If you had to start again...

[Eric Leon]

Hello BP world! I've been lurking around the forums for a while trying to take some of the knowledge that's being shared here and have started to learn quite a bit - but am looking for some of your opinions.

A little about me, I am currently living abroad in the UK for a short period of time, but am Canadian born and raised. I plan to be moving back to Ontario in the next 1-2 years and will be looking to enter the real estate market; leaning towards a buy-hold-rent kind of deal at least for the first few houses I look at. Ideally, I'd like my first deal to be something within driving distance (2-3 hours) of Toronto if possible before I start looking for more long-distance deals; however, I'm not really set on any specific province in the long term.

My main question is if you had to start your real estate journey again, and you had about a year before actually making the leap, how would you spend it? I've never purchased a house before, so I guess learning about that whole process, how to value houses, how to search for deals etc would be useful. But what sort of books/podcasts/courses  (other than BP podcasts which I am already listening to) would you recommend so that when I do land back in Canada I'm as ready to go as I can be?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read and comment!

[Theresa Harris]

As you have never bought a house before, I would make sure you educate yourself to make sure you know the rental rules, mortgage rules and the market (both rental and housing) for where you want to invest.  

I would not spend money on mentors or courses.  Find a meet up with local investors.

Talk to others in your family who have recently bought homes in the area  to get an idea of all the costs involved (is there a property transfer tax or any other fees aside from lawyer/notary and inspection).  

If you aren't living in the property, you will need 20% down payment.  Look up realtors that work with investors.