November 15, 2023
More and more I’m hearing people say “with the high cost of housing these days and the soaring interest rates, how are today’s young people ever going to be able to afford a house?”.
October 16, 2023
I recall speaking to a landscaper on one occasion about a new lawn and yard design he was working on. He told me that generally a complete landscaping makeover was good for about 15 years. After that, it pretty well needs to be redone. The reason? Functional obsolescence. The shrubs and trees are still in play but what was once an ornamental bush has become a tree. Trees have grown out and now crowd gardens. Grass has become thick and riddled with crab grass. The elements are still there, but they have outgrown their practical purpose and usefulness.
September 15, 2023
In our last Money Machine article, we compared multi-family residential buildings that were designed and built as such to buildings that were converted to become multi-family. And we saw that there are a lot of advantages to owning buildings that were designed and built to be exactly what they now are. Especially true in the case of small entities such as duplexes and triplexes.
August 15, 2023
I’d like to talk to you today about multi-family residential buildings. As you develop your investment portfolio, you’ll absolutely want to have some multi-family buildings in the mix. Of course, when I speak about multi-family this can encompass all the way up to high-rise apartment buildings containing hundreds of rental units. But for most of us, we are not at and likely will never be at that level of investment. However multi-family can also include your typical duplex or triplex. And that is where most of us are going to be involved. In fact, CMHC and most banks draw a line at 4 units. Anything above 4 units is considered commercial and is handled by their commercial division. Four or fewer are under the residential umbrella.
June 15, 2023
Many years ago, when I was in my early twenties and living in Montreal, I had a friend, still at home, whose parents were renters. They had always been renters. They always would be renters. One day the dad made a rhetorical statement by saying to me “you take a paper and pen and show me how anyone is ever better off owning than renting.” Of course, he didn’t want to be shown. His mind was already made up. But let’s take his situation and look at it for a minute.
April 17, 2023
They say that purchasing your principal residence is largely an emotional decision while buying an investment property is a matter of logic. And while there is a certain amount of truth to that, it isn’t the whole story. Or at least it shouldn’t be. One element that should be prevalent in both is the pride of ownership. Let me explain.
March 15, 2023
Whenever I teach the Money Machine seminars, send out video updates, or council investors, I encourage them to do an annual net worth statement. Basically, it’s a yearly report card of the strength of your assets and it’s easy to do
February 14, 2023
When you are looking at acquiring an investment property, there sometimes is an avenue for financing available that might not be as available when buying an owner-occupied property.
