do the job properly.
  • Plumbing. Consider installing a backwater valve if there isn’t one. Make a plan to replace any galvanized or lead piping.
  • Structure. Address any structural issues with the help of professionals. Serious structural issues progress slowly. Although you need to formulate a plan to fix such issues, water leaks and infiltration are more pressing problems.   
  • Electrical. Have any electrical concerns been checked by a licensed electrician? If in doubt, pay for a written report. Electricians will provide a list of recommendations and/or a certificate attesting that they verified the installation and found it acceptable. Put this in your files just in case.
  • The shell. If major repairs to the building’s shell are required, get estimates for a proper job. Figure out how you’re going to finance this work even if you can put it off for a few years.
  • Other systems. If any of the building’s other systems (heating, AC, water heaters, etc.) show signs of inefficiency, have them checked so you can plan for what might happen if one of them decides to conk out.

Budget

Once you’ve determined your priorities, you can make a multi–year budget. The spending plan will allow you to save up through the winter so you’ll have money for expensive jobs that need doing over the summer—or vice versa.

Talk to the bank to obtain a line of credit with the lowest possible interest rate. You can sometimes get blindsided by expensive problems at the worst possible time. Avoid putting big expenses on a high-interest credit card when you’re in a pinch! Shop for a line of credit with a better rate before you actually need it. Banks are more likely to give you a better rate before you max out your cards or fall behind on payments.

Access to cheap credit is a kind of insurance policy. You don’t have to use it, and it costs you nothing if you don’t, but you’ll be very happy you have it when you find yourself in a tight spot.  

Revisit Regularly

Review your maintenance plan every quarter. Check off repairs that have been done and add any new issues that have come to light. A building is like a living organism. New issues appear as it ages. Cold, heat, pests and precipitation can cause different symptoms and weaknesses. 

Treat your investment as you would a patient of yours: keep his chart up to date and verify vital signs on a regular basis. This is the best way to make sure things don’t get out of hand and turn into full-blow diseases. 

Sample Maintenance Plan

The following is a copy of the maintenance schedule we use for our properties.  

Building Maintenance Schedule Date:_________________________

Property Address:____________________________________________________________________

 

Location Issue Time Frame Cost
Building
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
  • Immediate
  • 6 months
  • 1 year
  • 2 years
  • 3-5 years

Learn how to become an experienced and mindful landlord. Get your copy. 

5 Secrets of Effective Networking for Real Estate Investors

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When I started trying to build my Real Estate portfolio, I hated networking. My networking-incompetence was a handicap for my business. It also made me feel like a failure. The pattern went like this: I attended event after event only to anxiously stand in a corner chatting with the three people I already knew. 

Can you relate?

Building your network doesn’t have to be like this. Actually, if it is, you’re doing it wrong. Real estate networking is about methodically and purposefully building mutually profitable business relationships. There’s a science to this kind of networking and you can learn it!

Here’s how.

3 Kinds of Capital

Did you know sociologists have identified three types of capital—social, cultural and financial? Cultural and social capital can be leveraged to build financial capital. This is how people change their financial circumstances, by using other types of capital—cultural and social—to create opportunities to make money. 

Here’s how this works. Using cultural capital means leveraging what you know. This is why investors seek out Real Estate education when they get started. It’s to increase knowledge or cultural capital so that they can make sound investing decisions The other form of capital that can be leveraged are social connections: who you know. Networking—or increasing the number of people you have business relationships with—will impact your finances positively if you do it right.

Here are five key things you can do to grow your investor-network

Audit Your Peer Group

Our friends influence us. A peer group shapes how we understand the world. But most of us have peers by default. 

If you want to raise the limit on your current success, choosing peers that help you level up is one of the levers you can use. The opposite is also true. Certain relationships can drag your life in directions that don’t suit your objectives.

Think of the five people you spend the most time with. How do these relationships make you feel? Depleted? Energized? Are they elevating you or dragging you down? 

By being selective of who we spend time with, we create conditions for success, failure or stagnation. 

(See Chapter 19 of Mindful Landlord for the complete exercise to help you evaluate your Peer Group).

