All Forum Posts by: Christopher H.

Saskatoon is a buy right now.  

@Elijah Williamson

You said yourself that vacancy can be an issue. Are you wrong?  If you know that you are right then do not buy it with intentions of doing rentals.  That simple.  Vacancies can destroy an investment so quickly.

Flipping the land for double would be fantastic.  Look up the land values surrounding that parcel of land.. what would they sell for?  have any similar pieces of land sold in the last year? Land values can be based off data not guessing.  Is your friend an experienced land or real estate investor in that area?  If he has a track record of success then its worth considering.  If not, you should seek out someone who does have the experience in that area to give you feedback.  

Speculation and guessing are two different things.  

I don't know enough of the details here to give you a %100 concrete yes or no, but based off what I can see I would be leaning heavily towards walk away.

You only get to do so many deals so quickly.. make them count.  Be picky.  Like @Zorya Belanger said don't get the FOMO.

"I wasn't planning on investing here"  The Real Estate gods are testing your discipline and patience.  Now its your move :) 

@Derek Kohut

Ya I'll inbox you

@Emily Flood

Ok, I understand.  Having a connection with experience in the market you're looking at is always helpful.  Travelling there is definitely advisable before you invest, but not always necessary.  Ultimately, it is up to you and what makes the most sense for you.  I only asked because there is many good places to invest between the west and east coast.  100k budget is tight though for many areas.  

So, what's the biggest obstacle holding you back right now?

Hey @Emily Flood

Getting your first property is really exciting.  I lived in Vancouver for several years so i know the market can be a bit challenging to break into.  

Just out of curiosity, why the east coast?  

@Sam Hanaa

There is two scenarios that make this a good investment in my opinion

1) You positive cashflow on the property.  Based on the numbers you have right now that is not happening.  The rent would have to increase significantly before completion date which is extremely unlikely.  

2) You sell before/on completion for a profit.  

Holding a property with negative cash flow and hoping to make your money off appreciation is not typically an optimal strategy.  If you are exceptionally flush with cash and know %110 for certain that the play is a good one then it might make sense.  Just to elaborate on that, lets say you know a big company is about to relocate their operations into the area or the city is going to improve some major infrastructure etc In other words some type of catalyst that will provide the appreciation.  That could make an appreciation play feasible.   Banking on the general markets appreciation doesn't typically make sense from an investment standpoint.  Think about this.. if your negative cash flow property appreciates won't the positive cashflow properties appreciate also?  

Assets make you money.  Liabilities cost you money. I highly suggest you consider what @Cameron Swartzentruber said.  A deal with negative cashflow, even a small amount, can really set a person back.  Consider that -$150/mo vs +$400/mo is $6600/year difference.  Thats 33k over 5 years.  

This has nothing to do with the market itself. I am sure Kitchener is a great place to invest, but the property itself is not a sound investment based on the info you have presented.  

You are trying to create a snowball of wealth.  Red numbers melt the snowball :) 

@Ben Welch

You have probably already heard this more then once.  Get yourself in the game.  Education is good, but experience is also important.  

Is the market going to crash? %99 chance it will crash again one day.  When?  In truth, no one knows and can only guess.  Try looking at it like this instead.  

It's your first house and you said yourself your going to hold it.  You have educated yourself so you are going to buy something within your budget or that cash flows etc or whatever your criteria is.  How long is 'hold' in your mind?  1 year?  5 years?  25 years?  If you are like most investors buy and hold is many years.  So you buy your house then the market crashes.. what's the issue here?  "I could have gotten a better deal" This is true, but ask the guys who have been waiting for the market to crash since 2015, 2016, 2017, etc.  How much appreciation and mortgage paydown have they missed out on?  How much more are they paying to get into the market now?  Go ahead and search news articles in any month in ANY of the last 6 years.  I guarantee you will find some 'expert' touting the market crash is imminent.  

'Dont wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait' or 'Time in the market not timing the market' are both very applicable especially on your first home.  

The questions to ask isn't 'Should I be buying right now" it is 'What should I be buying right now?' Figure out WHY your buying real estate and it is going to be easy to see what strategy fits into that(house hack, brrrr, etc).   Then set your criteria and budget and take action. Get a solid mortgage broker and realtor(if required) on your side. 

Maybe I am biased because I'm a mortgage broker and I want people to buy.  With that said I'm also an investor and if a deal is in front of me right now that looks good I'm buying.  

Just my opinion hope it helps.  Feel free to dm me anytime if you need help or get stuck.  

@Tomislav Glamuzina

Its a pretty neat and simple concept.  The idea is to turn your home into a source of tax efficient leverage to grow your wealth. Here is a top down

1) Purchase a home with a re-advanceable mortgage(or similar).  As you pay down your mortgage that equity becomes immediately available to use.  

2) You take those newly available funds and put them into an income generating investment.  For example, stocks that pay a dividend or a rental property that cash flows.  

3) You take the income from those investments and put it towards your mortgage.  Which in turns creates more funds available to sink into your investments to create more income and the cycle continues.  

Its important to note that interest on your mortgage is not tax deductible, but interest on lines of credit is when it is used for investments.  There is some nuances depending what you want to invest in and it is always a good idea to confirm your plan with your accountant or similar advisor.  You need to be very disciplined with how you use those funds also.  

This can be a really strong tool to build wealth if used properly and in the right scenarios.  

I'm a mortgage professional in Canada you can dm me if you want to discuss it further. 

Hope that helps

Sask is definitely a place to take a look.  I know there is a few people on BP doing well there. 

Surprised this hasnt been mentioned yet (or i missed it)

One of the main reasons is inventory and volume of sales.  There is just such a significant amount of inventory there compared to Canada.  For easy math.. x10 the population is roughly x10 the inventory.  Combine that with the above factors and you can see how wholesaling thrives down there.