How To Pick The Right Tenants

Posted by neil on September 01, 2012
General / No Comments

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all doing great.

One of the most important things you need to consider when you become a real estate investor, if not THE most important thing to consider is how you are going to pick the right tenants. (wow, that was a long sentence!)

When most people first begin investing in real estate, they have no idea what to look for in a tenant and how to select the right tenant.

There are 2 simple rules that you MUST follow when you are selecting tenants for your rental property.  If you fail to obey these rules, you could end up in big trouble. When I say big trouble, you name it…

If you chose the wrong tenants you could have:

  • Vandalism to your property
  • Drug use in your property
  • Non payment of rent
  • Loud parties held at your property
  • Random people moving into your rental property without your permission
  • Failure to move out upon eviction
  • The list goes on…

That is a scary list, isn’t it!?

Well you know what?

You don’t need to be scared if you do things the right way.

The following 2 rules that you will obey EVERY TIME you are selecting tenants will help you in selecting the right tenants.  The rules are…

1) Do Not Settle

Do not settle for the first prospective tenant that comes along.  Just because your rental property is vacant does not mean that the first people that come along are the right choice.  Don’t feel rushed.  It is truly better to have your rental property sit vacant for a few more months than to pick the wrong tenants.  If you pick the wrong tenants, because you want to fill your unit, this move will surely cost you more in the long run than if the property was vacant.  For example, if you rush the process and pick the wrong tenants, they could move into the house and immediately stop paying your rent.  You would then have to go through the eviction process with your local Landlord and Tenant Board.  Save yourself this aggravation.  Don’t rush the process.  Pick the right tenants from the very beginning.

2) Meet your prospective tenants in person before they move in

I cannot stress this point enough.  This is an absolute MUST!  You need to meet with your prospective tenants in order to see how they are in person.  If you cannot do this yourself, you can have a trusted thrid party do this for you.  I caution you here, as it is very difficult to find someone who can do this as well as you would.  The bottom line is that if you don’t meet your tenants in person, and you end up not getting along with them, of if they turn out to be a poor choice, you have NO ONE to blame buy yourself.

The biggest mistake I have ever made as a real estate investor was when I did not meet a prospective tenant in person.  I outsourced this job to a property manager.  The tenant moved in and it was a disaster.  Obviously, those are all the details I can give you due to privacy.  However, in this scenario, I did not blame anybody but myself.  I was the one that was supposed to screen the tenants. The buck stopped with me…and the buck will stop with you!

In summary, these are 2 very simple rules that you must obey when selecting tenants for your rental property. By following these rules you will ensure that you are doing everything in your power so that you can have the right tenants for your rental property!

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: First Rental Property is going to be making a HUGE announcement in September. Check back in September for details!

 

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How To Treat Your Tenants With Respect

Posted by neil on August 31, 2012
General / No Comments

Hi Folks,

Hope all is well on your end.

At times, real estate investing can be a lot of fun and very fulfilling.  This is of course when things are going well.  On the flip side, real estate investing can be very worrisome.  During these tough tiimes, you wonder to yourself, if it makes any sense to contine investing.

There is one important lesson that I have learned over the years as s real estate investor.  This lesson is to ‘treat your tenants with respect’.

For some of us, being respectful to others comes easy.  Whereas for others, it is a bit of a challenge.

I will give you a quick breakdown of some of the things you need to do in order to show your tenants respect.

1) Speak to them politely

Don’t be aggressive with your tone.  If you do, they will be aggressive right back to you.  If you speak to them in a good manner, chances are  that they will return the favour to you.

2) Respond to them promptly

If your tenant contacts you, return their call, text or email quickly.  It is your job to ensure that everything in their home (your rental property) is in good order.  If your tenant is contacting you and it is not in regards to paying rent, there is a high probability that it will be in regards to a maintenance issue in the property.  Respond to them quickly.

These are 2 simple things that you can do in order to show your tenant respect.

If you treat your tenants with respect, you will have fewer problems as a landlord.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh.

