All this and more on this week’s Truth About Real Estate Investing Show for Canadians since 2016!  Yes that’s right, this show while not impressive in flash is one of the two longest running podcasts on real estate investing in Canada.  Many have gone away, many just started, almost no one has over 300 hours of podcast content but even still, the Ontario Rental market is forever changing, my investment strategy has changed based on what the market is telling me hence we all need to be up to date hence we have the founder/owner of Rent Panda, my good friend Hart Togman back on the show.

Rent Panda now manages properties all across Ontario in times of vacancies across Ontario rising, credit ratings among tenant applicants are declining, inflation high, Landlord Tenant Board as its worst, etc… what better time to expand one’s property management business 🙂.

Hart is a good guy and details for us his preferred investment strategy student rentals as well which is a great segway into me reading for you a chapter I just wrote for my upcoming book.

The chapter is titled: The best deal our client ever invested in. 

It’s not what you expect. It’s not one I would have anticipated either.

The year was 2013, non conforming multi-family properties were being cracked down upon by cities everywhere for good reason, tenants were getting hurt, many even dying in fires due to lack of our poorly maintained fire safety systems.  If you’ve ever owned a property needing new windows in a basement room where there previously were no windows or had to replace a fire escape, you know the cost could be $30,000-70,000 for a triplex.  

Universities and colleges were growing in student population and needing more off campus housing from private landlords. Student rentals are a best practice investment for small landlords as the building and fire code requirements are significantly lower than even a duplex.

Now about the investment: my property manager and friend Roger gave me a tip about a large house builder near Brock University in St. Catharines had new construction houses suitable for student rentals.

A high quality builder who built houses as they were sold and only needed a $5,000 deposit.

These were four bedroom, 1,900 and 1,700 square foot semi detached and town houses respectively but because we were buying off a plan, I could design the house to be an ideal, safe, city, building and fire code compliant property.

A met with the builder’s designer and made the following changes to their plan:

• Shrunk the principle bedroom to allocate more space to the smaller bedrooms
• Converted the dining room into a bedroom that I can rent for $6,000 per year
• Removed closet doors saving thousands of dollars.  These often get removed or damaged by student tenants so why provide them.
• Finished the basement to include a three piece bathroom, two bedrooms each with an egress window, an oversized window to allow in sunlight over 4.1 square feet in size and can be opened without tools for a person to climb out of in case of fire
• All walls and ceilings were insulated with fire rated sound insulation, the drywall was fire rated.  We followed the Ontario Building Code as if this property was a multifamily property.
• Rough ins for a basement kitchen installed.  At the time, basement kitchens weren’t allowed so we only did rough ins should the by laws change in the future and make suiting a basement apartment easy to do.
• No carpet, replaced with vinyl plank as it is water proof and incredibly durable.

My requested changes added around $40,000 to the price of the house.  A fraction of what it would have cost us to hire contractors to renovate an existing house that would have taken longer and permit costs and delays.

Best part was my clients could include the upgrades into the mortgage and invest a minimum of 20% down payment plus closing costs.  By minimizing the investment dollars, the return on investment ballooned on an investment property that cost $315,000 to buy and rented for $3,150 per month inclusive of utilities.  The gross rent yield of annual rent to price is 12%.  Needless to say many of our clients bought and are ecstatic about the returns.  

The management not so much as that was rocky for many aside from the few who got lucky with who turned out to be the best property management company in town.  Shout out to Adrian Kulakowsky and Student Rentals 101

Fast forward to 2023 we sold one of these townhouses while the market was pretty hot for $804,000 in multiple offers to a mom desperate for a home for her kid going to Brock University.  On price appreciation alone the return on investment was over 400% over ten years not factoring in 10 years of mortgage payment and cash flow.

Winterberry Blvd is the name of the street.  In 2012 it was a road lined by empty lots of dirt on both sides of the road.  Fast forward to today, Winterberry is known as the top destination for student housing for Brock Students, the bus service drastically improved (which I helped lobby St Catharines Transit for) AND students appreciate the newer, more modern housing, bigger bedrooms, bigger house, stainless steel appliances vs the majority of the houses in St Catharines were built in the 1950s, smaller, not renovated, and only basic fire safety systems.  Big difference and we charged a premium rent.  Premium rents have equated to above market values for our clients rental properties since investors value cash flow.

