Category Archives: goals

Inspection on The Poco Condo Today

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Today is inspection day. I hired an inspector (something every home buyer should do) to do a inspection of the condo. I don’t want any surprises after I own the place, so I do my home work before hand.  It costs about $400 but it’s worth just for peace of mind. I already went through the strata minutes and everything seems fine but it’s better to be 100% safe than sorry.

I also placed the ad on Craigslist and have rental showings today and tomorrow. I like to move fast and get it rented ASAP, so then I have one less thought on my mind. By Monday everything should be done and then we just sit and wait for the closing date when I get the keys. From there it’s off to the next one, bada boom!

The reasons I am liking condos more is a few reasons:

  1. I don’t have to worry about the exterior of the building (painting, cutting grass, landscape, draining, gutters, etc…)
  2. The prices of houses is too much now for them to be able to cover any type of mortgage you have.
  3. I plan on having at least another 10 rental properties and if they are all houses it’s WAY more work than owning 10 condos. I want my rental income to come easy not hard.

I really want to get things moving for me in my real estate portfolio, so I plan on probably putting a low ball offer on another 2 bedroom condo in Burnaby for $170,000 (asking price is $208,000). It’s not as nice as this penthouse loft however it is still updated nicely with laminate flooring and modern colored walls.  Low ball offers are usually rejected but some people are very motivated to sell and sometimes they will take your offer even if its way below asking prices ($208,000).

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We Own A 2 BedRoom Loft in Port Coquitlam Now!

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Well…. We Got it! There was a bit of a bidding war and we actually had to pay $200,500 and the asking price was $200,000. We own a 2 bedroom loft  penthouse suite in Port Coquitlam now! We ended up paying $2,500 over asking price but it’s a great deal. Considering people are selling 1 bedroom units in the exact same building for $200,000. Our 2 bedroom should have been sold for around $220,000. Overall I am happy with the purchase, now we need to get it rented!

I put it on Craigslist last night, asking $1600 for rent. I got 1 email so far, I reposted the ad this morning so my ad can appear at the top of the list.  I have to get the place inspected as well, but it should all be fine. We went through the condo “minutes” (a log of all meetings of the strata council), to see if they discussed any problems with the building at strata council meetings. The minutes were fine, nothing wrong with the building (no leaky condo problems especially).

One thing I found out that was interesting, is that since this a penthouse suite, we can actually build a bedroom where the outdoor patio area is located (see pics in my last post). I have NO intention to build another bedroom, way too much work however it’s good to know that it is allowed for.

A couple things I plan on doing to the loft:

  • install laminate flooring where the carpet is now (carpet is a bit rough)
  • paint the walls with some light modern colors

The better shape your rental unit is in, the better type of renters you will attract. If you place looks like hell you will be in for hell from your tenants. A good rule of thumb is to decorate as you would your own home, treat it as if you were going to move in.

I already told my realtor to be on the lookout for another 2 bedroom but there is nothing else out there compared to what we just bought. I mentioned looking into Surrey for condos (they are cheaper there), however she said that the quality of tenants are worse in Surrey, hmm. We will see, I have this on my plate for now. Next month is Christmas, we will see if we find something before Christmas. Anyways that’s all to report for now.

Tommorow We Start Searching For More Investment Condos In Vancouver

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Finally tomorrow the condo hunting begins. I have been waiting for prices to come down and cool off and now is the time to find that “deal of a lifetime”. Prices may drop you say? I say so what, as long as the rent covers all my expenses I will have a condo that is paid for by my tenants. And now is the time to negotiate deals with anxious sellers, it’s a buyers market now. Finally! If the rent covers the monthly expenses (strata fee, taxes, mortgage payment) it’s almost a no brainer to buy it, as long as it’s a solid building in a good area, with a low vacancy rate (which greater Vancouver has).

Tomorrow this Burnaby 2 bedroom condo will be our first stop,  then we start checking other condos around Burnaby in New West after that showing, as I mentioned in a previous post. Most people get excited buying a new computer or a car but I really love buying real estate. I guess for me I think about how much that condo will help me and my family for the rest of life. I will get monthly rent forever, who needs mutual funds? My retirement income will be my rental income, safer and way more stable than mutual funds, RRSP or the Canadian pension (will there be a Canadian pension when I am 65?).

A cool real estate quote I heard from Ralph Case:

“buy real estate and wait, don’t wait to buy real estate.”

Halloween In Vancouver

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Since Halloween is happening tomorrow evening (Friday night of all nights) I figure I would post some of my shots from the family visit to the Stanley Park Halloween train. We got there at about  6:15 PM and waited for 2 hours to actually get on the train. While we waited we walked around and checked out the “haunted farm”, face painting and a few other treats. I suggest getting there early, cause there were tons of people.

When you take the train ride expect people to jump out at you from the bushes, there are people all over the place when you take the train ride. They did a really good job putting this event together and was well thought out. Overall it was fun to check it out, but waiting a couple hours in the cold with 2 kids was a challenge, lol.

Tomorrow afternoon Burnaby Heights in North Burnaby is having the annual Halloween on the Heights. Basically the kids go trick or treating to all the business between Willingdon and Boundary road on Hastings street.

Photos of Stanley Park Halloween train, last night:

Halloween Vancouver Stanley Park

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ThanksGiving – A Family Day At Home Chillin

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Today I’m taking the day off, sort of. My parents along with my brother, his wife step daughter, my brother n law and my wifes sister and nice and nephew, my mother in law and my brother n laws mother are all coming here for a ThanksGiving dinner at 3 PM. The weather is pretty sh*tty outside, and I don’t feel like going to MetoTown Mall again (for the 3rd time this week). I have enough Puma gear to last me for a year now.

The great thing about winter is that everyone is indoors, so the sales start getting better and better. Bad weather is my business partner, so in one way I look forward to miserable gray rainy days. Besides the financial part of it, it’s kind of nice to have all the 4 seasons. If it was hot and sunny every single day, hmm? I would probably get tired of it after awhile.

Today in Vancouver the weather is drizzly and that is just fine with me. Later on I think I’m going to pop in “Get Smart” in the dvd player and relax after late lunch/early dinner.