“If we were asked to write about real estate investing in 2006, our article would have been truly effective – all the reader would have to do then was avoid whatever we did, and they would have turned out perfectly fine and wealthy!
“When we were working in Mumbai, India, real estate was booming. We started looking around to buy, but everything seemed expensive, and people told us it was too large of a risk, too early in our careers, and we listened to them. Years passed with this indecision, and we never bought. Then we got amazing career opportunities to move out of the country, and we left India.
“Just before we got these international opportunities, we had finally manned up and booked a lovely 3-bed apartment in a swanky apartment complex in Mumbai. Since we were leaving the country, we felt there is no point in going ahead, and we canceled our booking, as we were not sure how to manage the investment while being out of the country. It is our biggest regret to date!! In hindsight, we could have easily done it, as we have friends and family there, and we go back every year for family holidays.”
This couple looked at buying one of these apartments each year, and every year they saw the price going up and decided to wait a little bit longer… Except, the longer they waited, the more expensive the apartment became.
It was a tough lesson but this couple learned first-hand the risks of waiting for a theoretically better opportunity to come along.
“In June 2015, we immigrated to the wonderful land of Canada with our two young boys (then aged 1 and 4 years) to start a new life, and we were very focused on buying a house as soon as possible as a lesson from our earlier mistakes. By October 2015, we purchased our first house, our primary residence, and what appeared quite expensive then has turned out to be good timing in hindsight.
“By this time, we had read a lot of books on achieving financial freedom and real estate investing. We happened to stumble upon Rock Star Real Estate as one of the fastest-growing companies in Canada with Tom and Nick’s videos constantly putting pressure on us to live life on our own terms.”
This couple immediately took action and looked for their first property. They purchased a nice single-family home in a good area.
The next year they did it again! This time a fantastic bungalow duplex. But they didn’t stop. No, they’d experienced the benefits of taking action. They’d realized that their fears and the what-ifs weren’t scary in reality. With a growing level of experience and confidence, they didn’t waste time and purchased another duplex near their second property.
“Our investment rationale: We continue to invest in the GTA (even when people talk about a possible crash) as we believe there’s no reason for rents to crash for good homes in good neighborhoods. That is our focus area... The vast majority of immigrants arrive in the Golden Horseshoe where we live. As for house prices, we have no control over the timing or quantum of a crash/rise, so our decisions are based purely on cash flow. We don’t count on capital appreciation as it’s not in our hands. It’s simple math – if a house price increases by only 2%, we get five times the return based on a 20% down payment. Of course, it works in reverse as well, but we remain positive in our thinking!”
