First Rental Property

Hi Friend,

I hope you are doing well.

If you are just starting out in the real estate investing game, you are probably learning about the concept of Leverage.  You are also probably trying to figure out if leverage is good or bad.

The power of leverage in real estate is a great thing, and leverage should be used in order to buy rental property.

A common question that I get asked by new real estate investors is:

Am I able to use the equity in my home in order to buy a rental property?

A follow up question that I get asked after this initial question is:

“How do I do this?”

For starters, it all depends on where you live.  The rules imposed by Lenders differ depending upon which Country, Province, State, or Territory you live in.

If you reside in Canada, then you should know that most Lenders (Banks) will allow you to Leverage your principal residence (property you live in) up to 65%, 80% or sometimes even higher.

The percentage in which the Lender will allow you to Leverage your property depends upon the lending product that they are providing you with.

For instance, the percentage in which your principal residence can be leveraged will vary if you are requesting from your lender a ‘secure line of credit’ or if you are requesting a ‘re-finance’.

A question that experienced real estate investors begin to ask is:

Can I refinance one rental property in order to buy more?

The answer to this is YES.

Refinancing existing rental properties is a great way in order to purchase more rental properties.  This strategy is used by many successful real estate investors.

Bringing it back to basics, as a new real estate investor you need to determine if you have enough equity in your principal residence in order to leverage it so that you can buy your first rental property.

Don’t delay. The Power of Leverage is an amazing thing.  It can help make your dreams of buying a rental property reality faster than you ever thought possible!

Happy Investing!

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: I am an experienced Real Estate Investor and  licensed Realtor.  I help people like you everyday purchase their first rental property.  If you have any questions or are looking to buy a rental property, feel free to get in touch with me.  Send me a note at NEIL@FIRSTRENTALPROPERTY.COM and I will help guide you through the process!

Hi Friend,

I hope you are doing well.

The expert marketers at Nike once coined the slogan, Just Do It

What a great slogan this has become.

It is such a great slogan that it can literally apply to any aspect of your life.

What were the experts at Nike thinking when they came up with such a slogan?

Just do what?

Just buy Nike shoes?

I have no clue what they meant to be honest, and probably most people had no clue either.  What I do know is that this slogan is a perfect slogan for new real estate investors to  live by.

When a new real estate investor is on the fence and deliberating whether or not they should buy a rental property, I say…

Just Do It.

If you are a new real estate investor looking to buy your first rental property, you need to Just Do It  because:

• Most people don’t ‘Do It’
• Be different, and make things happen
• If you don’t ‘Do It’ and buy a rental property you will not benefit financially
• There will always be fear associated with buying a rental property
• Real Estate education is good, but over thinking and second guessing yourself is not
• You could be able to fund part of all of your retirement if you invest wisely in rental properties
• You will become an entrepreneur and will be able to share your experiences of owning rental property with others
• You will learn with time, that owning a rental property is not hard.  You just have to stay committed to it

I think that one of the reasons why Nike was so successful with their slogan is because it resonated with people on many levels.

People like action takers.  People gravitate toward others who say they are going to do something, and they do it.

Keep this all in mind as you navigate your way towards purchasing your first rental property.

Happy Investing!

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: I am an experienced real estate investor and Licensed Realtor.  I help people like you every day purchase their first rental property.  If you are interested in buying your first rental property, send me a message at NEIL@FIRSTRENTALPROPERTY.COM and I will help guide you through the process!

Hi Friend,

I hope you are doing well.

Surviving long term as a real estate investor is not an easy task.  Experienced real estate investors know how much hard work and effort it takes in order to stay in the game.

New real estate investors for the most part have absolutely no idea how much commitment is involved once a rental property has been purchased.

The title of this post, “Real Estate Investing Is A Game Of Endurance” sums up very accurately the journey of purchasing rental property, owning rental property and managing rental property.

Throughout this game of ‘endurance’, you are tempted to give up when the going gets tough.  When you encounter difficulties with your rental property, the solution that presents itself seems to be to ‘sell the property’ and move on.

This solution that easily pops up, ‘selling’ is the wrong choice.  The urge to unload your investment during hard times should be resisted at all costs.

It is only through experience that a real estate investor is able to finally realize that real estate investing is indeed a game of endurance.

During the early stages of investing, it does not seem at all like a game of endurance.  Rather, the initial excitement of owning a rental property is usually the emotion that last for some time long after your purchase.

