All Forum Posts by: Mark Perry

Welcome to BP, @Brian Hernandez ! You're in the right place for learning about real estate investing. There is a wealth of information in here for any and all aspects of this business. Read the articles, listen to the podcasts, jump into conversations and ask questions. Someone in here will surely have the answer or a well educated opinion.

Smart move to educate yourself in real estate!

Welcome to BP, @Ben Perry! My cousin's name is Ben Perry. Small world. BP adds a lot of value to investors. Enjoy and don't be scared to ask for help!

Thanks for the post, @Account Closed 's answers to your questions.

Thanks again for the post!

Welcome to BP, @Jakob Pedersen! I'm not an expert for the questions you asked, specifically about Oslo, but I'm sure you will get some good feedback in this forum. It's an incredible wealth of information and full of people who genuinely wanting to help others succeed. Enjoy!

Welcome to BP, @Greg Appelt! I think you'll find this community has everything you're looking for to enhance your real estate investing potential. Enjoy!

I agree with @Jon Holdman on this issue. I'm from Canada, and things are obviously different in many ways, but similar as well. Every investor hits a ceiling with conventional lenders at some point. For some people like myself, it was 2 mortgages despite positive cash flows, very little debt, relatively small mortgages and a well paying Federal Government job. When I asked why I hit my maxed out, they said they calculate their risk on me based on: if both properties are vacant, I max out both my credit cards and my line of credit, does my income support the debt payments? Obviously not, but that's why they said I was turned down.

For other people like yourself, your ceiling seems to be 5 units. That's pretty good in my opinion!! Some conventional lenders set an actual unit limit per investor, regardless of the financials. That limit is typically in the 4-5 unit range.

I now use other people's money who want the returns from investing in real estate, but don't know much about it or don't want to do any work. It can be a standard joint venture or it can be set up as a private money loan. I'm not sure if this would be a path you're willing to explore, but from my experience, it's what many professional investors do to grow their portfolio faster.

@Account Closed The OREIO group is fantastic! I was a member for the last year, but only went to 3-4 meetings before I moved to the Caribbean. It's more difficult to attend those meetings now. However, I still benefit from their online forum and resources. I strongly recommend you both become members of this organization. It's very cheap and you will meet a lot of great people. Networking is strongly encouraged and supported. Every industry inside of real estate is represented at each meeting. I think you'll enjoy it.

I haven't read the articles yet, but I certainly will do so soon. I'm excited you started this conversation because I was also under the impression that it was better for Canadians to form some kind of corporation to hold their US investments. I think the known and unknown tax implications prevent many Canadians from investing south of the border. Hopefully your post draws some good points from people who have done it both ways and can provide some numbers for us. Thanks, @Oren K. ! 

@Francis-Cedric Martel and @Rajeev Gandhi - you are both right to an extent in my opinion. I recently saw an info graphic that illustrated Canada's overpriced housing cost relative to rent. The full article, including the mentioned chart, is an interesting read: https://econjournals.wordpress.com/category/am-cla... So, yes, there is an argument that prices are inflated in Canada and it's difficult to make money, but good real estate investors can make money in any market during any stage of the economic cycle. Average investors will get burnt, but there are good opportunities to be MADE (not necessarily found) in any market. If you play into market hype, you'll go crazy. One article says Montreal is a bad market, the next will say it's profitable. I don't pay too much attention to those type of articles. I do my own research in a particular market and make my own decision if this particular property or that one can produce a profit for me.

@Alexander Lafreniere - Ottawa, historically, has a very low average vacancy rate. Part of this is because the city has one of, it not the largest, Government employee demographics in Canada. A lot of professionals reside in the city. Ottawa recently acquired its CFL team again and its renovated stadium is near the city centre. There is also a new professional MLS soccer team and I have had inquiries from their team for my rental properties. Ottawa has a fairly large public transit system, which means lower priced housing outside of downtown can still demand good rents if it's near a bus stop. Many cities have this, no big deal, but Ottawa is also currently building a light rail system, which will be above ground outside the city and underground downtown. Property values have already started to increase around the light rail routes, but rents will do the same. Ottawa is also close to Toronto and Montreal, which are popular weekend getaway destinations. Thanks for sharing the StatsCan tip!

@Ash Badry - my uneducated opinion on the Edmonton and Calgary markets is that the housing prices are so high that it would be hard to make positive cash flow unless significant amounts of capital were invested up front. Without getting too personal, can you maybe share some average or typical numbers? For example, in Ottawa, a condo that sells for $200,000-250,000 can demand $1300-1500/month in rent. With a standard 20% down payment, even with condo fees, the property will still cash flow positively. What would be the comparison in Edmonton in your markets?

Welcome to BP, @Amicia Mussenden ! I'm from Canada, but live not too far away from you in Turks and Caicos. I hope Bertha didn't hit you too hard last weekend? Enjoy the BP community!