We firmed up our Texas income property, is residential investing in Canada dead? A dozen plus triplex conversions in Collingwood, ON & launching a TV show with Kelly Caldwell.

Welcome to the Truth About Real Estate Investing Show my fellow Canadians! I hope you’re all enjoying a hot summer but you know what’s not hot? Condos.

I spoke to one condo investor last week who’s been abandoned by his Realtor who made all sorts of promises: the investor bought two condos pre construction with the intention of selling one via assignment the market and using the profits to pay down the mortgage of the 2nd, the Realtor promised to rent out the condo as well.

We all know how the condo market has fare in Toronto or Vancouver… not well. So now this investor who also happened to lose their job also now carries two condos that have negative cash flow $4,000 per month.

You know what never made sense to me about preconstruction condos? Was how the cost per square foot was higher than existing condos.  So often I would see pre construction condos being sold for $1,600 per square foot when used condos were $1,400 square foot. As a professional real estate investor, I invest for value, not to speculate. If buying new, one would have to speculate the price of resale real estate goes up more than $200 per square foot to make money.  The investment model never made sense to me hence we kept our clients away from pre construction condos unless there was a personal reason to own them.

For investment though? Double land transfer taxes in Toronto and tenant friendly laws and especially after Canada investors learn how technology has made investing in the USA so easy to be a US landlord, to directly own investment properties. If I could show every pre construction investor the benefits of a US single family house rental via SHARE, I don’t see why an investor ever buys a long term rental condo ever again. 

I was going to say maybe in Calgary, AB but ever the President of REIN, Patrick Francey doesn’t think it wise so.  You know another truth about real estate investing for Canadians? I’ve yet had a real estate professional disagree with me over diversifying to the USA. I once had a laugh with a buying agent for one of my properties, he was asking me about investing in the USA as he too is interested, we chatted, I shared financial projections and how landlord friendly certain states are, before I snapped back reality, I needed to sell my property so I could invest in the USA and advised how my duplex in Hamilton was a better investment to which we both laughed.

Last week we also hosted a virtual tour of income properties in the USA.  I showed internal and external walkthrough videos by home inspectors, I shared the economic fundamentals of the markets my clients and I have purchased in.  Special guest, friend and client Derek Wormsbecker (https://www.instagram.com/derek.worm.mortgage/) shared about his experience buying an infill, new construction house, 1,250 square feet, 3 bed, 2 bathroom, 2 car garage for $176,000 and rented it out for $1,425 per month. That’s a 6 cap rate that will cash flow with less than 35% down payment plus a commercial mortgage, the ideal mortgage for scaling portfolios.

If you’d like to peruse deal like Derek’s in Little Rock, Arkansas simple go to my website iwin.sharesfr.com, create a free account, browse real current and past deals, and book a call with me should you like to discuss. Again that’s iwin.sharesfr.com if you’d like to learn how easy it is to be a US landlord, maintain 100% ownership, while letting SHARE do all the heavy lifting.

Converting a Dozen+ Houses Into Triplexes with Kelly Caldwell

On to this week’s show! This week’s guest is the lovely Kelly Caldwell, who has converted over a dozen single family houses for basement suites AND garden suites. Together with husband Jeff Caldwell, they’ve become leaders in their community, Collingwood, ON filling in the missing middle working closely with local government as such they were invited to be a part of a new HGTV inspired series called Home Suite Home where viewers can follow along as Kelly and Jeff navigate the world of accessory suite financing, design and construction.  You can catch them on Rogers Cable TV this fall as well as Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@itshomesuitehome.

Kelly’s journey is a wild one.  She was barely an adult when she was orphaned as Cancer took her father, her only parent away leaving her as the eldest sibling of two teenage brothers. 

Kelly shares about her remote investing way up north, how she managed the renovations, Kelly shares the numbers around a typical basement conversion and garden suite.  For the first time a guest talks about the benefits of polished concrete floors for both heating and finish. Fascinating stuff for real estate nerds such as myself.

If you can’t tell, Kelly is no stranger to hard work so please enjoy the show!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itshomesuitehome/, https://www.instagram.com/the_dash_investher/

Realtor website: https://caldwellrealestategroup.com/

The dash poem: https://noahwatry.medium.com/the-dash-poem-by-linda-ellis-33fe4d54a1b4

ADUSearch: https://adusearch.ca/index.html

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
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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.