My clients townhouses actually sell for more than bigger houses by the same builder because of the income.  These are the rewards of highest and best use investing and a little luck.  Sadly, my wife and I didn’t buy any as we were focussed on the basement apartment suiting strategy.

University student rentals in general is the preferred investment strategy for many small investors since student non-payment of rent is very rare hence one avoids the risk of ending up in the Landlord Tenant Board.  We’ve also been very lucky with all the price and rent appreciation, regular turnover of tenants as they graduate school and leave return home.

Rich parents signing as guarantors helps too!

But it’s never all sunshine and rainbows.  Declared student rental, A lender financing is non existent.  Student rentals with A lender mortgages at A lender rates where either not student rentals at the time the bank appraised the property or the appraiser did not notice a house with six-seven bedrooms near a university or college would be used as a student rental.

My last mortgage on a student rental was 10% from a B lender, max 65% loan to value and they would NOT recognize the recent, new appraised value to allow me to take back some equity. 

Point is, from a Financing perspective, student rentals are not scalable in my experience.  Investors have to be prepared to have their capital tied up until they sell.  Why? Because student rental is not a recognized use by most zoning by-laws.

Then there is rental licensing, another couple of hundred dollars per year in costs after a couple thousand dollars in licensing fees and to renovate into compliance.

And that is the Truth About Real Estate Investing for Canadians in student rentals in my experience.

We have many educational events coming up.

Saturday, January 18th at 9 AM EST we’re hosting a FREE virtual tour of investment properties my clients and I own in landlord friendly USA.  We’ll share real numbers, video walkthroughs, before and after pictures as we do a lot off market, buying for under market value, BRRRRs.

👉 Sign up here

Saturday, January 25th at 10 AM EST we’re hosting a both in-person and Zoom webinar on How to Maximize the Sale Price of Your Investment Property, even if it’s tenanted.  This is something we specialize in—having been landlords in Ontario for years. My co-presenter (a fellow investor-focused Realtor and property manager) and I will be sharing our best strategies and lessons learned for selling investment properties for top dollar.

👉 Sign up here

Ontario Rental Market Update w/ Rent Panda

On to this week’s guest!

Again, Hart is a friend, I refer him clients all the time for tenant location services.  This may sound like a paid endorsement and full disclosure, Hart Pays me nothing. We receive zero compensation for me having Hart on this show and sending him referrals.  It’s too bad we’re selling the rest of our Ontario portfolio in the near future so I could have asked him for favours but no. Nothing LOL. Which I don’t mind so my judgement is not clouded.

We get a long because we’re both on a mission to help Canadians get a head in life without taking away too much time from their lives and families by streamlining their investments. Let them sleep at night and we both volunteer for non-profits that support landlords.

Hart’s company Rent Panda is an expert on rentals providing both property management and tenant location services while also using the same tools we recommend like SingleKey and Front Lobby.  Any Ontario landlord not using them is exposing themselves to unnecessary risk. Risks that honestly don’t exist in landlord friendly USA but I digress.

You can find Rent Panda along with a bunch of free online resources every Ontario landlord needs at www.rentpanda.ca

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

W: erwinszeto.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/erwin.szeto
IG: https://www.instagram.com/erwinszeto/

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.

25% Tariffs or secure the border, Futurization of real estate, where the winds are blowing, that and more on this week’s Truth About Real Estate Investing!

My name is Erwin Szeto and I’m back and almost 100% post pneumonia which was nut fun and a whole lot of phlegm. I’m on antibiotics now and hopefully will be done coughing before our trip to China for a few weeks but don’t worry! The show must go on!

Speaking of show must go on, we hosted a very busy hybrid event a few weeks ago while I was very feverish, weak and from the pneumonia. A couple friends who attended laughed at me not believing I managed to host and present/speak for 30 minutes. Thank goodness CEO of SHARE Andrew was able to carry me more than usual including hosting the post event networking and locking up my office when I went home straight to bed.

I am grateful. Grateful so many, over 180 folks tuned in to learn how to best take care of their financial futures.  Some even shared with me some terrible stories of months of non-payment of rent, one couple bought a house to move into but the tenants won’t leave. 

The majority of us Canadian landlords have little to no rights here and the winds are blowing towards the US but don’t listen to me. My friend at one of Canada’s largest lenders said it.

