Category Archives for "Real Estate"

This is the wrong questions to ask. Why? Because every entrepreneur knows how to pull endless rabbits out of his or her hat. So, what is the right question to ask? How do we turn a cost center into a profit center? This is what we did at Dunrobin Lake. We got permission from MNR […]

Yeah, right. In an alternate universe, maybe, but in Ontario, land of the RTA, residential tenancy act, it’s hard for landlords to acquire vacant possession. On behalf of a coaching client, I recently reached out to Brian Dagenais, founder of Dagenais Properties, and an expert property manager, for his advice on this subject. Here’s the […]

City of Ottawa Official Plan Poll Results and Analysis by Bruce M Firestone, PhD Decisions by municipal government can be even more important to individual residents than those made by higher levels—provincial, state or federal agencies. Noted urbanist Jane Jacobs called this the “subsidiarity” principal by which she meant that the closer government is to […]

OK, you are a real estate investment whiz. Then see if you can answer this question about cap (capitalization) rates: THE QUESTION Let’s say you buy a duplex for $500,000 and it has a going-in NOI (net operating income) of $26,500 per year. That’s without any renos, new leases, or animations, ok? This is a […]

[Note: feature image is international symbol for human rights.] So, a city committee has voted in favor of effectively banning Airbnb and other home-sharing platforms, https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/dozens-sign-up-to-tell-councillors-what-they-think-about-proposed-crackdown-on-short-term-rentals This is a terrible decision IMHO. Three councillors voted against the ban: Stephen Blais <stephen.blais@ottawa.ca> Eli El-Chantiry <Eli.El-Chantiry@ottawa.ca> Matt Luloff 613-580-2471×26699′ <Matt.Luloff@ottawa.ca> I wrote to them (see below). I […]

Think about it—Mr Buffett has been buying stock in well-managed, top brands for many decades. These stocks (for the most part) pay dividends, which Mr Buffett used to pay down debt he took on (through his principal investing vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway) to purchase these investments in the first place, which (again, for the most part) […]