All Forum Posts by: Andrew Jones

@Zakaria Laichi

I’m from Montreal and haven’t used it yet

Bought the house for: 230,000 Repairs and upgrades: 30,000 Downpayment: 45,000 Rents for 1,700$ As Is: Cost to own 225$Taxes 100$ Insurance 250$ electricIty paid by tenants 754$ mortgage and Interest (Interest rate 2.75) total cost: 1079$ positive cash flow: 621$ ARV: 300,000 so what I would lIke to do Is refInance the proprety Downpayment:45,000 Forced equity: 75,000 Total equIty: 115,000 NEW Loan: 300,000 20% of 300,000 is 60,000 So I’d leave 60,000 in the proprety and use the 55,000 to buy another proprety. 250$ taxes 100$ insurance 250$ electricity paid by tenant 978$ mortgage and interest total cost 1328$ 372 positive cash flow The property in my opinion more than covers the cost of ownership. Unfortunately my mortgage broker tells me it will be hard to finance. The bank will want to include the cost of heating and will only consider 50% of the revenues. Which means that it will look like I’m almost just breaking even and I am only making 850$ a month. I want to be a long term buy and hold investor but it seems like my money is stuck in the home and can’t be recycled in order to buy another property. Is it worth just selling for the 40k profit? (40k-7k in fees = 33k) then taxes at 50% capital gains on that 33k =~15k in my pocket. I’d put rather leverage my untaxed earnings (40k) than be stuck with only my taxed earning (15k) to reinvest.

@Bill Gulley

First thank you for the reply, secondly sorry for the late reply. 

By legal mortgage I meant that there is a lean on the property. Possibly due to the fact that the owners never paid a contractor for the work completed or because they haven't been paying taxes. Those with a lean on it would be the first to get paid.


My question was due to the fact I was wondering if people might consider selling their homes because they recently got a lean on it.


Afterall I think I'm just going to stick to the Transmissions and 60 Day Notice.

I really appreciate your reply! 

Hello Bigger Pockets Community


I thankfully am no longer a beginner when it comes to real estate investing but I would still love your opinion about lead generation. I am primarily in new construction and look for homes that meet my criteria to build.

I know that those who receive a home through transmission (when someone passes away and leaves the house to someone) normally means there is a motivated seller. The same is true for someone who receives a 60-day notice that the bank is going to be foreclosing on their home.

My question is: Do you believe that a legal mortgage being place upon a piece of real estate to be a motivator for someone to sell?


Thank-you for taking your time to respond! 

How come people sell their homes because of back taxes, to individuals for a deep discount. They only ~15k in taxes to their municipality? Why don't they try to sell it themselves before going to investors who will discount their property? I never see a forsale sign in the yard.

I am trying to think of reasons:

Short Time Frame being being auctioned off


That's all I could think of, do you have any other reasons?

@Gabriel Caron

I'm glad to see that you agree the Club d'investisseurs immobiliers du Québec is a good place to check out. I might find myself in one of those meetings sooner than later!

Talking about the OACIQ, I agree there are quite a few rules that have to be followed. A lot more especially when you are a broker but I can tell you that a friend of mine got a $9000 fine because he helped rent out a unit without having his license. Though I have to admit that I am surprised your friend got in trouble with his yellow letters. He wasn't directly targeting his clientele was he? If he advertised in a general enough fashion he should have been alright. I hope it didn't cost him too much time or money!

Talking about agencies I agree that ventedirect might not be the best. But we have to understand that certain clients want to be part of the process of finding a buyer to save their money. Sadly for them, in my classes I've heard that 2/3 of the time it's the broker who finds the buyer so say good-bye to that low flat rate! Without a buyer already lined up its pretty hard for the home owner to find a buyer. He has no where near the same amount of tools as a certified broker.

Thanks for your input!

@Bill Gulley

Just for you own personal knowledge I'll list the courses I am expected to pass in order to take the xam that I need to pass to obtain my license. The test is taken at an OACIQ office. The OACIQ (l’Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec) is a governing body that tries to make sure there is no illegal brokerage going on within the province of Quebec.

Course                                                                                                Time

Fonctions of a residential real estate broker                                     45 hours
Civil Law                                                                                            45 hours
Business law and other laws                                                            45 hours
Law on brokerage                                                                             45 hours
Architecture                                                                                       45 hours
Evaluating the market value of residential real estate                      45 hours
Mortgage and real estate math                                                         45 hours
Contracts                                                                                           75 hours

I have to admit these classes are all very interesting. They provide practical knowledge not only for my career as a real estate broker but for a potential home owner and investor.


I would like to thank you for your ideas and compliments! I will make sure to take my readings with a grain of salt. At the same time I agree that knowledge is the key to success. I don't l want to be like the poor people you're described who weren't able to succeed. We are talking about a lot of money!


Thank you again!

@Christine O'Meara

I am so happy to have found a fellow Montreal on BP! I've just done a little research on the club and I am glad to see that we have something in our backyard! I am also glad to see that there are well thought investors as yourself who prove that it is a possibility to invest in our region!

I'll make sure to keep in touch!

@Aleks Gifford

No matter the license I attain I am only able to practice in the province of Quebec. Also I am required to be a member of an established agency for 3 years before being able to become independent. In my opinion it is a great idea to still be associated with a well known agency because I don't have to sell both myself and the agency, I only have to sell myself as a qualified broker. However, to play devils advocate, I've heard that a very small percentage of buyers and sellers really care about the agency behind the broker. Something to think about when deciding to go with an expensive agency over a more affordable one. 

I initially started studying because I thought it would be a way to learn more about my area in terms of investment opportunities as well as to make some contacts. I've begun to see the advantages that come along with the career. I am sure you are aware of how profitable this profession can be if someone is serious.

Even if you are an American I can still see similarities with how we are expected to conduct our business.

Thank-you for taking the time to write a response!

@Julie Toh

It was great talking to you last night about real estate mortgage brokering! I will add that blog to my To Read list!

Thanks again for your insight!