Table of Contents
Podcast Transcription
Sandy Mackay [00:00:31] Breakthrough real estate investing podcast episode fifty-five.
Rob Break [00:00:54] Hello and welcome to the Breakthrough Real Estate Investing podcast. We put the show together to inspire you and help you break through to the life that you want to live through the power of real estate investing. My name is Rob Break, and here with me is the co-founder of your favorite podcast. Sandy Mackay.
Sandy Mackay [00:01:15] I thought that was the best one, yeah,
Rob Break [00:01:17] yeah, yeah, what was the name of that podcast?
Sandy Mackay [00:01:21] It’s Breakthrough Real Estate Investing Podcast That’s right, it is.
Rob Break [00:01:26] How are things, man? Welcome back to reality.
Sandy Mackay [00:01:30] Thanks. I know hats. Yeah. You know, back to the slave labor during these shows grinding up.
Rob Break [00:01:38] Where did you guys go? You were away. For what? Two or three weeks
Sandy Mackay [00:01:42] or two weeks when we were the Maldives and Dubai?
Rob Break [00:01:46] That sounds amazing. And actually, the pictures look incredible.
Sandy Mackay [00:01:50] Yeah, it was awesome. It was one of the better trips we’ve ever taken, for sure. Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not going to give you too much cheer, but it was amazing.
Rob Break [00:01:59] But you could tell us a little bit about it. Were there any highlights? No.
Sandy Mackay [00:02:02] The greatest thing I couldn’t believe was the construction in Dubai and just the just the craziness of the amount of real estate and things that you see happening. There was just the development. If you were to take the let’s say, if you look at the Toronto, not the sand tower, but let’s say the next tallest building, whatever that building is in Toronto. There’s 50 of those, like under construction right now in Dubai, like all, but then a couple hundred meters of each other like this is the construction there is unbelievable.
Rob Break [00:02:31] And it’s interesting because like the architecture is a lot different there, too. It’s all very like very intricate architecture, very modern.
Sandy Mackay [00:02:40] Like, it’s like the city only really like if you, I guess, I don’t know. I’m just reading up on it a bit while we were there. Like, if you were to go there 30 years ago, there was not much, pretty much nothing.
Rob Break [00:02:51] Did you rent a Ferrari or Lamborghini or something while you were there? No, no. How did you get around?
Sandy Mackay [00:02:58] You know the for what you hear about Dubai and UAE and all the money that’s there. It was, it was. It was like noticeable, but not like. No, no, not really much more than if you were driving downtown Toronto or Vancouver or one of the major cities in Canada, like it wasn’t that noticeable. There’s always the money, but I thought it was. I thought that part was a little bit played up a little bit in the media, I guess, or wherever we were, for whatever reason, we think that that’s there is not much more than that is here.
Rob Break [00:03:31] OK, well, that’s interesting. Yeah. Well, again, welcome back. Happy to have you back. Thanks. We all miss you.
Sandy Mackay [00:03:38] Now we get to work here again. Yeah.
Rob Break [00:03:40] And so I’d also like to say hello to our guest, Candice Bakx-Friesen. How are you?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:03:47] Hey, guys, things are going well.
Rob Break [00:03:49] Yeah, thanks for coming on the show. Candace is going to bring her vast knowledge of auto rentals, as well as giving us a prairie perspective, which is much needed and you’ll find out why, because of our reviews that I’m going to read. Actually, it’s funny. Two of them even mentioned like, we need to get some, you know, less Ontario specific stuff going on. So Candace has a lot of investor smarts, and we’re happy to have you here. So thanks again. Yeah, you bet. And everyone, of course, should go and check out our website breakthrough RBI podcast DOT. You can actually comment on whatever podcast that you would like to see. Go in and just click on that podcast and go down. You can leave a comment. What you liked, what you didn’t like about it, you know, tell us, just lay it on the line. Tell us what you liked, what you didn’t like and what else. Sandi, this
Sandy Mackay [00:04:42] gentleman, or, for your part, got on our email list there on our podcast dossier. Not only will you get that free report seven free democracy in training properties starting right now. More importantly, maybe you’re going to get access to all the commanders. And then we throw out there on a regular basis. You’re going to get an invite to any events that we’re hosting and seminars and things like that that that’s we don’t really just throw it there to the public. So jump on there and you’re getting notified of what the events are holding and the and the speakers we’re having out and things like that. And you’ll get it. You’ll get an update about every podcast that comes out and get on that list. I think I think you’re going to really find it useful and value. So get on there.
