First House Canada

[Adam Baker]

I am very eager to start out on my real estate investing path/dream. I have about $10,000 to work with and i want to leverage that money (although its not much) as best as possible. I live in winnipeg, canada and so the house prices arent as ideal as one would hope for buying property. What is the best way to leverage that money? I have been pre-approved for up to a 275,000 mortgage but that would tap out my income from my full time job...I'm thinking more along the lines of 200,000-230,000 depending on if i can buy something i can live-in and rent. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have thought about hard lenders as i have some family members with a bit of extra money. Not sure if i want a partnership though.. Thanks in advance!

[Roy N.]

@Adam Baker

Welcome to BP. My parents are flat-landers from a little further west (between Brandon and Dauphin, just west of Minnedosa). When I was very little and my father was in the air force we lived in Winnipeg for a spell ... back when Duff's ditch and the brand new perimeter hwy were outside of the City.

What are housing prices like St Vital or around the old infantry base these days? When they first decommissioned the base, there was a fair amount of flipping of old PMQs going on, but I'm sure that's all done now.

If you plan to borrow from family members treat it like any other private lender - have a loan document drawn-up with the amortization/payment schedule, interest rate (& whether it is fixed or variable), prepayment options, etc. This way family dinners won't be awkward in the future.