Guide 2 the Grind

I remember when I first started in Real Estate, it was such a massive subject. The first couple of years were really  about trying to piece together all of the different strategies, finding what I liked, and more importantly, what I didn't like.  Heck, let’s be honest….. Most of that time was spent just trying to learn the lingo and not look stupid when I was networking.  But a funny thing ha...

It’s all well and good to learn everything you can about investing, but what are the two most important things a person needs to learn? Number one is easy… don’t lose money. Number two is harder… get started.  Today on the “Real Investment Property Income” podcast, Geoff and I are talking about some of our experiences when we first started investing, and the key takeaways he garnered.  It’s funny,...

Well… this conversation took a huge turn from where we started out.   Zach Morrow is the VP of Investor Relations for Boron Capital, and a veteran of the Marine Presidential Security Force.    ( Side note… I love that I get to meet people like this all the time! )   Boron is a real estate hedge fund down in Lubbock, Texas. That’s where the conversation began, totally normal, talking about their in...

So… you may need to hold on tight for this guest. We covered so much in an hour, and barely scratched the surface of all the things he’s achieved.  From writing books, to flipping houses, to building skyscrapers in New York City, to developing “horizontal skyscrapers”, and even performing stage magic, Ken Van Liew is getting every drop of “juice” out of life.  Ken has a massive amount of energy, a...

As a homebuyer, or an investor, we expect the professionals we hire to look after their area of specialty.  Realtors handle the purchase and sale… mortgage Brokers handle the financing…home Inspectors handle the inspection… But what’s missing? That’s a tough question to answer when you don’t know what you don’t know.  Due diligence is our responsibility as the one buying a property, but we need to...

Here’s the second part to last week’s episode on Starting Over .  www.guidetothegrind.com

Have you ever had to start over? I know I have.  Life is nothing if not unpredictable, and the financial, but more importantly, the emotional impact of a reset can be crippling. So how do you deal with it? Today on the “ Real Investment Property Income ” podcast, Geoff and I share some of our personal experiences with starting over, and the strategies we've used to get through it.   Whether i...

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the romantic in me can’t help but have one thing on my mind…   …credit   That’s right, not flowers, or chocolates, not dinners, or a night by the fire, but good ol’ fashioned credit.   I can already hear the comments popping up, “that’s not very romantic”, or “boy I’m glad that’s not my man”, but hear me out.   While romantic evenings, and intimate mome...

Well… we made it. We’re celebrating our one year anniversary… …a little late.  But better late than never.  Anyhow, we decided to revisit our most popular episode, and also the very first one we ever did, “Knowing the True Cost”.  I’m sure there’s some things we missed, and of course there’s a million different variables that affect the bottom line, but we did our best to cover all the costs assoc...

Today on the “ Investment Property Income ” podcast, we have one of our closest friends and business associates, David Hirsch, joining us.   David made the shift from Realtor to Real Estate Investor, and now owns four multi-family rental buildings in Long Beach, California.   His “Value Add” strategy is earning him some very comfortable returns, and he’s now in a position to re-finance and take eq...

It’s one of my favourite things in the world to see real estate investors finally take the leap from student to practitioner. When they finally take that step and buy their first investment property, it’s truly something special to watch all of their fears go away.   It’s not that they don’t have things that concern them, but it changes. The primary fear that causes people to hesitate is “What if...

As we work our way into the start of the year, something that’s on a lot of people’s minds is, “What the hell is going on with the economy?” Canada’s inflation rate has hit an 18 year high at 4.7%, and it's almost double that for our neighbours to the south. Housing prices are skyrocketing, food has jumped massively in price, supply chains are stressed, if not breaking down entirely…  what do...

I hope you had a great holiday season! This time of year, as we all know, everyone is talking about setting goals, and making resolutions.  I’ve already accomplished one of my goals for the year. My goal was to go to the gym as much as possible… since all of the gyms are closed down again in my province… I got to go once, goal achieved! I say that as a joke, and it’s also how a lot of people appro...