One friend of mine has under contract a building up north and needs a bridge loan because CMHC has significant delays in underwriting, insuring apartment buildings.  The property is in Thunder Bay so let’s call this friend TB. TB specifically asked if I had lender contacts as he did not want 3rd party brokers to avoid mark ups and fees adding to his cost of borrowing.

Make sense, everyone wants to save.  Now the lender is telling me his commercial division does not have the capacity for sub $10M deals which I found surprising considering how few transactions are being done in the multifamily space these days with rates high, CMHC delays, etc…

He tells me that business in Canada is unnecessarily harder in Canada and investing in the USA is much easier, which has been our experience even though our clients’ commercial mortgage amounts are under $200,000.

No love for sub $10 million vs. we have plenty of options for sub $200k in the USA.  How anyone wants to continue to invest in Canada doesn’t make sense to me hence Cherry and I have begun searching for our 2nd income property in the USA.

But what about the tariffs Trump threatened us with? Keep in mind, the threat is attached to a what if Canada and Mexico do not improve security at our respective borders including the movement of the horrible drug Fentanyl.  Food for thought, I was listening to the Globe and Mail’s podcast and Canada Border Services confiscated 43 pounds of Fentanyl in 2023 vs the US Customers and Border Protection seized over 25,500 points at the US/Mexico border.  That’s nearly 600X more. 

In terms of unauthorized people attempting to cross the border in the US. Canada had 6,900 in 2023. Compare that to 2.8 million at the US-Mexico border, about 405X bigger problem.

Me, I’m going to pop some popcorn and watch how Elon Musk deals with this as the majority of the parts in an American made Tesla are made in China or Mexico.

Fascinating times.

In the end, I’ve yet to see one expert predict the Canadian economy out performs the American one hence my investment hypothesis does not change. My clients are I are buying American, the world knows it too hence pretty much all world currencies are suffering vs. the almighty US$ and many economists predict our dollar may get worse.  Our plan is to accumulate houses over time so we’re average cost basing into real estate in the world only economic, major super power with no sign of peer ever.

I know many talk about the BRIC’s but Russia can’t win a war vs. Ukraine, China’s population is aging like that of Japan and S. Korea.  They’re only hope is to age gracefully, no chance for economic and military dominance like America.

Look to the future, it’s bright for those learning and paying attention.  Speaking of, we have Canadian leaders of technology evolution owning fractional shares of proper real estate including expansion to the USA and at the time of recording, have applied for their securities licence across Canada. 

What that means is investor developers can work directly with Addy without having to engage an exempt market dealer, that’s a firm licensed to trade in securities staffed by well educated folks with letters behind their name who are educated and provide service which comes with a %fee.

Now I’m a Realtor, possibly the most hated professional, I use that term loosely that changes a % commission and who doesn’t like to cut red tape and save a few % points off their investments.  My friend TB in Thunder Bay doesn’t want to pay fees and many others don’t either.

What Addy is doing will disrupt the investing space no different than we at SHARE are using technology to make owning US income properties almost as easy as owning stocks.

This is the future. Owning real estate without having to deal with tenants. Especially that ones with all the rights like they do in Quebec, BC and Ontario.

Democratizing Real Estate Investing With Addy’s Stephen Jagger

Please welcome co-founder of Addy Stephen Jagger, I’m excited to have him, if you haven’t heard of Addy before, it’ll blow your mind.  If you have, the advancements in deal offerings, technology will surprise you along with one of their investment vendors who went belly up.

Oh yeah, this is the truth about real estate investing show so when deals go sideways, I’m going to ask about them, Stephen, kudos to him does not avoid my questions and better yet they’d already publicly addressed them.

https://addyinvest.ca/2024/07/19/strengthening-our-due-diligence-lessons-learned-and-steps-forward/

Or as the saying goes, a ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.  If they’d asked me for a reference check, they could have probably saved a bunch of headaches.

To connect with Stephen:

Twitter: @sjagger. https://x.com/sjagger

Email: Stephen@addyinvest.com

Website: www.addyinvest.com

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

W: erwinszeto.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/erwin.szeto
IG: https://www.instagram.com/erwinszeto/

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.

