New Member Introductions
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
New Wanna-be Investor In Alberta
Hey Guys,
I am new to the whole concept of real estate investing but the whole market of real estate really intrigues me. I want to start building long term wealth through real estate. I don't know about you guys but I have NO idea where to start. Currently I am 24 years old and have only been at my job for 4 months but it is considered a "self employed" position so I can't even qualify for a mortgage to get going on investing for another 2 1/2 years. I really want to start right away if anyone has any ideas that might help in Canada. I live in Calgary Alberta where the average cost of a single family home is $400,000.00 which is a frightening thought for a 24 year old kid. Any advice or guidelines would be greatly appreciated.
Welcome to BP @Stephen Darker
I know what you mean. The market here in Calgary is pretty intimidating, however there are investors here who make it work. As they say, money can be made in any market if you are a smart investor. If that is the route you want to take, you are doing the right thing by getting on BP but also look for Calgary real estate investing meet-up groups. Canada Real Estate Investors Club (Canada REIC) has them often and they are good.
I personally have decided to avoid the Calgary market and have been investing on and off in the US since I was in university back in 2009. There is definitely a lot to learn when it comes to investing in a different country but at the time I didn't know anything about investing in Canada so the learning curve was the same. BP is has so much US related info and it has made it easy for me to learn the way things work in the States. If you do choose that route though make sure you get a good accountant who specializes in cross-border taxation.
Best of luck
Cal
Thanks Cal!
How does that work for you? Do you have to have a green card in order to invest in the US? With the housing market in the states being so much better than Calgary in terms of Affordability it is definetly something I have been considering. However I wouldn't be down there too often to manage them so I would need to look into hiring a property manager which also cuts into the cash flow from potential investments. How do you seem to manage it?
Welcome to Bigger Pockets. It is great to see you hear.
Hey @Stephen Darker I'm in the same boat here in Calgary, although it's actually pretty good compared to Vancouver where I've also been looking. Things are ridiculous over there. I've been looking for my first investment property down in Atlanta, but I'm still learning myself about all the ins and outs of investing down there.
Hey there fellow Calgary investors, good to see you on BP this site is amazing I just found it this year but wish I knew about it before. I've had some success here in the Calgary Market really hard to find deals since I did My last flip a year ago now. You guys should come to our next calgary bigger pockets meet up!
Cheers
JD
@JD Boyce When and Where?! I would love to come and get the low down on the Calgary market. Like I mentioned I am new to the whole idea of Real Estate Investing but I know its something I want to get into!
Thanks!
Hi @Stephen Darker,
Welcome to BiggerPockets!
Glad to hear you want to start building long-term wealth.
I am a native Calgarian, and fly up to Calgary often. In fact I was JUST there last week, but I am booked to be back up again in less than three weeks from today.
Having invested in Calgary in the past, and invested all around the US, I can tell you that it's important to invest where the market and numbers make sense. It's a moving target as all local real estate markets cycle.
Fortunately, there are great opportunities today, and there are lenders willing to finance foreign national investors (like Canadians). Wasn't the case a few short years ago.
What are you thinking as a strategy right now?
Continued success!
What do you guys think about having a Calgary area "Meet up" sometime between Oct 22 to Oct. 27 (inclusive)?
Nothing formal, just a get-together and brainstorming meeting over coffee (and Tim Horton's doughnuts). ;-) We can talk about the U.S. markets and other opportunities.
If interested, I can start a new thread to formalize who, when and where.
Stephen, it has worked well for me thus far. You don't need a green card to own property in the U.S. Your success really depends on the kind of team you have set up in the city you are investing in. You will need property management and it will cut into your cashflow but on that note, I would always buy rental properties with property management fees factored into the numbers no matter where I invest just because there might come a day even in Calgary where you don't want to manage your rentals.
You can build a team yourself with the help of Bigger Pockets by asking members to refer you to good property managers, contractors, realtors etc. You can work with a turn-key company who will typically have their own team that you can plug into and they will do all the work for you. Do your research and ask around BP for the good turn-key companies.
Or, you can partner up with an investor who has already built their own team. You could be the money partner, or you could find the deals or you could be the person finding people with money to invest and they could be the partner who does the work with the use of their US power team.
There are ways to make it happen if you really want it. And really, the same rules apply in Calgary. You will need a team of professionals to support you in achieving your goals.
Hey guys been reading your posts here. I'm very interested and wondering if I can tag along to the meet up ? I'm also really new to real estate investing with only one rental property in Calgary. I've been listening non stop podcasts about real estate. So excited to get into this kind of investing !
Hi! I've been following your posts as well... I would love to come to a meet up if you all have one. Having invested in Texas primarily... this continues to be my focus. I've done 8 deals thus far. Numbers don't make sense for me in Calgary, unfortunately. Would love to join you... keep me posted.
Marie
Hi all. We did have an informal Calgary BP meet up over a month ago now. I would definitely be in for another one. Would be great if you could set it up! @Marco Santarelli
Lets Do it! Im available any of those evenings, what works best for everyone between October 22 and 27th? I would love to get to know everyone and have a little networking meeting. Being new to Real Estate I don't even know where to look for deals so this will be an awesome chance for everyone I think.
I am in either day
MEET UP: Please see the new thread at:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/86/topics/235...
@Stephen Darker @Cal Ewing @Kai DeNeve @JD Boyce @Jesse Cornforth @Marie Shaug @Jett Rao @Steve R.
Feel free to @Mention and invite others.