 

 

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Real Estate Clubs: To Join Or Not To Join: That Is The Question

Posted by neil on August 30, 2012
General / 2 Comments

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all doing well.

Today I am going to tell you what I think about real estate clubs. I am going to tell you whether I like them, or whether I think that they are a waste of time.

My feelings on real estate clubs are mixed, and I will tell you why.

Lots of aspiring real estate investors looking to buy their first rental property are faced with the same decision.  This decision is whether or not they should join a real estate club.

Real estate clubs can be both good and bad.

Here is one of the reasons that I think real estate clubs can be ‘bad’…

  • 1) Real Estate Clubs try to sell you something

Most if not all real estate clubs will try to sell you something.  The sale is usually a product, service or membership.

Memberships

Most large real estate clubs will charge membership fees.  Many of the smaller less establish real estate clubs will charge a very small fee.  In addition, lots of small real estate clubs will not charge a fee to their members.  In the case of ‘membership fees’, the clubs that charge these fees are obviously selling to you a membership and that is how they make money.

Products

Some of the larger real estate clubs and even the smaller real estate clubs will try to sell you a product.  The products for sale come in many different forms.  The product could be a book or even perhaps some DVDs on real estate and real estate investing.

Sometimes the products for sale are tickets to a more exclusive seminar being held by the real estate group itself.

This is a classic case of ‘up selling’!

Service

Real Estate clubs can also sell you services. Often these services are sold indirectly to you as the member.  Real estate clubs may co-operate with Realtors, Property Managers or Mortgage Brokers.  The Realtors, Property Managers and Mortgage Brokers all have services to sell to you as the consumer.

My Assessment of Real Estate Clubs: Are they worth joining?

One thing that all new real estate investors need to realize is that, real estate clubs sell stuff!  If real estate clubs pretend that they are not selling things to you, they are lying.

An Important Distinction to make…

Just because real estate clubs sell you things, this should not prevent you from joining these clubs.

Real estate clubs are a great place to learn about real estate investing because experienced investors and eager new investors attend these clubs.  As such, new or aspiring investors are exposed to many other people who have bought real estate as an investment or who have just purchased their first rental property.  Learning from people who have accomplished something that you yourself are trying to accomplish is the only way to go.  Far too often, aspiring real estate investors become discouraged after listening to the advice of non-real estate investors.  These non real estate investors can sometimes be close friends or family of the aspiring investor.  The aspiring investor my be told that buying a rental property is “too much work” or that “all tenants are terrible”.  This of course is not true.

Further, the Realtors, Property Managers and Mortgage Brokers that hang out at real estate clubs are generally very knowledgeable when it comes to investment real estate.  More often than not, these are professionals who are real estate investors as well.  As such, they are not only able to provide you with their specific services, but they can also provide you with first hand information on the do’s and don’ts of real estate investing.

In Summary

In regards to my previous comment above, I do not feel that real estate clubs are ‘bad’.  Rather, these clubs are sometimes perceived as being bad because of the fact that they ‘sell something’.

Just because real estate clubs sell something does not make them ‘bad’ at all.  On the contrary, real estate clubs (good real estate clubs) that sell products, memberships or services to their members are doing their members a favour.  They are doing their members a favour because they are educating their members with the products, memberships or services.

Every new real estate investor needs to learn how to become a successful real estate investor and landlord.  You can only learn this by speaking to and learning the best practices from already successful real estate investors.

So the next time you are on the fence about joining a real estate club.  Remember…

Just Do It!

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

 

 

 

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Do It Yourself Or Don’t Do It At All

Posted by neil on August 29, 2012
General / No Comments

Hi Everyone,

I hope that all is well on your end.

Today, I would like to talk about something that drives me ‘nuts’.

What drives me nuts is people who think they are skilled renovators, when in fact, they have no experience at all.

If you are a new real estate investor looking to purchase your first rental property, you will need to learn the basics about renovations.  That does not mean that you need to learn HOW to do renovations.  Rather, it means that you need to become educated on the topic and learn the basics when it comes to the cost of materials, the cost of labour, and the time required to complete renovations.

