All Forum Posts by: Milo Milosovic

One tip that I heard recently from Mindy Jensen on BP money was that if you think tour insurance company is loyal to you think again and shop around. Personally I was with an insurance provider for over 20 years and they magically stopped offering  the product I was using and had no replcement. I had no choice but to shop around and actually reduced my cost dramatically with a new provider.  Food for thought. 

Hi Bryson. Send me a private message and should be able to find out a bit more about what you are looking to do and also give some referrals. As for rental laws you should check out the Landlord Tenant Board in Edmonton as well as look up the RTA for Alberta (Residential Tenancy Act). This will spell out the laws. The lawyers typically deal with the purchase and sale transaction. 

@Ajay Sandhu @Zorya Belanger. The only way to know if you have asbestos in other parts of the property is to have samples taken and tested to confirm. As long as you don’t disturb the asbestos or the material it is in you won’t release the fibres. As far as floor tile, sometimes new flooring can go over top as long as the old floor is in good shape and not disturbed. I know someone who does remediation and testing in Edmonton, unfortunately no one in Calgary. It can eat into the budget quite a bit, however if you are going to remove it, best to do it properly. 

@Tim DeFor. I would also check local zoning requirements. Question to ask yourself: Does the zoning and bylaws allow multiple units in that type of property?  From experience I had a triplex that was not allowed due to zoning and we had to decommission one of the units. Wasn’t a great day and we learned a lot from that one. Foundations can be quite costly so have a good idea of the real cost of that repair. Sounds like you found a good distressed property from your initial numbers. Best of luck (opportunity + preparation) moving forward. 

Hi Raj. Edmonton is a great market to invest in provided the right strategy. In order to cash flow you would lean toward a small multi unit (2-4 units) vs an SFR. It's pretty tough to get good cash flow on SFR right now, but not impossible. There are more industries in Edmonton and Alberta than just oil and gas. Are you situated in Ontario and looking to invest from a distance?

@Ashar Ali  If you rent your costs are fixed and you won’t take on the liability of any expensive repairs. If you buy you will have the added costs of utilities, maintenance, taxes , etc. I have found that typically homeownership will cost about 1.5 to 2 times your mortgage payment in expenses (depending on your area).  That’s why I laugh when I hear ads that say for the price of rent you can get a mortgage (doesn’t factor in the additional costs). Don’t end up house poor by accident. I agree with Melanie. Rent or house hack a multi unit. Know your numbers and costs before jumping into anything. Best of luck. 

Wow Cris Reyes, 

What an absolutely fantastic question and it couldn’t have come at a better time for me. My why a few years ago started with the typical financial freedom, quit my job answer. Over the last few years it morphed more into time freedom to choose what I want to do instead of what I have to do, as well as have the ability to give to organizations that have had an impact on my families lives in a way that a traditional job would not allow. 

My why also expanded recently. A very close friend and mentor passed away suddenly a couple of weeks ago. It has been difficult, and seeing that he and his wife created a couple of businesses that will continue to provide financially for the family on an ongoing basis is huge. Even bigger is the support that their mentors have been able to give during this as they have the time freedom to spend as much time as needed with them to help sort out the logistics without having to beg for time off from a job. It has driven home the why as to what we are working towards. 

The money etc. makes life easier. The people you become friends with along the way make life amazing. Thanks for asking and listening. 

If it’s clean and professionally done I don’t see a problem personally. As has been mentioned there are some people who have different views on tattooing for various reasons. A little story.....I know someone who became an investor and used to dress in hoodies, ball caps, and had extensive tattoos including neck tattoos. Once he got educated in investing he changed his look and other than hands on work he dresses in nice clothes, typically a dress shirt, tie, and even suit vest. His hair is short and neat and he looks very professional. His positive attitude and demeanour set the tone for his interactions. When he meets someone for the first time and sees that they glance at his neck tattoos his brings it up right away, addresses the elephant in the room. He explains that when he was younger he made some choices that he would not make now that he has grown into the person that he is and it often puts the issue to rest.  His ability to present who he is now overshadows the tattoos. 

Be you, be professional, be open, and your fine. 

@BJMarshall

On our first property we made sure we got it filled and running smoothly and started looking again about 2 months after. We had many offers not come to fruition and finally got our second about 8 months after the first, and it was the second time we offered on that particular property. It really depends on how fast you want to go and comfortable you are. Talk to your mortgage broker about your long term investment plans and if they are good they should be able to recommend borrowing strategies and a plan. They should be able to offset the debt of the investment property with a percentage of the rent ( this may be lender specific), and give you a good idea about your borrowing capacity. Always keep looking at deals as you never know when a gem will cross your path. 

@Sannibel  

Amazing that you are developing this mindset so early on. It will lead you to a great life. A good exercise is to define your core values and then align your actions in life with those values. If you want you can message me and I can figure out how to get you some info on this.  Go to local meet ups on Zoom or in person when they start happening and talk to people. You will start to figure out who has the same core values as you and will be drawn to learn from those people. 

Also if you are listening to podcasts and the guest gives out their contact info REACH OUT TO THEM! They will want to talk with you. Even if it’s a topic that you are not sure about ( business, RE, etc) you will still learn something that will become a part of you.    It may take you some time to fianacially get to your first deal and by learning now you will still be so far ahead of us that started much later in life. 

There will be distractions, challenges, people that will say you can’t, and by keeping your eyes on your goals you will pull through and grow.  Best of luck on this journey.