Hello Everyone Investing In Hamilton Real Estate!!
As the weather gets warmer and family/friend gatherings increase at BBQ cook outs, aunts 
and uncles, friends you haven’t seen in a while… the conversation always goes “So what is it you do?”
To which I hope you’re all responding “I invest in real estate”
And the inevitable response to that is “So you’re a slumlord!”
Great…
Are we as sophisticated real estate investors so bad as a collective that the general public perceives us to be slumlords? Unfortunately yes and I’ve seen 100’s of properties that are tenanted which have been neglected all over Hamilton, you can’t imagine the shhhh– stuff I’ve seen. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Personally, I want all of my properties to be a reflection of me. My student rental I just bought. It was owner occupied so it’s not ready for students yet and we’re spending close to 20k get it ready including some safety items such as enlarging basement windows so they may be used as a second exit in case of fire, replacing the electrical panel and applying for an ESA for the whole house. My property will be nice, functional, and most importantly safe for my student clients. Imagine what the parents of students will think when I point out how my property conforms to Ontario Fire Code when 98% of the other properties out there don’t. I will create a bidding war. That is the plan and that is how I roll.
Then there’s my executive rental. Have a look and tell me if you think this is owned and operated by a slumlord: http://www.myvisuallistings.com/vt/79703
This used to be my home so the finishings are high-end in the hottest neighbourhood in downtown Burlington (we bought in Burlington before it became less affordable) My executive clients are from out of the country so they arrived here without credit but a massive salary into the six digits. In almost three years, they’ve paid me over 60,000 in rent, we’ll make over 25%/year in ROI on appreciation alone, and they are the most amazing tenants. Note the furniture in the pictures is theirs and they’ve probably taken better care of the lawn and gardens than I would have 😉
So what is my point? I’m proud of all of my properties and in specific financial conditions could live in any one of my units and be proud to call it home e.g. if I were single making a living wage, our one bedroom apartments are awesome!
When you have a great product, you get the best tenants. It’s that simple and I like simple. Simple doesn’t mean we don’t take on massive renovation projects because we do but simple to me is do all the work that is needed upfront, rent out your property to clients that slumlords dream about, and let someone else manage the day-to-day. Yes it costs money to renovate and hire a professional property manager but that’s what it takes to attract rents at the top 10% of the market.
And sorry I haven’t been blogging more often. My home renos, my most amazing REIN investor clients, my JV partner and our properties keep me quite busy so If you’d like to hear from me more often, consider following or liking me on twitter and facebook respectively.
Hope that helps! Till next blog post – happy Hamilton investing everyone!!
Erwin |Â MrHamilton.ca
PS: A reality show on Oprah’s network which helps transform communities is asking me to get the word out. If you’re interested in helping Hamiltonian families get out of debt, build wealth, get out of the rat race, then please let me know.
PPS: sign up for my newsletter in the top right so you don’t miss out out on what’s going on in Hamilton!!
Being a landlord and real estate investor I find it hard to believe that many out there continue to vilify landlords with such derogatory remarks like “slum lord.”
With today’s global financial instability there is something to be said about bricks and mortar. The savvy investor realizes that the days of the blue chip stock are over. So are the cushy pensions and the idea that retirement will be supported by our government. That said, real estate done right can be much more rewarding than any RRSP or other investment. I look at it as a longer term commitment and value my tenants as they are my RRSPs. And unlike the volatile stock market, should the housing market tumble – there are always options, like selling, reducing rent, renovating etc. With stocks you are at the mercy of market conditions and have no control.
It’s offensive to me that landlords don’t take pride in their property’s and appreciate their tenants. There are so many other options out there as I know many other property managers/owners that take pride in their investments. My best advice if you are a tenant, look for a house or small building (duplex/triplex) chances are they are owned by individual people like me who will care about you and your home!
Where’s the like button? Can’t tell you how many people immediately say slumlord when I tell them I am am investor. It’s up to us to change that mindset!
I couldn’t agree more. A BIG problem is that many agents that say they specialize in investment properties just dont care…ie: they are the slumlords. I spent almost a year looking at properties in Hamilton, and the absolute crap that was shown to me was unbelievable. What was even worse was when I suggested that things needed to be renovated/fixed/updated…they looked at me like I was from Mars!!!
My only stipulation for any property is “would I live here?”
If you have no respect for your property or tenants, what do you expect in return?
I’m in the middle of a a major reno in Burlington on a house that was very dated. Some people think I’m nuts…but I already have a few offers!
Anyways…good to see you are trying to change things…
Ron
Hi Erwin,
Your place looks great. I’ve found the same thing – providing quality housing attracts quality tenants. Slumlording and headaches aren’t for me. Keep it up!
Cheers,
Andrew
Kristen, you’re preaching to the choir! What’s a pension and RRSP? 😛 Totally disagree with being offended by landlords who don’t take care of their properties. They’re my competition (sorta) so if they keep doing a bad job, that just makes my properties shine that much more 🙂
Yeah James! Most importantly your customers don’t think you’re a slumlord.
Ron, fix? update? those words are not in a slum lord’s vocabulary. Good luck with the reno project! Burlington is on fire and who the heck thinks you’re nuts?
Hey Andrew, thanks for the kind words. Boo headaches! Totally agree
A big thank you for your forum topic.Thanks Again. Darting