Rob Break [00:05:23] Also, you know, if you if you haven’t been there for a while, we do change up some of the guest links. So some of them have added websites or I mean, I know one of them has even started his own podcast so you can go and check out Go Back. Having started his own podcast, I’m not sure how many he’s got out, but a few of them. So go back to, I think, episode 49 and check out his links there again. So there’s different they’re different all the time. It’s just come back and revisit some of your old favorites or whatever, and so you would get a lot of different updates, I guess. Now the one thing that I did want to mention, Sandi, is I was going to read a couple more of our iTunes reviews here. So we’ve got three that I’m going to read, and the latest one is five stars from C four porn. I love the names the people have. Hmm. This one short and sweet, it says entertaining and extremely educational five stars. This is by far the best real estate investing podcast. Rob and Sandy speak from experience, and the information is highly valuable. That one? Love that and I want to encourage. Actually, we haven’t had too many lately, so I want to encourage people to go over and leave a review on iTunes. And we’re going to give you some motivation actually to do so later on. So please keep listening. Now, where is the next one? So I’ve got one from my daddy smooth. I like that name. Nice. And it says Rob and Sandy, along with their guests, provide a great amount of information and inspiration. I am just starting out an aria and look forward to following along with them the whole way. Barrie, Ontario Heavy I’d like to hear some more from other cities in Canada, a.k.a. Calgary. So let’s see, the next one is from G.H., IGC, CGF, and it’s five stars as well. And it says, I love this podcast. I read many books on the subject of real estate investing and spoken with other investors in person. But you guys have by far given the most valuable information and advice I found yet. I would like to hear more from investors from different regions across Canada. Ontario is great, but I don’t live there. I would like to hear more from investors from Western Canada. Thanks for what you do and keep up the good work. So we’ve replied to these and we’re bringing some information from other parts of the country. And then we have done that before, of course. But we’re doing it again.
Sandy Mackay [00:08:06] We’re going on a roll with our area and B.C. now or we’re getting a bit of everywhere the break from. I want to say Cullen is not corner, whereas a camera or a camera.
Rob Break [00:08:16] Right? Yeah, that’s right. And I was speaking to him recently. He still hasn’t figured out with the last on his Mount Rushmore tattoo is going to be. Oh, so at least last time I spoke with him anyways. So he has booked the appointment, though, that was what I heard. So you better decide very soon. So we’ll find out.
Sandy Mackay [00:08:36] Hey. All right. So as we mentioned, where can it’s freezing here with us, in Kennedy’s words, to inspire families and create lasting improvement in their finances to create legacy and impact generations? And Kenneth has been a real estate investors in 2001 and is experienced in a lot of the different fields there. Better take backs, private mortgages, buy and hold and as well as rent to own deals. And Kennedys have been featured in Cru magazine that’s creating Real Estate Wealth magazine. And a spokesman at the Toronto Investor Forum in 2016 and 2017. Candice is passionate about helping people reach their financial dreams, and we’re super excited to have Candice here with us tonight again. And welcome to the show, Candice. We’re going to get to know you here a little bit better and hopefully come up with some great content there for our listeners. So welcome to the show. Thanks.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:09:28] Thanks. Yeah, I’m excited to be with you guys. This is a great podcast and I love that you guys are giving great value to people who are getting into real estate and their new or experienced because there’s so much opportunity right there and you see how we could do to help people. It is great.