There are 3 major factors to consider when completing a renovation.

These factors are:

  • 1) TIME
  • 2) MONEY
  • 3) SKILL

 

TIME

Sometimes people (unskilled renovators) wan to attempt renovations on their homes or rental properties because they have some time on their hands. Any renovation, whether big or small requires you to invest time.  The more time you have on your hands, the more time you can potentially devote to a renovation.

MONEY

People also attempt renovations on their own in order to save money.  This is not a bad idea.  However, if you do not have sufficient TIME on your hands in order to complete the renovation on your own, ‘Doing It Yourself’ will probably cost you more money as you will have to hire an experienced contractor to finish the job for you.

Doing renovations on your own for the first time are harder than you think.  This does not mean that you should not do it on your own, or never attempt doing renovations again.  You just need to be realistic with regards to how much TIME you actually have to devote to it.

If you don’t have enough TIME to devote to the renovation, then you must be prepared to hire a professional in order to get the work done.

SKILL

SKILL is probably the most important factor to consider.  Yet few people pay attention to this factor.  Before you start a renovation on a rental property, or any other property for that matter, you need to ask yourself, “Do I have the skill required to complete the renovation?”

Most people think that they possess the skill required, and as such begin the renovation themselves.

Very shortly thereafter, they find out that they have no idea what they are doing and that they do not have the skill set to complete the job.  Some people then decide to save TIME by throwing in the towel.  Their next step would then be to spend the necessary MONEY by paying a professional in order to do the work properly.

On the flip side, some people may chose to save MONEY by trying to complete the renovation themselves.  Depending on the complexity of the renovation this decision may end up costing the person a lot more MONEY in the long run.  After all, if the renovation is done very poorly and the poor work causes further damage to the house (think plumbing and electrical work) a professional will need to be called in, in order to repair the poorly completed work.

Renovations can be done, and done well, either by yourself or by a professional.  However, before you decide on any renovation project, you need to seriously look at:

How much MONEY you are willing to spend

How much TIME you have to complete the renovation

How much SKILL you have in doing work yourself.

 

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: First Rental Property will be making a BIG announcement in September.  Stay tuned for details…

pps: here are some pictures from my recent renovation…

 

 

 

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How to Train Your Tenants

Posted by neil on August 26, 2012
General / No Comments

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you are all doing well.

The title of this article is not meant to be disrespectful towards tenants.

It is an important title and an important topic to speak on because so many landlords have absolutely no control over their tenants and over their rental properties.

If you are a new investor looking to purchase your first rental property.  You must understand one basic concept.

This concept is….

“Maintain control”

Far too often I speak to new real estate investors who are seeking advice from me, because they have let a situation with their tenant get out of control.  In 95% of these instances, the situation that they have let get out of control is the payment of rent.

In previous articles like, Tenant Not Paying Rent?, I have talked about the importance of submitting the necessary paperwork if your tenant decides to not pay rent on time.

Unfortunately many novice investors are not prepared to deal with the realities of owning real estate as an investment.  Being a landlord requires you to be proactive and to handle situations head on before they get out of control.

For example, a landlord has to train their tenants to pay rent on time.  This is simply done by notifying your tenants in writing in the event that they are late with their rent payment.

If a tenant has been late in paying rent multiple times during the tenancy, then you as the landlord must be submitting their ‘notice of non payment of rent’ as early as possible.  As early as possible means that if rent is due on the 1st of the month, if they have not paid by the 2nd, then the notice should go out on the 2nd.

The benefit of doing this is great.

First, it  conditions your tenants to realize that you are on the ball and that their rent must be paid on time.

Second, it allows you to start a potential eviction early on, as opposed to waiting weeks or months in order to begin the eviction.  In some cases, a tenant may no longer have any money to pay you.  If this is the case, it is better to have them move out through eviction early on, as opposed to having them live there for months while they are not paying rent.

It is important to train your tenants so that you are able to ‘maintain control’ as a landlord.

