How a Toronto Investor Improved His Net Worth by $2 Million with One Written Goal

/0 Comments/in /by
Hello Everyone with Real Estate Investments!

Thank you to Andy Tran and SuiteAdditions.Com for dinner on Saturday!!  He’s been a great help in getting me

It was necessary to order tons of food on Andy’s dime to prevent the table from flying away 😉

permits on three legal basement apartments. We have completed two so far. I am grateful to have Andy Tran on my team and for how accommodating the City of Hamilton is regarding basement apartments.

Saturday night dinner was fun. I was able to bring my whole family and got to network a bit with several other real estate investors. With life being so short, I love combining social outings, unlimited amounts of Japanese food, and being among fellow real estate entrepreneurs. I recall feeling overwhelmed a few months back with four renovations on the go, each in the five figure budget, two recent acquisitions, lots of vacancy, switching property managers, etc… then I looked at the neighbouring table at a Rock Star VIP event where Steve Dengate was sitting, who has had as many as 23 properties, and I felt re-energized and confident that if Steve can do it, so can I.  Steve will be on the podcast sometime next month to share how he has shifted his portfolio with a greater focus on cash flow.
Is everyone going to REIN’s ACRE? The weekend crash course on real estate investing?  My team and I are, and yours truly will be speaking on Sunday. My team will also have a booth as part of the REIN’s Buyer Group of preferred realtors presenting investment opportunities to ACRE attendees, plus our full, award winning coaching services, as always.
Hope to see you all March 2-4!! Discount code ERWINSGUEST

How a Toronto Investor Improved His Net Worth by $2 Million with One Written Goal

Ryan Hindmarsh was referred to me by my then-client, James Maggs, over six years ago. James is now the VP of my Coaching Services team. It’s funny how much can change in six years… For Ryan, he wrote a goal six years ago to buy investment property outside of his two family home in Toronto, in order to make money in his sleep. He then reached out to James Maggs, because he knew he was already investing, and the result is: assets minus liabilities equals $2 million without investing a dime of Ryan’s own money.
Ryan is a driven individual.  He starred on his varsity basketball team for the University of Saskatchewan, graduating in Kinesiology, training elite athletes, including NHL players.  He moved to Toronto to become an in-demand personal trainer, earning the highest fees I’ve heard of.  Ryan then started a sports clinic business and built it up to be one of Toronto’s leading clinics.
After all that, Ryan wanted a new challenge. Having witnessed the transformation of his own business via leadership development courses, he joined the same leadership development company to inspire, motivate, lead and coach other entrepreneurs and their leadership teams.
Ryan is also our guest speaker this February 24th and he’s giving us a taste of what to expect. Ryan and I want YOU to achieve your goals in 2018 and Ryan will be showing the Halton REI Group how to do so! You can attend by registering at www.HaltonREI.ca
Subscribe on Android
Ryan’s coordinates:
and no he’s not a fan of the distraction that is social media 😀
Until next time, Just do it, I believe in you.
Erwin
Hamilton, St. Catharines, Toronto, Land Development and Real Estate Investor

The CFP Who Recommends Real Estate

/0 Comments/in /by
Hello Real Estate Investor!!

What a great weekend, and I didn’t even watch the Super Bowl.  Congratulations to the Eagles and, more importantly, the creators of all the awesome commercials! Here’s my favourite. Peter Dlinkage went all in with his performance:

Congratulations also to the New England Patriots, who defy all odds by always winning in a salary capped league.  The team has to rely on excellent leadership, coaching, and systems to consistently make the playoffs and finals. They are truly one of the greatest teams in all of sports.
Let this be a lesson to all of us on the importance of leadership, coaching and systems in our own businesses. If you continue to improve your business in these areas, you will beat the competition and be more successful.
We recently switched property managers in Hamilton, and are now using our assistant, Maria, a student of the REIN system for many years. She is supported by the rest of my team: cleaners, Andy Tran, general contractor, handyman, and I have my 2 cents to add sometimes. My team has never been stronger, our customer services levels are at their highest, and my Hamilton portfolio has never been better.