Most experienced real estate investors need a support group in order to win the game of endurance.

The support group can be fellow successful real estate investors, a wise business partner, or a fellow entrepreneur.

The support, encouragement and guidance offered by these individuals during rough times is paramount.

To last in the real estate investing game long term, and to endure all of the obstacles that lie ahead of you, draw on the support and encouragement of a select few.

Happy Investing!

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: I am an experienced real estate investor and Licensed Realtor.  I help people like you purchase rental properties every day.  If you are looking to buy your first rental property, send me an email at NEIL@FIRSTRENTALPROPERTY.COM and I will help you get started…

pps: For a step by step process on how to do things the right way, check out my most popular blog post as decided upon by readers, How To Buy Your First Rental Property

Hi Friend,

I hope you are doing well.

The most important part about owning a rental property, is not the property, but rather the tenants that live in the property.

Having good tenants that live in your rental property can be a contributing factor to whether you succeed or fail as a real estate investor.

If you have bad tenants that live in your property, it makes your life as the real estate investor and landlord very stressful as you are constantly dealing with unnecessary tenant issues.

If you are a new real estate investor and you want to learn how to buy your first rental property, you must first learn how to find tenants.  One of your goals as a new real estate investor is to find out how to attract the best tenants to your rental property.

Before you learn how to find tenants, let’s take a look at the two types of tenants.  The bad tenants an the good tenants.

Bad Tenants

• A bad tenant is someone who does not treat your property with respect and causes damage to the property
• A bad tenant is someone who has no regard for the neighbours that surround your rental property.  They may do things like leave piles of garbage on other people’s property, or have late parties at night which causes noise and disturbance to the people that live close by.
• This is also someone who has no intention of paying rent
• They will start conflict with you, the landlord.
• A bad tenant is someone who will make major alterations to your rental property without consulting you first (i.e.: change locks to the house)
• Bad tenants are generally poor communicators, and shy away or intentionally avoid communication with their landlord.
• Bad tenants breed and often bring other bad tenants to come and live in the rental property without your permission
• Bad tenants don’t have jobs or are underemployed for long periods of time
• Bad tenants feel that they are always the ‘victim’
• Bad tenants will also do nothing to change their current circumstances

Good Tenants

• Good Tenants treat your rental property with respect
• Good tenants often have the desire to buy their own home
• Good tenants repair minor things in the rental property on their own accord
• Good tenants pay their rent on time
• If they are going to be late with rent, they give you advanced notice of when they will be providing you with the rent.
• Good tenants are effective communicators.  They express themselves well and stay in contact with their landlord.
• They give you the landlord, the occasional gift (at Christmas)
• Good tenants do not want to leave your rental property (if you have treated them well)
• Good tenants appreciate you

In part 2 of this post, I am going to explain in detail for you how to find tenants and how to ensure that the tenants you find are the good ones.

Happy Investing!

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: I am an experienced real estate investor and a Licensed Realtor.  I help people like you purchase their first rental property everyday.  If you are a new or experienced real estate investors and are looking to buy a rental property, send me an email at NEIL@FIRSTRENTALPROPERTY.COM and I will help you get started!

pps: If you live in the Toronto area, consider attending my FREE monthly real estate workshops titled Landlord Bootcamp For Beginners.

Hi Friend,

I hope you are doing well.

The bottom line is that I want to help you purchase your first rental property.

The reality is that most people who ‘want’ to buy real estate as an investment, never end up doing so.

Yesterday I wrote about New Year’s resolutions for Real Estate Investors.  If you missed the post, check it out here:

Article Number 1

Top New Year’s Resolutions For Real Estate Investors

I was not the only one who was writing about New Year’s resolutions for real estate investors.  When I ‘Googled’, “new years resolutions for real estate investors” this is what I found…

5 Real Estate New Year’s Resolutions You Should Make

This article was straight forward and well written.  In the article, the author talks about resolving to think of a property as a ‘product’.  An interesting point.  The article is worth checking out.

Article Number 2

7 New Year’s Resolutions For Successful Real Estate Investors

The first point addressed in this article by author Paul Esajian was bang on.  Paul said that real estate investors need to “keep eyes on the big picture”.  Far too often experienced real estate investors lose sight of why they are investing.  This is a dangerous thing because when you are not focused on the end goal, it can cause you to make short term decisions that do not benefit you.  (i.e.: sell a property)

Other Articles

There were a LOT more articles that came up when I ‘Googled’ the topic, “new years resolutions for real estate investors“, however, the above 2 were the most relevant to share.

