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We get tons of calls every year for people wanting a fixer-upper, especially after they have just watched some TV show where a couple bought  something, fixed it up and made gobs of money! Really?

  What about a couple who are handy or even want to be handy and who do not have to keep up with the Jones's for appearance sake? Instead of buying that $200,000 or $300,000 home with the finished basement, nice schools, close to work, 2 car garage and then busting your butt to ensure all your monthly bills are paid? And, hoping that your home will increase in value in 5-10 years.

 What about the couple who buy a small home outside the city for cash or 5-10% down, are prepared to drive a bit to get to work and have a 1-2 year plan to fix the place up and sell it and repeat this 4-5 times in 10 years?

Look at the math. Instead of a $1000 plus going to interest every month, you buy something where that interest goes perhaps $600-$800 goes to fixing your place up. after 1-2 years you sell it, you may earn $10,000 plus but lets say you only net $15,000? That's low but stay with me here.

You do that 5 times or more? If you compared the couple who has had only one house after 10 years, mortgage poor or to keep up with their friends, go deeper in debt and get a bigger home, or the couple who uses their sweat equity and common sense after 10 years?

I have 14 couples now who followed this plan and let me give you 3 scenarios:

1. Couple number 1 lives in a $260,000 home, no mortgage and are under 35 years old and have no debt
2. Couple number 2 live in a condo now, no mortgage and are living off the rental income of their last 7 homes they bought, and instead of selling, they rent out
3. Couple number 3 are into house 3, it's worth about $175,000, they owe just under $100,000 on it and their first home they bought, they scraped, borrowed and begged to come up with a $5, 281 down payment!

Are the above 3 different than most? Yes. you see, they are willing to pay the price in time, effort and I'll use this dirt word prestige, to build their financial stability. Now, at the end of the day, 10 years from now, who is living the good life?

Is it easy? Safe? Nope! Is it wise and financially prudent? You bet! So I ask, do you have what it takes or are you going to go through the rest of your life in debt and looking well off or no debt and feeling well?

Money, The 4 kinds in real estate investing

Most investors in real estate and in fact, most business owners think of money in an abstract way and do not truly understand the brutal truth or refuse to acknowledge what money really is.

Briefly, money can be broken down into 4 parts, being

• Profit
• Income
• Flow
• Equity

You can have all the profit you want but without flow (cash flow) you cannot pay your suppliers (that is income out), your service providers, employees or your investors or lenders. Without flow, you erode your equity because you must borrow to keep afloat, if you are late in paying your monthly commitments, it erodes your profit and equity because of late fees, interest charges (income again) and or finding another supplier or support person or employee.

I have seen many real estate investors with properties that have increased in value (equity) but they themselves are digging into their pockets to stay afloat and they think they are doing well!

I have seen many real estate investors who have great tenant incomes but forget about flow, profit and equity.

In turn, I have seen landlords with decent income (money in, money out) but have poor cash flow because of little profit!

Some guru’s say profit is perspective but I say unless you take all the 4 rules of money, apply them to the property you are thinking of buying or selling, you are not getting the true value of what money is.

I know, I know, I hear this all the time, my property increased 12% last year, or, “I never have vacancies”, or “My mortgage payments are low” and on and on.

This blog is not the place to go into detail about the 4 rules of money, so I hope I have changed your perspective about money, I know my clients have and their financial health has improved considerably and in turn their future money worries have subsided and in some cases, vanished!

So, you want to invest in real estate and get rich fast? You're living in an infomercial or one of those reality shows!Experts say the secret to successful real estate investing is research, research, research. Review your moves, get good advice and look for clues. The payoff is two-fold: Ongoing cash flow and capital appreciation.

Some Steps That Are Extremely Important:

1. Evaluate your existing exposure. "People who already own a house should make sure they evaluate the percentage of real estate exposure already in their investment portfolio and then decide if they want to invest more," says BMO economist Michael Gregory. "Evaluate whether the benefits you earn from tax breaks on your second house are worth the risks associated with investing more."

