Hello Everyone Investing in Real Estate in Hamilton, Ontario!!
Wow! A huge Blue Jays win and a Liberal majority government.  My wife and I did vote last night (we hired a babysitter to do so and drove! How’s that for civic duty? ;)). I do follow a bit of politics, but I don’t like to talk about it; so as a huge time/effort saver, I talk to like minded folks such as Don R Campbell of REIN and Tom and Nick of Rock Star Real Estate because they don’t get emotional and we have similar values.
How should our investing strategies change? Well let’s first look at what a Liberal majority means economically based on their platform:
- Planned $25 billion deficit = higher taxes, higher bond yields –> higher mortgage interest rates
- A new national pension plan: if you have a job and don’t already have a pension, you and your employer have to contribute = lower disposable income
- Taxes on greenhouse gases, investing into green energy = as you Ontarians already know our hydro rates are going up and expect them to go up more.  FYI – Norway, a world leader on green energy investment, has hydro rates 3x higher than the average Canadian.
Conclusions/Recommendations?
- Affordability will decrease due to higher mortgage rates and less disposable income = increase in housing prices should slow and there will be more tenants
- Wherever possible, pass on the cost of hydro to your tenants and look for ways to be more efficient.
- If you’re renovating for a secondary suite, make sure to separate the wiring and install separate hydro meters so each tenant can take ownership of their hydro consumption.
- If your leases are all-inclusive, include a clause to cap utility costs.
- Encourage your tenants to conserve by doing laundry and running the dishwasher after 7pm on weeknights. Doing so also lowers green house gas emissions since we in Ontario are heavily reliant on coal burning for power during peak times.
- Install programmable thermostats
- Here’s one not many think about: I have numerous motion sensor lights on my properties, especially for hallways and exterior lights so lights on left on unnecessarily.
- Use corporations where applicable
- More important than ever is the importance of saving and investing in whatever medium it is that you choose: mortgages, real estate, stocks and bonds, etc.
I’ll share more thoughts on next week’s webinar. Â Sign up here if you haven’t already!
$50M shipping terminal being built adds to Hamilton’s agrifood footprint
More investment into Hamilton equals JOBS!
G3 Canada Ltd. said on Tuesday the 50,000-tonne port facility at the western edge of Lake Ontario will load wheat, soybean and corn grown in Southern Ontario onto Great Lakes ships and rail cars destined for G3’s ports in Trois-Rivières and Quebec City and buyers overseas.
source:Â http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/former-canada-wheat-board-to-open-shipping-terminal-in-hamilton/article26779895/
The investment adds to a growing agrifood footprint in Hamilton that already represents $1.5 billion a year, the port says.
The terminal will have some level of staffing, but Malkoske noted it will be “state of the art” and “highly automated.”
It’s the largest port in Ontario, shipping more than 10 million tonnes of cargo every year.
source:Â http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5957855–50m-shipping-terminal-being-built-adds-to-hamilton-s-agrifood-footprint/
More investment into Hamilton equals JOBS, higher incomes = higher affordability, higher rents, higher real estate prices. Â Maybe it’s a good idea to invest in a piece of Hamilton real estate 😉
Thanks for reading and happy Hamilton real estate investing everyone!
Erwin |Â MrHamilton.ca
