All Forum Posts by: Dave Vogt

No flips in the US and no plans to either. Not a big fan of the US market. Feel far more comfortable investing in my backyard. I consistently turn good profits on each flip and I have zero headaches of dealing with the legal and tax ramifications of investing over the border.

I highly recommend that anyone serious about investing in the US as a Canadian really do their homework before making the leap. There are a few guys out there (lawyers and accountants) that specialize in this. There is a lot to know and frankly for me it's really not worth the risks.

Our flips have been throughout Niagara. I was a Welland boy for many years. I owned and operated a small automotive repair shop there for 16 years. We had been flipping a few houses a year in Welland and then we move to Port Colborne when a great country property came up.

The economy in Welland is not all that great now and we have seen a drop in prices there for a few years so we started flipping in Port Colborne. Now we mostly play in our back yard. Port is a great retirement lake community with a good mix of first time buyers and downsizers that work for our target properties. It has been a very good experience for us and profitable as well.

That being said our business is growing and we look at good flips everywhere within an hours drive of home.

I would also add to this one more very important note. Not many real estate agents really get the house flipping, real estate investing side of the business. We have been at it for 10 years and after only finding 2 agents that even remotely understood what we are doing my partner went out and got her license so we don't have to deal with it anymore.

Ask them if they own rentals, or if they have flipped a house, or what ever type of investing you are doing. Make sure their track record reflects what they say they know and understand. Run numbers with them. If they get a dazed and confused look run as fast as you can in the other direction. LOL!

You would be correct that you cannot assign a bank owned property, but you can close simultaneously. I have discussed this in detail with my lawyer. We primarily buy, fix and sell properties in Ontario and have purchased several bank sales.

I am an hour south of Toronto in the Niagara Region and the house prices our way are actually very reasonable. You can find many good cash flowing investments. Cap rates are good due to the lower carrying costs and reasonable rents.

Me and my partner primarily flip house, but we do own rentals. Personally I am not a big fan of condos due to the fees and the possibility of increases in those fees especially for a long term investment.

I would prefer to stay in my backyard investing if at all possible. Investing in the states as a Canadian has it's own list of problems, both tax related and management related. Had the pleasure of listening to an accountant that specialized in US investing for Canadians. By the time I was done listening I realized that investing in the US was not for me. Too many things to worry about for my taste...not to mention the knowledge of the area you would want to invest in. The numbers look often look really good, but if you want to go this route do your homework.

I strongly feel that Ontario has a very robust investment environment and our company continues to enjoy excellent returns on our flips and our rentals. Obviously Toronto and the surrounding area have seen some major house pricing increases that have negatively affected the returns for investors looking to do long term holds, but knowing your market and doing your due diligence can certainly source out a good investment.

Hello everyone on Bigger Pockets. My name is David Vogt. I am a full time real estate investor, renovator, and house flipper. My beautiful and talented partner Stephanie Schaeffer has been right there with me for over 20 flips doing the work with me up untill last year when she received her real estate license to help grow our business.

We have been actively investing in real estate for over 10 years now and full time for the last 4 years. I have been on the bigger pockets forum for some time now, but haven't actively participated until now.

If you would like to know more about my business you can go to the marketplace to read more as this is my second post to introduce myself. LOL. I guess after 10 years of talking about my business I got carried away and they pushed my intro there.

That being said I am looking forward to meeting new people and growing my knowledge of real estate investing through interacting with other like minded people on Bigger Pockets.

My suggestion would be to put together a quick website on Wordpress or something similar. You want to drive leads from motivated sellers to your site. Here are a few other suggestions to do in conjunction with your site

• Bandit signs
• Local paper ad
• craigslist (Kijiji in our area)
• direct mail post cards
• door knocking
• (Danny Johnston) driving for dollars. I'm sure he didn't coin this, but it works!

It takes time and a few dollars to get your name out there, but its worth it. The more motivated sellers call you the more deals you will receive. I like Pat Flynn's comment @ www.smartpassiveincome.com "Be everywhere".

Hi everyone,

I am a 10 year veteran of Real Estate Investing, primarily flipping houses. Located in the Niagara Region of Ontario and looking for other investors on bigger pockets to connect with. As of right now we have 3 projects on the go. Our most recent flip is here www.442barrick.com.

I am a full time flipper rehabber and me and my partner currently do all of the renovations ourselves. I see everyone gives people grief for doing this, but when it comes to estimating and sizing up a flip nothing gives you better insight then flat out experience.

We currently have two full time investors that work with us and to take the business to the next level we are looking for funding to start hiring (to free myself up to build the business) and marketing more to our community.

It would be great to hook up with a few local investors to share ideas with and be able to enjoy conversations with like minded people. Most people really don't understand what it is that we do or at best have a very skewed view thanks to HGTV and all the home shows on television these days.

My partner received her real estate license last year and is a skilled flipper and renovator working side by side with me for all 10 years we have been together. Her website is www.stephworksforyou.com. For any investors in our local area she has the experience to help choose good investment properties for clients.

Looking forward to meeting people in the community...

Dave