2. Identify what is it you really want from the property. "Do you want to make a quick $30,000 in a very short period of time or would you be happy with earning $800 to $1,000 a month for the rest of your life?" asks Ozzie Jurock, former president of Royal Le Page and a Vancouver-based real estate author and TV personality. Jurock says investing in smaller towns is a good bet because even if the property does not substantially appreciate, one can always be assured of a fixed income for life through manageable rents.

3. Ignore national statistics. Focus on the numbers and trends that directly affect your market. Check if population growth, average income and job creation are faster than the provincial average, say experts. Also key is whether a major transportation improvement is occurring nearby. And don't let a single booming industry (such as automotive) or one high-growth sector (such as oil) influence long-term investing decisions.

IS THE AREA AFFORDABLE?

4. Is the area's affordability index in the hot zone (between 25 and 39 per cent)? RBC puts up a free affordability index chart on its website that can help investors. Experts say you don't want the property to be too expensive or too cheap: Too cheap and the renters become buyers; too expensive and property values may stall.

5. Use an experienced broker. Once you get your research done, use a broker who specializes in buying and selling houses for real estate investing.

6. Start small. For the first-time investor, trying a free-hold townhome (which doesn't have maintenance fees). "These are not only affordable, but there's always a good supply and demand for them and they can give you an affordable income," she says. This holds true in bigger cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary, where immigrant populations are high. New immigrants prefer to rent for their first few years in the country and they tend to choose locations close to transportation systems, malls and grocery stores.

These are only a few ideas to start thinking about, actually there are 31 that we take and discuss with all our clients. They love it, they feel better and sleep better knowing that though we cannot remove all the risks in investing in real estate, but knowing them is important!

Control is a very, very important part of wealth-building. There are lessons all over right now about what happens when you don't control your investments. We all read or have heard of different Ponzi schemes and Bay and Wall Street ‘hand in your pocket’ plans.

Let’s start out with my definition of control:

Investing Control: The ability to influence or impact the future value and net income of your investment.

Investing control is important for almost any type of investment.

For the stock market, this means controlling a majority of a company’s shares. Now, this is extremely difficult for average people, like you and me. This is why we should invest a smaller portion of our money into the stock market.

For real estate, the best investors want active control over their properties. Active control can be obtained in partnerships and individual investments alike. Most people would rather be passive real estate investors. The tiny few who grow wealthy prefer to be active investors.

The majority of families focus their investments into assets they do not control. This is why they struggle to accumulate “real” wealth. This is also why many people will not have enough money accumulated when they retire.

In fact, it boggles my mind that most people prefer not to be in control of their investments. They would much rather have mutual fund planners, stockbroker or someone else control their money. “Done for you” wealth is not available. You are going to have to do much of it yourself. You do it by controlling assets.

It is perfectly fine to invest a small portion of your money into investments you do not control. But I would be very careful investing large sums of your money into uncontrollable investments.

If you study wealthy people, you’ll quickly see that they do the exact opposite of everyone else. They desire, fight for and cherish control. Everyone else desires, cherishes and pays big money to have no control. Notice the difference.

I remember reading a biography on Kirk Kerkorian, a billionaire. In every single investment Kerkorian made, he fought for control. When he didn’t have control over an investment, he quickly divested himself of the investment. Same goes for Wayne Huzienga, who built three separate billion-dollar companies (Waste Management, Blockbuster and Republic Industries).

I believe most people prefer passive investments because they are easier. Passive investments allow the investor to invest without having to take any responsibility. Passive investments do not require the investor to be decisive. Passive investments do not require the investor get his hands dirty.

Control requires that you take responsibility for your investments. Control requires you to be active. Control requires that you pay attention. Control requires that you be decisive. Control requires you to roll up your sleeves and get dirty every once in awhile. Some believe control is risky. I believe lack of control is risky.

Once you have control of your investment, you should work hard to increase its value. You increase value by increasing its income.

