All Forum Posts by: Chungsoon Haw

Hey guys,

I have been working in Malaysia the last year. I want to free up capital on my property, but I've been told that without living in Canada, I wouldn't be able to qualify for any sort of HELOC.

Just want to see what my options are. I'm not planning to buy anything (at this moment). I just want to have all the paperwork done now so I can quickly take advantage of it in the future.

Thanks!

Just an update for everyone: I ended up going with the tenant. It's been about 2 weeks since she's moved in and I haven't heard from either her or the tenant in the basement. I'll take that as things have been pretty smooth so far. Hoping to say the exact same thing in a few month's time!

Hey all,

I have my property up for rent right now and I'm asking 1400 all inclusive (have a basement unit so cannot separate utilities).

Typically the rule of thumb is 3x the rent, or about 50k annual salary.

The person that came in today works part time, and works on her online business full time. She recently went through a divorce and ended up selling her old place and split the proceeds (mortgage free). She's now sitting with 200k cash. However, her salary is only 20k a year.

I've looked up her business and she has some raving reviews. She's creating sugar art for weddings and so each one of those take days to complete. That tells me she's responsible enough to see things through.

She provided me her credit report and it was completely clean. She also naturally started talking about her distaste in debt and how she would buy on credit to collect the points and pay it off the moment she gets home.

Anyway, she's willing to pay the year up front, I get a good vibe from her attitude, and she does have a small but positive brand online.

So, fellow BPers, what are your thoughts?

Hi all,

I currently have one (primary) property in Kitchener and have rented out the additional rooms.

Hoping to refi and get an owner occupied 4plex in a year or two but the big challenge right now is that I work for a start up.

Speaking about the start up (alertlabs.com), I think anyone who's paying for tenant's water usage or have dealt with water related damages in your properties should check it out. It'll save you quite a bit of money.

Looking forward to hearing more about the BP ON meetup!

@Jennifer Pereira - that was a very rough conservative approach. The biggest cost there will be the lawyer fees. Transfer tax is only 400. I will definitely make sure to get a good inspector to make sure the building is in good shape. The building is only 600sq ft 2 stories. Not a townhouse so no condo fees.

@Laurie Johnson and @Tracy Caywood - I haven't actually thought much about doing something non conventional. Maybe it's because it's my first property so I've been playing it safe... but now that you've mentioned it, time to read up about all the different financing options! Thanks for the suggestions!

Love to hear more, especially if you can rip me apart!

 Hi John,

The price is retail. I don't know how much space I'll have to negotiate.

All buildings in that area are different. There was another detached SFR that was sold for 125k last year right next to this building.

2/1 rent averages 1200. Kijiji (the craigslist of canada) has very few 2/1 properties which leads me to believe that they get scooped up quickly. However, I don't normally see any smaller semi being offered.

I will be having an inspector go through the property to verify. Majority of the 4000 is for painting, changing the floor so hopefully there is no structural damage.

Thanks for the input!

Hey guys,

I've been looking a SFR (2/1 semi) out of my city for the last month and I'm seriously making an offer. But before I go into that, here are the numbers:

Ask: 83k, 20% down, reno 4k, closing 5k = total cash required 24k

rent 850

5yr fixed on 30year mortgage 272.26

5% vacancy, 5% maintenance, 10% capex, 8% PM

property tax 1000, insurance 600

Seeing a monthly CF at 216, cap rate 6.82% cash ROI 9.9%

Of course, the rent is very conservative (I can probably rent it out at 850 without doing any reno). 

I believe I can get 950 and if I work on the curb appeal (corner semi), 1000-1050. Bringing my monthly CF to 289, 326, 362 respectively.

So that's what it looks like on paper. Looking at the other parts, I had an agent (we went to uni together and I trust him quite a bit based on how professional he was back then and he also invests in the area himself. He's also willing to PM for me at 8% like he does with a dozen or so properties his family owns) look at the property, take pictures and do some interviewing with current tenants for me (the tenant will be leaving at the end of this month). That said, I haven't had a chance to go see the property myself and will need to schedule a time this weekend to go see it.

My question to BP is what else should I do in order to minimize my risk? My plans right now are to see the place myself this weekend, let it settle and not let my emotions take over, and then make an offer (expecting to negotiate and will be contingent on tenant leaving) mid next week. Super excited and nervous as this will be my first investment and as a recent grad, it currently takes me half a year to make 24k (before taxes... so really closer to 3/4 year) so I definitely dont want to make any silly mistakes.

Thanks in advance BP!

 You can get a mortgage at 5% down but you will have to pay the mortgage insurance (additional 1.5%). The 2.54% is a 5yr fixed.

In regards to the joint property: thanks for the information!

Thanks for the suggestion Ryder. Property management has already been factored into this. Truthfully, 350 per month is the highest I've seen and don't think I'll be able to get much higher unless I find a distressed seller.  

Being my first property, I guess I'm hesitant to pull the trigger, but when I saw your bio, it seems like you've figured out how to do make the call. If you don't mind, what's your "mindset" after analysing the numbers? I just graduated and started full time employment so definitely very green.

Hey guys,

I found a semi detached property going for 90,000. The expected rent is 950 for a 2 bedroom apartment and from what I see, 1200 for a 2 bedroom semi. Vacancy sits around 3% in the city.

The exterior looks like it needs to be worked on and I'm not sure what the interior looks like (no pictures). Given the mortgage rates here in Canada (2.54%), 5% vacancy, 10% PM, 5% maintenance, property tax and insurance and 5% down, I'm seeing CF at 351 month.

My challenge right now is:

1. A 1.5hr drive from where I am

2. No interior pictures

3. The exterior needs work to get the 1200/mth rent

In regards to those challenges:

1 / 2. I have a friend who is a REA in the region and has a few properties himself, I was thinking of having him take pictures of the interior and providing me with his thoughts about the place before I make the trip down there to see it myself. Do you think this is a good idea?

3. The exterior looks like http://cdn.realtor.ca/listing/reb14/highres/2/h315.... What do you think would need to be done to give it the curb appeal.

Note: the other half of the semi detached is also on the market for the same amount and I believe could bring in the same rent. The seller agent is also the same. Is there a way to consolidate the loan and the closing costs even though they are two different properties? Do you think I can use that as leverage for negotiating?

Any / all advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!