This is going to be another massive renovation project to convert this original Beach Duplex into a high end executive Beach Duplex with gorgeous lake views. The owners Tommy and Kelly have purchased this property for $730,000 just three houses from the Lake. This property is surrounded by million dollar homes and will attract a very niche tenant profile who understands the value and benefits of living in the Toronto Beaches…and more specifically 3 houses from the Lake!

This episode is the “before” picture. We are very excited to be capturing the entire project and ultimately showing you the final product when it is all complete.

Stay tuned!

If you have any questions about the scope of the project or about the potential financial details please feel free to contact me to discuss.

Results of the (AIC) Appraisal Institute of Canada’s Home Renovation Survey have been recently tabulated. Based on the informed opinion of Canada’s professional fee appraisers, the three most frequent renovation improvements undertaken by homeowners, which provide the highest payback potential for property owners:

Bathroom Renovations
Kitchen Renovations
Painting – Interior/Exterior

This information is valuable for homeowners to measure what effect home improvement projects may have on the resale value of their homes. Consumers should be aware that home values and returns on renovation investments are dependent on many factors such as the location of the property i.e. province, rural/urban, the neighbourhood. Notably important is the quality of workmanship and materials.

In this episode we discuss the greatest payback potentials, the ten average payback potentials, and the top trends in home renovations.

To check the R.O.I on your proposed renovations visit: www.aicanada.ca and click on the RENOVA Logo!

You can always call me to discuss these matters…it is always an interesting topic.

What is the value in having floor plans? There are several reasons why someone should consider drafting floor plans. We interview Dan Kapelus from Toronto Drafting Company about the benefits.

Toronto Drafting Company creates As-Built Floor Plans and CAD drawings, showing the existing conditions, layout and structure of all types of buildings. The measurements are taken on-site with state-of-the-art lasers and the drafting work is performed on and off-site by an architectural technologist with a background in Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) and Civil Engineering.

Who can benefit from this?

Real Estate Investors: Floor plans have a big impact on rental values so it is important to have a copy of the floor plan of an income property to ensure you can project potential rents more accurately.

Home Owners: When planning a renovation or obtaining building permits, many homeowners will get floor plans drawn before contacting an architect, or the architect will tell them to get the drawings first so that they have something to work with. Many of the homes in Toronto have no drawings at all, or they are outdated. Is it important to have good accurate drawings to help plan the construction, and the cost for the service is extremely reasonable compared with other associated architectural services and permit fees.

Architects, Engineers and Interior Designers: They want the Base Drawings for existing buildings in CAD format so that they can create their designs from. This saves them time from going on-site to measure themselves. Our technology is also faster and more accurate.

Realtors: Use the floor plans as part of their marketing for a listing. Floor plans are important to provide to buyers because they help them to visualize the space and the room sizes in relation to one another. They are beneficial to give out at open houses, so that buyers have takeaway material they can review afterwards, causing that house to be more memorable, and may be the key to more and higher offers. Floor plans are also useful for filtering out buyers who aren’t interested in a particular size or layout, thus saving time for both parties.

Property Managers: To get commercial space measured for accurate square footage, for building leasing and sales, insurance purposes, marketing, and fire plans.

Architectural Floor Plans for homes start at $300. Realtor floor plans for Agents start at $200. The difference is that architectural plans are more detailed, showing the size of every opening along with additional ceiling and structural details. We also have a package that includes elevation drawings and a site plan (not a survey), starting at $600. This is usually required by the city for any renovation that alters the exterior look of the building.

If you wish to Contact Dan Kapelus please visit: www.torontodrafting.com

Why should a Seller think twice before accepting a conditional offer in a bidding war?

Let me give you an example: Imagine you are selling your house for $500,000. Your house is worth approximately $520,000, but you have listed your house for $500,000 to create more interest and you’re hoping to get a bidding war. So you hold back offers until 1 week after you put your house on the market.

On offer date, you receive 2 offers:

First Offer: The Buyer offers you $520,000. The price you really wanted! There is also a Home Inspection Condition as well as a Financing Condition attached to this offer for 5 Business Days. This essentially means that if the Buyer is not satisfied with their financing arrangement or anything about the home inspection they can walk away from this deal with no questions asked (as long as it’s within the 5 day conditional period).

Second Offer: The Buyer offers you $500,000. The price you listed it for, but were really hoping for more. However, this offer has no conditions. This essentially means if you accept this offer their is no walking away for this Buyer. It is a firm deal.

Which offer would you choose and why?

Watch the video and listen to what happened with my client’s conditional offer just recently…I couldn’t believe it when it happened!

Learn how to flip houses…Learn how to design…Learn how to manage your trades…Learn how to empower your trades…Learn how to price your renovation projects…

These are only some of the things you will learn by taking Jeff Reed’s Course. Jeff is a full time Real Estate Investor, House Flipper, and has been doing this for over 20 years. There is nothing that Jeff has not seen or experienced when it comes to renovating houses.

