Cody Yeh arrived in Canada at the age of 18 on a student visa, initially lacking knowledge in income and wealth creation. Over the past 11 years, Cody has undergone a significant transformation, evolving from a student to a full-time project manager, and eventually to a financial coach, real estate investor, and stock options investor. The skills he acquired during this period enabled him to leave his full-time job at the beginning of 2020. 

Cody now has a stock options investing program and he’s buying apartment buildings in the USA.  It’s quite the journey.

To follow Cody, his website is his name Codyyeh.com

Please enjoy the show!

In the latest episode of our podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Milena Simsic, a remarkable individual who transitioned from being an ICU nurse to becoming a top 1% Realtors in Windsor, ON. Milena's journey is a testament to the power of determination, strategic thinking, and adaptability.

Career Transition: From Nurse to Realtor

Milena's story begins in the high-pressure environment of an ICU in Detroit, where she worked for four years, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite her passion for nursing, she realized that her financial goals and long-term aspirations required a different path. Intrigued by the potential of real estate, she saved diligently and made her first property investment, a sixplex within eight months of starting her nursing career.

In February 2022, Milena made the full-time switch to real estate. Leveraging her skills, discipline, and having grown social media presence of 10,000, she quickly established herself as a formidable player in the Windsor market. By the end of her first year, she had achieved $300,000 in gross commission income, placing her in the top 1% of realtors in the area.

We talk about why and how Windsor’s market is booming unlike the rest of the province and how an investor can take advantage of it.

What I love about having this podcast is getting an hour of time from busy, successful talented people such as Milena so we can drill into what makes her tick, her secrets to success, how it didn’t come easy but rather with a lot of hard work.

I’ve been lucky to have many pasts guests of this show and I happen to hang out with 7 figure entrepreneurs all the time so I have experience hanging out with talented people and I’d count Milena among them. You don’t become a top 1% Realtor without talent and hard work. 

If you’re in the Windsor area, you definitely want to the check out the Windsor REI Social, the largest real estate networking event in Windsor, ON. Milena has honoured me with an invite to be the guest speaker Wednesday June 19th, 6pm at the Winelogy Restaurant and Bar.  I’ll be sharing my journey from 20 year landlord in Ontario to my recent pivot to the USA and I have to same kudos to Windsor REI Hosts Milena and Brandon Finn for hosting a speaker on the subject of USA Investing.  Not many local real estate professionals would.

To register for the meetup: Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/windsor-rei-social-429899

To follow Milena:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milena_simsic/

Website: https://milenasimsic.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/windsocialrealty/

Please enjoy the show!

Zac Killam: Real Estate Innovator and Entrepreneur, a Top Forty Under 40 winner, has made significant strides in the real estate industry. He has built a rapidly growing multi-family real estate business of 500 units, leveraging his entrepreneurial acumen to drive success in this competitive market.

Beyond real estate, Zac founded Canada’s largest taxi advertising network, the second largest globally, and a PropTech company.  The other property technology company he’s know for in our community is getting national attention called Front Lobby, pioneering rent reporting to credit bureaus in Canada, enabling renters to build credit through their monthly payments, used by a small as mom and pop landlords to publicly traded real estate investment trusts.

Join us on our podcast as we explore Zac Killam's real estate ventures and his innovative impact on the industry including how all landlords can better screen and improve rent collection while tenants build credit. A win win outcome!

https://frontlobby.com/

Please enjoy the show

We have an old friend in Georges El Masri returning to the show, host of Well Off Podcast, Georges used to work at the same Brokerage, the wonderful Rock Star Real Estate Brokerage but like many talented investors do, they transition out of service work into more focus on their own portfolio.

Like I’ve told many new Realtors, investors in my experience make more money and Georges will prove me right on today’s episode.

Georges is going to tell you it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows but he’s doing really well thanks to smart investing, quality education, keeping an eye on the numbers and execution.

As is the trend, the above market returns are often in the more complicated projects.  Those who solve problems tend to get rewarded and Georges shares how he uncovers deals, find hidden value add but adding apartments in commercial multifamily and small developments. 

Georges shares about different joint venture structures he’s negotiated so make sure to have a pen and paper ready, this interview is full of nuggets.

To connect or follow Georges:

Email [email protected]

Phone 416.855.4902

Podcast: https://welloffpodcast.ca/

Please enjoy the show!

