Investors in British Columbia

[Yaro Naftulyev]

Hello everyone,

I am currently working as an Electrical Engineer and just got introduced to the real estate world a couple of months ago. I have been to a few real estate seminars and read a few books, including the ones provided by Bigger Pockets. I am looking to connect with individuals who have purchased properties and where able to rent it out or flip it. Let's have a coffee together and share some of our knowledge.  

[Lena Jerabek]

Hi everyone, I'm new to BP as well, having finally had some time to learn about podcasts (I know, I know, young people - for real) during COVID. So excited to have discovered Bigger Pockets and a community of my people!  Not new to real estate investing, but new to actually learning more about it and some of the more sophisticated strategies.  As a landlord, mom of 3 (1 with special needs) and working, I haven't had a lot of time in the last 12 years but COVID has allowed me to think more about what I want in life, and what I want is to SCALE!
Have progressively traded up from my first condo to a SF (crack house reno) home in New Westminster, and now in our second renovated home, my husband and I currently own 2 rental condos in the lower mainland as well as our  home.  We owned a coach home property in Clayton Heights, Surrey which was far nicer than my own home and essentially had a nice cash-flowing triplex but I found the house not well built- after it was 10 years old the maintenance was starting to add up, the market took that sudden upswing and we sold at a nice profit.  And paid a lot of capital gains tax :( 

So listen up here, young ones: had someone explained the concepts of equity and leverage when I was in my 20s, I would not have sold my first condo to buy my second, with a ridiculously small mortgage!  I could have just rented the first one out and taken the equity to the second purchase! All that equity gone to waste! That's why financial literacy and forums like BP are so important, and why I'm trying to teach these skills to my kids, even when they are young.  I have dragged newborns to tenant inspections, had a 10 month old "help" me put together Ikea furniture for a furnished rental and my kids know that sometimes they have to go "look at ugly houses" even though they don't want to.  One day those ugly houses will be theirs. So: this is your time to read everything you can, listen to podcasts, and gain knowledge because one day you will have to spend your days changing diapers, but hopefully you have heeded my knowledge and have a couple rental properties on the go so you can move toward a financially independent life.  Start now on building your knowledge!

Not sure if anyone else from Vancouver has had a good laugh about the BP concept of "house-hacking" - as basically I don't know anyone in YVR who can afford a home without some form of income suite or homestay students! And dare to dream if that income would actually pay your mortgage!  The US is definitely a different market, with a lot of upside for investors (1031 exchange etc, mortgage principal write-off, which we don't have).

Anyway, long-winded intro here, but I am looking to expand my network with like-minded investors who are in this for cash flow and appreciation rather than SPECULATION.  I think it's really really hard to cash-flow anywhere in the lower mainland so I'm setting my sights further afield. I've always dreamed of running a flip as well, but when your PP is $1m on a tear-down house in New Westminster, it's a pretty big stakes game.

I look forward to sharing our knowledge and growth with each other.  Oh, and for those who may be wondering, my husband doesn't share my "hustler" gene.  Anything we've done has been me pushing him "just" out of his comfort zone, but he's trusted me enough to go along with it.  He's more of a company man and I'm just more entrepreneurial.  Anyone else with that dynamic on the homefront?  I heard on bigger pockets the other day "I'm the kite, and he's the line." However he does have the better T4 (so far).

All the best, from New West,

Lena