What We Are Up To
What a great summer we had that went so fast. It seems like we just celebrated Canada Day and now we are back to fall routines. We have some exciting updates to share.
Sunset Accepted Offer:
My partners and I on the Sunset Development Project decided we were happy with where we have taken the project, with the rezoning and plans to develop the 55 units in place and many renovations to the existing units completed. We put it on the market and have an accepted offer that is now going through the due diligence stage with a closing date at the end of October. We are very proud of all of the work we put into this project and all the solutions we came up with for the problems that came. Just a few of them are:
Balloon frame structure that had been cut into and not re- supported, causing a wall to separate from the roof as the wall had bowed
Foundation that had no support on one s ide and was crumbling
4 different versions of the plans requested from the city for the new development
10 interest rate increases
Retroactive rent cap put in by the provincial government 2 months after purchase
Flood in a newly renovated unit
Finding the right contractor and property manager to work with (kissed a few frogs)
Hoarder and more.
We learned so much from this process and really melded as a team together with each of the three of us having different strengths. Watch for more to come from this pairing of powerful women!
Dollhouse Plans Designed:
If you have been following along with our Dollhouse saga, we are happy to say we are still making progress. We have the plans designed for the replacement of the one unit and the addition of another unit when we dig to create a proper foundation for the Dollhouse. We have had the As Complete Appraisal done, which supports our numbers, and are getting all the documents needed to submit for financing of the repairs and addition. CMHC is still taking months to complete the application to funding process so it looks like we may not be digging until the new year?
We have preliminary plans for the new units. The provincial requirement to have one of the units accessible, has made one of the units small inside due to the turning radius required. We are investigating turning one of the current units into the accessible unit instead, as it has more space in it.
Summer White Party:
Our annual summer party we hold for TYT investors was a hit with everyone dressed in White. The last people left at 1am so you know it was a good time. Lots of food, laughter, conversations and ideas were flowing all night long. We are looking forward to our Annual Ugly Sweater Christmas party in December.
Triplex Accepted offer:
As educated professional investors, we are continually evaluating our portfolio and its performance. We had a triplex that wasn’t performing where we would like it to be, so have put it on the market. We have an accepted offer on it with a closing towards the end of September. We will also be listing one of our 6 plexes soon and taking the funds from both of these and placing them elsewhere that fits our portfolio goals better. Both of these properties will be a good fit for another investor with different goals than ours which is the beauty of real estate.
What I am listening to on Audible
Tax-Free Wealth
by Tom Wheelwright, CPA
While primarily focused on the US, this book also talks about Canada, and most of the tips can be used in Canada. As the saying goes, it isn’t necessarily how much you make, it is more important how much you keep.
As the author says, the government incentivizes you to do what they want you to do and gives you tax breaks to accomplish that. They want you to invest in housing and businesses that employ others, so give you tax breaks and incentives to do that. By following what they want you to do, you keep more of the money you earn which is key to building wealth.
The book focuses on various ways to write off much of your daily life when done correctly and with the purpose to earn income. You can’t always rely on your tax preparer or accountant to give you all the answers. You need to take some ownership, do the research, ask the right questions, and find the right team to help you grow your income and keep as much of that income as you can to continue to grow and expand your business and personal wealth.
Useful Tip:
Synch and Backup your Files
I have finally been able to wrap my head around how I needed to protect my work files. As some of you know, I recently had an issue with my One Drive files which is where I kept all of my business files. One Drive is a synch system and I had my desktop version synching to the cloud. There was a problem when some of the files didn’t synch properly to the cloud, and the system decided to “synch” everything from the cloud to the desktop version. The problem with this is that the cloud version didn’t have all the correct files and chose this as the main file to synch my desktop to. This resulted in some of my files being lost. After many hours on the phone with them and emails back and forth, One Drive was not able to go back to previous versions to restore the missing files. Not good.
I use the Apple Time Machine backup on my computer and a service called Backblaze which backs up my desktop, however, it doesn’t back up cloud services such as One Drive, so I couldn’t restore the previous version from there either.
So the hunt began for a cloud synching provider that could also be backed up by Time Machine.
What is the difference with Synch and Backup? It is important to understand that a synching service such as One Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud do just that – synch your files so that you can work on multiple devices with the same information. This is important with my lifestyle of traveling often, as I can work on my laptop or phone wherever I am, and the files are the same as those on my desktop.
Most people have this option. However, the problem with just having a synching service, is that when files accidentally get deleted or the provider screws up such as happened with One Drive, you could lose files. It is important to also have a Backup service that maintains previous versions of your files that you can restore if files are deleted.
Solution:
I now have my “synch” system as Google Drive. My desktop is the “home” version that is “mirrored”. This means that I can work on my phone, laptop, or ipad, and the same changes I make there happen on my desktop.
Because this system is physically on my desktop with the Mirrored version, my Time Machine and Backblaze back this up. So I now have history versions that will go back 30 days or more depending on what setup options you choose. Should there by a problem with Google Drives synching, I can go to my Back Up version and restore back to before the problem occurred. Time Machine backs up to a physical hard drive I have that is attached to my desktop, and Backblaze is a cloud service. Here is a diagram to help it make sense.
What are you using to protect your files? Do you have s Synch AND a Backup service? Most people I have spoken with to find the solution, don’t have that as they haven’t had an problem with the Synch provider. I suggest that you add a backup provider to your system before you need it (and hopefully you never do, however it is great peace of mind.)
We’d love to hear from you!
If making your money work harder for you by investing in real estate without all the hassles is something that interests you, or if you want to partner alongside us and learn as you participate, reach out to us to book a no-obligation call or email michele@correaequitypartners.com.
We can discuss your goals and see if we are a fit to work together and invest with purpose.
Comments