Hello Real Estate Investors in Hamilton, Ontario!!
Sorry for not posting for a few weeks but it has been a bit busy in these parts (and I write my own posts, no shadow writers here!!):
- Following my presentation at REIN in July, I have been just swamped with requests for more information on investing in Hamilton. For anyone who’s already been on Mr Hamilton’s Education Tour, they can tell you how involved the process is and how much time it takes. Crazy enough I’ve received a bunch of feedback from investors about how other Realtor’s don’t invest any time in them let alone 3-4 hours into educating the client when first meeting them…. Guess I’ll never make it in traditional real estate 😉
- We’ve been getting my house ready for sale and its now listed. Using the real estate marketing skills I’ve learned over the years from the pros like Tom and Nick, Russel Westcott and Don Campbell, I had one real estate professional comment on my listing saying it was the best listing she’d ever seen (not the property itself which is pretty nice but all the stuff many listings are lacking such as details, professional photos, and an ad write-up that placed the reader in the home)
- It’s summer too so I’m enjoying the weather just as much as everyone else. I also play a few sports. I was planning on playing softball but decided to push my limits (for a change) and learn a new sport that I knew would stress my cardio. So I’m playing ultimate frisbee which is a combination of basketball, football, and soccer. A fantastic workout that makes your lungs burn, regret anything you ate two hours prior to game time, and burn a million calories to justify post game beers and wings 😀
Anyways, back to investing in Hamilton!
This story about Hamilton Calling Off Non-Essential LRT Work is causing the most waves in the Hamilton investor community. Click on the above link or keep reading for my summary and takeaways:
- The $3 million from the province given to the city to study LRT is running out
- City staff are being instructed to only do the work required to fulfill the requirements for the $3 million.
- Focus is to be shifted to all day Go service to Toronto from the planned James North Gateway Go Station
- Almost forgot, an investor from out west asked me how this would affect my strategy and below is my response:
Hi Michael, when I spoke to a VP a Metrolinks, he basically told me the probability of the LRT B-line happening is 50/50. Â The biggest hurdle is, who is going to cover the operating loss. Â For example the TTC in Toronto only covers 70% of their expenses and the rest is covered by the tax payers. Â There are other significant hurdles as well such as needing a new dedicated bridge for the LRT to pass over the highway 403.
Will this affect my strategy?  Not really. I’ve heard it from numerous REIN members from the GTA, KWC, Barrie, and Durham, that you really can’t beat the opportunities for cash flow in Hamilton.  And delaying LRT will allow us investors more time to acquire property.
I just checked the new Q2 update from the CMHC as well:Â http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.
My final two cents. Â Everyone interested in Hamilton should be circling the location of the new station on James North which everyone at the city has told me is a sure thing (again, no $$ announced, don’t expect an announcement until 2013, plan is to break ground in 2014). Â It’s directly across the street from Liuna Station… Note there is another planned station in Hamilton on the same rail line at Centennial Parkway.
Till next blog post – happy investing everyone!!
Erwin | MrHamilton.ca
PS: If you would an on-the-ground tour of Hamilton and select investment properties please let me know (email Maria and she’ll set it up: Maria (at) MrHamilton.ca)
PPS: sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss out out on what’s going on in Hamilton!!
