We just returned from Cherry and I’s post tax season workation where I get my wife back, she gets a well deserved vacation as tax season is the toughest part of the year for Cherry and I, AND we get to tour awesome places for investment like Tennessee, Atlanta and Savannah Georgia!

Welcome to the truth about real estate investing show for Canadians I’m your producer and host Erwin Szeto since 2016, 300+ episodes later, ranked as high as #81 on iTunes in the Business Category in all the world where we invite expert guests on this show to learn their lessons from both success and failures, as the saying goes,from Otto Von Bismarck “’Only a fool learns from their own mistakes. The wise person learns from the mistakes of others.” Unfortunately many didn’t hear my warnings about private lending based on the learnings of others’ mistakes and here we are… if you ask any real estate Accountant or Lawyer where clients are complaining and losing money from, you guessed it, private lending.

Back to our trip! Tennessee turned out to be a bit of a flop investment-wise, as prices in cities like Chattanooga are comparable to other top investment locations, which did not compel me to invest there. However, it is home to Volkswagen’s major manufacturing plant, where they plan to assemble all their electric SUVs and recently voted to unionize. The sightseeing was breathtaking, both from high up at Lookout Mountain and 260 feet below ground—equivalent to the height of the Eiffel Tower—on a half-mile cave tour that ended with a 145 foot tall waterfall in a cave!! 

Oh and the food we ate the entire trip was excellent. We did make the mistake of ordering too many sushi items with Jalapenos but holy, southern hospitality all the way, we could not believe the number of 4.5/5 Google reviewed restaurants there were to choose from and prices were the same as here but way more options.

Next we went to Atlanta for an Entrepreneurs Organization event. Our hosts own the venue, a rooftop restaurant and we had a great time networking with other 7 figure entrepreneurs. I met one couple with a beverage company that distributes nationwide to Kroger and Wholefoods who side hustles with an investment portfolio of 30 houses.  I met another gentleman who bought a failing property management business with 200 houses undermanagement, immediately turned it around to make it profitable and over a couple years has grown it to 900 units under management. Mostly single family and he advised me, if he was in a position to invest more, it would be in detached, single family houses.

Sounds good to me! Funny how at an Entrepreneurs Organization event I met a couple highly scaled and successful real estate investors in one night.  America truly is the land of opportunity.

While here back in Ontario the CBC released a special piece on how bad it is to be a landlord in Ontario titled: Unpaid rent, arrests, arson: Fed-up landlords fight back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpeqE3a3EUk

Back to the trip, I made the mistake of booking a hotel in downtown Atlanta… not the best area but thankfully it was a short walk to the touristy stuff and we walked over to the Coca Cola museum, one of 19 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Atlanta, GA (source: https://www.knowatlanta.com/jobs/atlanta-fortune-500) and it just so happened to be their birth day which was a pleasant surprise. My favourite part of the tour was sampling the dozens of flavours they make. My favourite was kiwi lime from Thailand.

Next was Savannah, a 3.5 hour drive from Atlanta for three days and nights and it was awesome. Savannah is a gorgeous, historically preserved small city of 150,000 population but they draw 10-15 million tourist visits per year. Compare that to 12 million visit per year to Niagara Falls which is one of the natural wonders of the world.

Savannah preserved historical architecture makes it a lovely place to visit, again the restaurant scene fantastic, stereotypical southern hospitality was experienced and my favourite part was driving around the $7.6 billion dollar investment by Hyundai & the government to build a car assembly plant just outside Savannah.  The projected number of employees is 8,500 which is bigger than Toyota in Cambridge, ON. 

We drove into the Hyundai’s plant parking and were surrounded by hundreds of construction workers, we checked out a couple houses and neighbourhoods and I’ve found my niche of starter houses ideal for investment.  

I’m in the middle of creating my US entity in Wyoming in order to start buying houses and I can’t wait to diversify from Canada to the USA where the economy is growing thanks to government and foreign investment at historic levels. I should mention that Hyundai investment of $7.6 is the largest in the State of Georgia history, a state that’s bigger than the province of BC.

If you want to know where I’m investing and my insights on the properties that I toured in the U.S. while I was there, I’ll be sharing all of it on Saturday, June 8th at the “How to Create a 6-Figure Passive Income in U.S. Real Estate” Hybrid Workshop. Signup here : https://USAworkshop-er.eventbrite.ca/?aff=podcast

Multifamily Development In Toronto With Ming Lim

On to this week’s show we have my old friend Ming Lim of Volition Properties, Toronto Realtor and investor extraordinaire and the name volition is about living your life on your own volition thanks to financial peace from a great real estate portfolio.  The nice thing about investing in Toronto is one can’t really beat the number of high quality tenants to choose from. 

In my experience, the ideal tenant is gainfully employed and optimistic about the future as their credit history is valuable to them as they want to be able to get car loans and mortgages hence they can both afford the rent AND be motivated to be a quality tenant.

But Toronto is a top two least affordable city in Canada and one of the least affordable in the world so unless you have deep pockets for negative cash flow condos, you’re going to have to adopt an investment model of intensification and densification and that’s exactly why we have Ming Lim on as today’s guest.

Ming and I go back over ten years, he’s an engineer by training so he’s a bright guy, he doesn’t hide truths hence Ming share’s how some Toronto investors are faring holding pre-condo construction condos, very sad stuff. On the positive, Ming shares how CMHC’s MLI select program (read cheap, 50 year amortization financing) can be used to optimally invest and develop into multifamily properties in and around downtown Toronto.

For all you Toronto investors, you’ve asked “when will Erwin be downtown to meetup?” well Ming has invited me to speak at his meetup. 

https://www.meetup.com/volition/events/297931009/

Tuesday, May 28, 6:00-9:00 pm

The Kingston House

(676 Kingston Rd, Toronto), google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VKQLkSEc5cVxoa9j8

4.6/5 Google reviews

I’ll be sharing my journey of being a landlord in Ontario for the last 20 years and how I’ve started selling properties here to diversify to the landlord friendly areas of the USA. I’ve just returned from Savannah, GA, I’m in the middle of creating my corporate structure in the States to be prepared to start writing offers in the USA this month and I can not wait!

I hope to see you there and please enjoy the show!

Ming’s Volition on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/volitionproperties/

Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Volition/

Advisory call: https://cal.com/volition-matt/30advisory?month=2024-03

To Listen:

HELP US OUT!

UPCOMING EVENTS

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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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.