The “Call a Friend” Lifeline

Have you ever watched the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? My favourite part is when a contestant calls a know-it-all friend. I’m always nervous in case the friend doesn’t answer the call! 

When a property-related question pops up and your million bucks is on the line, how can you ensure a competent person will—one—pick up the phone and—two—have the right answer?

Here’s how.

As you meet professionals in your Real Estate activities, sometimes you’ll feel an affinity. Make a conscious effort to build a relationship. Invite them for lunch. Discuss your plans for your investments and their business. Ask how you can help the person grow their business.

If you have a good feeling, nurture the relationship further. Call for a second opinion on something. Test their competence and overall professionalism. As the final step in the vetting process, hire them to do a small job. It’s better to carry out these steps as an ongoing process. Relationships develop best when there’s no immediate pressure. No one likes it when a person they hardly know asks them for favours! It’s also not always wise to rely on the unvetted. You can have bad surprises! 

Once you’re confident of a person’s competence, you can begin to refer them to investors and members of your network. If you don’t have any direct referrals, make a point to connect them with someone who does. 

Ivan Misner, the “Father of Modern Networking” and founder of Business Network International (BNI), once said, “Givers gain.” When you’re on the lookout to help a professional build their client list, they will always answer the phone when you call!  

Networking into Deals

Successful Real Estate players keep the best opportunities—the off-markets or good opportunities—for their preferred network. This is true of agents, construction companies, and other landlords. A great network is a source of great insider deals. 

Here’s how to get on the inside track. 

Start by identifying the types of professionals or players who have access to the kinds of deals you want. Realtors, bankers, mortgage brokers, notaries, bankruptcy trustees, general constructors, and other investors—all will have preferred access to investment deals. As an active investor, you’ll often get asked for referrals that can benefit these professionals. This makes you a valuable contact, both for fellow investors and for the professional players in your network. 

By making yourself valuable to a large number of people, you’ll be top of mind when they come across something that might interest you. Remember Misner’s words: Givers gain. By being helpful to members of your network, they become your property search team.

You must educate your network on what you’re looking for. This way they can look out for potential opportunities that fit your criteria. This is how referral marketing works. You build relationships with key people who have direct access to what you’re seeking. Over time, these people become your sales team. Referral marketing is a key tool for leveraging who you know into investment success.

Idol Dating

If you really want to boost your social and cultural capital, you will need mentors. But how can you find a mentor? A potential mentor is anyone who’s closer to achieving one of your goals than you are. This isn’t hard to find. Who are the leaders in your local industry? Who are your real estate idols? Who’s successful doing something you want to do?

Once you’ve identified a few potential mentors, it’s time to ask them on a date! Social media is great for this. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all have messaging functions. Company websites provide contact details or have a contact form you can use to get in touch with people. Just go ahead and invite your idol to lunch, coffee, or a phone chat. Be sure to mention that you’re paying the bill. People love to talk about themselves! You’ll be surprised who you can get access to by simply saying or writing, “I admire what you’ve done. May I take you for a coffee and ask you how you did it?” If the person isn’t local, no problem! You can always set up a Zoom call.

Voilà! Now you have a mentor 

Business Networking Groups

Organized groups can also help you build a professional network. Business Network International (BNI) is the largest and most organized. Smaller organizations such as LeTip and Groupe Reso (GR) exist as well. There are also local and informal groups in each region.

These organizations usually have weekly meetings where you can build your network, share what you’re looking for, and maintain relationships with other professionals. There is usually only one spot per profession (e.g., one real estate agent, one lawyer, one notary, etc.) to avoid competition within the group. As a member, you’ll have regular homework: to bring guests and to meet with members individually to learn about their businesses.

While it can be a bit unconventional for Real Estate investors to join – memberships are usually reserved for small business owners and independent professionals – I have seen investors attend as regular members. 

The premise of such groups is that each person works to provide business referrals to the other members. In this way, each professional member grows their network of clients organically with the help of the other members. As an investor, not only do you gain a whole team of potential deal-hunters, but you will also be able to grow a professional network in a structured, self-reinforcing way. 