Don’t’ be afraid!  Real estate investing can be great.  All it requires is you to be proactive and follow a process.  If you do this, your chances of success will increase!

If you need help with purchasing your first rental property, REIN Live Events and REIN Home Study Courses can help you.  Check them out!

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh.

 

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Tenant not paying rent?

Posted by neil on August 04, 2012
General / 9 Comments

 

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you are all doing well.  First off, I would like to say, thank you to all of you who have recently submitted guest blog requests over the past several weeks.  There have been so many requests recently that I have a back log of guest posts to publish.  I will be publishing these posts in the coming weeks.

Also, because there has been such a demand for guest bloggers, I will not be accepting any more requests until later on in the year. Thank you SO much for your interest!  Once I am ready to accept guest blogs again later in the year, I will make the announcement through a future blog post!

Now on to business….

Today’s date is August 4th 2012.

If you own a rental property, and if your rent was not paid on time, you need to take action if you have not done so already.  You need to  prepare the necessary paperwork required in order to notify your tenant of their ‘non payment of rent‘.

In Ontario, Canada where I am, the paper work that you prepare in the event of non payment of rent is called the N4.  I have no idea why the call it an N4 here.  It is such a weird name.  So weird, the form name was once mistaken for a type of gun!  🙂

You should know that novice real estate investors fall into the following trap…

Often times when the rent has not been paid by their tenant, they are given an explanation by their tenant as to why the rent was not paid on time.

In many cases, the novice real estate investor then delays in submitting the necessary paperwork notifying the Landlord and Tenant Governing body in their area of the non payment of rent.

This is a very common mistake that novice real estate investors make.

You must never delay in submitting this paperwork!

…But

There is always a BUT…

New real estate investors will make this mistake time and time again.  I see it all the time.

I do not blame the ‘newbies’ because I have also made this mistake myself.  I have delayed and delayed and delayed submitting paperwork because I was repeatedly told by a tenant that the rent is going to be paid.

Well, my real estate investing friends, I want you to know that you cannot delay in submitting this paperwork.  If you do, the process will eat you alive.  In many jurisdictions, legislation is in favour of the tenant.  As such, as a landlord, if you delay in submitting paperwork, you are doing a disservice to yourself.

No matter what, if a tenant is late in paying their rent, you have to file the initial paper work notifying the tenant of their ‘non payment of rent’

Don’t FREAK out!

New real estate investors always freak out when a tenant does not pay rent.  They also freak out about the paperwork and about WHEN they are supposed to submit the paper work.

When is the right time to submit the paperwork?

Not knowing the answer to this questions literally kills a lot of novice investors.  They have no idea when they are actually supposed to submit their paper work to their tenant and to the governing body.

The RIGHT answer!

The right answer is that you should submit your paper work notifying the tenant and the governing body of the non payment of rent as soon as you are allowed.  That means, that you always submit the paperwork on….

The 2nd of the Month

What Most people do…

What most people do, and when I say ‘people’, I am referring to experienced real estate investors.  What they do in reality is NOT submit their paperwork on the 2nd of the month.  This is a generalization as I am sure that some actually submit their paperwork on the 2nd.  However, most people don’t submit on the 2nd.

Why don’t people submit on the 2nd

People don’t submit on the 2nd of the month for a number of reasons.

-some people are lazy

-some people don’t know the rules surrounding how to deal with non payment of rent

-some people like to give their tenants some extra time to pay the rent

Which day do you become a real estate wimp?

You become a real estate wimp if you do not submit your paperwork by the 5th of the month.  This is already too late, however, in my books, it is the absolute LAST day to submit the paper work to your tenant.  There is absolutely NO reason why you should be delaying any further past the 5th of the month.  If you do, you are asking for trouble.  If you tenant has decided not to pay you rent again, or is unable to pay you rent, you need to begin the eviction process.  Waiting, staling, hoping is going to do you no good.  You have to take action and submit your paperwork on this day, or BEFORE!

How do I know this?

