An interesting situation came up recently while I was pursuing an investment property for a client in Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario.
Sally is from out of town, but she has recently started to move her equity into the Kitchener Waterloo area in the form of real estate investment property.
She had a mortgage broker she used when she bought her house a few years ago, and she wanted to use the same broker.
I have a ‘rule of 1.’ If my clients have a preferred vendor (like a lawyer or a mortgage broker) that I haven’t worked with, and my client’s are completely confident in that person’s ability to close the transaction, I’ll let them work with them.
The ‘rule of 1′ refers to the number of strikes they get - one. If they mess up a deal for my clients - and if it happen it’s usually because they don’t deal in investment real estate but figure, what the heck, it can’t be that hard - that’s the last time I’ll participate in a transaction they’re involved in.
Usually, even when their is a problem, I’m able to have one of my Wealth Building Team members step in and help resolve the situation (as I did last month when my client’s lawyer decided a week prior to closing not to handle the transaction). This time, I wasn’t able to save it in time.
Sally’s mortgage broker had gotten her an ‘OK’ loan for the first property she bought this month, but when she went to invest in a second property, the mortgage broker was unsure if both loans could be approved. She couldn’t say yes, she couldn’t say no. She kepy saying ‘who knows.’
Finally I had to step in and have the owner of a local mortgage brokerage contact my client. With only a few days to go, the deal was almost saved, but in the end we would have needed an extra day or two to make the arrangements necessary to go with the new loans.
Sally sent me an email after this happened.
“Lesson learned… Go with the pro’s from the get go. If I handed this of to Jeff earlier, I’m sure this would have worked.”
Next month when we go shopping for property, she will be using a mortgage broker who has experience dealing with investment real estate.
When you invest in real estate, make sure the professionals you’re dealing with are specialists in investment real estate. Ask them if they invest in real estate personally. If they don’t, why would you take advice from them on investments ?
The lawyer I use owns investment property. The mortgage brokers I use are investors. My inspectors have a real estate investment portfolio.
This means that you’re getting advice from professionals who actually know a thing or two about investing in real estate.
Call me at 
519 570 4447
for a free half hour Wealth Building consultation. We’ll take a look at how your plan is working so far, and if it’s getting you to the sunny, warm retirement you’d like. If your current plan isn’t, let me show you how to get where you want to be.
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