Interview: Why Invest In Canadian Real Estate?

Recently, I met a financial planner and he had some questions about real estate investing. He decided to interview me with a professional film crew, and we recorded two video interviews.

In this first interview, I discuss the advantages and disadvantages of real estate compared to other asset classes, as well as my favourite real estate profit centres.

What are YOUR reasons for investing in real estate?

Please leave a comment below and let me know. Also feel free to share this video with people you know who may be just getting started in real estate.

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Paul Blacquiere

Founder and Editor at Spirepoint Wealth

Paul is an entrepreneur, investor, speaker, educator and publisher. He's founder and editor at Spirepoint Wealth, a financial education company dedicated to helping people improve their finances, create more cash flow and build long-term wealth.

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Latest posts by Paul Blacquiere (see all)

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Irene says:

Great Video Paul!

One of the reasons we invest in real estate is Control – it’s one of the rare investments we actually have control of. Unlike stocks and mutual funds, we can control the cash flow by actively decreasing expenses and increasing rents through effective property management.

Paul Blacquiere says:

at

Thanks Irene. I agree real estate is one of the few investments out there where you have much more control over it.

You can even control the value of it by doing renovations, etc. Can’t do that with stocks!

Brian Gudger says:

Great video, Paul. I can’t wait to see the second part. I’ve been reading a book on RRSP mortgages this week, so I’m interested to hear your comments on it (and keen to start doing it).

Paul Blacquiere says:

at

Thanks Brian. It was good to see you at the Peter Kinch event on Saturday. Maybe we can talk more at the next OREIO meeting.

I’ll be posting the RRSP video soon and will send out an announcement when it’s ready. Stay tuned…

- Brian Gudger says:
  
  at
  
  Awww, you didn’t just decide to host an RRSP Mortgage webinar because of little ol’ me, did you?
  
  LOL
  
  I’m signed up!
  
  Would love to chat at the next OREIO.
  
  “See” you on Monday.
  
  - Paul Blacquiere says:
    
    at
    
    LOL No, I was already planning it. You just happened to ask me at the same time.
    
    I just posted video #2 about RRSP Mortgages… let me know what you think.
    
    Thanks,
    Paul

Brian says:

Great interview Paul very informative.

Paul Blacquiere says:

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Glad you enjoyed it Brian 🙂

Melanie Barr says:

We started investing in stocks. I’m not refering to mutual funds here. We took some courses and got started with technical trading with stock. We started with swing trading then eventually option trading and forex. Emotions in stock will be biggest hurdle you have to overcome, then the learning curve. There is a huge learning curve with stocks. Two years after that we took more courses with the same company on the Real Estate side. Real Estate is so mush easier to grasp and to get started, and emotion is not as much of an issue (maybe that is just because we got our emotions under control with stock). You will have faster returns with the Real Estate as well. We now own a four-plex and we have two more (6 plex and 5 plex) in the works.

All in all I like them both. But if someone want to choose one or the other, I recommand to start with Real Estate.

Paul Blacquiere says:

at

Hi Melanie,

Thanks for your feedback. I agree that emotions are the biggest obstacle with stock and options trading, and to some degree real estate.

With the stock market, things move so fast, you must have control of your emotions or you’ll make very bad decisions quickly, which can cost you a lot of money.

With real estate, you usually have time to think about things because the market moves more slowly, and you’ll can’t sell in a few minutes by simply using your computer or calling your broker. Despite this advantage, I still find many people have to get over the fear of placing an offer — that’s the #1 hurdle I see.

I also like both real estate and stocks/options (for different reasons), but I agree that real estate is good for people getting started.

It’s easier to understand (they live in a home and have often purchased one), it’s tangible, and most importantly, they have a lot of control over the investment.

For more sophisticated stock and option investors, there are techniques you can use to control the investment to some degree (e.g. limit or offset losses, generate income). But it’s not at all like real estate where you can physically go to the property and do something to it.

Paul