All Forum Posts by: Chris Baxter

I love participating in these forums and have given and received advice, insight, and ideas to/from hundreds of fellow investors.  I am less excited, however, about receiving one-sided requests by DM, which happens often.  These often start with "Hey Chris, I see you've been really active on the forums.... " and end with one of these requests:

-Can I pick you brains?

-Can you analyze this deal for me?

-Can you connect me with your (Realtor/PM/accountant/lawyer)?

Often, these requests come in from people that have no profile on BP and with no attempt to make a genuine connection with me.

My advice to those that want help.... build a profile (with photo, goals, interests) and give before you take! Every book on REI says the same thing... if you want a mentor / or help from a more experienced investor, offer something of value when you reach out.

Have you had the same experience? Any other ideas to share on building win-win connections on BP?

As @Roy Cleeves said, it is ultimately up to you to determine what you include in your cash flow model. I don't assign the carrying costs of a down payment to my properties as the entity making the down payments is not the same as the entity that owns the properties. Every situation is different.  Lots of ways to slice, but I think we all fundamentally agree that having $ in your pocket at the end of each month is a good foundation to start with. 

@Joe Splitrock  lending, taxation, and investing are all different in Canada than in the USA. This is why we have a Canadian-specific forum.  Interest paid to earn investment income can be deducted from your income on your personal tax return. Most investors here would not assign the carrying costs of the down payment to the specific property in their analysis, especially if the properly is held corporately (which again, has different implications and structures than in the USA).  I completely agree that 'cash flow' is ONE metric, and that other factors absolutely need to be included in an analysis of whether a deal is good or not.  With the average house price in Canada now at $720k  (yup, crazy), the OP is looking wondering how on earth he is supposed to be +ve on a deal with 20% down.

@Sriram Kumar Bikkina I would not consider the interest on your HELOC as an expense on the property for cash flow determination. Interest paid to earn investment income is tax-deductible (in this case, on your personal tax return). Per @David Steinbok's point, though, the whole point of doing a cash flow calculation is to be hinest with yourself and to make sure you aren't funding the property every month. Many people will fudge numbers during analysis to have a property with +ve cash flow, even though in reality this is not the case.  

@Ben Lorenz welcome to BP.   From the seller's perspective, they are disposing the property (for capital gains) and then effectively becoming a hard money lender. Interest earned would be taxable.  For the buyer, there are no special tax considerations

@Account Closed, just so you are aware this is a really old thread and its in the Canadian forums... 

@Jocelyne Sema congrats on the purchase.  Are you planning to self manage? If so, you should reach out to tenants. If not, your PM should do all tenant interactions.  As far as rent increases go, here is the relevant info for Quebec:  https://www.tal.gouv.qc.ca/en/...   Work with your accountant on accounting needs and set boundaries; who is doing the tax submissions and book keeping? This will dictate what software (if any) you need.

@Amanda Osmond welcome to BP, and to the Canadian forums.  Looking forward to hearing more about your successes!

@Jason Rego keep in mind that commercial mortgages only apply to commercial properties (in MF, that's 5/6+ units). @Jordan Perry would be a good resource for you.

@Jason Rego you'll likely have to go to the secondary market (private / hard money) or to the commercial side (6+units). Even then, lending without verifyable income will be a challenge.