Reining in Canada’s population growth. Rents are flat across Canada as International Student interest has cratered. How does that affect your investment hypothesis? Short-term rentals part 2 with experts Spencer and Ashley. “Marry Sooner, have more kid, ignore costs says uber capitalist Kevin O’Leary, a big announcement and so much more on this week’s Truth About Real Estate Investing for Canadians!

My name is Erwin Szeto, your host and producer since 2016 and 300 plus episodes later.  Thank you to my listeners and the kinds words you shared and thank you for your updates and personal truths about real estate investing.  I did not know so many of my fellow podcasters are no longer releasing new episodes.  Many of them are my friends and there are some I believe should stop, a simple google of the names of folks who borrowed tens and hundreds of millions and going bankrupt will let you know who gave them their platform, promoted them and some even earned commissions.  

Always follow the money, understand how folks make money and factor that into your screening process. 

Did you know that the front runner to become our next Prime Minister of Canada said he would reduce our population growth to match the growth of new homes built and factor in health care access and jobs.  Makes sense no?

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-immigration-cut-population-growth-1.7308184

A couple problems, housing starts across Canada are way down as building and development costs are extremely high.  New construction sales are low as the market needs to digest the historic number of new construction condos, mostly small ones which could take 1.5 to 2 years per Benjamin Tal, deputy Chief Economist for CIBC.

Link: https://x.com/MikePMoffatt/status/1837899997905301511

Combine that with flat rents across Canada as demand from International students have cratered:

The federal government wanted a 35% reduction in the number of International students and the stat I’ve seen is applications are down 45%.

The Globe and Mail is reporting google searches for student housing near universities in Waterloo, Hamilton and Kingston are down 46-55%.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-university-students-housing-rents/

Personally, my investment hypothesis is forever changing from experience and what real estate experts are telling me about their own investing.  My hypothesis is focussed on cash flow, long-term growth in rents and prices.

For a local investor, knowing that rents are flat in the current market and reduced demand from international students and immigrants, what do you think will happen to your cash flow and price appreciation long-term?

I still have a number of properties in Ontario, Canada so I’m concerned if lowering interest rates and lack of supply will push my prices up.

With the economic and immigration landscape the way it is, should a Canadian investor invest their hard earned money into local markets? I know I wouldn’t deploy more capital into long-term rentals.

Legal short-term rentals and hotels, that’s another matter as small Airbnb operators get squeezed out by governments which is why we have Ashley and Spencer back on the show but before we get to them…

Can you believe Kevin O’Leary said “Take my advice. Get married sooner and have more kids. Family is everything! That’s what it’s all about. Do you agree?”

Kevin said so on his social media, I’ve linked to the Instagram post. Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_6eDr9NgRq/

Kevin explains how he wishes he spend more time with his kids where they were young and I couldn’t agree more.  I’ve interviewed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs and investors almost all of them would agree with Kevin how parents never get back those wonderful years of development while kids are young.

My decision to make my portfolio more passive by delegating to SHARE in the US frees me up to spend more time doing what I enjoy, my work in helping hard working Canadians’ journey towards financial peace and time with my wife Cherry and the kids. All the while still being a direct owner of what I consider the best asset class: real estate while maintaining 100% control while someone else does all the heavy lifting.

SHARE’s business is exactly what I envisioned for my own professional services to my clients: to make real estate investing as operationally easy and passive as possible in Ontario but that’s just not possible with affordability so bad, one can’t even cash flow enough to afford property management combined with rent control and tenants having all the rights.

Now I’ve got some big news to share that I’m incredibly excited about! As you know, my real estate journey started all the way back in 2005 as a novice landlord then I got serious in 2008 when I first began formally learning about investing. Since then, I’ve always had my eye on the landlord-friendly USA as an ideal place to invest—better cash flow, more stable tenant laws, etc. But the challenges of getting financing, building a power team I could trust, finding the right deals, and managing properties from across the border kept me from jumping in.

Well, I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve recently taken on a new role as Head of Business Development in Canada for SHARE! This partnership is a game-changer for anyone looking to invest in the US market like I’ve always wanted to. SHARE has eliminated all the hurdles that once held me back. Financing? We have the contacts, one of them emailed me today they have 4,500 lenders signed up ready to lend to Canadians. Deal sourcing including off-market? Check. Ongoing property management? We at SHARE can handle it all.

