What rate of return would you have if you invested your money elsewhere in say a mutual fund or the stock market. 

This is where in the stock market, instead of trying to time the ups and downs of the market, you buy a little bit at a time over a long period of time, allowing you to buy some things cheap and some things at peaks.  

I do have a principle residence in Calgary, and if I was solely focused on wealth creation I would have sold that too and rented for our own shelter needs.  

This is also why the ongoing fees are lower, since you are eliminating all that 3rd party processing.If your investment goal is something singular and static such as purchasing shares of a private company stock or a single, longer-term note, then the IRA LLC may be more tool than you require.There are a lot of quality providers of both program types here on BP (as well as some less than stellar providers, unfortunately).  

@Raman Bindlish  Instead of intermediary credit agencies that only report summary information, get direct access to one of the principle credit reporting agencies from which all others derive their summaries. 

My God, buy stocks and sell covered calls.   4) I love real estate but not thin margin real estate.  

You could add LED lighting installed hidden away under the cabinets, this provides a great look, extra light for working in the kitchen and adds value at a low cost.If you're looking for new flooring, possibly look into buying bamboo floors as they're popular currently and thus are often over stocked and can be bought from a company like lumber liquidator for around 1/ per sqft.This sink fixture is often the only thing needed for the sink to look new, getting one with a hands free feature would be an added cost item.Another low cost-high reward option would be replacing the counter top and repaint the counters and cabinets. 

The real estate market does not always follow the stock market but over the past 10 years it certainly have.  

When the stock market tanked in 2008, everyone was panicking and planners were spending the majority of their time comforting their clients about just riding it out. 

So I've finally gotten off the pot so to speak and after years of reading on real estate but investing in the stock market, I've acquired my first rental.