Investing and stuff.
So lately i've been bored... real bored.
I've been in a rut not really going anywhere not forward or backward just passing time.
Lately i've started to really think about investing and might as well do something with the money I have instead of just sitting doing well nothing.. I don't have alot.. but not like I am broke either.. let's say...25k.
I've always wanted to get into Real Estate but I believe the market I am currently in (Vancouver) is a little expensive..obviously if I were to buy I'd rent the property out so it's not like it would be a big expense minus the downpayment... but if I were to buy I think maybe Halifax and the Maritimes might be a better option.
That's just one thought though... what are you into? Would love to hear thoughts of your own.
I've been in a rut not really going anywhere not forward or backward just passing time.
Lately i've started to really think about investing and might as well do something with the money I have instead of just sitting doing well nothing.. I don't have alot.. but not like I am broke either.. let's say...25k.
I've always wanted to get into Real Estate but I believe the market I am currently in (Vancouver) is a little expensive..obviously if I were to buy I'd rent the property out so it's not like it would be a big expense minus the downpayment... but if I were to buy I think maybe Halifax and the Maritimes might be a better option.
That's just one thought though... what are you into? Would love to hear thoughts of your own.
Comments
$25K is not enough to risk in a bubble real estate market.
Go Ahead, Spice Up Your Investing Life :biggrin:
Don't be like my friend who couldn't stop trading in stocks and real estate despite a cushy public sector job with > $1 million in assets. He & his wife sold their real estate to cover their shorting of stocks, and have lost over $1 million so far. They are still digging their graves refusing to cut their losses on shorts. :eek2:
While I used to be a day trader, I realized it was like being in a poker table against the best professionals in the world with unbeatable rake/fees. I learnt to use the KISS principle. Index funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF); maximizing RRSP, RESP and other government-assisted savings plans. I don't bother following the day-to-day fluctuations of the markets, and have more time to enjoy playing poker for fun. :cool:
However:
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/blogs/balance-sheet/canadas-housing-market-among-most-overvalued-in-the-183022085.html
Its been a long time since house values started dropping but just as an example, I paid exactly $1000 more for my house in 1999 then the original owners did in 1983. Factor in inflation and their financing costs, and they lost huge.
If I had $25k sitting around that I was not going to use long term, first I would max out my RRSP, then if you do buy a house for yourself, you can take advantage of the HBP (would not apply on a rental unit). If the RRSP is taken care of, then max out your TFSA.
Either way I would make use of the couch potato strategy advocated on moneysense.ca and elsewhere. $25k spread into 4-5 ETFs is a good low cost way to get going.
If you are under 35 take a look at this:
Procrastinate or Prosper?
a very fine Amazing Spider Man #1.
Mile High Comics - SPIDER-MAN (1963) #1 - Descriptive Bibliography
A few things to consider:
1. You would need a property manager at that distance and THAT is literally pissing away money.
2. Repairs are constant. I remember a tenant of my Grandmother's who actually called to have light bulbs changed. If you aren't prepared/too far away to do this yourself (or have a big enough rental to pawn this off on a super) you are gonna get ROBBED. $1000 bucks to repaint between tenants, $300 to fix the inevitable hole in the drywall, $300 to hire a cleaning service...the list goes on...exterior maintenance, rough usage creating constant replacement etc.
3. At best, you should expect an 80% occupancy rate.
4. The ongoing degradation of the property by non-owners eats into the inflation of property price somewhat, and affects your long term ROI.
That being said, there is money in rentals..just buy in driving range (my parents write off their gas, etc) and be the type of person who wants to work HARD every, single weekend.
Kristy is bang on here. I hate to say it, but renters destroy properties. I rented for decades (bad idea I know) and I always left the place better then when I arrived. Most don't. I've repainted rentals 3 times in two years around here. Full repaints, all cielings, doors, trim, walls, etc. Property managers don't care, they get their commission every new tenant.
One place I just repainted from 6 months after having painted had 192 screw, nail, otherwise holes in the walls. We started counting when it got silly. Person who left told us "they said we could put some pictures up"! I also sanded what appeared to be an entire bowl of petrified beef stew off of a wall.
If I was a landlord I'd end up in the pen.