Real Estate Quotes
Make lump-sum payments whenever you can afford to (most lenders let you do this on one of your regular payment dates during each year of the mortgage term) by tossing "found" money--tax refunds, bonuses, cash gifts--at your mortgage. Lump-sum payments go straight toward principal, saving thousands of dollars in interest and shaving years off your mortgage amortization. By shortening your amortization period, your mortgage payment will be higher, but you can save a ton in interest. Round up your mortgage payments to the closet $25 payment increment, so you're paying a few extra dollars a month toward your mortgage. [2017] - Sean Cooper
By increasing your mortgage payment as if rates are 2% or 3% higher then they are, not only will you pay your mortgage off sooner, you'll be prepared if mortgage rates are higher when your mortgage comes up for renewal. [2017] - Sean Cooper
How I Paid off My Mortgage in Just Three Years: When I bought my house, I signed up for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.04% with the help of a mortgage broker. I went with a longer amortization period (30 years) to give myself more of a safety net in case I had a financial emergency. I took advantage of all the prepayment privileges my lender offered--I paid my mortgage accelerated weekly, doubled up payments, made lump-sum payments with freelance and rental income and increased my payments yearly. I maximized my prepayment privileges every single year, until I had paid off my mortgage just over three years later. [2017] - Sean Cooper
When you receive your lender's renewal offer, whatever you do, don't sign it! Lenders almost never put their best rate on the renewal. Sometimes you'll get a lower mortgage rate simply by phoning your lender and asking for one. A lower mortgage rate could mean saving thousands of dollars in interest over the life or your mortgage. Your mortgage renewal is too important to leave until the last minute. Start shopping early--four to six months ahead of when your mortgage term ends. This gives you plenty of time to see what else is out there. [2017] - Sean Cooper
It's worthwhile to get an inspection done when buying a condo--new or resale. Hire an inspector familiar with condos. An inspection will typically cover the major components of your condo, including electrical, HVAC, plumbing and the common elements. You can find lists of inspector on industry websites, including the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors (cahpi.ca). You might think twice before taking a recommendation for an inspector from your agent. Select a home inspector before housing hunting. Interview at least three inspectors. Choose one, and have another as backup in case your first choice is busy when you see a property you like and are ready to make an offer. [2017] - Sean Cooper
It's a good idea to start looking for a lawyer before you start housing hunting. Seek out lawyers who specialize in real estate. Interview two to three lawyers. [2017] - Sean Cooper
As a homeowner, through creative living arrangements like living in your home's basement and renting out the upstairs, or sharing your condo with roommates, you can pay down your mortgage even sooner. [2017] - Sean Cooper
Resilient channels and Roxul insulation can help dramatically cut down on ambient noise, but they don't come cheap. Twenty dollars' worth of door sweeps and form tape, though, will go a long way toward reducing it Install on the interior doors separating the basement and upstairs. These alone won't cut all the noise, but you'll be less likely to hear others' conversations and be able to enjoy some well-deserved peace and quiet. [2017] - Sean Cooper
I've had better success finding tenants on paid rental websites. Screen applicants from free websites extra carefully. Other places and ways to advertise include libraries, community centres, grocery stores, newspapers, Facebook and word of mouth. [2017] - Sean Cooper
If you don't own a car, rent out your parking place at your condo (just make sure you aren't breaking any rules). [2017] - Sean Cooper
95% of the units I've purchased have been foreclosures that belonged to landlords who failed and lost their properties to the bank. [2015] - Brandon Turner
House flipping and real estate wholesaling are "jobs." Owning rentals is an investment (hopefully!) [2015] - Brandon Turner
If you are looking to grow your net worth exponentially, consider keeping your job or finding another way to make income. Your business should bring in at least 3X of your current job before thinking of quitting your job. 1X for tax, 1X to survive, and 1X for reinvestment and unexpected events. [2015] - Brandon Turner
How to Make $1,000,000 Through Rental Properties: Buy incredible rental properties, save the cash flow, and reinvest that cash flow into even more properties. This is not a get-rich-quick plan. It plays out over seven to ten years--maybe more, maybe less. This plan works based on ideal numbers. For example, I use a nice, round "3% appreciation" number, because that has been the U.S. historical average. [2015] - Brandon Turner
Buying Standard Example: 1. Multifamily property. 2. Cash flows of $200 per unit, per month after all expenses have been paid. 3. Property must be purchasable for a discount (at 80% of what it's normally worth). 4. Property's value must be capable of being improved by 10% during the first year through "forced appreciation" (such as a paint job and landscaping). 5. Property must appreciate at 3% per year after year one. [2015] - Brandon Turner
House hacking is the idea of combining your investment property with your personal residence. The phrase is more often used to describe the practice of buying a small multifamily property (a duplex, triplex, or fourplex), living in one unit, and renting the other units out. When you plan to live in a property for at least one year, financing becomes much more friendly for the borrower. [2015] - Brandon Turner
BRRRR stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance and Repeat. It's the strategy that involves buying fixer-upper rental properties, repairing them, renting them out to great tenants, refinancing them to get your money back, and then repeating the process. This can be a powerful strategy because it allows you to acquire numerous properties without running our of capital to invest. [2015] - Brandon Turner
The 70% rule states that the most a flipper should pay for a property is 70% of the after repair value (ARV, what the house is worth after it has been fixed up) less rehab costs. So, a house that has an ARV of $150,000 and needs $30,000 worth of rehab could be bought for $75,000, because $150,000 x .7 = $105,000 and $105,000 - $30,000 = $75,000. How can I do this? It may require direct mail, Craigslist, driving for dollars and it's going to take some hustle. Most lenders are unwilling to loan money on a fixer-upper and you'll probably have to look at options such as hard money, private money, cash, home equity, and other strategies. [2015] - Brandon Turner
I found one of the best handymen I have after we placed a free ad on Craigslist asking for local handymen who could do occasional tasks for our real estate investment company. We received several responses, hired each to do a small task, and quickly found a great guy we now use often for small tasks. [2015] - Brandon Turner
When you invest in real estate, it's not a matter of "if" you get sued but "when." A good lawyer will help make sure your lease and other forms are legally binding, as well as guide you on (and prepare) the best legal entity for holding your properties. Having an attorney who either invests in real estate themselves or specializes in this kind of work is best. Attorney rates typically start at $200 per hour and can climb as high as $600 an hour, depending on experience and what they are doing for you. You will not likely be using your attorney for dozens of hours of work--usually just 15 minutes here, 30 minutes there, and so on. [2015] - Brandon Turner