Neil Oliver, the newest member of the Rock Star Inner Circle. If you too would like to join, go here: https://rockstarinnercircle.com/erwin/

Continue to strive for better so you too may be the New England Patriots of real estate or, as I like to say to my team, the Navy Seals of real estate. 😃

Speaking of Navy Seals of real estate, we have two fantastic speakers lined up for the February 24th HaltonREI.ca meeting: Ryan Hindmarsh and John Roumanis.  The first talk is titled “How I grew my net worth to $2 million with 1 written goal” and the 2nd is “$700,000 in 7 Years, Part-Time”
John was a past guest of the podcast and you can find the episode here: https://www.truthaboutrealestateinvesting.ca/6-years-part-time-and-600k-in-returns/
We are 2.5 weeks away, yet the room is already 2/3rd booked, so please register ASAP to avoid disappointment!! www.HaltonREI.ca to register.

The Certified Financial Planner Who Recommends Real Estate

Kathleen Van Den Berg, aside from having a long name, has an alphabet of academic designations after her name: MBA, Master of Business Administration; CFP, Certified Financial Planner; CLU, Certified Life Underwriter; I may be missing some other letters, but I know Kathleen also has her mortgage license.
I first met Kathleen through an introduction by a mutual friend, and I find her presentations and our conversations fascinating, as she is the only fee-based CFP who will talk to me. Haha!  The fee-based CFP’s I’ve been referred to simply don’t have time for me.  First of all, the ones I’ve reached out to require 1-2 million of investable assets, typically not real estate, since they don’t make money on real estate.
That’s where Kathleen is different. She is a real estate investor, she’s open about her own real estate portfolio, the fantastic returns she’s getting, and recommends some real estate to everyone even though she doesn’t directly make money selling real estate. She’s also highly educated and can apply financial planning theory and products that make sense to real estate investors, hence the reasons we’re hired Kathleen for a portfolio review.
She has also agreed to come present at a future Halton REI event after snowmobiling season is over, so make sure to register for the live, in person presentations, and get all your questions answered! To register, go to www.HaltonREI.ca
Without further ado, I give you Katheen Van Den Berg.
Show Notes:
web: http://www.kavwealthstrategies.com/
linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-van-den-berg-mba-cfp-clu-7b20b258/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/KAVWealthStrategies
Till next time, Just do it, I believe in you.
Erwin
Hamilton, St. Catharines, Toronto Real Estate, Land Development Real Estate Investor

The Future of Marketing: Search Engine Optimization w/ John Vuong

/0 Comments/in /by
Hello Real Estate Investors!!
This past Friday, the Mr Hamilton/Halton REI/Titan Realty Investment Group (yes we have another new brand, more on that another time) team finally found time in our collective schedules to celebrate a successful 2017 over dinner at Milestones and a somewhat friendly, trash talk filled, bowling competition. In the picture at dinner, I’m holding baby Owen. He goes everywhere with Jay and Erika Spencer, so don’t be surprised when Owen makes an appearance on a St. Catharines investment property tour or your private one on one showing.
Bowling really sucked.  For me at least, as I started each game with scores in the 30s for the first five frames. We were playing for big stakes, as there were bragging rights on the line, so I was trying anything and everything to improve.  As we all know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results (I think most of us investors have been there, wanting to invest but taking forever to actually take action). I’m trying different bowling balls, more spin, starting my approach from the left or right. Nothing was working until I really simplified my approach with three really short steps and that worked for the next 10 frames where I striked or spared half of the frames. Yay! I actually led for a bit after being one of the worst in the first two games. The point I’m making is no one always wins and not all tests are successful. Investing is no different. I’ve tried day trading, investing in stocks and bonds, small cap, blue chip, tech stocks, mutual funds, online poker etc… Am I a failure? Maybe, but I didn’t give up and that it’s how I arrived at real estate. Nothing has come close to the returns of our real estate. Other than real estate, I invest in some private equity in land development north of Toronto. Haha! I can’t wait for my review with Certified Financial Planner Kathleen Van De Berg to see what a professional thinks of being a little concentrated in real estate.  In the end, I’m all about results, and not too concerned what other experts think…. unless they make greater returns with low risk somewhere else, then I’m all ears!!! That’s actually a great segue into this week’s podcast! SEO! High return with less investment.