So What Now?

Everyone talks about new years resolutions, but the vast majority of people never follow through on them.  If you are a new real estate investor and you are interested in purchasing your first rental property, and you have not done so yet, you need to get to work.

I suggested this in a previous article and I will suggest it again.  If you are new to investing and you live in the Toronto Area, consider attending one of my FREE real estate workshops.  The workshops are called, “Landlord Bootcamp For Beginners“, and they are designed to help educate the new real estate investor.  Click HERE to register for an upcoming workshop.

In Summary

Lots of people make new years resolutions.  Most people break them.  Don’t be someone who makes a resolution to buy a rental property in 2013 and does not follow through.  Use all of the resources at your disposal to help educate yourself further so that you can take action and buy your first rental property!

Happy Investing!

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: I am an experienced real estate investor and Licensed Realtor.  I help people like you everyday purchase their first rental property.  If you need help with purchasing your first rental property, send me an email at NEIL@FIRSTRENTALPROPERTY.COM and I will help you get started…

Hi Friend,

I hope you are doing well.

With the start of a New Year upon us, many people have no doubt made some New Year’s resolutions.

I have never really put much thought into what some of the Top New Years Resolutions are, however, I am wondering if you have…

In my mind there is only one New Years resolution that new real estate investors should have.

If you are a new real estate investor, and you want to purchase your first rental property, then your singular new year’s resolution should be to:

Purchase A Rental Property

 Will You Pass or Fail?

Why do New Year’s Resolutions Fail?  Depending upon who you ask, there are a variety of reasons as to why New Year’s resolutions fail.  One of the biggest reasons as to why I believe New Year’s resolutions fail is because people do not have a clear and specific plan as to how they are going to fulfill their resolution.

Failure Is Not An Option

Since most people fail with fulfilling their new year’s resolution, you have to ensure that you do not fall into this category.  The best way to guarantee that you will be successful in achieving your New Year’s resolution is by creating a plan of action.

As a new real estate investor, if you are not currently doing the following things, you must start immediately.  You need to:

1) Attend Real Estate Workshops or Meetings where you can learn from experienced real estate investors

You are only going to learn about real estate investing from people who have done it already. As such, you need to start hanging out with real estate investors if you are not already.  There is so much that you can learn from them.  Most important:  Stop taking advice from people who do not own any rental properties.

2) Obtain a referral for a Mortgage Specialist or Mortgage Broker

You need to work with someone who can obtain financing for your rental properties.  Mortgage Brokers, Mortgage Specialists and Lenders who work with real estate investors are the best people to obtain your financing from.  They understand how to finance a rental property.  The advice and knowledge that you will get from them will be invaluable.

3) Obtain a referral for a Realtor who understands rental properties and how to work with real estate investors.

Working with a Realtor who understand rental properties and who understands how real estate investors operate is key.  You need to work with someone who knows how to find a good deal and you need to work with someone who knows how to analyze a property.  You can obtain this referral from any current real estate investor that you meet at one of the real estate workshops that you are attending.

4) Set Deadlines

Nothing gets done if there are no deadlines.  Make sure that you set deadlines for all of the above mentioned activities.  If you do not, the weeks and months will drag on, and you will not end up taking any action.  Deadlines are important.  Without them, you will not move forward.

5) Be Accountable To Someone

Share your goals, ideas and dreams of buying a rental property with someone that is close to you.  Tell them all about your plans of owning and managing a rental property.  By sharing this with them, it will hold you accountable to doing it.  You will not want to let them down, by not following through on your word.  It is also a smart idea to have them check in on you.  Ask them to periodically check on your progress.  Ask them to help hold you accountable.  This will be a huge help in pushing you into action.

Happy Investing!

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: I am an experienced real estate investor and licensed Realtor.  I help people like you everyday purchase their first rental property.  If you are interested in purchasing your first rental property, send me an email at NEIL@FIRSTRENTALPROPERTY.COM and I will help you get started.

pps: If you live in the Toronto Area, consider attending my FREE monthly real estate workshop called, Landlord Bootcamp For Beginners.

To read what new real estate investors are saying about the workshop, click HERE.