Believe it or not, but I once waited over 4 months before submitting paperwork to notify the tenant and the governing body of their non payment of rent.  This was a huge error of judgement on my end.  A huge error of judgement that almost cost me a little over $5000 in unpaid rent.  Fortunately, I was able to recover the rent at a later date.  However, I came VERY close to losing out on $5000 in rent just because I was not following the process.  I almost lost $5000 in rent because I was a real estate investing wimp!

What I learned

I learned to never again be a real estate investing wimp.  I learned that NO MATTER WHAT, if rent is not paid on the 1st of the month, the ‘notice of non payment’ must go out by the very latest by the 5th of the month.  (The 5th of the month is my personal preference, currently.)

Bottom Line

You got into this business or are looking to get into the businsss of real estate investing because you are not a WIMP!  You are willing to take risks that other people are not willing to take.  Real Estate investing in full of risks and rewards.  You must learn very early on to manage the risk that you are exposed to.  The only way to manage the risk of a tenant not paying, or not paying on time, is to file the necessary paperwork with your governing body as soon as the rent is not paid.

Don’t be a wimp.  If you are a wimp, you may very well lose lots of money in  rent and be wiped out of this businesses due to your inaction.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: All real estate investors need support, whether you are new or experienced.  To learn step by step guidelines on how to deal with non paying tenants, read my post on how the Real Estate Investment Network can help you!

 

 

 

 

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Mortgage Modification

Posted by neil on June 29, 2012
General / 5 Comments

This week and next, I am having guest bloggers on First Rental Property.

Many of these bloggers contacted me upwards to about a year ago.  However, I am only now getting around to having them post their articles.

The first guest post in a series of guest posts comes from M.J.

M.J. covers the topic of mortgage modification.  This is a topic that I knew nothing about prior to reading M.J.’s blog post.

For a different perspective, here is M.J.’s article on mortgage modification.

 

Buying a rental property – Tips To Consider

By: M.J.

Owning your own real estate property certainly has various pros and cons. With time, the value of the property increases, and you may also be able to earn lots through the property. However, there are some cons too, with regards to owning a real estate property. This can seem to be even truer, if the current situation of the real estate market is considered. Most of the homes are said to have lost their value. So, there are various things that are to be kept in mind, if you are planning to buy a rental property for the first time. Other than attaining proper knowledge on rental properties, you should also be aware of the eligibility criteria with regards to obtaining a mortgage, and the requirements for getting a mortgage modification done (if and when required).

6 Tips On Buying Rental Property

If you are going to buy a rental property for the first time, you will have to consider the following:

  • Price – It is important for you to consider the current price of rental properties. Know that it does not simply depend on the real estate market situation, but also on the place where the property is situated. So, compare the rates of other properties situated within that same locality.

  • Location – Continuing from the first tip, it can be said that, the place matters a lot with regards to your investment in the rental property. Consider a place that is popular with people. Moreover, it is also wise of you to try and stay close to your own home. This will enable you to closely watch over the property.

  • Get to know the neighborhood before buying – There is no point buying a rental property at a place which has not so good neighbors. This can pose as a problem to your investments. There is also the question of getting accepted, and that matters too. Check if the place is a hotbed of criminal activity. Nobody would like to live in such a place.

  • Get to know the rental regulations of the place – It is also important for you to be aware of the rental regulations of the place, where you are going to buy the property. For, if you fail to stick to the regulations, you may get involved in legal feuds and problems.

  • Beware of the condition of the property – Before buying a rental property, it is extremely crucial for you to consider the condition, which the property is in. For example, you will have to check the condition of the wiring and internal systems of the property such as the furnace and hot water tank.  The condition of these parts can have a direct impact on value of the property.

  • Consider if there are any disputes on the property – Consider if there are any disputes on the property. If there are any, it is better to avoid buying that property. Otherwise, you will end up getting caught in complex problems and lawsuits.

The above 6 points you will have to keep in mind before finalizing the purchase of your rental property.

So here you have it.  A guest post from M.J. on mortgage modification and 6 Point to consider when buying a rental property.

