(Happy winter blast week everyone….little brother Nick taking over this week as Tom is chasing some sunshine with friends).
I’ll never forget it.
I had just left the lawyer’s office and was driving along the 401 with my stomach twisted in knots.
“What the heck have I done?”, I wondered to myself.
I’m not sure if it was nerves or fear, but I felt a wave of emotion fall over me.
I had just signed the papers to buy the absolute worst property I could find.
Up to that point, I was a saver.
Slowly putting away any extra income I had.
At that point I was 21 so I probably didn’t have a ton of savings.
But it felt like a lot because it had taken years to accumulate whatever I did have.
And I had just traded it all for the house you see above.
A small, two-bedroom bungalow in Mississauga.
But it was no ordinary bungalow.
This one had a crack so big in the foundation you could actually see daylight through it, and an engineer's report explaining how the front of the foundation seemed like it was starting to cave in.
I think I could have started a Ripley’s aquarium in the basement with the amount of water coming in.
Somehow I thought buying this as my first property was a good idea.
LOL!
Armed with little knowledge (a couple days at a real estate ‘bootcamp’), and no experience, I thought this was my path to financial freedom.
I had probably watched one too many Flip-This-House episodes.
But here I was, on the 401, minutes after taking ownership, already thinking this was all a mistake.
No looking back at that point, though.
I had to get it done.
It’s a long story filled with ups, downs, and an unimaginable number of trips to Home Depot to fix the place up.
In a total of four months the place was fixed up and sold for a profit.
A $4,000 profit…but it could have ended up much worse, much, much worse.
Around the same time Tom got into his first real estate investment with a friend of his.
Somehow we headed down similar paths at the same time.
That was the beginning of where things are today.
We’ve now worked with investors to help them on $3.5 to $4 billion worth of real estate investments.
I wonder how many more investors looked elsewhere for help when they realized one of the guys helping them could barely get through signing the papers for his first property?
It’s almost unbelievable, but flipping that property was about 25 years ago.
Maybe that’s why when we see so much attention put towards very short-term price trends and predictions for properties we just block it out.
When you’ve been at something for decades you realize 99% of that is just noise.
Or in today’s world it’s worse….clickbait with no real substance.
Anyone we’ve spoken with who’s had success spanning 10, 15, 20+ years operates the same way.
They focus on principles.
For example, the impact of inflation on our lives and asset prices Tom often shares here matters FAR more than anyone’s prediction of what the spring real estate market might look like.
Or the massive wave of AI and robotics headed our way and the ongoing race for power to fuel it all. That’s going to impact all our everyday lives.
Tom just shared the trends we’re watching for 2025..check it out here.
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One of the principles we've consistently followed since the beginning is that whenever something made one of us uncomfortable, that was the person who had to do it.
It didn’t matter what it was.
A tough conversation or meeting, speaking to a large group, or anything that made us uncomfortable.
To us that was the opportunity to grow.
To learn.
To become more valuable to ourselves and the people around us.
That’s what happened that day on the 401.
I was uncomfortable, scared, emotional, and wanted to quit.
But through my own determination and the help of people around me I didn’t.
And it was the first step to a whole heckuva lot.
I couldn’t imagine what my life would look like now if it wasn’t for that adventure.
At the time I was working in a 9-5 role with the municipal government.
A great thing for some people.
But it wasn’t for me and I knew it.
I couldn’t imagine being there today.
Time moves quick.
How often do you put yourself in positions where you’re completely uncomfortable?
Learn new things?
Chase new accomplishments?
For us, each one has been a small step to a new place.
We don’t always know where it’s taking us, or the exact direction.
But we do know that we want to keep taking steps.
Principled steps.
Blocking out the noise, focusing on what’s important and keep moving.
Maybe this applies to real estate for you.
Maybe it’s business, health, or family.
It doesn’t matter what it is….but doing it does.
Until next time…
Your Life. Your Terms.
Tom & Nick