7-figure losses, Anti Renoviction By Law in Toronto $1 trillion passing from boomers to millennial kids, and new federal government programs for developers—all this and more on The Truth About Real Estate Investing Show for Canadians! My name is Erwin Szeto. I’ve been a landlord since 2005, a dedicated investment property specialist Realtor since 2010, with close to half a billion dollars in transactions and I can count on my one hand how many pre-construction condos that includes as I’ve never been a fan. I’m a 4-time Realtor of the Year to Investors in Ontario, and since 2016, I’ve conducted over 300 hour-long interviews with Canadian real estate investors on this podcast.

Over the years, I’ve developed a few personal, immutable laws of real estate investing:

• I don’t private lend.
• I don’t joint venture.
• I don’t invest with novice investors.
• I don’t borrow at expensive rates.
• I don’t invest in small towns with poor economic fundamentals.

It’s too much risk and effort and friends of mine were recently burnt.

I have friends who lent to a high-profile investor with projects west of the GTA and in Florida. If you check this investor’s Instagram, you’d think they’re living the dream: mansions, an enormous Muskoka cottage, flying private, six figure luxury car, private school. But behind the scenes, they’ve lost millions of dollars, including a few 7-figure private mortgages from my friends. Confidence is low that any of that money will ever be recovered. Some lenders are posting about it on social media as a PSA so others don’t lend to this investor.

One friend has since taken over several of these failing projects. This highlights one of my biggest hurdles with private lending: I want my investments to be as passive as possible. I genuinely enjoy my work and value my time with family. But when private loans go bad, Plan B is usually to take control of the project—forcing a sale. That often means getting hands-on and coming out of pocket to fund working capital or pay off other creditors ahead of you.  Cherry would murder me if this happened hence we don’t lend or JV with others.

And what if the market is like it is today? High interest rates, low buyer interest, and lacklustre projects. Plan C then comes into play: litigation and/or heavy involvement—managing development, renovations, contractors, or even running the business, like a hotel or recreational property. For my friends, many of these properties are in small-town Ontario, requiring long, inconvenient commutes to places I’ve never even heard of.

It’s a sad situation for everyone involved including a group of investors having to power of sale a portfolio in New Brunswick where they replaced their Conservative government after SIX balanced budgets and elected a Liberal majority that promised a 3% rent control cap for next year. At least that’s better than Ontario’s Conservatives, who set the cap at 2.5%—the lowest in Canada. Socialism seems to be growing here which is bad news for investors.

Admittedly, I’m not immune to losses either. I’ve lost money on many things, and anyone who claims they haven’t is lying. Personally, stock tips have been my Achilles heel, leaving me with financial PTSD from owning Tesla stock and adding to my Bitcoin. Compared to that, losses from tenants trashing my properties or not paying rent feel minor which is closer to $50k over my career. 

Lessons learned: stick to what’s stood the test of time. For me, that’s long-term real estate investing based on economic fundamentals and cash flow. Just not here but rather in the US because… 

The City of Toronto just passed a renoviction by law so if a landlord needs to evict a tenant even temporarily to complete a renovation, the permit is $700 per unit, proof the unit would be uninhabitable during the renovation and rehome the tenant who is being temporarily displaced with comparable housing a similar rents or monies to cover the rent difference.

Hamilton and London, ON also have passed very similar renoviction by laws and I predict more municipalities will pass similar legislation.  With so much old housing stock in those three cities… I don’t envy those landlords… 

Next week I’ll tell you what the Ontario liberals have planned: no rent increases and no evictions for landlords’ own use including a buyer who’s going to move in in 2025.

What’s a real estate investor to do?

For those interested in learning more about what I consider the best practice for investing in real estate, I want to personally invite you to a FREE hybrid training, How Canadians Can Leverage U.S. Real Estate for Passive, Scalable, and Tax-Efficient Income Streams on Thursday, November 28th, doors at 7:30 for in person, 8 PM EST online. Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Where to invest & capitalize on a Trump government
• How our clients are making money on the buy
• Executing perfect BRRRRs without leaving home
• Diversifying to USA for better cash flow and returns and landlord rights

👉 Save Your Free Virtual Seat

👉 Save Your Free In-Person Seat

$1M Losses, NEW Federal Gov’t Lending For Developers w/ Pierre Paul Turgeon

Now for those of you with deeper pockets and want to be developers closer to home, we have my old friend Pierre Paul Turgeon returning to the show.  A former industry insider as an underwriter at the CMHC, active investor, and real estate expert in the apartment building space, who has analyzed 100s of large, lucrative multifamily investment deals all over Canada.

