While trying to find the perfect CFO for the fund we have wanted to create in the future, I had a very interesting conversation with a CFO for a large Canadian corporation. A topic that came up was the realness of the real estate that we talk about. Oftentimes we do not think about that and are working on paper…
Author: Alex Halai
Craigslist: Unexpected Journey
The power to believe in the unexpected is nothing short of a miracle. The way we got into the real estate business has been quite unconventional. The first house that was technically a flip which we sold in 2011 was in a ‘garage sale’. My wife/partner who is very organized, clean, and meticulous had a garage sale one weekend and…
Don’t buy the wrong property!
One of the things that my business coach and mentor have tried to teach me is that in no circumstances buy a property without having a look at it, and in no circumstances buy a ‘garbage’ property. Property unseen is a property on blind, you have not driven a drive through you have only seen it from google maps and…
Ghosts – in Real Estate
Before I write about the topic, I cannot but have a smile on my face. This topic is something I wanted to write about as it is such an interesting perspective into how the human mind thinks. Ghosts, spirits, and others have made their way into real estate with a very weird twist. Now when you do multi-families, some of…
AirBnB or Regular Rental
Over the last decade, the concept of AirBnBing your rental space has taken off. Between 2016-2020 it saw a massive increase in traction and as there were fewer restrictions from the local government the business was booming. Question is, is that something you should look at while figuring out renting your space. There might be 100 dozen articles written on…
What are Crane Swing – Tie Back rights?
If you happen to have a property in your portfolio that neighbors a dense zoned area surrounding you, there might be a time where you will need to know about this terminology. For example, if your property is in downtown Toronto and a big developer buys out all your neighboring properties on one side and plans on building a tall…
Wastewater backup
One of the most unglamorous aspects of real estate is dealing with wastewater backup. The one item that really no one wants to think about Is wastewater plumbing. Whether you are buying multi-family, office building, industrial, or simply single-family residential, one of the most important things to examine is your wastewater pipe layout and material. Basically, two materials we are…
High end remodel mistakes
Mistakes and failures teach invaluable lessons in any journey. This was a journey of the first high end remodel we did in our investment career. The play was an ‘ordinary’ looking bungalow in a very desired part of town. The value was in the land which was half an acre, and the fact that the seller had a remodel done which…