The Future of Marketing: Search Engine Optimization w/ John Vuong

I was talking to one of my fellow students at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class who is still a University student. He’s in electrical engineering, I’m rhyming off unsolicited advice on fields of study to make money. I recommended learning about SEO (search engine optimization) and Block Chain as that’s the future right?
Why is SEO a big deal? Search engine optimization may be the reason you found me or one of my websites, but I’m merely a student of the subject. That’s why I sought out a teacher in Hamilton real estate investor, and client of ours, John Vuong. He’s an ultra successful entrepreneur because his firm, Local SEO Search, is providing tons of value to small and medium sized businesses in driving traffic to their websites and landing pages to translate into more sales. John’s time is really expensive too, so he doesn’t even see the houses he’s buying. He has that kind of track record and success rate with his real estate team. John was kind enough to spare us an hour of his time to share his story here and give us advice on how we can all grow our businesses with search engine optimization.
Who is John Vuong? He’s a 15 year veteran of Sales and internet marketing, a hard worker, and has a track record of being a top performer in every work position he’s held before a business opportunity presented itself and John took action in starting a new business in 2013: Local Seo Search Inc. He too attended the best University in Canada, which happens to be the same as my alma matter, the University of Western Ontario. He’s a young dad and recently started his own charity, providing school materials to local schools for underprivileged kids.
So without further ado, I give you Hamilton real estate investor and SEO expert, John Vuong.
Notes:
Local SEO Search Inc: https://www.localseosearch.ca/
John’s email: John@localseosearch.ca
Till next time, Just do it, I believe in you.
Erwin
Hamilton, St. Catharines, Toronto Real Estate, Land Development Investor

The Millennial Retirement Plan: Seven Houses at Age 33 w Sarah Larbi

/0 Comments/in /by

Hello Everyone with Real Estate Investments!!

We are BAAACKKK!  And we survived FOUR days and three nights in Las Vegas!!! LOL

I have a group of real estate buddies I hang out with for several reasons. We all like to have fun, we have flexible work schedules to meet during the week so we can reserve weekends for work and family, and most importantly, we love to talk business and real estate. Business and pleasure wrapped into one, dropped in the middle of the Las Vegas strip for some masterminding and fun.
The masterminding could have been better, as it took a back seat to the fun! HA!  The initial plan was to block off six hours, allotting 30 mins for each member to share their 2017 accomplishments and 2018 goals.  Unfortunately, like the vodka we were drinking, those 30 minutes were distilled down to 5-6 minutes each. That was all the time we had to spare. Those who presented first enjoyed a more sober audience…
We hit a club, gambled, ate many great $15 steaks, saw O: the Cirque de Soleil show, shot some automatic machine guns, raced some exotic cars (mine was a Lamborghini Huracan), zip lined the length of Freemont St., rode ATV’s in the Nevada desert, dined at the Heart Attack Grill, we fought zombies in a live urban warfare simulation, enjoyed a libation or twenty, etc… what we didn’t do was sleep much, so I personally slept about 25 of the next 48 hours when we got home.

On the Left, that’s ‘Doc’ and ex Green Beret, who has fought terrorists, and our guide through the zombie apocalypse. To quote Doc, “I’ve never seen a group shoot each other so much!” HAHAHA #friendlyfire

 

It all started with WestJet announcing direct flights to Las Vegas from Hamilton Airport and our return flight was only $300. We then price shopped everything and Groupon’d almost of the activities.
The real estate investor in me enjoyed touring through the hotels, thinking how grateful I was other gamblers were paying for me to enjoy the beautiful casinos, as my gambling losses only totaled $15.  I don’t gamble. I mean, it’s fun, but I’m more interested in earning returns like investing in real estate.
The trip was epic. We shared a ton of laughs and it was a very, very memorable trip. I can’t recommend Hamilton Airport enough, and I thought our hotel New York, New York was great for our frugal purposes.
On to this week’s podcast!

The Millennial Retirement Plan: Seven Houses at Age 33 w/ Sarah Larbi

Sarah Larbi, is technically a millennial, but is a contradiction to the stereotypes as she’s always working at her job, portfolio or self development AND she doesn’t have any social media accounts. She’s a long term buy and hold investor,  focusing on cash flowing properties and buying under-market-value whenever possible. She has done this by being a market expert in one specific area; Brantford Ontario, and building a solid team of qualified professionals around her.

