I'm taking about the housing bubble in the  U.S.A. I bought my first condo in Las Vegas in 2009, and have since picked up 7 MORE condos. WTF? Am I crazy??? Before you think I'm retarded you need to read and learn, something most people don't seem to do. People listen to the news and gobble up all the BS they serve on a silver platter. Lucky for me I listen, then I start digging for information on my own. I don't really ever believe what people say until I can confirm it's 100% true.

Back to Vegas….

Now you're probably thinking Las Vegas is finished! Maybe even the whole US is going to be a 3rd world country. Are you insane, seriously? Get your head out of your butt. First off yes Las Vegas was the foreclosure capital of the whole U.S.A. There are many reasons it happened, but it boils down to greed, from mortgage brokers giving 100% financing to people who never should have gotten loans. When their mortgages were ready for renewal their interest rates jumped, then  they couldn't pay for the mortgages any longer. That screwed allot of people and then made house prices drop up to 75% in many cases. This housing drop screwed the 2nd waveof home owners. People who now owe more than there house is actually worth. Many condos I purchased where bought for up to $225,000 in 2006 and now they are worth $50,000!!! These people don't want to pay a mortgage for $225,000 or whatever there amount is owning if their condo is only worth $50,000. Would you?? So they walk away and put there house in a short sale.

Here is the thing most people I talk to don't get. All these people who end up selling their homes or getting foreclosed on end up renting!! Yes, you got it right. Las Vegas is full of people renting homes in the neighborhoods they once owned homes in. So investors like me come and buy condos and houses for 75% discounted rates and rent them to previous home owners. ALL my places are rented and they cash flow very, very well. So I have cash flow coming on properties I purchased in many cases for $50,000 – $60,000 and then rent them for between $725 to $845. Are you starting to understand how this is a great opportunity, if you have the cash and balls?

Did You know?

1. Las Vegas was the fastest growing city in the whole U.S.A for the last 10 years!!! And 1000s of people are still moving there every year. It's still a growing city, so that means there is a need for housing. Yes unemployment is high, but it's coming down, this a good indicator things are shifting in the right direction.
2. Vegas is still full of tourists, I know because I go to the strip and I can see first hand what's happening. Casino revenues are up about 5% from last year. This is another good indicator that things are going in the right direction. As the revenues continue to climb casinos will start hiring people to fill more positions because of consumer demand.  Then the big casino building projects will be underway, which leads to more construction jobs, hospitality jobs etc. It's all going to happen, the indicators are there.
3. There are 1000s of investors buying in Las Vegas, some many in fact that there are multiple offers on houses and condos. I  was outbid on 3-4 places in the last 2 months because of multiple offers happening.
4. The top out of country buyers are guess who? Canadians! With a strong dollar and strong economy, tons of Canadians are doing the same thing I am!
5. Once the Canadian dollar looses more of its value compared to the USD, when I exchange my rent money from U.S to Canadian I will be make more because of the conversion rate.  I already am but the U.S.dollar  will get stronger, maybe not today or next week but it's going to happen.
6. The prices are now so low that they can't even build for the price that the houses and condos are selling for! 

I have talked to lots of people about this because it comes up in conversations. If you buy 6 condos at $50,000 and rent them for $750= $4500 before expenses. After expenses if you bought the properties outright, then you are pocketing $500 a month per property roughly. 6×500=$3000 USD per month!!! Now once you exchange that US money into Canadian it gets even better! Right now if you have 4,500.00 USD =4,588.72 CAD. You make extra $88, it's not much but wait till the Canadian dollar drops even more….CHA CHING!

Compare To Vancouver

A condo can easily cost you $300,000 in Vancouver. I can get 6 condos in Las Vegas for the price I would get for one here in Vancouver. It makes a little more sense to buy in Vegas as opposed to here.

