As 2016 is drawing to a close and I reflect on my achievements and mistakes over the last 12 months I am astonished to realise how much can be learned in 1 year! Every day is a day to learn something new, but I feel like 2016 was a special year in the Real Estate Market and each day brought new challenges and lessons to be learned! I have grown in every aspect of my life where real estate is involved, business, personal and investment. This week we will focus on the investment lessons we took away from the 2016 year.
Investment Lessons:
- It’s never too late to start (or start over again):
A couple of years ago I decided it was time to jump into the property investment side of real estate. My family life was well established and felt comfortable taking a small risk getting into my first investment home. I REALLY wish I had gotten into some investment properties a decade ago and could kick myself for not doing it! Timing just wasn’t right back then, but rather than convincing myself it was too late I pushed forward and set a goal of what I wanted to achieve over a 5 year period. We feel like we started this late, but what an opportunity this is. We want to push forward and do the best we can in the coming years to set us up for our future.
- Despite the rising home prices there are still neighbourhoods in southern ontario that are favourable to investors:
Once my wife and I made the decision to get into owning an investment property we had to figure out how we were going to make it happen! We had some assets we sold to come up with the down payment. After some time researching communities and homes within our set budget, we had our first investment property.
- Always have an army professionals on your side to help you in areas you are not knowledgeable in:
I can tell you this goal of owning investment properties has come with many learning curves, many challenges and headaches. Your desire for success has to be stronger than your fear of failure. Having professionals such a mortgage specialists, lawyers, and accountants, inspectors, contractors etc. whom I can call on to answer my questions have been a key to my success. I have made some minor mistakes, but the guidance I get from my army of pros helps me get over each stumbling block. Be smart enough to know where your strengths are, what you are capable of and when to hire someone to fill in your weak areas.
- Don’t get hung up on small mistakes, learn from them then move on:
I choose to follow the “buy and hold” business model for investment purchases as I strongly believe for someone at my stage in life this will bring the most reward over risk. What this model does require is the ability to manage tenants and maintain properties. I got lucky with the first property to have excellent tenants however on the second purchase it was a much different story. Difficult tenants have taught me a great deal about the landlord tenant act! I have quickly learned that it is much better to buy a rental property that is vacant rather than with tenants in it unless you do your due diligence. If this is not possible be sure to read over the original contract and create a new one with them if you don’t agree with the original one.
- Be persistent. Set goals and go after them:
They are like chips….bet you can’t just have one! This year we acquired another one and are already in discussions about how to add another one in 2017! There was a time in my life that I didn’t understand the power of setting tangible goals. I now know how powerful this simple practice can be and I will continue to redefine my goals as my business and personal life evolves and changes.