Sarah is also the co-founder of the SO REIT Club which holds monthly networking and real estate education meetings for investors. Sarah was also featured on the cover of the Toronto Star in June 2017 for being a young millennial building a portfolio of properties through hard work, dedication and commitment without the help of parents or relatives.
Show notes:
REIN’s ACRE (Erwin’s $300 discount code ERWINSGUEST): http://info.reincanada.com/toronto-acre-2018
Brantford Paralegal Wenda Allicock: http://www.wendaallicock.com/
Sarah’s website: https://sarahlarbi.com/ and email Sarah@sarahlarbi.com
Till next time, Just do it, I believe in you.
Erwin
Hamilton, St. Catharines, Toronto Real Estate, Land Development Investor

2017 In Review

/0 Comments/in , /by
Hello real estate investors!!
Welcome to another episode of the truth about real estate investing show.
Happy New Years to you all! We have many terrific guests lined up for 2018, so make sure to subscribe so you can learn their lessons to ensure you achieve your new years resolutions, as I’m sure they include increased financial security and freedom!!
In case anyone is interested, the Real Estate Investment Network is hosting it’s annual weekend workshop, the Authentic Canadian Real Estate Systems (or ACRE for short), on March 2nd – 4th near Toronto Pearson Airport at the Pearson Convention Centre. For my friends and listeners to the show, REIN has provided me a discount code. It saves you $300 per guest. If you’ve been to previous events you know the the full retail price is $687, which has never gone up to my recollection. I’m a REIN member so my admission is included in my monthly fee… but anyways, the full retail price is a fantastic deal already and my discount code of ERWINSGUEST will save you $300. Link: http://info.reincanada.com/toronto-acre-2018

If you want the full ACRE experience, I recommend you plan to attend the informal evening festivities to network with the other attendees.  To me, it’s a great time to reconnect with my out of town real estate friends who don’t make it to all the events but they make the time for ACRE because it’s such a great event.

On to my 2017 Year in Review!

 

The Real Estate Market:
From January to May, the market rocketed up. It was nearly impossible to purchase a property in Hamilton, as it was a regular occurrence to compete with double digit offers on the same property. Supply was limited and demand was through the roof from Toronto folks and locals. St. Catharines grew in popularity for us as investors. Competition was still fierce, but nothing like Hamilton, and we were renting at rates close to Hamilton’s. KWC was crazy hot as well, and continues to be a hot market as multiple offers there are still a regular occurrence. After May, and after the Foreign buyer tax becoming effective, the market slowed considerably for Hamilton and St. Catharines, exactly what us investors wanted, though we noted less interest from investors in Summer and Fall. Oddly enough, that is when I purchased two properties, in the summer and fall, both as discounts from the Spring market. Right now the market feels more balance, but prices remain up around 7-8% in our target markets compared to this time last year.

 

The Rental Market:
As a real estate investor we have two real estate markets to monitor. Real estate prices, as that determines the value of our portfolio and acquisition costs. Then there is the rental market, and 2017 was very good to investors. From January to May, our investors were obtaining the highest rents we’ve ever seen in the markets we operate: mainly Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, Hamilton, Brantford, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Niagara Region. In the Spring we were consistently seeing rents of $1,650 plus utilities for renovated three bedroom apartments and $1,300+ for basement two-bedroom apartments. Keep in mind about five-six years ago, we rented entire three bedroom houses for $1,300+.  The summer saw reduced demand, as kijiji ad views and showings were way down, and returned to a moderate level in the Fall.  Myself, I like to review my rental ads and prices every two weeks. If I need to make an adjustment, I will. Most often to price, or tweaking of the headline or ad copy. For the property we purchased in the summer, I needed to reduce the rent 3-4 times by $25-50 increments until we found a great tenant. For the property we closed on December 1st, knowing we were approaching the holidays and winter, the slowest market, I was ultra aggressive by advertising our rent $50 below market value. Evaluating a $50/month discount vs. being vacant for three months, an opportunity cost of $4,800, I chose the $50 discount and we rented to a tenant who attended the first showing.

