All Forum Posts by: Dominika M

@Gary McGowan,
Thanks!

@Roy N. - thanks a lot, you're the go-to guy on any Canadian topics!

@Gary McGowan, it seems that a "welcome" is in order. Thanks for sharing, I thought I wasn't going to hear from any Canadians on rent to own.
I hope you don't mind me inquiring with you further by private message.
Dominika

Hi, how do you check out potential REI partners? There's a starter article on BP
http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2009/9/23/how-to-choose-real-estate-partners-and-the-criteria-to-use
which focuses more on whether the partner is professional.
I'm interested in further details, especially in vetting from afar. For example, i may want to check out 5 people I see on BP before I go ahead and approach one.
HOw do you do a background check? Criminal?
If they have properties online, how do you check if they really own them? Ask for papers or is there another quick way?
There's a lot of partnering here on BP, so feel free to make this a full on guide. All us newbies are wondering.
Thanks,
Dominika

Hi all,
I'm giving some thought to rent-to-own. I'd like to know how much of this is actually happening in Canada. All the people that preach it of course make it sound like big business, but i want to know of actual people. On kijiji (or Craig's list)there's plenty of rento-to-own postings, but that could really be just one person. The system i'm contemplating is to get a good prospective tenant first and then let them choose a house.
Thoughts? Is this being done? How do you feel about it? Are these a good deal for the tenant? I know that here in GTA (avg house/condo price $550,000) many people want to get into their own house, but need help.
Dominika

Hi @Tabatha Lomov,
Welcome! I'm over in Brampton. I too am still doing my reserach on getting first property. Maybe we can compare notes once you do your initial research. I think when people first decide to get into REI, there's a lot of excitement, and eagerness to get into the market. A lot of investors will say that RE is a very forgiving type of investment, so if you don't buy the right thing, it will still make money eventually. But where we are, if we buy too early, we could be making a $400,000 mistake. (Like a guy from Brampton i just met who went to a local guru seminar and is buying a $500,000 house and is proud of his $150 projected cash flow. BPers, is this a good deal? ;) ).
So, happy research, and i'm sure we'll hear your thoughts on REI soon,
Dominika

Simon, you're welcome. I get so much information and education from BPers here, - I'm glad i could contribute a little tidbit.

@Simon Lloyd. I can't do @mentions (darn 9-5 job old browsers) could somebody mention him?
I'm up for a BP GTA meetup!

@Paul Timmins thanks for the info on state development offices.

Hi all,
i'm having the same problem with getting good market information for western NY (or NY state).
What's a reliable organization that puts out free market info on the residential rental market? (Vacancy rates, rental housing outlook, rental prices, etc).

In Ontario, the house and mortgage corporation (http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/hoficlincl/homain/stda/) puts out these beautiful reports for different housing markets that compare: prices of new houses, resale houses, unemployment, average rent for 2 bedroom, vacancy rates, and give economy info. The methodology is the same, so you can really compare apples to apples across Canadian markets. Beautiful.

Dominika

Hi all,
for Ontario, there's a great document discussing top investment towns for 2013-2018 by REIN.
http://www.orillia.ca/en/doingbusinessinorillia/resources/topontarioinvestmenttowns.pdf

Dominika