I was a member of two such groups for a number of years, with great results. Membership helped build my business, but the real takeaway wasn’t more contracts. The biggest benefit is that I learned a structured way to build a business network. It was a real aha-moment for me when I realized there was a methodology to successful networking. 

Networking for Dummies

Networking was my bête-noir for years! Once I realized that there’s a science to meeting new people and building profitable business relationships, everything changed. Instead of being a popularity contest or a high school dance experience, networking became about finding ways to add value for people I knew. I didn’t have to worry about being the coolest kid at the party anymore! I shifted from trying to impress people to trying to be useful.  

This is the principle of effective networking. First, reach out to people in an organized and relevant way, and—second—find ways to add value for those who are in your network. If you can find a way to add value—be it with positive energy, contacts or your own network—people will be trying to network with you! 

 

Should I Purchase A Single-Family Home?

Should I Purchase A Single-Family Home?

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When I talk to my younger clients, one question comes up over and over: should I buy a single-family home or a condo? 

 The path to Real Estate success involves turning some conventional wisdom on its head. One area that can require reassessment is home-ownership, especially for younger investors who may not have as much capital to play with.

So, is homeownership a sound investment?

The Question

To evaluate homeownership as an investment, we need to view it through the lens of capital deployment. We also need a unit of comparison. 

First, if we’re comparing purchasing a home (read: appreciating object) to spending money on consumer goods (or depreciating objects), it makes total sense to become a homeowner. So yes, homes—because they are appreciating assets—gain value over time. 

But, if we’re evaluating an owner-occupied single-family home as an investment vehicle, we’ll face a different financial analysis. We’ll need to compare a home to other types of passive income generators like a rental property.

  1. Capital

As investors, we spend money or tie up capital to make a profit. That’s what a hard-earned bank balance is for. Deploy capital to generate the best returns. That’s the first law of investing. It’s actually the definition of the word “investing”.  

If your capital is the golden egg that will get you out of the rat race, are you sure it will mature properly if you place it to a condo or a residential property? The question shouldn’t be “Am I losing money on my single-family home?” It should be “How can I apply my hard-earned savings and capital to generate the most return?” 

To answer this question, you must calculate the rate of return on the cash you plug into a rental property, and compare it to what you save on rent plus appreciation on a single-family asset. This will give you two rates of return that you can evaluate side-by-side. 

Most people—when they think about owning a home—frame the mathematics of homeownership in terms of saving rent money. But they tend to forget about the golden rule of capital deployment. The golden rule is: spend money to make money or let your capital chase the highest returns. 

You mustn’t automatically assume that using your capital to save rent money is the best investment opportunity available to you. Seed capital must make a profit. If you take one expense—rent—off your balance sheet, will it truly open the door to financial freedom? 

You can find a sample calculation—of renting versus owning as an investment opportunity—in the Business Case section of my book.

2. Expenses

When calculating money “saved” on rent, don’t forget to factor in all the expenses that come with homeownership. Of course, there’s the mortgage. Payments are part principal (capital payments that decrease the overall loan amount), but initially, a lot of the payment is bank interest. 

Interest isn’t the only expense: homeownership comes with property taxes, the chimney sweeper, the insurance, the plumber, the exterminator, etc. Many homeowners like to do remodels and renovations. Because these upgrades generate no income, they are—in a sense—also expenses. 

Likely you will find homeownership, once you factor in covering all expenses, costs way more than paying rent.

To see P&L statements of renting versus owning as an investment opportunity check out the Business Case section of my book.

3. Tax Implications

There are tax implications to homeownership. When you own rental property, you can deduct mortgage interest as a business expense. All the renovations and maintenance are tax-deductible. Travel expenses, administration and home-office fees, part of your cellphone bill and accounting expenses—all tax-deductible. 

Wealthy people sometimes own rental property for tax planning! 

The same doesn’t hold for owner-occupied properties. Expenses associated with primary and secondary residences are not eligible for tax deductions. 