 

On the business side, we’ve grown considerably, helping investors transact on over 100 properties in 2017.  We’ve undergone many changes, moving away from the “Mr. Hamilton” brand to the “Halton Real Estate Investment Group”, as we expanded our geographic coverage of top towns for investment in pursuit of cash flow. Our team has grown considerably as well in order to support the number of clients we support. Apparently good news travels fast, and when you do a great job helping to coach clients to financial success, they compliment you with referrals of friends and family for which we are forever grateful.  Erika Spencer joined our team in late 2016 and has been a force to reckon with. Even with the birth of baby Owen in October, she was back to work in November.  Koukun Unosawa, Han Wang, and  Tammy Ditomaso all joined us in 2017 and Paisley Mackenzie is coming on board in early 2018, all as Junior Coaches.  To ensure our newest team members received the same training I had given, James Maggs was promoted to Vice President of Coaching Services, with all of our coaches reporting directly to him.

 

On the Personal side of 2017, improving my health and energy levels took main stage. After years of pushing myself mentally and physically, I was burnt out. My body was giving up yet I continued to get by on excessive caffeine and sheer will power. I took a couple tests while seeing a new doctor, Dr Callum Cowan, a high performance health specialist who works with pro athletes like NHL’ers, UFC fighters, and high level executives, to repair the damage I’ve inflicted on myself to get to where I am today. I did a very restrictive cleanse in February and March, avoiding my food sensitivities and took care of a parasitic bacteria I picked up somewhere. I also started going to bed earlier. As you parents and entrepreneurs know, we can only control what we can control and I’ve found my mood and energy level is better with more sleep. My kids and family, my clients, and my business all deserve the best me, so I started tracking my sleep with my wearable technology, called a Whoop, and an app to ensure my peak performance. With all these changes, the quality of my work has improved as my mind is rested and more clear. I’m able to train more often, which I love, without having to take as many afternoon naps. The best part is I’m less cranky with my wife and kids so everyone wins with more sleep.

Dr. Cowan with UFC Champion Max “Blessed” Holloway

Dr Cowan is one of our guest speakers for the January Halton REI Group meeting on January 13th. His talk is titled “Feel Better, Function Better, Become a Phenom” and if you’ve seen him present before, don’t worry, the doctor has promised updates as the science of health is ever evolving!!
We will also be hosting a guest panel of investors on the subject of raising successful kids featuring Carol Dias, Margaret Plut, Rob Watson, Charles Wah and Mary Clements.  All are successful in their careers and as investors, and they are happy to share the lessons so we can all achieve one of our ultimate goals, parents to successful children.
To Listen:
Google Play: http://goo.gl/CAM5Mn

Till next time, Just do it, I believe in you.
Erwin
Hamilton, St. Catharines, Toronto Real Estate, Land Development Investor
This podcast is brought to you by the Halton Real Estate Investors Group. The goal of the Halton REI is to entice would-be real estate entrepreneurs to get off the couch, make things happen, and replicate the success of our multi-millionaire clients such as podcast guests Charles Wah, Andy Tran, Evelyn, Kaush, Cherry Chan, Michal Wywrot and Tim Collins.  Our track record of coaching highly successful investors is extensive and we share our secrets, tips and tricks at Halton REI meetings.  So if you are interested in travelling the path of least resistance to real estate wealth without ever swinging a hammer, than this is the place for you. Go to HaltonREI.ca/signup to register and do so quickly to avoid disappointment as we have waitlisted folks many times and seats are limited. One of the secrets of success is to surround oneself with successful people and in my ten+ years of attending workshops and networking events, this is one of the best places to be and I hope to see you soon.

Questions for Don Campbell and The RE Market in 2018?