As a good Canadian, Pierre Paul wants to help build more housing and believes it is developers in Canada who have the greatest potential for success and he’s here to share about the latest Federal programs for developers no one is talking about. I’d never heard about these programs so if you’re a developer, builder or plan to be, you’ll have to give this episode a listen.  Developers are who the federal government wants to support because they build housing we so desperately need. Landlords? Not so much. 

To connect with Pierre Paul, email him at  ppturgeon@maoki.ca

Or his website www.multifamilyinvestingcanada.com where he offers free resources and a paid, in depth detailed courses on apartment building investing.

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

W: erwinszeto.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/erwin.szeto
IG: https://www.instagram.com/erwinszeto/

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.

New Brunswick to implement rent control of 3% next year. What markets are left for investment in Canada? US Investing Workshop completed. Pros and cons of multi-family, investing and developing in health care buildings with guest Dr Wing Lim.  All this and more on the Truth About Real Estate Investing Show for Canadians.

I’m your host Erwin Szeto, 4X Realtor of the Year to Investors in Ontario, an award I’ll never win again because, in general, the everyday investor shouldn’t be investing in long term rentals in Ontario unless they hate cash flow and love having no rights as a landlord. Instead our Realtor work in Ontario consists of helping our clients maintain what they have, navigate the impossible LTB, help them sell their investment properties for maximum ROI.

Widely considered the best practice when selling is wait for the tenants to leave on their own then renovate to maximize returns on sale price.  Note that tenanted properties in our experience sell for $50,000 to $70,000 less and take nearly twice as much time to sell.

Keep in mind, real estate rental property is a business, the long-term tenant is your customer.  In what business where having a paying customer devalues the business?  It’s not a business I would recommend for my clients, friends or family.

If you have friends in real estate like I do, notice how so many are in short and mid-term rentals, developing, flipping. No different to guests on this show.

As I tell my clients, follow the smart money, especially how people invest their own money. Needless to say, avoid scammers. My friend Tarl Yarber created a hilarious Reel on the subject here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBR3UFvtISC/

Back to investing in Canada! But where? 

I don’t usually weigh in on provincial politics outside of Ontario let alone follow them, but New Brunwick’s election caught my eye. With many in our community investing in New Brunswick for cash flow, the Conservatives were defeated badly replaced by a Liberal majority and the Liberals promised rent control in 2025, with a 3% cap on rent increases. There are reduced provincial sales taxes to incent developers to build rental housing and when I cornered ChatGPT to wear an housing economist’s hat and asked if it expects more or less rental housing to be developed by the private sector the conclusion was fewer rental housing units would be expected.

Makes you wonder why socialist governments implement policy that will slow rent increases in the short term but long-term rents rising faster for new tenants or those not covered by the rent cap.

The trend in Canada is not the friend of the real estate investor aside from the irresponsible levels of immigration.  I hope my friends who invested in New Brunswick planned for this scenario but unfortunately this is likely a net loss for residential real estate investors.  I’m no New Brunswick expert though but past guest Elizabeth Kelly and I’ve invited another to the show to give their expert insights from the streets!  Stay tuned!!

What markets are left that do not have rent control? Alberta, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nunavut. Saskatchewan has relaxed rent control.

For fun, I asked ChatGPT, I’m thinking I should just let ChatGPT host this show but anyways, only Alberta would make the top 10 list for places to invest in North America in the 7th-9th ranking. 

But one still has to factor in mortgage financing and once you do, “in summary if you’re looking to grow your real estate portfolio quickly and efficiently, the U.S. (with DSCR loans) far surpasses any Canadian province, including Alberta, in terms of scalability and return on investment potential.”

And that’s quoting ChatGPT.  Ai knows where to best invest for the everyday Canadian investor, I hope you do.

Developing Healthcare & Senior Living Facilities w/ Dr. Wing Lim

Thank goodness however for non everyday investors like today’s guest Dr. Wing Lim a true renaissance man – a dedicated medical professional and serial entrepreneur who has built an impressive portfolio of healthcare facilities and senior living communities. For over 30 years, he has balanced a thriving family medicine practice with innovative real estate ventures.