What did you think of the guest post?  Would you like to see more guest posts?

Don’t forget that First Rental Property is a blog that is foccussed on helping people buy their first rental property.  If you need some help and guidance with buying a rental property, for some great tips be sure to check out my blog post:

REIN Live Events and REIN Home Study Courses Review

Happy Investing!

Regards,

Neil

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Funny Real Estate Agent Pictures

Posted by neil on June 28, 2012
General / 2 Comments

Hi Everyone,

Today I have for you a light hearted post that will hopefully provide you with some good laughs.

*WARNING* – The content in today’s post is a departure from the usual, very educational content I provide on First Rental Property.

Translation = Don’t take offense because some of this content may be ‘over the line’ for some of you.

I got the idea for this post as I came across some funny funny real estate agent pictures while doing some research on other real estate blogs.

And now, here are the pictures…

 

 

 

 

 

…The Realtor’s sign above says, “We are on fire”

 

The First Rental Property Blog is geared toward helping people buy their first rental property.

If you need some help and guidance with buying your first rental property, be sure to check out my blog post called:

REIN Live Events and REIN Home Study Courses Review

 

Happy Investing!

-Neil Uttamsingh

 

 

 

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REIN Live Events and REIN Home Study Courses Review

Posted by neil on June 26, 2012
General / 7 Comments

Click here to GET BLOWN AWAY at Live REIN™ Events

I attended my first REIN event in April 2008.  I attended what was then called the REIN ‘Quick Start’ Event.  It was three days of real estate education.  I was totally skeptical of the event prior to attending.

I had read about Don R. Campbell in the Toronto Star Newspaper about a year prior to attending the event.  I was really into real estate at the time, and was reading whatever I could find about real estate in order to learn more.  I owned one rental property at the time and I wanted to find out how I could buy more rental properties.

The article that I read about Don R. Campbell and his company, The Real Estate Investment Network, also known as REIN, peaked my interest.  I cut out the article from the newspaper and put it in a little real estate binder that I made which contained other real estate related newspaper clippings.  I decided that I would attend the next REIN Live Event the next time The Real Estate Investment Network was in Toronto.

I had never attended any real estate related seminar before so I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

I had no idea that over 4 years later, I would still be connected with REIN.

There are  3 major live events that REIN organizes.  They are:

  • REIN Monthly Workshops
  • REIN ACRE Weekends
  • REIN All Day Western Canada Conference

What are the REIN Live Events?

I have attended both REIN Monthly Workshops as well as the REIN ACRE weekends.  I have not attended the All Day Western Canada Conference, so I cannot provide you with any insight on that.

What is the purpose of REIN Monthly Workshops?

REIN Monthly workshops are meetings that take place once a month in some major Canadian cities such as Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.  There are usually about 200 t0 250 people that attend these events.  The people that attend these events are either new real estate investors, experienced real estate investors or people looking to buy their first rental property.

The purpose of these meeting is simply to learn about investment real estate.  Specifically, where to buy, what to buy, and how to finance your purchase.

What about the REIN ACRE Weekend?

I would compare the REIN ACRE Weekend to a 3 day intense crash course in real estate investing.  There are usually a lot more people that attend the REIN ACRE Weekend as this is one of The Real Estate Investment Network’s flag ship events.  At this event, I would say that there are about 500 people throughout the weekend.

Who else attends the REIN Monthly Workshops and the REIN ACRE Weekends?

In addition to aspiring and existing real estate investors, there are a wide array of other people that attend these events. There are often Real Estate agents, Mortgage brokers, Insurance reps, property managers, HVAC specialists, flooring specialists and contractors.

Are the REIN Live Events Valuable?

For the most part I would say yes.  However, I think that they are more valuable to people who are looking to get started with real estate investing than they are to people who are experienced investors already.

I found attending these REIN events helpful because I needed to learn from more experienced people that had accomplished something that I was trying to achieve.

As time went on though and the more experienced I became as a real estate investor, the less valuable I found the REIN Live Events, such as the Monthly Workshops.