With SHARE, I get to be a passive US landlord. I’ve been a landlord for 20 years, I don’t enjoy it and will gladly pay someone else to do it while I still keep direct ownership, full control, and 100% of the equity. It’s a dream come true for me as control and 100% equity was how 45 of my past clients made $1 million or more investing in real estate, and if you’ve ever been interested in US real estate, now’s the time to take a serious look.

If you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to invest in the US but didn’t know where to start, this might be it. 

The best please to learn more is: https://iwin.sharesfr.com/ or our US Investing workshop coming up Oct 19th or my free training even in late November.  The writing is on the wall, I don’t see a future for everyday investing in Canada when the deals we’re finding at SHARE are so much better.

50+ Short Term Rentals Part 2 With Spencer & Ashley

On to this week’s show, a topic I’m a big fan of, avoiding long-term rentals in tenant friendly provinces like Ontario hence we have Spencer and Ashley Giles back for round 2. If you didn’t already know, vacation rentals are a business, 24-7 for some like Airbnb managers like Spencer and Ashley Giles who are back to share more, dig deeper into the strategy including operating and owning in the USA. 

Their management portfolio is 50 properties at time of recording spread across much of Ontario and Up State New York so they have a lot of diverse experience to share.

To follow Spencer and Ashley Giles, their website is https://spencerandashley.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/spencerandashley/ on Instagram.

Please enjoy the show!

To Listen:

HELP US OUT!

BEFORE YOU GO…

Before you go, if you’re interested in what kind of properties I am looking at in the landlord friendly states of the USA please go to iwin.sharesfr.com for what I consider the best investment for most Canadians, most of the time.

I’ve been investing in Ontario since 2005 and while it’s been a great, great run. I started out buying properties in the 100,000s and now it’s $800,000 to $1,000,000.  How much higher can it go? I don’t know

To me, the remaining potential for appreciation does not match the risk hence I’m advising my clients to look to where one can find rental properties that are affordable range of $150,000 to $350,000 US$, with rents that range from $1,400 to 2,600/month plus utilities.   As many Canadians recognize, these numbers will be positive cash flow and are night and day compared to anything locally. Plus the landlord has all of the rights, no rent control, and income is US dollars which are better than Canadian dollars.

If you don’t believe me, US dollars are better than Canadian dollars, go ask 100 non-Canadians which currency they prefer to be paid in.

So to regain control of your retirement planning.  Go to iwin.sharesfr.com and check out what great cash flow properties are available in the USA.  

The best part is, my US investments will be much more passive compared to by local investments as I’m hiring an asset manager called SHARE to hand hold me through the entire process.  As their client and shareholder, Share will source me quality income properties, help me with legal structure and taxes, they manage the property manager and insurance provider while passing down to me preferred rates so I save both time and money.  

Share will even tell me when to strategically refinance or sell.  SHARE can even support investors all over the country for proper diversification hence my plan is to own in Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas.  Share is like my joint venture partner but I only have to pay them fees while I keep 100% ownership and control.

If your goal in investing is to increase cash flow, I don’t know of a better strategy for most Canadians most of the time.  One last time that’s iwin.sharesfr.com to see what boring, cash flowing real estate investing can look like on your path towards financial peace.

This is how I’m going to make real estate investing great again for my family and hope you choose the same.  Till next time!

Sponsored by:

This episode is brought to you by me! We don’t have sponsors for this show. I only share with you services owned by my wife Cherry and me.  Real estate investing is a staple in my life and allowed me to build wealth and, more importantly, achieve financial peace about the future, knowing our retirement is taken care of and my kids will be able to afford a home when they grow up.  If you, too, are interested in my systematic strategy to implement the #1 investment strategy, the same one pretty much all my guests are doing themselves, then go visit www.infinitywealth.ca/events and register for our next event.

Till next time, just do it because I believe in you.

Erwin

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Disclaimer:

As a committed advocate for transparent and responsible real estate investment, I want to openly share my involvement with SHARE SFR (Single Family Rental) as an Advisor. I hold an equity position in this company and receive a referral commission for clients I introduce to their services. My endorsement of their business model – focusing on direct ownership of positive cash flow income properties – is consistent with my own personal investing since 2005, is based not only on a professional assessment but also on my personal experience and belief in their approach. Please note that while I stand behind my recommendations, it is crucial for each individual to conduct their own due diligence and consider their unique circumstances before making any investment decisions. As always, my priority is to provide you with honest, insightful, and practical real estate investment education.