There’s all sorts of so-called “gurus” out there that talk about how to keep a positive mindset, but very few talk about what happens when you lose.   If you play the achievement game long enough, you’re bound to lose at some point, so how do you deal with it?   That’s exactly what we’re talking about on this episode of the “ Investment Property Income ” podcast. Geoff and I are sharing some of th...

By now it’s no secret the darn near every media outlet that talks about first time buyers has nothing but the most dire of news to report. Every time you tune into something related to first time homebuyers, all you hear about is how hard it is, or how you’ll have to save for decades to be able to get into the market.  What none of them are talking about however is how is it possible now? You see...

I don’t know if you’ve been watching what’s happening in real estate news lately, but if you haven’t…. don’t. If you have, ask yourself this… which headline is gonna get more clicks, “Everything is Just Fine.” or “The Bubble is Gonna Burst!?”. It seems that every time I search for real estate news, because I like to stay informed on my industry, inevitably there is always a headline somewhere in t...

How far can you go as a real estate investor? Is there a ceiling on what you can achieve? In short, the only limitations on our personal, and financial growth, are the ones we have in our own minds.  That’s why it’s so important to always be seeking out new ideas, and learning from as many sources as possible. People and ideas open your mind to new possibilities.  Being on your own as a real estat...

One of the biggest challenges I see investors face is the funding ceiling here in Canada. This usually happens when you have 4 - 6 single family homes as rental properties, and the bank no longer looks at the financing the same.   The shortest, and simplest way around this is making the leap to multi-family residential properties.   This can seem like a giant leap though.   Thankfully, I can say w...

Have you ever set a massive goal, achieved it, and then realized it wasn't what you thought it would be? Astronauts, Olympic Athletes, and business owners alike know the disappointment that can come with the realization of a dream.  So what do you do about it? It’s not as simple as just setting bigger goals. You need to have a vision. Not just any vision, but one that’s going to last for the...

One of the hardest parts of becoming a real estate investor is being on your own, and not knowing what to do when challenges arise.  OPE, or Other People’s Experience, is the shortest route through these challenges. At times when things seem the most bleak however, it’s difficult to know where to turn for that experience.  More importantly… who to trust.  We welcome back to the “ Investment Proper...

One of the biggest challenges I’ve seen real estate investors face over the years is being by themselves, and not knowing where to turn when challenges arise in their business.  From marketing, buying, selling, negotiation, each part of the business has its own nuances, and requires experience to truly “sharpen the axe”, so to speak.  Today on the “ Investment Property Income ” podcast, our guest,...

Well, it’s that time of year again… the “Bubble List” came out, and Toronto made the number two spot. Is it time to ring the alarm bells? Not likely.   Toronto has made this list a whole bunch of times. For well over a decade now the “bubble” has been set to burst. And yet, somehow, it never does.   But why?   Today on the “ Investment Property Income ” podcast, we’re talking about ALL of the fact...

I remember the first time I heard the term “residual Income”. Not only did I have no idea what it meant, I also didn’t think it was possible unless, by some miracle, I recorded a hit song, or wrote the next great novel.   Boy was I wrong.   Imagine knowing that all of your bills are taken care of every month, whether you go to work or not. Never having to stress if you have enough money. How much...

Whenever we have a guest on the show, I love to ask them about how they got started. Inevitably the subject of fear comes up. Today’s guest has a whole different take on fear.  Brent Bowers served in the Armed Forces as a first Lieutenant and fought on the front lines overseas.   First of all, I have the utmost respect for the folks that serve in the military.  Second, when Geoff asked Brent which...

Investors and homeowners got a new choice in the market this week.  Well… sorta. TD announced this week that they’ll be offering their “HELOC” product through the broker channel.  I know, I know, exciting right? ( insert eye roll here ) But this is actually a big step for consumer choice. Not only is it another product available through mortgage brokers, but it signals a shift in the way the banks...