All Forum Posts by: Dave Vogt

It's been a while...

I run several websites to find motivated sellers in Niagara. It is difficult to find good properties under market value in many areas due to the onslaught of flipping shows and everyone thinking they are the next house flipping genius :-(, but if you watch MLS and act quickly going in with few conditions you can usually get them under contract at good prices. Bank sales have been a big source of undervalued or distressed properties for us to date.

As to the arms-length mortgage that is how we secure a lot of our private funding for our flips. I am often surprised how little people know about this area and for those investing their retirement savings into non producing investments it's an amazing way to get high single and double digit returns without crazy BS fees. 

There is however a non-arms length mortgage through Canadian Western Trust that I have been looking into for investors who want to buy and sell real estate with their own RRSP and TSFA's. HELOC'S are some of the best ways I have seen to get low interest money without repayment penalties that mortgages have. We have investors that borrow on their home equity at 3-4% and lend it to us at 8-10%...it's a win win.

I'll be in touch with you Tyler...happy to help if I can!

Hey Everyone,

I just saw this and thought I would share some of my experiences with this really quickly. My thoughts on all of this are quite simple. In my 5 separate basement fixes 1 of which I did myself...I have found that the best possible way to fix a basement and make sure it will give you a lifetime (or at least any of our lifetimes) repair is to dig up the outside. 

The interior repairs are fine too, if done correctly, but the ultimate long term fix is to dig up the outside down to the footing, replace the weeper, clean the basement walls, check and repair any cracks, and install your water barrier materials (there are a few) such as the delta system. The black plastic with the dimples. This needs to be sealed at the top and allows any water that gets to the wall to run straight down to the footing were the weeping tile can get the water out and away from the house. Either to the sump pump or in some cases to the storm system in your area. 

To increase the effectiveness of the repair and reduce settling you can back fill with 3/4 clear stone right up to a foot from the top and then fill the rest with top soil. 

When you have this all opened up...it's a good time to think about future usage. If you want egress windows, now is the time to add them as well as the big widow wells and proper drainage for any window wells too. 

With egress windows in place you can now finish your basement as a separate apartment, add a few bedrooms and much more. Check with your local code requirements. You'll need a permit likely to do the basement repair anyway. 

The main problem that currently exist won't fix themselves if you repair from the inside. Usually years of accumulated silt have filled the clay weeping tiles, the earth on the outside of the home is pressed tightly to the concrete foundation leaving water no where to go. This leads to long term damage from frost heaving on the wall. If the water can't be moved away from the wall you run the risk of structural damage to the wall. Even if you get the water to stop coming inside the home you still run the chance of frost damage without digging up the exterior and ensuring that water never stays in contact with the concrete. 

Sorry that was supposed to be brief...hope that helps explain some more about this. The cost for an exterior repair is often not that much more than fixing from the inside, but has a much longer and more beneficial result. Of course there are many circumstances where this is too hard to do because of the location of the home and access to perform the repair. 

Here's to dry basements everywhere.....here here...

Dave 

Welcome Rajeev,

I live in the Niagara Region of Ontario and have invested in real estate for 10 years now. I've flipped over 25 homes profitably right in my backyard. I know how difficult investing in the US can be and still scratch my head when I hear of people going through all the troubles.  There are plenty of great outlaying areas from the metropolitan areas such as Niagara to invest in. 

Cornwall is another area that I have researched a little. If I was closer I would invest myself. It's not too far from Montreal. No headaches, no tax issues, no work visa to worry about and you keep it all in your own country. Everything I have bought to rent cash flows here in Niagara and I believe they would in Cornwall as well. 

Everyone has their own comfort levels, goals, and target areas. So please take what I am saying with a grain of salt. I know that some people make out well down in the US. I just don't see the attraction to investing outside of our country, especially after sitting in on a long presentation from a specialist who explained all the necessary requirements to do so. My head was spinning once the presentation was done. Seemed like a giant waste of time and a lot of risk. Especially when considering the success I've experienced working right in my own town.

I guess what I am saying is, do your homework...it very well may be a fit for you. It's just not for me.

