“We first got into real estate out of necessity when buying our first property. At 20 years old, we didn’t really have a concept of “playing” the market. We bought our first property in Toronto primarily because it was close to work. After getting into the market, we started to keep an eye on the value of homes in our area as well as in neighboring cities that we may one day want to move to. We quickly saw our primary residence growing in value, but we had no idea how to access that capital without selling.
“As we explored our options, we found that we could sell our home, but we would have to move out of the GTA. We didn’t want to do that because it would mean a longer commute and a reduced quality of life. So, we wanted to find a way that would allow us to access our value and make those earnings work for us.
“That’s when we came across Rock Star Real Estate. We decided to attend one of the introductory classes with a friend. Almost immediately, we realized that we were in the perfect situation to become investors because we had access to significant capital and wanted to do something with it. Rock Star guided us on how to do what we wanted to do. With our coach’s help, we were able to access the equity we earned and turn it into three investment properties within the first year.
“Knowing friends and family who’ve had success with real estate fueled our own interest in using real estate to grow our assets. No one in our family was an investor but everyone we knew only had positive stories to tell about profitable real estate sales. I remember my parents telling me how they wish they had purchased 5 or 10 real estate properties instead of just one.
“The lesson in this for us was that we wanted to be the people now buying 5 or 10 so we could look back on “when we did…” instead of “I wish we had…”
“Our coach was invaluable in teaching us not only what to look for in a house but also where we should be looking to buy a home. He gave us location criteria that we never considered before such as population, average income, and upcoming transit projects.”
“The first year also taught us a lot when it came to the people part or customer service side of this business. Coming from a service industry background, it’s easy for me to say yes to everything and take the “customer is always right” approach. But tenants are not customers. Being a landlord is a give-and-take relationship. And like any relationship, it’s important to do what you can to support the other side, but it’s equally important to not overcommit or let yourself be taken advantage of.”
This couple’s plan is to build equity in each of their properties and use that equity to purchase more investment properties. Their goal is to own ten homes within the next ten years.