One of the most valuable wealth-building skills you can have in life is the ability to increase the net income of your investments. With this skill, you can literally write your own ticket.

You must strive for control over your investments. Control is critical for true wealth. Don’t be lazy. Don’t copy the masses and happily turn over control to your hard earned money.

What's your tenant profile?

Everyone has heard at least one horror story of "the tenant from hell," so much, in fact, that dealing with renters is the biggest fear potential investors face, writes industry expert Paul Kondakos. But that threat can be easily mitigated.

Owning an investment property is tantamount to owning a small business. To succeed in business, you have to ensure that you have a good client base that respects your business and pays bills on time.

The same holds true for succeeding in real estate investing, you have to ensure that you have a tenant profile that respects the property and pays its rent on time.

For most novice investors, the tenant profile is likely something that hasn't even crossed your mind, but it is actually one of the most important factors to determining your success. Some of it is tangible and some of it is intangible. As you become more experienced, you'll get a better feel of what makes a good tenant profile.

There are two occasions when you have to pay particular attention to the tenant profile. The first is when you are purchasing a new investment property. Assessing the tenant profile has to be a consideration because a bad tenant profile can cost the novice investor time, stress and money.

On a side note, for the more experienced investor a bad tenant profile isn't necessarily a bad thing as; (1) the experienced investor knows what they are getting into; (2) the property is usually priced accordingly, and (3) turning around the tenant profile can be a lucrative proposition.

Assuming Tenants - Talk to Every Tenant

When purchasing an investment property, the buyer has to assume the existing tenancies so you need to ensure that you are comfortable with what you are getting as you have no control over who is currently living in the property. The best way to learn about your prospective new tenants is to talk to them.

Be present at every inspection and try to schedule inspections for the weekend or evenings as most tenants tend to be around at that time. Depending on the reports required (eg. appraisal, building condition assessment, phase 1 environmental), you will likely have at least 2 occasions to meet and talk to them.

Always take personal notes so you can review and assess afterwards. Engage the tenant in small talk. This will not only reveal potential issues with the building, it will give you a good idea of the tenant's personality. Things to looks for:

- Cleanliness of unit
- Items that shouldn't be in unit (eg. washer/dryer, moped - I found one in my latest building inspection)
- Pets (loud, neglected)
- Does the tenant seem personable and cooperative?
- Does the tenant like to complain alot?
- Does the tenant work, do they have anyone that stays over, do they like living there, do they get along with their neighbours?

After a quick inspection and short conversation you can usually tell what type of tenant this is going to be. Once you have inspected all the units and hopefully met all the tenants and have taken good notes, you can review and decide on whether this is the type of tenant profile that you would be comfortable assuming.

Renting to New Tenants - How an $11.30 investment can save you thousands!

Here you have a lot more control of your tenant profile as you decide who gets to live in the property. This is where you need to be diligent and selective about who you let in as it will make all the difference between owning a profitable and headache-free investment or owning a money-losing and headache-filled one.

All too often, landlords are more concerned about filling vacancies than the quality of their tenant profile. In the short term they may fill a vacancy, but in the long term, it always, always costs them more. This I know from experience.

The ability to come up with first and last month's deposit should only be one of the criteria, and certainly not the only one. You need to learn as much about your prospective tenant as possible. My checklist includes the following:

- Letter of employment or pay stub
- Call employer to verify employment and get reference
- Call previous landlord for reference
- Tenant traits - Appearance, punctuality, demeanor
- Do an online search (eg. work, hobbies, activities, asssociates, etc...)
- Credit Check (Price: $10.00 + HST) - The single most important and effective way to forecast if you will get your rent on time every month. People earn good credit scores by being responsible and diligent with their financial obligations. I typically look for a score of 680 or higher.

While it may be tempting to fill a vacancy with a suspect tenant, you are ALWAYS better off to absorb the cost of the 1 month vacancy and hold out for a good tenant to occupy the unit.

What's the Big Deal About the Tenant Profile Anyway?

