“For as long as I can remember, I was interested in buildings at a very young age; I played with Lego, loved shop class, and watched shows about house flipping on TV all the time. So, when I got my first job and started investing money, I naturally looked into real estate as an investment vehicle. One day, I just decided to book an appointment to look at a condo in Mississauga and convinced my sisters to come along with me. I just started university, so I knew I needed my sisters to invest with me to carry the mortgage. After viewing a couple more properties, I was able to show them how we could actually make money and cash flow every month. Fortunately, my eldest sister was willing to hold the mortgage and we pooled together our money to purchase my first property at the age of 19. That was my first joint venture deal before I knew the term for it!

“From there, I went to university completing two degrees on the path to become an architect and didn’t think about real estate again until I graduated. I bought my first property on my own in Kitchener in six years ago where I did a lot of the renovation work myself. I took over 6 months to fix it up and rented it out all while working a 9-5 job.”

She was willing to put in hard work because she could see the payoff. Still, she knew there had to be a better, more sustainable way to scale her real estate portfolio. That search brought her to Rock Star and the purchase of her next property, and the next after that…

When the deal on one of her property purchases initially fell through, she didn’t let it defeat her. Instead, this young investor got creative and came up with a strategy that worked, buying it as a duplex conversion!

“As my background is in architecture and as a BCIN designer I was pretty comfortable in getting the building permit and going through the entire renovation process. We started renovations in January, got the place partially rented in March. With the help of my coach and their contacts, I was able to get the house legally converted, renovated, and fully rented by the summer.

“With that success, I decided to double down and purchase another 2 duplex conversion. It’s challenging having two renovations running concurrently but I try to think of it as an opportunity to get more comfortable with risk and continue to build my team so my business can scale.

“In terms of the future, I hope to scale my real estate portfolio by buying another 5 properties this year with the focus on multi-unit conversions, lot severances, multi-family housing.”

1. Surround yourself with real estate investors preferably a couple of steps ahead of you so you can actively learn from them and in turn, be part of each other’s journey and growth
2. Build a power team – real estate agent, mortgage broker, lawyer, property manager, project manager, appraisers, etc. Focus on your strengths and don’t be afraid to delegate the rest.
3. Choose 1 or 2 cities and focus on a single real estate investment strategy – go all in, be an expert in one city and you’ll be able to build a stronger team and execute faster
4. Never stop learning – there are lots of real estate investment books that provide a ton of value with topics such as RRSP investing, creative financing, reno cost estimating, etc. – But the best way to learn is to just dive in and enjoy the learning process!