What really impressed me during this latest project in the Toronto Beaches is that Jeff really put a lot of attention to detail. Jeff is not a typical “Home Depot” house builder. He is truly a custom home builder that puts his heart and sole into every aspect of a house and converts it into a home.

Don’t take my word for it. Listen to some of his students in this video.

If you are interested in learning how to flip houses please let us know. We’ll inform you about the upcoming project/course!

Come experience a LIVE Cash Flow Game Night!

Learn What The Rich Teach Their Children About Money And Creating Wealth…

WHAT IS THE CASH FLOW GAME?

Created by Robert T. Kiyosaki and based on his bestselling book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, the board game was designed to teach accounting, finance, and investing at the same time…and makes learning fun!

Looking for ways to generate residual passive cash flow? Want to get involved with real estate but unsure how? Then you should come out and play this game with other like-minded individuals.

WHY DO YOU NEED TO COME OUT AND PLAY?

Because it’s time to get out of the Rat Race that’s why! The main reason people struggle financially is because they have spent years in school but learned nothing about money. Traditional schooling, while very important, is no longer enough. We all need to understand money and how it works. The object of this game is to increase your financial IQ so you can get out of the Rat Race and onto the Fast Track, where your money works for you instead of you working hard for your money.

I invite you, your family and friends to join us! Check out the events page to see when the next game is being held.

To Your Financial Education!

Have you ever measured your area’s Walk Score? Check it out at www.WalkScore.com and see how your area measures.

Walk Score helps you find a walkable place to live. Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100 that measures the walkability of any address. The higher the number, the less time spent in your car, which means spending more time doing the things you love! For example, if you have a Walk Score between 0-24, you are very “Car-Dependent” and almost all errands require a car. If you have a Walk Score between 90-100, then you are in “Walker’s Paradise” where your daily errands do not require a car.

We interview Chris Ho, who is a Real Estate Investor, in the Upper Beaches of Toronto. Chris uses this Walk Score to determine the lifestyle he wants. His current area measures a 92 Walk Score which is a premium score. This indicates that there are many major amenities that are all within walking distance and has a positive impact on Real Estate Values. In this video, we discuss how Walk Scores can impact Real Estate Values, but more importantly how Walk Scores impact Buyers/Tenants lifestyle decisions.

This can be a great tool to use when advertising your property for rent or sale and highlighting your premium Walk Score to your prospective Tenants or Buyers.

I just recently came back from Aruba and I was missing the ocean, the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore, and the incredible views from our balcony.

Today, I was having a “bad” day until I showed this house to one of my clients. I literally stayed on this outdoor deck for about 20 minutes gazing out onto the beautiful beaches of Toronto and began to feel inspired and motivated again. The challenges of that morning were gone. The feelings of relaxation and peace went over me like a warm blanket. I was reminded of my trip to Aruba just a short month ago…only I was in Toronto. Who would have known that the Beaches of Toronto offers this tranquility?

There is definitely an emotional reason why people choose to live so close to the Beaches. Aside from being so close to Downtown Toronto and the Financial District and all the other major amenities, being so close to the water is a rare opportunity that offers an escape from the everyday hustle and bustle.

I LOVE THE BEACH!

People are not aware about their options when it comes to using private money and more specifically their own RRSPs when it comes to Real Estate Investing.

You can borrow someone’s RRSPs as a debt vehicle or you can lend your own RRSPs to someone and earn a higher interest rate. This can be a big win-win for both the borrower and lender. Essentially, you can act as the bank and lend your RRSPs or as a borrower, instead of going to the bank to borrow money, you can borrow someone’s RRSPs.

We interview Marcel Greaux who is a Mortgage Agent with Dominion Lending and his specialty is working with Investors and Private Money. You can reach Marcel at 647-280-4454 or visit his website: www.TorontoRealEstateClub.com.

There are several reasons why an Investor would need to borrow private money and we discuss these reasons in our discussion. There are also many reasons why someone would want to lend their money or RRSPs to an Investor and we discuss these reasons as well.

This can be another great investment strategy for some people. As a result, I hope this episode gives you some ideas you are able to implement and benefit from.

Happy Investing!

There are many myths out there that imply “becoming a Landlord is a nightmare”. Especially knowing that the by-laws are so much in favour of the Tenants in Ontario.

This is why we had Elaine Page from Page Paralegal come give us a surprising presentation on “Things you can and cannot do when you are a Landlord and/or Tenant”. Elaine specializes in Landlord and Tenant matters for over 20 years and in this episode she tells us:

1. The top 3 things most Landlords think they can do BUT truly cannot
2. And the top 3 things most Tenants think they can do BUT truly cannot

You may reach Elaine Page at: Phone: (905)-763-7922 E-mail: elaine@pageparalegal.com