Enjoy reading the different experiences by the members.

I would like to share my observations.

When i was approx 30, after putting in my 8 hours, I invested my time and energy in the PURCHASING of real estate game (creating rental income) for >25 years in central Toronto.
High Park/Bloor West Village area. It's been very good. No doubt about it.

I have dealt with many different agents.
It's great when you buy - the sellers are paying the fees so it really doesn't matter much if your agent is a smuck.
Agents are just people. Some are good, some are bad. Some have talent, most stink but want the commission.
But a unique transaction occurred this past November ( I am now selling properties). My agent took a cut in his fee, set at 1.5%. Unbelievable!!!
Smart guy. Has a 450 Mercedes for a reason.
Made $15,000 in < 2 weeks. Good work if you can get it.
Guess what, I have him scheduled for another bigger deal coming this spring because he saved me $10,000.

The house was a dump! 18 x 90 was the lot size but it was positioned within 3 minutes of the subway. Rented in a heart beat.
Remember a few years ago -- "key money". I had many people wanting to pay me more for a unit than what I advertised.
The main floor tenant is a dope head who has the housekeeping skills of a 2-year-old. The place showed terrible. He's high as a kite 90% of the time I see him.
His 2 mature daughters now live there with a cat and dog. What a disaster. The perfect tenant you say?
I rented to a single man and now since the whole family has moved in; my water, hydro etc keeps going up. With no chance for a reasonable rent increase.

Built around 1910. It was underpinned to create a bachelor unit in the bsmt that I rent for $900/mth. Approx 700 sq ft. With a private entrance. I'm not kidding.
If you live outside of Toronto- this makes no sense at all.
Minimal updates, no insulation, boiler, terrible parking environment, you didn't have to worry about fresh air because the windows leaked like the titanic.
Raccoons everywhere. When i barbecue, I cook extra for the raccoons so they don't have to spill over my garbage.
It really is a sellers market.
4 Chinese suckers were bidding it.
They obviously had no building skills what so ever.
Good luck to the buyer when he has to deal with the city of Toronto regulations, envious neighbors who can't earn enough money and are really pi$$ed off,
and TENANTS who cry worse than little girls.

When I first got into the game, I think, tenants were more reasonable and understanding.
Today, they have a entitlement mentality. A landlord has become the perfect victim of their liberalism.
I would not buy any properties anywhere other than CENTRAL Toronto to rent. Its not worth the risk and headaches.
Its an expensive game to get into, but when you sell, you get top dollar.
Google landlords, rent and you will find a forum of disgruntled landlords in ontario/canada.
if your thinking of getting into the game, go and review the threads. its very interesting reading.

I could go on forever with more stories, but the banker theme "debt is a blessing" may not be applicable as it was 10-50 years ago.

 

I took a different approach when I bought my cottage, found the listing on MLS did my research and got all the information I needed by buying an info package from MPAC. The package included all historical selling prices, a survey, permits pulled etc etc.

I toured the home myself with listing agent and decided I wanted to make an offer. I wrote up my own offer using the standard OREA forms and made sure to point out to the owner that I was representing myself in the transaction.

In the final negotiation we were $15K apart - the owner and I both looked at each other and smiled - guess who ate the $15K

This approach is highly unlikely in the heated Toronto market but if you are creative you can game the system in your favour.

 

The seller actually met the buyers through the agent before the house was sold? I never heard that before.

 

^ pretty sure they didn't meet, agent went in with a song and dance about beautiful young family needs the space and this is the strongest offer they have vs the evil speculator who likely handed in the highest bid.

 

somehow they met. The kids go to school with my kids, just moved within the neighbourhood.
this is rare. The sellers owned the house for 2 years and made close to one million.

 

That's def a rare one especially in TO. ^

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...ticle33201790/

Keep an eye on the outcome of this one, love the privacy angle from TREB lol what a crock!

 

I blame the RE's for the current market prices.
They have been trying to jack them up from the beginning of time to increase their commission.

 

The problem is they can because of the market... when the bubble bursts, what will they do.

My friend told me that real estate money is so good that half the strippers in Toronto are taking real estate courses.

When drug dealers start taking the courses, that's when we are in trouble... REs need to be addicts, not dealers...

 

How can RE's jack the price up ?

Here in Vancouver people are buying for say $2M and wait about 4-6 months and put back on for $3M.

Then the guy down the road sees this and thinks his house is better and if he can get $3.5 - $4M - then he's going to try - cos jeez then he could retire to the island and so it goes.
It's been created from a demand - short supply - heating the market and foreign investment playing it like stock or roulette ....

All an RE can do maybe to get a listing is tell someone they can get $3-4 M for the shack they are in and some people get $$$$$ greedy and agree to list with that agent - then it is up to the market to decide what value it is - if some one buys it for that!! and on it goes.....supply and demand and what peeps are prepared to pay....

 

^ I played around with an RE "who had buyers lined up to buy my house in TO" ok chief i'll give you a 2 week exclusive listing at 1.5%

Never heard back from that clown, but I thought you had buyers all lined up?? I may have been born at night but it wasn't last night lol

 

high end house prices are dropping in Vancouver. big time. reductions of 100-500,000 are becoming common. most of them have been sitting on the market for months.
the condo market remains strong.

 

Yes - because as i said - peps where buying and and adding 500-1M and trying to flip in a hot mkt and make a quick $.

Yes condo mkt is strong as so many folks cannot afford a house now......

 

Good for you ! Yes - that is called 'making a play' and is BS.

 

There's so many Vancouver asking prices that are no where near what the houses are actually worth, even in crazy price Vancouver. When I was looking I saw houses that were "for sale" sit for a few months unsold only to have their prices increase 15% or whatever, and sit longer. Some sold at the higher askings. It defies logic.

The Vancouver asks may be coming down a lot on some homes but those were not really accurate sale prices to begin with.