Rob Break [00:09:46] Yeah, thank you. We do appreciate you being here again. So would you like to share with us a little bit about your investing journey so far? Sure.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:09:54] So my husband actually bought his first rental when he was a teen, so he had, you know, menial teen jobs and he was really good at saving money. So he had some money set aside. And at the time, his first place to be bought was thirty-two thousand, and so he had $8000. That is twenty five percent down and with a shaking hand, he signed his first mortgage and you just said, this is crazy. Like, I got no more money after this, and he’s just like, oh, it’s going to work out to be fine. So after about a year, then he bought his second house around thirty thousand again, and that was kind of how he started and his parents were into rentals, obviously. So his dad thought it was a good thing. And to encourage him, my parents weren’t. So when I met him and we were dating, we were dating. Young men got married, young and stuff, so we were dating. Then he was talking about all this interesting stuff, and I thought it was pretty interesting. And you know, of course, I started asking him the numbers and I was going to university at the time to be an accountant. So numbers were important to me, and it made sense. So after we got married, then we heard about this, this five plex again through his dad, just through the grapevine. I was a realtor, anything at that time. And I just said, OK, let’s do this like this sounds good. And he’s like, no, this is five. Like, you know, I’ve just bought one house here at a time and I was like, So it’s OK. It’s just five times as much fun. It’s going to work out and. And so that was kind of our first property that we bought together. And so it’s just been slow and steady wins the race since. So we’ve been, you know, every year buying one property or two properties and slowly has built portfolios. Yeah, a little bit of everything. Single family, duplex, multifamily, commercial, and just diversify a little bit between areas, between towns and small cities and between types of real estate. So it’s been fun. I was a mortgage broker for about a year before being a realtor, and I’ve been doing that for about 10 years, 10 years this month, actually. So that’s kind of cool. Time flies and yeah, so just having a pretty well-rounded knowledge. And then I have started helping more or more people in coaching. So it’s got a brand investor smarts. And yeah, so we’re just busy with investing and being the realtor and doing some coaching. So it’s good.
Rob Break [00:12:21] Wow, that’s awesome. It sounds like a lot actually was the five Plex five times as much fun.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:12:28] It’s yeah, it was a good move. It was a great move. It came on a really sizable lot. I think it was 300-foot frontage. I’m just going, wow, memory goes 300 by 600. It was like a massive piece of land. So the next year we turned around and built a four plex sort of parallel to that same building. So there was nine units and there’s actually still room on that on that same property near the back. Oh, that’s
Rob Break [00:12:56] amazing. Yeah, I love stories like that.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:13:00] I know. Yeah. And it was all just word of mouth, right? And so that’s kind of, yeah, now that was kind of cool deal.
Sandy Mackay [00:13:07] So he was only there.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:13:09] That was in a small town that we both grew up in. And there’s about a thousand people in the town, so small town. And so a lot of people, you know, you get together coffee shops and guys chat and whatever, shoot the breeze. And so he just heard about this guy again sitting around having coffee and he’s like, Yeah, you know, or they were living in one of the units at the time and were renting out the other four. And he’s like, Yeah, you know, I’m kind of getting older. I don’t know if I want to do this rental thing anymore. So then his dad had mentioned it to us just kind of in passing and. We decided to jump on it and made it happen so
Rob Break [00:13:48] well, it’s very interesting, so you’ve mentioned a couple of times now that you invest in small communities like, so I don’t know, I guess, a thousand to fifteen thousand people. What do you think are the benefits of being in those small markets?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:14:04] OK, so just to give the people from Toronto and some of the other areas a bit of a background? Winnipeg is about average sale prices about 300000 and population about 800000. So we live southeast of Winnipeg and so the area it’s the largest town or small city is about fifteen thousand. And then there’s a whole bunch of other small towns sort of surrounding that and going all the way over to Winnipeg. So that’s sort of the area that we focus on. And so the distance is about 45 minutes to Winnipeg, so it’s a pretty easy commute for people. And so even though it’s small town, you still benefit from being closer to the major city in Manitoba, which is Winnipeg. So we invested in small community because we were familiar with it. And we know, we know people here. We know it’s a lot easier to deal with the municipality, which is the area, the governing body for the area versus dealing with the city zoning office and stuff. So there’s a lot more flexibility. So we want to do something, and it requires a variance. It’s really easy to work with the municipalities because they’re really eager for development and they love seeing this kind of stuff. And you know, you have bigger lot sizes to not as worried about, you know, being super close to a neighbor or even four feet away and stuff like that. So, yeah, so that’s been really good because again, it’s just allowed us the flexibility. And, you know, we don’t have, as you mentioned, it’s not as much competition or as many landlords and we know people in the community, right? It’s just like I mentioned with sort of finding this deals through a coffee shop. You know, we also know tenants, we know the families of the tenant. And so you don’t go there as many crazy stories. You don’t get to move our massive damage because everyone knows everyone. So you’re really worried about your reputation more. So that’s been really good for us. Yeah. And just having our property manager is kind of the same thing. So for the first several years, we were doing all the property management and when we got to about twenty-two units or twenty-four units then and I had four kids by then. So I was like, okay, I got to give something up here. So we got a property manager, which has been great. And it was kind of the same thing. He has said the same thing. Well, you know, I sort of know the family or, well, it’s your I’ve heard through the grapevine, maybe this wouldn’t be as good of a tenant. And so this screening seems to be quite a bit better in small towns as well.
