All Forum Posts by: Harpreet Walia

@luiz

I'm the guy who Hai mentioned above. 🙋

I got approved yesterday for only 80k with 25% down, 4.75%, 30 years.. I told them straight up that it's an investment property. I wanted 125k but after the RBC agent did his math, he told me that he can pre approve me for 80k right off the bat. For a bigger amount, I'll need to send in the papers etc and what not.

good luck!

PS: I've been with RBC since April 2016. I'm not a Canadian citizen, just a PR. I have no sort of work/study/etc. visa for USA except a regular 10 year travel visa.

@Harpreet Walia  Nope!  My mindset changed a bit after this.  Now, I prefer to keep the low interest mortgages and invest the money I would have spent paying them down.  I'm glad I did since the stock market has been going gangbusters these past few years.  I would have really regretted focusing my extra money on sub 4% interest rates instead of the 10+ the stock market has been returning.  

I'm 39 now.  Current payoff schedule is

First one paid off at age 45.  Today's value 190k

Second at 50 - 270k

Third at 63 - 290k

Fourth at 64 - 260k

Fifth at 65 - 250k

Personal home paid off at 62 (value 425k).  However, I will likely sell the personal one and not use that as a future rental, probably no later than age 55.  You can see there is a big delta between mortgages number 2 and 3.  

@Tim B.I recently ran a calculator to see how quickly I could pay off all the houses I own (six homes) if I use the mortgage payment from the first paid off one to work on the second, and then use both of those to work on the third, etc.  If I snowball without making extra payments, I will make the last payment in 23 years.  That's NOT what I wanted to see. I was hoping to use those rents to live off one day.  So, new plan - once I'm done buying, I'll start aggressively paying down.  

Anyway, I think a five year plan might be a bit optimistic if you want to have four properties.  It might make more sense at two, but that's probably not enough income to live off of.  If your rents are 1300 (x2), and 40% of that goes to expenses, that only leaves $1560/month. Health insurance alone will take a chunk out of that, plus you'll still have the mortgage on your personal home to pay.      

You can start by going to www.narpm.org to search their directory of managers. These are professionals with additional training and a stricter code of ethics. It's no guarantee but it's a good place to start. Regardless of how you find them, try to interview at least three managers

1. Ask how many units they manage and how much experience they have. If it's a larger organization, feel free to inquire about their different staff qualifications.

2. Review their management agreement. Make sure it explicitly explains the process for termination if you are unhappy with their services, but especially if they violate the terms of your agreement.

3. Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers. It may sound nice to pay a 5% management fee but the extra fees can add up to be more than the other company that charges 10% with no add-on fees. Fees should be clearly stated, easy to understand, and justifiable. If you ask the manager to justify a fee and he starts hemming and hawing, move on or require them to remove the fee. Don't be afraid to negotiate!

4. Review their lease agreement and addenda. Think of all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.

5. Don't just read the lease! Ask the manager to explain their process for dealing with maintenance, late rent, evictions, turnover, etc. If they are professional, they can explain this quickly and easily. If they are VERY professional, they will have their processes in writing as verification that it is enforced equally and fairly by their entire staff.

6. Ask to speak with some of their current owners and current/former tenants. You can also check their reviews online at Google, Facebook, or Yelp. Just remember: most negative reviews are written by problematic tenants. The fact they are complaining online might be an indication the property manager dealt with them properly so be sure to ask the manager for their side of the story.

7. Look at their marketing strategy. Are they doing everything they can to expose properties to the widest possible market? Are their listings detailed with good quality photos? Can they prove how long it takes to rent a vacant property?

This isn't inclusive but should give you a good start. If you have specific questions about property management, I'll be happy to help!

Hi Nathan,

Thanks for your outstanding guidelines which I am going to follow. New Castle, PA is a small town and getting a good Property Manager has been very difficult

Mike Prakash

At least the tax side is greatly simplified when you're not a US citizen! I have not finalized anything but am looking near downtown and near the universities to take advantage of the student population, recent immigrants, and young professionals. I also plan to live in a room and rent out the rest, and I prefer to be in or near downtown. I'm looking at small multi-families or large single families with plenty of bedrooms and adequate bathrooms to rent out. Are you targeting any particular parts of Ottawa?

I had moved from the US to Canada as well. Nice to see others are talking about that. I had lived in Scottsdale, AZ. Went to ASU. That was s while back. SFH & Condos are both great investments for various different reasons. I can explain why. So far I have invested in both here in Toronto and in other parts of Ontario.