# New to real estate



## Mike410 (Sep 23, 2015)

Hi there,

I'm interested in buying a rental property, like a duplex and living in one unit while renting the other. I'm new to the real estate world and have never owned a property. 
I am in my early 30s so would be looking at building up a portfolio over time. 
What are some recommendations on how to start, where to look for information, best way of finding properties etc. I'm eager to learn, any advice would be appreciated. 
Thanks


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

I'd recommend reading a few books on it to start. Some of the most helpful that I found were "The Canadians Landlord Guide", "Real Estate Investing in Canada" (The ACRE system), and Scott Mcgillivray's book (I forget the name). There's a lot of other ones but I found these ones the most helpful because they focus on Canadian real estate. Send me a message if you want to keep in touch. I'm also just getting started in real estate investing. I bought my first rental 2 years ago and am also living in half of it.

Good luck!


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## secretly.lazy (Sep 17, 2015)

Mike410 said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I'm interested in buying a rental property, like a duplex and living in one unit while renting the other. I'm new to the real estate world and have never owned a property.
> I am in my early 30s so would be looking at building up a portfolio over time.
> ...


Mike,

Try understanding your market, risks, and so on first.
Then decide : Why are you buying rental property? Do you want big chunks of cash? Do you want passive income coming in?
Are you comfortable having to deal with tenant headaches?

That will determine your strategy such as flipping, buying distressed properties, and so on.

Which city are you in?


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Not the best time to be getting into real estate, but there are always deals. I'd suggest looking at www.easysafemoney.com and the book there, it's good for beginners.

Searching up this forum would probably also be useful, this topic is covered numerous times.


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## RCB (Jan 11, 2014)

The very first thing you should do is read your province's legislation regarding tenacies and tenants. Some are more fair to landlords than others. You must understand all of a landlord's obligations and the limitations placed upon you. Search Google for articles on landlord/tenant horror stories. Know exactly what you are walking into so you may be prepared.

We have had rental properties for several years, geared to students. Had I not spent close to a year researching, I would have been lost in many unexpected situations, and likely broken the laws of my province. That said, they have been profitable and some of my tenants have been fantastic people.

No investment should be purchased without as much knowledge as possible.


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## Ottawa Realtor (Aug 16, 2015)

The decision to buy depends a lot on whether you are currently renting or not and what city you are in. I'm in Ottawa and the market is more stable here while Toronto may be on a bubble. Generally real estate is a good deal in the long run and you don't sweat the dips and rises. One area to look is Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp's annual report "Housing Market Outlook-Your City". The question you have to ask yourself is whether you would be further ahead sitting it out and paying rent (if that's the case) or getting in in spite of what the market may do. The only crystal ball I would look at is CMHC's report.


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## Mike410 (Sep 23, 2015)

Thanks for all the replies!
I am in the GTA region of Southern Ontario, and I'm thinking of Hamilton, as the prices are much cheaper, and there seems to be more duplex properties available. Toronto is completely out of my price range for now.
My interest in a rental duplex would be to own a property where the rent helps to pay off the mortgage and eventually turns into passive income. I'm not looking to flip houses at the moment. I am currently renting but think buying a duplex to live and rent would be a smarter long term strategy.


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## Mike410 (Sep 23, 2015)

FinancialFreedom said:


> I'd recommend reading a few books on it to start. Some of the most helpful that I found were "The Canadians Landlord Guide", "Real Estate Investing in Canada" (The ACRE system), and Scott Mcgillivray's book (I forget the name). There's a lot of other ones but I found these ones the most helpful because they focus on Canadian real estate. Send me a message if you want to keep in touch. I'm also just getting started in real estate investing. I bought my first rental 2 years ago and am also living in half of it.
> 
> Good luck!


Thanks for the recommendations. I am currently reading 'Real Estate Investing in Canada' and it's very helpful. I don't seem to be allowed to send private messages, but if you try sending me one that could work!


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

I always recommend that potential landlords go spend a morning at their local landlord & tenant board and listen to a few hearings and look up the law a little bit before deciding. Frankly being a landlord is not passive income. You're on call 24-7, you don't get to spend any of the money you make it just goes into the mortgage, and dealing with entitled and occasionally abusive tenants is hard for many people.


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## Mike410 (Sep 23, 2015)

Berubeland said:


> I always recommend that potential landlords go spend a morning at their local landlord & tenant board and listen to a few hearings and look up the law a little bit before deciding. Frankly being a landlord is not passive income. You're on call 24-7, you don't get to spend any of the money you make it just goes into the mortgage, and dealing with entitled and occasionally abusive tenants is hard for many people.


Thanks, that's good advice!


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## RCB (Jan 11, 2014)

Additionally, you can read Ontario LTB cases here. Not all show up (the filing brought against me isn't there, but I won), but there's fairly good representation of complaints from both sides. It can be very interesting reading.

https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onltb/


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## chriswright (Sep 29, 2015)

While looking for property, you need to contact real estate dealers to near by areas where you are looking for? Real Estate Agent will refer the best real estate services as do the real way where you live better.


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## tk826 (Oct 19, 2015)

*Buying a Home*

Here's a video I think could be helpful to your situation! 
https://champion.ca/2015/04/09/buying-home-marathon-sprint/


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## Mike410 (Sep 23, 2015)

Great links and info guys! Keep em coming


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## amack081 (Jun 23, 2015)

Mike410 said:


> Thanks for all the replies!
> I am in the GTA region of Southern Ontario, and I'm thinking of Hamilton, as the prices are much cheaper, and there seems to be more duplex properties available. Toronto is completely out of my price range for now.
> My interest in a rental duplex would be to own a property where the rent helps to pay off the mortgage and eventually turns into passive income. I'm not looking to flip houses at the moment. I am currently renting but think buying a duplex to live and rent would be a smarter long term strategy.


From a micro level, I would do my research on the City of Hamilton to determine where in the City to purchase, what type and amounts of incomes are possible tenants making etc.

Being from Hamilton myself, I can tell you that areas in the West end of town are more pricey than the East... That the mountain is more expensive than the downtown... In particular, the east downtown part of Hamilton, a lot of families depend on social assistance.


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## Durise (May 16, 2016)

You can get lots of information by visiting property related website. You may get different kinds of conversation on Forum, can also take help from them. You might not know that buying a property, invest in property is now so easy. Clever peoples are so active about the property related issue.


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