All Forum Posts by: Aleksandra Serebrenik

I'm drawn to the driving for dollars approach. Am compiling a list and will then pull the owners' info from the city registry, and will probably send them letters and/or call. Just starting out so very much in the experimentation phase :-)

@Ken Halef @Stephanie Villard I'm starting out as well, possibly found my first deal. It's an interesting time to be getting into investing :-) Looking forward to connecting.

Hi Mark, did you discover the vermiculite before buying the house, or when you were already the owner? And, if you bought the properties know about the vermiculite, what was your reasoning? Were they good enough deals to justify the added cost of removal or lower value upon resale? 

For me, I've just done the inspection and am wondering if it's best to do max due diligence and do the testing now. The seller wants to close quickly, so I'd try to negotiate the price down to cover the anticipated cleanup costs...which I may delay until it becomes necessary. According to local laws, I'm not required to remove the asbestos, but that may change as laws become more stringent on such substances. 

Hi Devyn, I live on the far south shore of Montreal and looking for my first property as well. How are you looking? 

We just did an inspection on a quadruplex we were hoping to buy for our first deal. This is on the south shore of Montreal, and the property was built in 1945. The current owner wrote that there was no vermiculite in the seller's declaration, which seems suspicious because the inspector saw it instantly when he went up to the attic. 

Anyway, other than the high possibility of asbestos in the insulation, the property seems to be in decent condition - a few cracks in the foundation, a bathroom with a window that needs replacement urgently and the wall to be investigated for possible mold, some outlets not working, and definite cosmetic updates needed. On the bright side, there are definite value-raising improvements to be made to the property. One unit can be enlarged from a studio to a 2-bedroom, and we're also planning on converting the garage and part of the basement into a fifth unit.

Now, we're faced with a difficult decision. Do we test the vermiculite ASAP and then try to negotiate the price? If the seller doesn't budge, do we still buy this? Do we not test it (assuming that it's there - seems to be ~80% likehood of that) and try to negotiate anyway? 

We're also now thinking that we're likely to find asbestos in other parts of the hours - under the floor? Behind the walls? Who knows - it's a 1946 property and it doesn't seem like it's been updated much throughout the years. 

Any tips and your own experiences much welcome!

@Michael Kissi That makes sense! The area around Montreal is definitely booming. It's hard to find cash-flowing properties on the MLS without needing to do any construction though. As I search for a US market to invest in long-distance, everything related to construction is the trickiest part IMO.

@Moataz Mobarak Congrats! What types of properties?

@Mathieu Laquerre that's what I'm understanding - the proper systems and the reliable team are key in long-distance! Thanks.

Hi Cameron, I agree with Tyler, TFSA is just simpler to deal with when you want to pull your money out.  Another option if you want to have your money ready to go in the near future is a high-interest checking account. Tangerine has a 5-month intro interest of 2.5% on regular savings accounts.

@Mathieu Laquerre Long-distance investing is my goal as well! How do you manage your properties from afar? Do you ever go there? If not, how do you keep a handle on everything, especially everything related to renos/construction?