We have my old friend Ming Lim of Volition Properties, Toronto Realtor and investor extraordinaire and the name volition is about living your life on your own volition thanks to financial peace from a great real estate portfolio.  The nice thing about investing in Toronto is one can’t really beat the number of high quality tenants to choose from. 

In my experience, the ideal tenant is gainfully employed and optimistic about the future as their credit history is valuable to them as they want to be able to get car loans and mortgages hence they can both afford the rent AND be motivated to be a quality tenant.

But Toronto is a top two least affordable city in Canada and one of the least affordable in the world so unless you have deep pockets for negative cash flow condos, you’re going to have to adopt an investment model of intensification and densification and that’s exactly why we have Ming Lim on as today’s guest.

Ming and I go back over ten years, he’s an engineer by training so he’s a bright guy, he doesn’t hide truths hence Ming share’s how some Toronto investors are faring holding pre-condo construction condos, very sad stuff. On the positive, Ming shares how CMHC’s MLI select program (read cheap, 50 year amortization financing) can be used to optimally invest and develop into multifamily properties in and around downtown Toronto.

For all you Toronto investors, you’ve asked “when will Erwin be downtown to meetup?” well Ming has invited me to speak at his meetup. 

https://www.meetup.com/volition/events/297931009/

Tuesday, May 28, 6:00-9:00 pm

The Kingston House

(676 Kingston Rd, Toronto), google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VKQLkSEc5cVxoa9j8

4.6/5 Google reviews

I’ll be sharing my journey of being a landlord in Ontario for the last 20 years and how I’ve started selling properties here to diversify to the landlord friendly areas of the USA. I’ve just returned from Savannah, GA, I’m in the middle of creating my corporate structure in the States to be prepared to start writing offers in the USA this month and I can not wait!

I hope to see you there and please enjoy the show!

Ming’s Volition on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/volitionproperties/

Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Volition/

Advisory call: https://cal.com/volition-matt/30advisory?month=2024-03

We have my old friend Andrew Hines and his co-author of an all new book John Schwenker!  Andrew needs no introduction and John is an everyday hero, a firefighter and recovering real estate investor.

Andrew has taken his turn sharing how he lost money investing in Ohio now it’s John’s turn to share how he made a bunch of money in Ontario, lost all his profits in the recent correction but it’s not all bad news, John’s short term rental property in the US is a winner. I’m confident you’ll agree when you hear his numbers especially when compared to his Niagara Fall, Ontario short-term rental.

In this episode, John and Andrew share their journey to writing this book so we may all learn from their mistakes and how to be successful in their book which is like Tim Ferriss’ “Tools of Titans” where other experts have contributed chapters to the book including yours truly.  

To pick up a copy of the book:

“Real Estate Titans: Tools, Tactics and Wisdom for Canadian Real Estate Wealth.”

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Real-Estate-Titans-Tactics-Canadian-ebook/dp/B0CZZZWP3Z/

To follow Andrew and John:

@theandrewhines

@john.schwenker

On to this week’s show! We have one of my oldest real estate investor friends Andy Tran who was among my first clients and home inspectors.

I’ll always remember the first deal we did together, a detached house in Hamilton for $216,000. The house had been sitting for nearly two months before we came along and during our appointment to see the property, I noticed there was something not right.  The owners listed a man and woman’s name but while inspecting in the fridge and closets, I could tell only the father and kids lived in the house.

In speaking with the listing agent to gather information for our offer, the agent informed me the sellers were divorcing and hated each other.  Knowing we had a motivated seller, our offer was a low one and was promptly accepted to our surprise.  Note that we also included our closing costs to be paid for by the sellers.  This was back in 2010 and we’ve both come a long way.

Fast forward to the present, Andy is the market leader in secondary and tertiary suite additions.  In plain language, that’s basement apartments, additions for self contained apartments and garage or garden suites which are also apartments.

Andy is a master of maximising the rental income that can be generated from one property.  Andy has consulted and designed over 100 apartment conversions between my clients and I including land severances.

If you’d like to learn more about Andy’s services available at Suite additions, simply go to www.suiteadditions.com where he has checklists and beginner guides to secondary suiting plus his in person training program Andy mentions on the show which sold out in April but expect another this fall.