Dr. Lim’s impact extends far beyond the medical field. He has spearheaded the creation of the state-of-the-art Synergy Wellness Center and the award-winning Esther Gardens senior residence, providing invaluable resources and care to thousands. Beyond his professional accomplishments, he is committed to empowering the next generation through his Physician Empowerment podcast. Link: https://www.physempowerment.ca/ 

Join us as we dive into Dr. Lim’s remarkable journey – from the challenges of running a medical practice to the triumphs of building a real estate and senior living empire. His story is a testament to the power of vision, perseverance, and a relentless drive to create positive change. Canada needs more investors like Dr Wing Lim and I hope this show inspires one of my 17 listeners.

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

W: erwinszeto.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/erwin.szeto
IG: https://www.instagram.com/erwinszeto/

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.

Congratulations Keyspire, Judging award winners, and how slow and steady, winning the race is preferable over the millions and millions of being lost from overleveraged, too fast, too soon, wrong bad timing investing.  All this and more on this week’s Truth About Real Estate Investing Show For Canadians, my name is Erwin Szeto, host/producer of this show since 2016.

I’d like to start off by apologizing to this week’s guest Tim Tsai as we couldn’t get this episode out before the InvestEd Annual Conference for which I was a judge for a category of award winners.  I’m sure the event will be awesome and it will have happened the weekend after you’ll hear this and i’ll detail how great it was next episode 🙂

Congratulations to Keyspire for a successful event. I saw Shaquille O’Neal and he’s such a nice guy.  More importantly I got to connect with the many many, kind members of Keyspire, coaches, staff, partners.  The feedback on our efforts to make USA investing as easy as possible were well recognized.

My friend Scott Dillingham, owner of Lendcity USA and Lendcity Canada had a booth too and as you’d expect, real estate investors who have analysed deals in Canada understand the opportunity to diversify their investments in the USA, it’s just not easy without a team and financing which we at Share and Lendcity USA provide.

Scott and on the behalf of Share I can say we’re excited to help more keyspire members and members of any investor organization invest in the USA.

P.S. Join us at the hybrid workshop this Saturday, October 19th, 2024 at 9 AM – 12 PM EDT where we’ll dive deep into everything you need to know about creating steady, passive income from U.S. real estate—without being a hands-on landlord. 

You’ll learn how to identify cash-flowing properties and get tax advice on the legal and tax structures essential for cross-border investors from Cherry Chan, CPA, CA. Scott Dillingham will also be sharing insights on financing options available to Canadians.

In-person tickets are sold out 🔥, but there’s still time to grab your virtual spot before it’s too late!

GET YOUR TICKET HERE

Slow and Steady Wins the Race & Achieving Financial Freedom With Tim Tsai

Speaking of investor organizations, we have the co-founder of Trust Your Talent, Tim Tsai returning to the show after a two year hiatus from the show. Tim’s members include 150 who have achieved some level of financial freedom, including the first level which is to have one’s monthly expenses covered by the cash flow from their investments.

That’s a lot of people Tim and co-founder Rey have directly coached and mentored but he’s not alone as past guests of this show Vince Lee and Brooke Shang are past members and now coaches of Tim and Rey’s group.

Tim is back this week to share what has worked for his own portfolio including what has not worked, when he saw red flags and was able to avoid damage unlike the many who have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in private lending in small towns, high leveraged, too much, too fast, too complicated investments.  However Tim’s members have survived and thrived over these same times and I can’t wait to meet the dozens of award members at Tim’s InvestED gala.

About Tim: After retiring himself at the age of 30, Tim began to pursue another goal and passion of his – helping those who are committed to achieving financial freedom do the same. To this day, Tim continues to be an active investor as he believes investing is a “lead by example” venture.

With the investment he made in his own financial education, Tim became financially free in 2 years (25 months to be exact) after his first training. In the past few years, Tim has built cash-flowing portfolios in Canada, US and the UK, using a variety of strategies – income properties, lease options (residential and commercial), creative financing, flipping, wholesale, infill development, mobile home parks, etc.

Website: https://trustyourtalent.ca

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetimtsai/

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

W: erwinszeto.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/erwin.szeto
IG: https://www.instagram.com/erwinszeto/

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.