How to Build a Real Estate Portfolio

I’m always curious about how people got to where they are today, how they did it, the process?

So I thought, why can’t I be that person people are curious about and want to know how they did it?

Which is why in this blog, and video below, I’m going to cure your curiosity, and give you the timeline of my journey.

Breaking down every property I ever purchased.

The strategies I used.

The good, the bad, and the ugly for each.

And share a secret or two of how I bought 15 properties in 11 months, won the 2015 CREW Magazine Investor of the Year Award, and then went on to build a real estate portfolio that now has over 50 units, all in just four years.

So stay tuned.

My journey began at the end of 2013. My first property I bought was listed for a$59,000.

I knew the seller and he told me told me he wouldn’t take anything less then $55,000.

I thought that was a bit too much, and so did my buyers, as I was a Realtor at the time. They figured resale it would be $100,000, and that it needed $50,000, leaving nothing left.

I knew they were wrong; too scared to take a risk, so I bought it for $48,000, put $35,000 into, and sold it for $130,000.

At the same time, I purchased my second duplex, which I still own today, for $87,000.

My brother in law and dad helped me renovate it, and once we were finished, and rented it.

I refinanced the property, getting most of the funds I had invested into the property back, which I then used to pay back my Home Equity Line of Credit.

With the profits having made and my Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) full again, I went on a shopping spree.

Buying my third and fourth properties, which I ended up flipping.

My fifth, sixth, and seventh properties I bought, which I kept as rentals; were a single family home for $65,000 , a duplex for $57,000, and another single family home for $50,000. Two of them required a lot of work, so I renovated them, then refinanced them, and still own them today.

The third property didn’t need any work, it was outdated, but live-able, so I rented it for $800 per month right away, and today I still own it.

Having just done minor repairs to it over the years, and it now rents for $1300+.

Having then pulled out my capital from the refinances, my journey took me a buying my eight property, a duplex.

I still own it as well today, where again I used the buy, renovate, rent and refinance strategy, the Buy, Renovate, Rent, and Refinance (BRRR) strategy.

Then a huge opportunity fell in my lap.

A friend introduced me to these two more properties, that could be bought with no money, which we did, using a Vendor Take-back Mortgage and a private lender.

We renovated the top two floors, and still own this property today, and the fourplex next to it, which was part of the deal.

We renovated and ended up selling that one.

In fact, if you want to learn more about buying properties with no money, I go into more detail in this video.

Having now built up a small portfolio, most of my money was tied up, so to continue, I partnered with a few people on a 8 unit property, which I still own today.

Then around August of 2014, some of my refinances came through, so I had some cash, and purchased a fourplex, which had been sitting on the market for a while.

I renovated all four units, put forced air furnaces in each unit as it had electric baseboard heating, which is terrible for resale, rented the property, and then sold it.

From there, I took some of the profits and I decided to partner with a contractor on another duplex, which we renovated both units, and flipped for a nice profit.

I also took some of the profits from the fourplex and purchased another small single family home, in which the sellers were about to lose the property to the bank.

I picked it up for only $38,000.

I renovated the property and then sold it.

And that was the 15th property I purchased in a matter of 11 months.

In that time frame, I also sold over $2 million in real estate as a Realtor.

Let’s put it this way, 2014 was a blur!

But all the hard work has paid off.

I took the next six months to just get my bearings, to fill the bank accounts again, and pay back my HELOC.

Then I went and picked up a singly family home, and flipped it, and took those profits, and again using up all my capital, purchased a duplex that was power of sale.

I still own this property today, and it honestly is my favourite property.

I also picked up another duplex, which I still own as well.

This is where some ugly happened., as things didn’t work out as planned.

Both properties needed major work, not much cosmetic.

When I tried to refinance them, the appraiser didn’t notice many updates, even though I had put on a new roof, updated electrical, added AC, and put in all new windows at both properties.

As a result of the appraisals being terrible, I couldn’t refinance the properties to pull out my money and had to hold them.

This meant my money was now tied up, and as a result, I sat idle for almost a year, saving, until a Realtor reached out to me with a property that hadn’t hit the market yet, a duplex, and I couldn’t resist.

So I used my last bit of capital, AGAIN, to buy it, as it was turn key, already being rented, and was making money the day I took possession.

And that brings me to present day.

Cash poor, but that’s okay, my capital is invested, making amazing returns, from the appreciation the Windsor market has enjoyed over the last 2-3 years.

And the mortgages are being paid down from the tenants paying their rents, which have also been increasing in this market.

What have I learned?

Don’t wait for the perfect property.

Don’t wait for the perfect time.

Don’t wait until you have all the answers.

Start Investing in real estate today!

You can and will make it work.

You will push yourself, you will learn as you go, and you will be surprised how you adapt, how you respond, because you have a goal.

Mine was to retire early, to quit working full-time, which I did last summer.

If I can do it, you can too!

So quit thinking, quit waiting, and start doing.

WHAT TO DO NEXT