Andy’s a good guy and that’s the truth about real estate investing. Please enjoy the show!

My friend Shawn Bedard who I first met at REIN over ten years ago and our real estate investing paths were quite different. Back in 2010, Shawn couldn’t find deals that make sense in Ontario so he went to landlord friendly USA and bought 4 houses in Atlanta and 10 in Memphis, Georgia. His experience and investment went…. I’ll let him SHARE.

Other than real estate investing, I’ve invited Shawn on the show to discuss his volunteer work at a non-profit organization called Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO), specifically the Accelerator program where Shawn leads the initiative to guide entrepreneurs with $250,000 to 999,999 in revenue USD to get over a $1 million USD and become a full member of EO.

EO has been an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs like Shawn and I. I luv it hence I joined the board of our Toronto chapter.  What I luv about EO members is they’re kind, successful people who all want to make their mark in the world.

Our values are:

• Trust and Respect. Each of us is unique and equal. ...

• Thirst for Learning. We have an insatiable curiosity. ...

• Think big, be bold. We innovate, take risks and see opportunity in a challenge. 

• Together we grow. We are committed to each other's growth and well-being.

To learn more about EO’s Accelerator program

https://eocanada.com/accelerator/

To connect with Shawn:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-bedard-65a3/?originalSubdomain=ca

Web: https://jigtechnologies.com/

We have my friend Adam Kitchener back on the show as we get along because he keeps it so real.  No pictures of him on a private plane, or luxury vehicle or luxury watches. Well he does actually but they’re obviously photoshopped as he’s poking fun at the phonies out there.  

Don’t get me wrong, luxury stuffs great. I personally luv it when folks celebrate their success and reward themselves.  Keep in mind, most successful people in my experience don’t brag about their wealth, read “the Millionaire Next Door” if you don’t believe me. The book describes 99% of my millionaire clients exactly.  Why would anyone brag about their cars and watches or gold chains, on social media? That would make them a target for robbery.  Adam actually rips people who do such things and turn out to be frauds on his social media accounts.

On today’s show, Adam recounts his trials and tribulations of being a full time, active investor.  He shares how he finances deals including private money, the numbers on the deals he’s done, why they are deals, how cash flow and timely execution is paramount to survival and he pulls no punches, it’s not sexy.

He’s been assaulted and harassed by tenants, arrested by police, bought houses with backyards littered with used syringes from drug dealers. 

Investment wise, he’s doing excellent and well setup for the future but it was far from sunshine and rainbow getting here. Feel free to reach out to Adam on social media, he’s happy to take a question or two for anyone who needs a second opinion on anything real estate related.

https://www.instagram.com/mradamkitchener/

https://www.facebook.com/adamrkitchener

Please enjoy the show!

Returning to the show is Andrew Kim from Brampton who identifies as American. He used to invest locally, the return on time wasn’t there so he bought 20 houses in landlord friendly USA ten years ago now he cash flows over ten thousand US dollars per month.  His Accountant Carmen was the one who guided Andrew to invest in the USA along with several of her Accounting and Financial Planning Clients since 2008.  Since then they’ve combined forces to make the same opportunities available to everyday Canadian investors with the company they co-founded call SHARE thanks to their innovative technology and automation to bring down the costs substantially.  

Full disclosure: I am an advisor to SHARE, meaning I get paid to develop their business in Canada through Marketing and Sales. It's the most fun I've ever had in my real estate career. I wake up every morning excited to speak with investors and help them find opportunities in the USA. Active as an investor and landlord since 2005, I'm eager to share with my clients and community a simpler way to combat inflation and build their wealth with less risk and higher cash flow, in places where investors are truly welcomed.

I want to thank Andrew and SHARE for inviting me along for the ride and for helping me invest in USA.  I can’t wait to start making offers in May after my rentals here are sold and closed.

As I mentioned, Andrew’s context of real estate and investing is very American since he lived in California for five years and wants to go back. He’s here today to share what 150 Canadians interested in investing in the USA have said to him.

Please enjoy the show.

📅Join Our Upcoming Workshop: How to Invest in the U.S. Real Estate Market as a Canadian Investor! For those who’d like a deeper understanding of how to invest in the USA, we are happy to announce our next US investing workshop on Saturday, April 13th. 🔗Sign up: https://USAworkshop.eventbrite.ca/?aff=YT