Sandy Mackay [00:16:46] And you know, we thought about looking in the summer, I guess, if your thing.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:16:53] Yeah. Again, I’m not against investing in Winnipeg, and there’s definitely pockets to be in a bigger city and bigger centers. Well, right now it’s just the convenience of it. And just being in a busy stage of life, I suppose as well. But I think once you know, my kids are older and, you know, possibly with my husband changing careers and stuff, if we had a lot more time and energy to be driving that hour to go to the properties and checking everything out more, then I think we we’re not against doing it. It’s just what you know is convenient, right? So that’s what we’ve been doing for now.
Rob Break [00:17:28] So I mean, I find it interesting that you built a nine plex on the same property when you’re in a thousand town with a population of a thousand. I mean, I know people that won’t invest outside of this city here because they don’t think that there’s going to be a call for the for the rental market. So I just so like there was actually enough people to rent out the nine plex.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:18:00] Oh, yeah, there’s tons of rental properties in this town. Yeah, yeah. And you know, again, being outside of a major center, people are still driving into to Winnipeg for work. But, you know, people like the quieter lifestyle, right? So there’s people that are moving outside. I want to pay because they’re like, you know, I can drive an hour, but I can live in a community that’s quiet. I can go for a walk at 11 o’clock at night or a jog, and I’m not worried about, you know, somebody attacking me or running into problems, right? And so people are moving outside of these big centers more and more, I think, because they want that quieter lifestyle, they want less pollution, and they want safer communities. And so, yeah, there’s quite a few people that are renters, you know, and if you’ve grown up in a small town, sometimes you want to again see living in that small town because you’re familiar with it, right? So, yeah, yeah, it’s been really good.
Rob Break [00:18:54] That’s great. I love that story. I want to. I want to deal like that. Yeah. I’ll find you one. OK, thank you.
Sandy Mackay [00:19:03] Help me on this shortly. Yeah. One of the strategies that we mentioned they do deal with a lot is rent to own. What about that strategy appeals specifically where you deal with those because it’s interesting to talk about rentals in smaller towns?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:19:18] Yeah. Yeah. So sort of the same thing, like there’s people that want to live in these small communities. And so they obviously they want to buy properties here as well. And sometimes again, when you get maybe you come to a community and you’re renting here, then you get to know people, or your kids are in that school. And now you want to stay in the community because you get to know people and you don’t want to be like moving your kids around the lottery. And so like in any other place, not everybody qualifies. And so rent to own is a great strategy to help families be able to purchase their first home when they’re, you know, they’ve got credit issues or they’re trying to get enough money together for the down payment, maybe they don’t have family able to help them out. And yes, there’s lots of reasons why people do rent to own. Sometimes you know someone’s newly self-employed, and they can’t buy a house for a few years. So then they think, well, you know, why don’t we do a rental? I’m still making good money as being self-employed, but you know, it’s the bank doesn’t want to help me yet. And whatever I can still move into a rental into a place that I want to live in and not be renting a place where maybe it’s going to sell and I’m going to have to move. Or, you know, people just want that stability, right? So, yeah, so that’s a great way to kind of get settled in when you’re dealing with various different issues of why you maybe don’t quite qualify
