All Forum Posts by: Dale Plant

Thanks everybody I will check these out.

Thanks Guys

Hello Fellow Canadians

What are your favourite books on real estate specifically for the Canadian investor?

Ash

Interesting, charging a substantial fee like that... not sure how that would go here or even if it would be legal. I think it would only work with higher paying executive apartments. I would like to hear what @Roy N. has to say.

I did get chance to talk to someone from our Rentalman's office and she never heard of someone charging an application fee. Maybe I will start a trend.

Thanks for replies.

@Roy N. Your responses are always useful, actionable and appreciated.

Hello fellow Canadians I was wondering if you screen your tenants with credit and criminal record checks. If so, how do you do it or which services do you use?

If you do these checks do you charge an application fee and how much do you charge?

Thank you;

You may want to consider one of the big players who have offices in both countries (and around the world) such as Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG etc.

Hydro does refer to Electricity. We also refer to it as lights, electric, electricity and power. Most either use hydro or lights though.

I do wonder about the numbers you have stated. Water seems low to me but I do not know the GTA region. I live in a less expensive region and my numbers are higher than yours, except maintenance. Why do you have to wait to make an offer first before getting firmer numbers? Part of your assessment and valuation should be based on your potential cash flows(profit).

Hello Roy N.

You responded to a question I had about whether to pay down my current mortgage or buy. So thanks for that again.

I found this forum for Canadians and did a small yahoo.

In my original response to you there I stated that Uptown was a two-face community, which it is. You will find properties side-by-side that are quite different from each other. Even if you see two identical looking properties they may be substantially different due to how they were maintained. There are pockets within the community where you will find good and bad neighbourhoods side by side on same street. Their is a lot of diversity here from executive to what I would classify as slumlord properties.

Keep in mind that most properties in the actual Uptown are mixed commercial and residential. There seems to be a definite cycle where residents will migrate in and out of the area. The properties tend to go more residential the more you reach into the South-end, with commercial properties intermixed. I mean they tend to be one or the other.

The South-end is perceived as less safe than the Uptown.

The big guys are Hazen Investments hazeninvestments.com and Kincade Property Management kincademanagement.com

You should contact Uptown Saint John. They are a neighborhood revitalization organization that promotes all things Uptown. Not unlike many Main Street revitalization organization in many cities in North America. I worked there as summer student in 1995. It is great place to start and to get feel for the lay of the land and to make contacts.

Also keep in mind that there is an additional charge on property taxes in the designated Uptown zone to fund this organization.

I am curious why you are looking at the Uptown zone over other areas in the city. Unless it is for the historical nature of the area?

So what is different about Saint John and Fredericton? ( I lived in Fredericton in previous life) Both are historical cities, but I would say that Saint John is more pronounced that way especially uptown. F'ton has historical buildings but they are washed out more by modern surrounding buildings, while SJ tends to have more older buildings surrounded by other older buildings. Hope that made sense.

Of course you have the University Town versus the Industrial aspect of the cities as a whole to keep in mind.

Inventory is definitely affected by the buildup of the malls on east side and business moving from the core. There is a second floor movement to help get businesses and residences to occupy the empty upper floors.

I would suggest that you contact Uptown Saint John as they will be able to pass on more contacts. FYI Enterprise Saint John Shares the same building on King Street and the two organization work closely together.

Hope this helps and I would love to hear updates on your progress. From reading some of your other posts and responses to other people ( I am going through this forum bit by bit) and as a complete newbie I feel I could learn a lot from you (already have).

Good luck sir!

Thanks for quick reply. Guess I am not only night owl here.

Roy N

Uptown is a two faced neighborhood. You have complete downtrodden slumlord properties to higher scale executive type properties, sometimes on the same street. I like the historical buildings Uptown especially Germain Street good combo of residential/commercial. Good luck

I am only researching and getting a feel for the market right now. Sorry if my post was confusing concerning the job. I will not be buying for awhile and definitely not until after I return from Alberta (12 months). The job is a means to build a bank roll for investment.

This job may work out as it is with family and there is an understanding that I may be out of commission here and there.

The lack of recent employment history is concerning and I will have to meet with my bank rep soon. I am just trying to feel things out more so I can talk intelligently with her about it.

I am leaning towards paying off the mortgage. As this will help offset the CPP loss somewhat for cash flow.

Kerry

You are absolutely right, the number one issue for me is cash flow.