CANADIAN REAL ESTATE
INVESTING 101
By John W Carter, CEO
Parkhurst Asset Corp
March 2013

Content
Background on John
Historical returns vs. other investment options
Why invest in real estate
Hurdles and challenges, and how to overcome
How to run the numbers on a property
Options for investment in real estate
Questions

Background on John W Carter
John has over 10 years of experience managing
his personal portfolio of single family properties &
apartment buildings as well as a number of joint
venture holdings. He has done so successfully
through all market cycles.
Since 2002 he has transacted business volume
with clients and his
personal portfolio of over
$70,000,000 and over
100 property transactions.

Historical returns vs other options

Historical returns vs. other options

Why Invest in Real Estate

Why Invest in Real Estate
“Ninety
percent of all
millionaires
become so
through
owning real
estate.”
-Andrew
Carnegie
Leveraged appreciation
Equity repayment – tenants pay
down your mortgage for you
Tax advantages
Cash flow
Should achieve 12-20%+ ROI on
cash invested.
Depending on financing strategy, breaks down
as: 3-5% cash on cash return, 5-8% with
equity paydown, and overall return includes
appreciation over 5 years+.

Leveraged Appreciation

Equity Repayment & Appreciation
Income Grows too

Long Term Appreciation Formula
Research provided by Real Estate Investment Network & www.donrcampbell.com

Tax Advantages & Cash Flow
Tax advantages:
Can write off interest on debt used to buy investment
property
Depreciation of asset value against other income
Growth of capital is tax deferred until sale
Tax on sale treated as capital gains, and thus only 50% of
gain is taxable
Cash Flow
Should always invest into positive cash flow from day one
Debt should be positively leveraged (explained later in
numbers)
Invest in growth areas, and where high demand for tenants.
Ideal property types are 2 bed condos, 3 bed townhouses, or
3+2 bed suited houses

Hurdles and Challenges

Hurdles and Challenges Overcome
“You make
your money
real estate
investing on
the
appreciation,
but you need
cash flow to
wait for that”
- John Carter
Not enough cash
Friends, family, business associates to JV with
you
Qualifying for mortgages
Get co-signer
Finding viable properties
Hire a Realtor that owns investments properties
themselves
Target growth markets where numbers make
sense
Fixing toilets, tenant horror stories, and 2am
phone calls
Hire property managers, have cash flow to pay
for them by structuring investment properly up
front, and do annual inspections yourself.

The Numbers

The Numbers
Key terms:
What is NOI?
What is a cap rate?
What is positive and negative leverage?
Proforma examples

The Numbers
Net Operating Income (NOI)
Income after all expenses, but not including debt payments. Is an
equalizer to compare investment properties, and the primary value
of an investment property
Capitalization Rate
Simply put, it’s the NOI divided by the purchase price. Represents
the return on investment assuming purchasing the property with
zero debt. Is the equalization for comparison of various properties.
Positive and negative leverage
Positive leverage is where the interest rate for debt on a property is
lower than the cap rate. The result is the investor achieves an ROI
on the banks money as the spread between cap rate and interest
rate.
Negative leverage is where interest rate is higher than the cap rate.
This means cash flow is reduced to pay debt payments, and can
result in the investor being short on cash to pay the mortgage and
potentially losing the property to foreclosure in future.

Proforma Examples

Proforma Example

Options for investing in real estate

Options for real estate investment
Equity options:
Buy rental property – 12-20%+
Invest cash as a joint venture partner with a
successful real estate investor – 10-20%+
Invest cash into a limited partnership or private REIT
– 7-15%+ (some are RRSP eligible)
Invest in public REITs – 7-18%+ (avg. 18% in 2012)
(RRSP eligible through self directed account)
Debt options:
Invest in private first or second mortgages – 8-12%
MICs (mortgage investment corporation) – 8-12%
RRSP eligible

Options for real estate investment
If have $40-50k, and
ability to get debt, buy a
rental property
If not, invest cash with
JV proven investor
(amount varies)
If less than $10k, invest
in public REITs
If over $10-25k, invest
in private REITs, but do
diligence
Best options for starting out

Real Estate Investment Success Plan
1) Own your own home
2) Keep your first home as a rental, and move up
3) Buy single family properties with secondary suites
4) Real life monopoly… buy 4 houses, then move to
apartment buildings
Focus on tenant screening up front, effective
management, cash reserve
Slow, strategic moves. Buy and hold min. 5 years
Refinance when possible to bring debt costs down.
Use caution when refinancing equity. Must still be
cash flow positive, and use equity for re-investment
only
Increase rents with market, but keep tenants better

Additional Resources:
www.ptrust.ca – Download investment
guide and review ‘Learn’ section. Signup for
our email newsletter
www.reincanada.com REIN – take the
ACRE system intro. course and signup for
newsletter
Any Questions?