Right now is the perfect storm for Canadians to invest in the USA. Once these deals are gone, you will never see them again in our lifetime. This is basically a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's here now! But for how long can you buy 1200 sq ft 2 bedroom condos built 2003 and newer with attached garages for $50,000? You have the chance to make a difference in your life, something that you can look back on and say "That was the smartest investment I ever made!". But will you do it?  I did it and I get paid every month… Fear is your enemy, that little voice in your head isn't helping you it is HOLDING YOU BACK!

Why Las Vegas Over Phoenix?

The majority of Western Canadians are buying in Phoenix. I had a choice and I picked Vegas, but what is the difference and where is better to invest? There is way to more Vegas than the strip, stop being so narrow minded. Do you think everyone in Vegas lives on the strip, lol? Think again. Vegas is a city of 2,000,000 people, the population of Vancouver!

1. Both cities have similar weather, with Vegas being about 3 celcius cooler.
2. Both cities have over 300 days of sunshine every year.
3. Both cities have tons of golf courses.
4. Vegas has outdoors just like Phoenix if not better. Vegas has Red Rock Canyon, that is only 15 minutes away from the strip.  Truly amazing views there, it looks sort of like a mini Grand Canyon.
5. Mount Charleston is located about 40 minutes away and it has skiing, horseback riding etc. It looks like Whistler!
6. Ever hear of Lake Las Vegas? Another amazing place to visit 20 minutes from the strip.
7. And then you have the actual Vegas Strip pretty cool in itself. More nightlife, restaurants and everything else.
8. Flights are cheaper than Phoenix. I have gotten flights that are $100 round trip with taxes included, from Bellingham with Allegiant Airlines!
9. Nevada has no personal income tax, I don't know if Arizona has that?
10. You can drive to Los Angeles in 3 hours.
11. I can drive to Vegas in 2 days, driving 10 hours per day. Phoenix takes 27 hours to drive to.

I'm not knocking Phoenix at all, I just never understood why all the Canadians went there. I guess they just followed the herd. Obviously Phoenix is a beautiful place, but I never understood the reasoning behind Phoenix over Las Vegas. Where I live the Canadians have bought as well, and are still doing so. And……. No, I don't live on the strip. I live 20 minutes away from the strip in the North West part of the city. You probably thought I lived on the strip, silly you! Like I said there is WAY MORE to Vegas than the damn strip!!  It's just a bonus that it's there.

Financing

Don't  even think about trying to get a mortgage in Vegas. The last thing they want to do is give out mortgage loans to anyone, especially people out of the country. You will either need to pay in cash or get a home equity loan and borrow against your house in Canada. You may be able to get a mortgage in Vegas, but Canadians who I have spoken to have tried with no luck. I never really researched getting loan because I never needed one.

The Process Of Buying Real Estate in Vegas

• Contact a realtor and start getting listings emailed to you daily. You can then become familiar with prices, the different areas and what to expect in general. Prices will be a shock as first trust me. It takes getting used to see new condos going for $50,000 to $60,000!
• Have a somewhat general idea of the type of property you want. Don't look at million dollar mansions if you only have a $75,000 home equity loan.
• Get your financing in place before you go down. There is no point flying down to look at places if you don't have your financing worked, it's a complete waste of time for you and the realtor.
• Transfer your Canadian money into US funds when the Canadian dollar is the strongest. This way you will get the absolute most for your Canadian money.
• Bring a proof of funds. You will need a print out of your bank account showing you have the money to have the ability to buy the property your putting an offer on.
• Plan a flight and see the places in person.
• Start writing offers. You need to write many offers just to get 1 property. It's a pain in the ass to actually close deals because of many factors. Many times I will write offers and never here anything back ever from the other realtor. It's nuts. But, when you close on a condo for $50,000 it feels damn good! Even if you submit 10 offers and 3 are approved you can back out of the deals, so don't think you are obligated to close on 3 accepted offers. If you get 3 approved and only want one, then you can pick and choose which one you want the most. If you don't put offers on them someone else will and you may loose that place you want the most. It's not like Canada..
• Look outside of the strip for condos. Look in the suburbs, it's much more peaceful, cheaper and never more than 20 minutes away from the action.