What results did I get attending the REIN Live Events?

Throughout the 3 years or so that I was attending REIN Live Events I ended up purchasing 4 rental properties.  I would not have been able to purchase these properties if it were not for some of the great people that I met at these events.  In particular, my mortgage broker who was the individual who taught me how to finance multiple properties.

I made some great friends that are also real estate investors that I am still in touch with today.

Through a fellow real estate investor I also got introduced to an HVAC specialist who over the course of 3 years has replaced 2 furnaces and 1 air conditioner for me.  Through this one contact alone I have saved thousands of dollars in repairs.  This month he just installed a new furnace for me for $1700 (before tax), the next closest quote I got from a competing company was $3300.

What are the Negatives about REIN Live Events?

Like I mentioned earlier, I think these events are good for people that are just starting out with real estate investing.  The events can also be good for intermediate investors who need a little boost of confidence in order to get going.

One big negative that I noticed was that there were a lot of people that attended these events month after month after month, but did not invest in real estate.  For some of these people, attending the events was more of a social outing than anything else.

Another negative point, which seems kind of silly as I write this is how LATE the events went on into the night.  The REIN Monthly Workshop events always fell on a weekday night, and they would end pretty late, sometimes around 11:30pm or 12pm.  That does not too late, does it?  However if you factor in some schmoozing after the event with fellow investors and a 30 minute drive home, sometimes I was getting home around 1am or later.

What would I change or improve about the REIN Live Events?

For starters, if I could change one thing, I would end the events much earlier.  If I was in charge, I would end the REIN Monthly Workshops at 10am, so that people could get home at a decent time in order to wake up early the next morning and be refreshed for the work day.

I would also change things such that there would be more direct networking time with key people.  I would like to set up ‘booths’ or ‘stations’ where knowledgeable mortgage brokers, real estate agents, lawyers, etc. could sit at and be available to speak to participants.  If you were interested in speaking to a particular person, you could visit them at their booth.  This booth system that I speak of is done at the REIN ACRE Weekend, but is not done during the REIN Monthly Workshops.  I would implement the booths at the Workshops as well.

What is the URL?

You can access more information on these events by following this link.

How Much Do The Events Cost?

The 3 events range in price from $199 to $587 with the Guest Passes for REIN Monthly Workshops costing $199.

What is the best part about REIN Live Events?

The best part about REIN Live Events is that you are able to learn financing strategies directly from mortgage brokers.  These mortgage brokers are able to not only help you buy your first rental property, but even multiple rental properties.  Not only that, REIN also recommends which cities and neighbourhoods are the best places to buy rental properties.  At the event, you are able to speak  directly to individuals who own properties already in these particular cities and neighbourhoods, and thus you are able to get from them first hand information on their experiences. 

This was exactly the situation I found myself in.  At the Live Events I met a mortage broker who I am still in touch with today.  He was able to help me finance multiple rental properties which enabled me to buy 4 properties in 3 years.  I also networked and made friends with people who were investing in a number of different cities.  I was able to hear directly from them their experiences (good and bad), which in turn helped me to decide what city I wanted to invest in. 

Click Here To Go To A REIN™ Live Event

What Alternatives are there to the REIN Live Events?

People are busy and not everyone wants to attend live events.  Further to that, not everyone is an extroverted person, and interacting directly with people is quite uncomfortable to some.  For those people that don’t want to attend live events or don’t have the time, I would recommend to them some of the REIN Home Study Courses.  The home study courses available are:

  • ACRE System Home Study
  • Joint Venture Secrets
  • Multi Family Investing Secrets

How much do these courses cost?

The REIN Home Study courses range in price from $587 to $987.  The best value I would say is the ACRE System Home Study course which is the cheapest at $587.  Unless you are more of an advanced real estate investor, I would not recommend the Joint Venture Secrets or Multi Family Investing Secrets. If you are an intermediate or advanced investor then the later 2 courses would be right up your alley.

What is the URL?

You can access more information on these events by following this link.