As mentioned earlier, having one bad tenant can significantly affect your investment and your stress levels. When I first started off, I was a lot more lax about who I let into my properties. The application, first and last, and a call to the previous landlord was about the extent of my due diligence. This lack of scrutiny ended up costing me tens of thousands of dollars and lots of stress.

Below is a sample calculation of how much one bad tenant can cost you:

______________________

Lost Rent (assume $800/month): $2,400+

Tribunal Filing Fee: $170

Tribunal Representation (if you don't go yourself): $200+

Sheriff: $330

Repairs and Renovations (almost every tenant I have evicted has left the unit in need of repair): $3,000

Intangible Costs: Stress, Your time, Tenant Profile

Total: $6,100 + Intangible Costs

______________________

I own and manage close to 100 doors right now and I find it easier to manage now, ever since I became more prudent with my due diligence and started checking credit scores, than I did when I owned substantially less doors but did not run credit checks.

With a good tenant profile, tenancies tend to last longer and when tenants give notice to vacate, transitions are almost seamless. A good tenant will give proper notice, which then gives the landlord enough time to advertise and rent the unit (usually left in good condition) out to a new tenant without incurring the costs of a vacancy. This not only maximizes your revenues, but also minimizes your stress and headaches as a landlord.

In closing, pay close attention to your tenant profile as it is one of the most important elements to running a successful and profitable investment property.

Paul Kondakos is a professional real estate investor

          As an Investor, How much should you offer on an investment property?

You would be amazed at the number of investors who do not know how to determine the value of real estate.As an investor, it is crucial that you are able to determine value for yourself and not leave it up to someone else.

The three primary yet different ways of determining value with real estate are the CMA, the Income Approach method and the Replacement Cost method.

The CMA method (What most REALTORS use)

The CMA (Comparable Market Analysis) method is based on what similar or comparable properties have sold for in the past, typically within the last three months.

The CMA is the most common valuation method for residential single-family homes. However, it's typically the least favourable valuation method for investment real estate.

The Income Approach

The Income Approach method of valuation puts a value on the income generated from the property. This is the valuation method investors use most when evaluating an income property.

The Replacement Cost

This  method of valuation is simply what it would cost to buy the land today and build a new building with the same square footage with similar features.

Let's use an example to illustrate the differences between the valuation methods and assume for a moment that we are talking about a three-bedroom home with a two-bedroom basement suite.

The main level of the home is 1,000 sq ft and so is the basement for a total of 2,000 (finished) sq ft. The home is occupied by the seller and the seller collects $1,000 per month from the suite and the tenant pays for their portion of utilities in addition to their rent.

The seller is asking $400,000 since a Realtor told the seller that the CMA (Comparable Market Analysis) showed that similar properties in this neighbourhood have recently sold in this price range. This is the CMA value which is again what the market is currently willing to pay.

We can determine what the income is worth from an Income Approach method of valuation. Since the seller occupies the main house and we know the market rents in the area, we can quickly estimate that the home would rent for $1,500 month plus utilities.

Including the suite income of $1,000 we would have a total of $2,500 in total gross income. We then deduct all of the expenses, not including financing.

Let's assume that we have calculated the property taxes, insurance, vacancies, advertising, management, repairs and maintenance and a monthly miscellaneous allowance totalling $900 in monthly expenses. That leaves $1,600 ($2,500 - $900) remaining each month which is the amount left over to pay a mortgage.

By running a simple mortgage calculation based on $1,600 per month for a mortgage payment using a 25-year amortization and a 4% interest rate, the amount of mortgage that a $1,600 payment can support is $304,000. Adding a 20% down payment of $76,000 on to the mortgage amount would give a maximum Income Value of $380,000. ($304,000 + $76,000).

Pretty simple isn’t it, yet 90-95% of people who I see in my office have used the CMA approach or as an example, when I show properties, I review what the previous owner had purchased the property for and guess what?

No wonder they were losing money and are discouraged!

Note: Paul Hecht, an investor, wrote most of this article, the italics re my words!