I wish you the best of success,

Dave

Hello Jean, 

Welcome to BP. It's great to see another experienced investor in here. Congratulations on your success to this point. I love to see people building their empire one investment at a time.

I'm down in the Niagara Region of Ontario and unlike Toronto, Victoria and many of the big cities, you can buy cash flowing properties all day long. There are many single families you can buy for under 100K. Duplexes and triplexes rarely go over 200K in many areas. It's been a bit of a hidden gem for us.

Sure the economy is so-so, but improving as Toronto grows out towards us. There are a ton of rent worthy people and cash flowing properties. With proper buying strategies and good tenant screening you can really do well. Probably not any different then any of the blue collar towns you would invest in down in the US. Personally I'm not a big fan. Too much read tape and tax implications for me. Besides I like working in my backyard.

I wish you continued success and look forward seeing your journey progress. You've certainly come to a great place to learn and interact. I'm glad you jumped on board.

Dave 

Hi Ana, 

Great to see another fellow Canadian in here and an avid fan of house flipping. I too am a house flipper in the Niagara Region of Ontario. Full time now for over 10 years. You will find this community full of great resources and good people and few more of us crazy Canucks too. 

Looking forward to hearing how your journey unfolds. 

Dave

I have to totally agree with Simon. The more units the easier the tenant game becomes and the easier to keep it profitable. It's all in the math. 

Ottawa is a going concern and a great place to live. We have friends there and love to visit. I would imagine finding good property is tough. My suggestion is to get all you finances in order and ready to pull the trigger...then get an ad on Kijiji or whatever works the best in Ottawa to locate motivated sellers. I have a website, classifieds, and target certain areas with postcards 7-8 touches a campaign. It works!

To locate good triplexes that are owned, they don't go on the market often. Usually your better to go to your local investor club and get to know the investors. Let them know your in the market for a triplex and you might get lucky this way too! Remember if they own, but don't want to sell. Offer to shadow them or help out any way you can.

First learn as much as you can. Then when your ready get out there, but don't wait to start making connections. Start vetting a good Realtor now. preferably one who has rental experience and even better fix up experience. Find local house flippers and see if any of them have their license. You will end up with one heck of a good person to buy property with because they will see things you won't especially if they are hands on like myself and my partner. My partner got her license last April and people are so surprised and happy when she starts pointing out all the big stuff right away. 

A few days ago she was looking at an old century home with clients. There was some knob and tube wiring she pointed out. Then she had to explain what that was to the client and then proceeded to go get her tester from the car and see if it was live. Her clients were blown away....too funny! Saved them spending $5000-$7000 dollars on an upgrade and gave them some negotiating power on purchase price.

Welcome Walid, 

It's awesome to see all the fellow Canadians in here. There is a ton of great info. After 10 years of flipping houses I can say it's time for me to start building my rental empire. For everyone the perfect plan is different, but certainly any plan is better than none. 

The journey is a fun one...just do your math and learn as much as you can. Find other investor to learn from and pick your team members very carefully. By team I mean your real estate agent, lawyer, etc. 

Good luck in your adventures

Hi Jasmine,

I don't want to think about how much laminate I have put down in my lifetime...far too much I'm sure. It's not for everyone. The majority of this job is simple it's the cutting and initial set up that counts.

To do an exceptional job requires leaving the required room around the parameter for expansion and contraction and this means leaving room around door openings and yes either pulling up the existing baseboard or putting down quarter round when your done. To get the room in the door openings you should undercut the door jambs and plan the way you lay the flooring to enable the flooring to be just under the jamb.

Really not for everyone. One way to save a lot of cutting is buying a laminate sheer. It's now my favourite tool. No dust, very little waist and no need to run outside everytime you have to make a cut.

Good luck with your project.

Tabatha,

The pleasure would be all mine...

Just met with Ajay and his dad at his student rental in St. Catharines to give him a quick hand and see his latest purchase. Ajay has himself a great little investment there and we got to talk shop. Always a pleasure to meet and have conversation with awesome like minded people.

Dave

Tabatha,

If you are seriously considering the Niagara area I would be happy to show you around and share with you what I know about the area. I have lived and worked here all my life and invested here for the last years....the offer is always out there.

Looks like I am meeting Ajay today in St. Catharines...