If you're interested in Vegas then shoot me an email. I bought in October 2009 so it's been 2 years of going there, so I can answer many questions from taxes, where to buy etc… Yes, I am still actively buying. It's hard not to buy when you buy a condo and it get rented in under 30 days. I makes me continue to keep on buying.

Do your own homework, don't take what I say at face value. Learn for yourself and see what makes sense to you. I've done all the home work for myself, because I don't like to rely on other people for information. It's better to learn as much as you can before you jump in. Once you have bought a $20,000 house in a shitty part of town, then you're stuck.  Do all your research before you pull the trigger, or you will be very sorry. I never made that mistake in Vegas, I did in Winnipeg years back. I learned my lesson the hard way, now I am overly cautious about where and what I buy.

My Iphone4 Apps:

1. Twitter for IPhone: Years ago I bitched about the how unnecessary Twitter is, now I find myself using it daily to post my rants, thoughts and photos of fried eggs and other silly. I find it fun to post silly BS throughout the day. Now I can see how Twitter is useful, you can see real time what people are talking about, I finally got it LOL!
2. Photoshop Express: I like touching up my photos, sharpening them to make them crisp and cropping them them nicely. This app does that all for free, LOVE IT!
3. Facebook App: Another waste of time, but fun to be able to post photos on Facebook and my cousins in New York and Italy can see what I am doing at that exact minute.
4. Text Plus: My data plan didn't come with free texting so I searched around and found a free texting app. You can text as much as you want with this app for completely free. It's an ad supported app so you will see ads on your IPhone, big deal though. It works good, love it!
5. ImageShack app: I like using ImageShack to upload my photos, that is how I store them online. You can also use ImageShack to post images and videos on Twitter through their app.
6. Four Square app: Four Square is an app that enables you to  "check in". This app can track where you are through the use of GPS and then you can use the application to check in to the location you are at. You open the app and see a list of local businesses (Starbucks, Walmart, whatever) and click check in to the business you are currently at. Yeah it's useless, but something to do while you're waiting for your appointment at the hair salon. It can post your location on Twitter and Facebook at the same time, weee. This is perfect for people who want to stalk you LOL…

Those are the apps that  I use daily. I'm not into downloading app of cats talking and all that BS. I'm more of a design type person so taking photos is my thing.

Anyways, check out the video below, it  Will make you piss your pants, it is way too funny. Antoine, you're one funny bastard!!

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I found a fix for Windows 7 users online and thought I should share it, so you can save some time.

Steps to fix this Dream Weaver CS4 Bug:

1. The file you need to delete is called “WinFileCache-D06F2AB8.dat”.
2. Make sure your hidden files on Windows 7 are showing.
3. Find the file here: C:\Users\YouUserName\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Dreamweaver CS4\en_US\Configuration
4. Delete the file
5. All done, now leave a comment and thank me!

I was going to reinstall the whole Dream Weaver CS4 program then I thought why not check on Google for the solution, it worked perfectly and took 2 seconds. Open Dream Weaver and the problem is all gone.

Don’t you feel better now? I thought so, have a great day.

Of course I snapped photos of it and here they are:

There were 2  pirate ships that got into a battle (men vs women), they fired back and forth until the men’s ship sank.

BOOM, pirate ship going down!

This amazing chopper built by Metropolitan Choppers and the metal work was done by an artist named Scott Cawood. This piece of moving art was inside the Treasure Island casino , made of scrap metal it took over 6 months to build it. The detail in this bike is insane…

The chopper weighs over 900 lbs, look at all the metal no surprise!!

crazy details on this bike.

Bam!

The ship is sinking…

Front of the bike, looks like a lady.

front of the bike, right above the forks..

The results of my 1/2 day off are below..

welcome to New Brighton Park

freighter docked at the Wheat Pool in Burrad Inlet

freight front view

Second Narrows Bridge

you tell me what this is? It’s part of the Wheat Pool

Just tuggin along….