Click here to GET SCHOOLED with REIN™ Home Study Courses

Which is more affordable, the REIN Live Events or the REIN Home Study Course?

In terms of value and affordability, I personally believe the guest pass for the REIN Monthly Workshop makes the most sense.  By attending the Workshop, you get a sense and a flavour of what you can expect from REIN without over committing and overspending right out of the gates.  If you have a limited budget, this is smartest route to take.

Can the REIN Live Events and/or REIN Home Study Courses Make You Money?

The simple answer to this is YES.

If you are motivated and you put what you learn about real estate investing to use, you will earn a great return on your investment.  I personally have made thousands of dollars by implementing what I learned about real estate investing through the REIN Live Events.  Then again, there are those people who have not made any money after purchasing these products.  Just like with any aspect of life, you have those people who succeed and those people who fail…

How to ensure you are Successful!

If you are new to real estate investing and you want to buy your first rental property the Live Events will guide you on which areas to buy properties in as well as give you an education on the type of mortgage brokers you need to utilize in order to obtain financing on your rental properties.

Even if you already own a property or maybe two, the Live Events are a great way to become connected with a good support group of fellow real estate investors, who can provide you with support when the going gets tough with your real estate investments.

If you have the resources to attend one of the events or take one of the courses, it is money well spent.  I am glad that I spent the money myself because I would not be where I am today as a successful real estate investor, had I not.

When you do decide to go to one of the upcoming Live Events or study one of the courses, it is a smart move to involve your spouse or a close friend.

Learning about real estate investing together is more fun and it ensures that you are on the same page with those people that you care about the most.

REIN Money Back Guarantee

The best part here is that REIN has a money back guarantee.  If you are not satisfied with their products, you can return them and get your money back.

Happy Investing!

Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

Click here to GET BLOWN AWAY at Live REIN™ Events

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How To Keep Tenants Longer

Posted by neil on June 25, 2012
General / 13 Comments

Tenant turnover is a killer.  Especially for the small real estate investor. Every good landlord wants to find out how to keep tenants longer.  When you have a tenant move out of your rental property, if that property sits vacant you have to pay money out of your own pocket for the monthly expenses of that property.  If your tenant is paying you $1,000/month in rent, and your monthly carrying costs for the property including mortgage, insurance and taxes are $850/month, you have to personally come up with that $850 each and every month until your rental property is rented again.

The fewer units that a real estate investor owns, the more severe are the effects of tenant turnover, and thus the impact to the pocket book.

For example, let’s assume that you own one rental property, and that the property is a single family home consisting of one unit.  If this one unit becomes vacant due to the tenant moving out, you just lost 100% of your rental income for that month.

Let’s say now that you own 10 rental properties, that are all single family homes.  If one unit becomes vacant due  to the tenant moving out you now only lose one tenth (1/10)  or 10% of your rental income.

Generally speaking, when you lose 10% of your monthly rental income, this is a much better scenario than losing 100% of the rental income.

All experienced real estate investors know that they name of the game with real estate investing is cash flow management.  What I mean by “cash flow management” is knowing how to maximize your revenues an minimize your expenses.

As a real estate investor, if you are able to ensure that there is less tenant turnover, you are doing a fantastic job of lowering your expenses.

One of the biggest, hidden expenses that a real estate investor can face is tenant turnover.

From my experience thus far with real estate investing, I have learned that one can minimize tenant turnover by NOT increasing rents.

When you raise rents, tenants in many instances become unhappy and start to look for rental accommodation  elsewhere.

Personally, I would rather roll the dice and only increase rents once my tenants have moved out of my rental property.

Once the tenants have moved out of the property, I would re-rent the unit for the new market rent to a new set of tenants.

What do you think about this post? Do you agree with this strategy to keep tenants longer?  Do you think it will work?

Don’t forget to sign up for The First Rental Property Newsletter at the top right hand corner of the blog.

If you do this, I will send you tips and tricks from experienced real estate investors on how to buy your first rental property.

Regards,

Neil.

 

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