After my first purchase of the semi-detach I then thought I would expand my empire (ha!) and invest with my first partner, Gary Does in a huge old 8 bedroom mansion near weston road and 401. It required massive work ( re dug basement floor, lathe and plaster replacement, plumbing, knob and tube etc...by by money....).

We had fun though and talk about learning the hard way!. We were paying 12.5% interest!!!! And we thought we had a deal!. Wow what a lesson. After about 8 months all hell broke loose and yes the bubble came crashing down. I sold my interest back to Gary ( as I got laid off from my job) losing about 40k in the process and moved onto my sailboat ( yes its still my dream). I managed to hang onto the semi detach in Richmond Hill and kept renting it out. I certainly was beginning to learn the ropes of property management by having many professional tenants move in as i knew nothing of tenant laws and rights and just assumed everyone was telling me the truth.

After getting laid off I actually applied to get my real estate license. I completed pahse one, but moved onto as i started another business ( a whole blog unto itself!) I did though constantly look for deals in real estate. Eventhough I was not trained in what to look for, I still envisioned that real estate was in my future.