Koma graffiiti on weather hopper train

Tomorrow is my daughters birthday, turning 3 years old already! So hard to believe seems like 6 months ago she was born. Time goes soo fast, it’s scary…

Oh yeah: Tomorrow there is an affiliate meet up happening in Vancouver at:

Saltlik Steak House (private area on third floor)
1032 Alberni St
Vancouver, BC V6E 1A3
1.604.689.9749

Neverblue is sponsoring and will be covering the cost of appetizers, thanks guys!

shot of downtown Vancouver from Lonsdale Key in North Vancouver.

Lions Gate Bridge taken from Amble Side West Vancouver

Stanley Park taken from Amble Side West Vancouver

bon fire in West Bank, B.C. (looks like a ghost behind the fire but it’s wifey…)

bon fire in West Bank, B.C.

I am staying at a really nice 5 start hotel called Riu Taino, which is located in the city of Punta Cana in the  Dominican Republic. I’m not going to make some huge essay describing the hotel and all that stuff. The place is all inclusive, meaning all you can eat and all you can drink. Last night I got gunned after 3 strawberry margaritas, 1 rum and coke, 1 strawberry daquari and other stuff that I don’t remember cause I was too drunk to. Ha ha it was a much needed binge session. It’s sucks drinking alone though, my wife can’t drinks because she breasts feed still and the rest of them well…..

And for the food, well it’s all buffet style meals, but the food is amazing as I expected. You can get all types of fish, chicken, veal, fruits, and anything else you can think of.  More than you can ever ask for, but since I’m always watching my carbs I don’t indulge is breads, pastas, pizzas or anything else that will gain me the 15 lbs that I lost late last year.

I am here with my mother in law, my wife’s aunt and uncle, and her uncles brother and his sister in law. Basically a bunch of old wops. They’re all great people and good babysitters, lol.

I have been snapping photos here and there but my batteries for my camera died. I did bring a recharger but until about 1 hour ago I couldn’t recharge anything because the power outlets are different than home. That is all old news now and I can charge my batteries and take some more pics and video as well.

I thought I would be doing more work here, but who is kidding who? I’m in a tropical place, all you can eat and drink with sun, palm trees and all that good stuff.  I didn’t even want to come on this vacation if you can believe that, since I am a workaholic but I am starting to unwind. Personally I get bored just laying on the beach for 8 hours a day so we go for walks and all that stuff.

Tonight there is some type of festivities going on in the street in front of our hotel.  I’ll snap some photos of that and upload to my blog tomorrow in the afternoon (when the kids are asleep).PS: Don’t even tell how the weather is in Vancouver, I already know.. .

Time for me to have another drink now, don’t be jealous, lol…..

view from outdoor restaurant

walkway

Matteo…

me and Matteo

pool

amazing pool

white sand beaches for miles…

white sand everywhere for miles..

my condo hotel

Who’s that Guido?

Sometimes I get up really early but it doesn’t seem to bother me too much. I’m wide awake and don’t feel tired at all.  I try to work a bit, just so I feel like the whole getting up early thing isn’t a complete waste of time.

Anyways today I take possession of the Burnaby 2 bedroom condo I bought in November (tenants already in place)! My realtor drops of the keys at 9 am, I will drive down later to take a peek at the place.

Oh yeah the tenants from the condo in Port Coquitlam (bounced check) are  leaving, after less than 2 months! I guess that can happen if you cheat on your wife, then she finds out and wants a divorce! That sucks for me them big time, I feel bad for the wife. I already posted the ad on Craigslist for the last 3 days and will be having a showing today or tomorrow.  I also  raised the rent $25 to $1525, I may as well get more rent just for the headache of rerenting the loft after such a short period of time. Once a tenant leaves I always raise the rent even $10 (usually $50 to $100 though), it’s another $120 in your pocket in 1 years time right? Hey every dollar counts and adds up.

Freshly brewed espresso on my granite counter top

6:30 am espresso – reflection in granite counter top

6:30 am espresso – reflection in granite counter top

walking towards Renfrew library on  East 22nd Avenue in Vancouver in the fog