/0 Comments/in , /by
Hello Real Estate Investors!!!
We are baaaccckkk!!! From a quick week in the Western Caribbean (I always spell it wrong: Carribean…) on mega cruise ship Oasis of the Seas!!! This time we cruised with the kids, my mom and our friend, Maria.  I don’t get to see my mom as much as we’d like, as she lives on the other side of the planet in Hong Kong, but we will start making this a tradition of bringing mom with us on a vacation with the kids around the holidays.  For all of us investors it’s been a great year, so why not have some fun with our returns since life is short and all about experiences. My mom had never been on a cruise either, so it was a fun gift to her.  Next year, the goal is a Disney Cruise!!!
Though this trip was challenging, because Cherry and both kids were sick during the trip, we return with great memories.  On the last day of the cruise, after breakfast on our way back to our room to grab our luggage to disembark, we explained to my son we were going home and everyone on the packed elevator heard him whine, “I don’t want to go.”  Mission accomplished, the kids had a great time! We took a bajillion pictures to capture the memories. My mom and kids are looking forward to the next vacation. Cherry and I on the other hand could use a vacation from the vacation!
No podcast this week, but I did interview my favourite Financial Advisor, Kathleen Van Den Berg. She is far from your typical Certified Financial Planner who is commissioned to sell you mutual funds.  Instead she takes a more holistic look at your goals and portfolios and, if you can believe it, recommends investing in real estate!! Plus more great financial advice to build and protect your financial wealth.  The audio needs some work hence the delay… only the best for our listeners!!
We do have some great guests coming up, including a young lady who executed 16 joint venture deals in 2017!! She will share her successes and failures so you may learn what to do and what not to do.

Questions for Don Campbell and The RE Market in 2018?

We also have best selling author and Senior Economic Analyst of the Real Estate Investment Network coming up. If you have questions please send them in! Our discussion will be focusing on investing for 2018 and his advice for investors to play both offence and defense with your real estate.


In other news, check out these articles on Hamilton. The first article I find hilarious. Having worked for years in downtown Toronto, with many friends and family who live in downtown condos, and as a parent of young kids, to always be planning around their temperament and schedules, I really relate to it. E.g. if we eat out at a restaurant, we are there at 5-5:30pm to ensure we are the first table served for expedient service and allowing time for the pre-going to bed process. Lineups and wait times are the enemy!!! All you parents know what I’m talking about!
The New Hamiltontonians, article here: https://torontolife.com/real-estate/the-new-hamiltonians/


Quoting and summarizing the article:
The author of the article describes his experience and decision making process of growing up, working, starting a family in Toronto and the pragmatic decision to move to Hamilton. The story gives insight into why die hard Torontonians are becoming the new Hamiltonians.


“Once I had a kid, the minor inconveniences of downtown life became meltdown-triggering minefields. The simple act of going to a neighbourhood restaurant for lunch required a logistical calculus evaluating wait times, stroller storage space, high-chair availability and my toddler’s ticking-time-bomb temperament. The ­family-friendly attractions Toronto has to offer—the AGO’s Sunday kids program, the dinosaurs at the ROM, the CN Tower, the High Park cherry blossoms—came to represent lineups and headaches. And that’s to say nothing of the city’s programs, which were harder to access than Tragically Hip seats on Ticketmaster last summer.”
~ I laughed out loud at this one!!


“The average price of a home in the city of Hamilton is $541,720—a bargain compared to Toronto, where the average is nearing the million-dollar mark…. In the first quarter of 2017, 23 per cent of people who bought homes in the Hamilton area were from the GTA.”


“Hamilton is just getting started. These days, the city’s top employers aren’t the steel mills, but McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences Corp., the umbrella organization for the hospital network. The Hamilton area is expected to generate 2,600 new jobs in 2017 and 4,000 more next year, mostly in the tech, health and education sectors. As the economy has grown, so has the city’s infrastructure. A second GO station opened in 2015. “


“we were able to sell our [Toronto] place for $845,000—which, after clearing up debts, left us with enough for a 20 per cent down payment and a monthly mortgage equivalent to the $1,400 share we were paying in Toronto.”
~ same payments and 4x the square footage in one of Hamilton’s nicest neighbourhoods.


Here is a more recent article: Hamilton doesn’t need real estate bargain-hunting Torontonians, link: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/hamilton-doesnt-need-real-estate-bargain-hunting-torontonians/article37361569/
This article is from the view of a long-time Hamiltonian on how the influx of Torontonians is affecting the lifestyles of Hamiltonians and the roots of Hamilton’s NIMBY’ism (not in my backyard), a consequence of Hamilton being such an attractive place to both live and invest.


Till next time, Just do it, I believe in you.
Erwin
Hamilton, St. Catharines, Toronto Real Estate, Land Development Investor