All Forum Posts by: Brandon P.

Do everything possible to get the rent paid up to date, then fire the PM.

Estevan has had very high rental vacancies since oil crashed in 14/15, it’s a small market & their economy is mainly driven by oil, gas & coal.

A friend of mine has a couple of apartment buildings in Estevan & said they have had approx 15-20% vacancy for the past 5 years. He moved to Regina around 2015 and everything he has invested in recently is in Regina.

It might be worth it for you to buy a home in Estevan if you think you will live there for 5 years or more, but the Regina market will likely be more stable in the long run

Good to hear you were able to get it done with CIBC, they are definitely the most investor friendly big bank.

I highly recommend spending some time reaching out to a mortgage specialist at at least two SK credit unions. They are subject to different laws(provincial) than the big banks and some are willing to consider portfolio lending. 

Good luck with your investing!

You are correct, there aren’t as many individual renters in the smaller communities, you would probably need to plan on renting the whole house out.

There normally isn’t much inventory in the smaller towns and this year the inventory seems to be lower than normal. It would be worth it to check out kijiji and Facebook marketplace as well to see if there are any listings for sale by the owners, as this is more common in small towns.

You are correct with the criteria the mortgage companies/banks will be looking for, they will want to see you have a full time job in the area you want to buy a house in, especially if you are only putting 5% down.

$70k will allow you to afford the most run down properties in the worst neighborhoods in Regina.

I would recommend looking at investing in smaller towns near Regina as an alternative, as the prices are lower but the communities are more desirable.

You will be in a much better position to buy your first home when you are working full time and have spent some time building your credit. Even if you get a work term or a summer job that pays $18-20 an hour, this would help you to qualify for a better house in a better location using a 5% down payment.

Hi guys,
We are planning to start a monthly virtual meet up soon for investors interested in Regina & southern Sask.

I’ll make sure to reach out to you both once these are set up, however feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions in the meantime.

Include a clause for the sale  to be conditional upon approval of financing and approval of a home inspection.

Work with your own lawyer or someone familiar with real estate purchase agreements to ensure you are getting a fair deal.

Ensure you know what you are signing up for, for example is the basement leaking water, take a laser level and see if the floors are uneven, etc. You can check the sewer line as well, they often get tree roots in them and require replacing.

You can buy a home without doing any of this but this will give you a better idea of the issues you are going to run into after you close on the house.

Welcome to BP Nate!

You will likely need some money to get started.

Do you have a plan for when/where you will buy your first deal?

If you find a good GC, you will pay more for them to manage the project, but you will spend WAY less time managing the project.

There are lots of different options when hiring a GC, you can find some that have employees, such as carpenters & drywallers or GCs that only act as project managers. The more affordable GCs are usually a smaller company and will have their own employees doing the bulk of the work.

You could definitely try to sub all the work out if you have flexibility in your schedule, ie minimum 1-2 hours per day and a good understanding of the construction process.

Either way, you will need to be involved as things can easily go sideways with GCs or subcontractors, especially if you aren’t checking in often enough.

How much would it cash flow per month when you run your numbers?

What city is it in and what is the neighborhood like?

Are there other properties in the same location you are considering purchasing or does it only appeal to you because your friend is offering to sell it to you?

What are comparable properties selling for in the area?

What is your friends motivation for selling the property?