There is a capital gains exemption when you sell your single-family home (you do not have to pay tax on the appreciation of your property if you occupied it). The rental property comes with a tax liability that comes into existence at the time of sale: the capital gains tax. But this is akin to owning RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plans). You accumulate wealth by investing for years and then when you cash in your investments, you pay tax. 

In Canada, capital gains tax is calculated on fifty percent of the appreciation. This boils down to a 25% flat tax on the appreciation of your rental properties. Depending on your tax bracket, it might be more advantageous to pay capital gains than to pay income tax! 

4. A Lifestyle Choice

Overall, home-ownership should be viewed as a lifestyle choice, not an investment. When you do the math, you’ll likely find better uses of capital than to park your nest egg in a single-family home. 

Should you buy a home then? The answer is, it depends on where you are in your investment journey. Once you have passive income streams and income-generating assets, why not splurge on lifestyle if you have extra capital lying around.

Mindful landlord’s advice: go through the exercise of evaluating return-on-investment before making a decision to purchase a home. You might be surprised! And at least you’ll be making an informed decision. 

Learn More

For a full detailed financial model that will help you compare the two scenarios—renting and owning as an investment opportunity—see the Case Study in my book.

Do’s and Don’t of Selecting an Agent

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Template for Selecting Your Agent

In summary, a broker—the right broker—can add value. You need to be careful about how to choose one. The main qualifications should be unscrupulous ethics and familiarity with investment properties. Here’s how to run interviews to find the perfect broker for your investment deals. 

Do

  • Have them do a building cash flow statement (or two). Even if you have your own cruncher, this will give you insight into their level of competence when it comes to investment buildings. 
  • Speak to previous clients, especially investors. Getting a referral from someone who’s purchased a single-family home won’t tell you whether a realtor is any good with rental properties. 
  • Check if the realtor has owned rental property. If you can shop with someone who has the eyes of a landlord, awesome! 
  • Ask about other deals they’ve done on the type of property you’re looking for. For example, if you want to purchase a multiplex property and you’re working with an agent who deals mostly in condos, you might not have the right person for the job. A realtor’s willingness to discuss other recent deals will give you a sense of how active they are in your niche market.
  • Interview more than one agent before you award business. 

Don’t

  • Work with someone who has no investment property experience even if they’re your cousin or your father’s best friend or your sister-in-law. They might be ethically beyond reproach and very astute at making deals, but they won’t be able to help you if they don’t understand the market. Sorry!
  • Work with someone who’s unfamiliar with the area you want to buy in. Tenants, construction techniques, building age, and so on vary a lot by the district. If you work with an agent who’s used to doing business only in suburbs where buildings are recent, lot lines are clear and straight, and by-laws are simple, they’ll be out of their depth pretty quickly in older neighbourhoods where these lines are blurry and the buildings are older.
  • Sign an exclusivity contract with a broker, but do be fair to them. Keep in mind that realtors get paid only when they make a sale. If your agent is doing their job right, they’ll put a lot of work in for you. Be mindful of this. Don’t act in a way that will cause them to lose out on payment for the job they’ve done. 
  • Feel that you need to sign a binding contract that requires you to purchase only through them. You want to be able to jump ship without being penalized if at some point in the search process you become dissatisfied with their service. Just make sure to be transparent. Don’t work with more than one agent at a time. You’ll burn relationships that way.
  • Be pressured, coerced or guilted into working with the wrong person. Many realtors are highly motivated by commission cheques. Their pressure tactics are good for one-time deals, but because their service is transaction-focused and not client-focused they need new clients all the time. Repeat business goes to competent and pleasant professionals, not unpleasant sharks. As a result, it’s normal that, at first, you meet more sharks. Don’t despair. Pleasant and competent agents exist and they can make your life a lot easier!  

Above all, listen to your gut. You want to have a feel for a person’s ethics, level of competence, and familiarity with the market you’re doing business in.  Your realtor’s competence directly affects the quality and types of deals available to you and their professional style will affect how you experience making your investment decisions. 

Learn more on how to select an agent. Get your copy of the mindful landlord.

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