Sandy Mackay [00:20:37] ever experienced any issues with finding good rental tenants? Or I guess really just I’m thinking of challenges, maybe being in a smaller community compared to a more, you know, a few hundred thousand capacity where you have that, I guess on the outside looking in or a little bit of a larger pool of people?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:20:57] Right? Yeah. So rent to own, you could do it as tenant first or you could do the property first. And so some people like property first because it, you know, you can maybe secure a really good deal. Or if you sign a good deal in a house, then you’ve made money on the purchase, right? But if you do tenant first, then you find a person or tenant pre-qualified them and then you go home shopping, and they go picks the house that they like. And so maybe for smaller towns, if you look at it, as you know, I might not have a big enough pool. If I find a house first, you might want to do tenant first. Again, I really believe in helping people, and that’s important to me. And so I do tenant first because, you know, I think that it’s great if they can fix the house that they are going to end up living in, right? So that’s been really good. We for the task again, you know, we’re going to be married 60 years now this year. So for the past 16 plus years, we’ve been doing buy and hold. But my husband is looking to transition in his employment in the next couple of years. And so rent to own is going to be nice because for us, because we’re just looking at, you know, there’s any unknowns in two to three years, we’re going to be having some rental deals mature at that point where money will be coming in. And so rent to own and flipping houses are both income strategies versus buy and hold is more wealth generating wealth and long-term wealth. And to increase your net worths, right? But with rent to own and it be an income strategy is really good for us right now because again, when he changes employment, then we’ve got that money coming in. And so it’s not going to be as big of a deal as you know, it takes a little while for him to get the next business up and running. So. So I think it’s just really important to think of what, why you’re investing and what strategy is going to make the most sense for what you want to accomplish in your life.
Sandy Mackay [00:22:59] That’s a great point. Great to distinguish that. It’s an income strategy. I think a lot of people have trouble figuring that out. So actually, that’s it’s really quite simple, but a really good point, actually to make what given you their advice for new investors.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:23:15] Well, I think, again, it’s really important to have an open mind to opportunities that come up. So I like to think of myself as a bit of an opportunist when it comes to investing because, you know, if I’m only focused on single family, I might miss a really good deal that’s commercial or multifamily or duplex. And all of those different strategies have their pros and cons which we don’t need to get into today. But all of them, for different reasons, can be great opportunities. So, you know, if you keep an open mind to, I’m just looking for a great opportunity, then more opportunities, I think will come your way. And so I know when you get started, it’s really hard to kind of think that way and again has an open mindset. And just like we’re talking about maybe investing in an area that’s outside of what you were normally kind of thinking you’re going to invest in, you might find an opportunity that’s outside again, that proverbial box, right? And yeah, so I think just knowing what you’re looking for and being ready for opportunities and be able to make quick decisions is really important. So as a realtor, I often see people lose out on opportunities because they just take too long to decide, right? Mm hmm. So you really have to know your market and what’s the good deal so you can make those quick decisions?
Rob Break [00:24:38] All the realtors are nodding their heads,
Sandy Mackay [00:24:40] you know, right now.
Rob Break [00:24:45] Yeah. Well, I guess speaking of being able to identify an opportunity, how do you do that? Like what, what does a great deal look like to you? Or how do you how do you distinguish that?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:24:57] Well, I think when you look at starting a business, if you’ve ever looked at that, you know, and doing a business plan, they’re going to tell you, do a SWOT analysis, right? Or Suarez S.W.A.T. So your strengths, your weaknesses and the opportunities and any threats. And I think once you’re in real estate, it’s really important to focus on those last two and that’s again, your opportunities and your threats. So real estate is very local. And so every market is going to have a different threat, right? So our market here in Winnipeg is very again slow increases, slow appreciation, you know, two percent. We had a few hot years in 2000 and whenever it was two thousand and. Six, I guess, six, seven, eight were sort of a big year. And but then the market changes, right? And so there’s always different things changing and what you guys are dealing with in Toronto is very different than what we’re dealing with here. So. And then in Winnipeg, you’ll have different sorts of markets and so you really have to know the market that you’re investing in. But you know, a friend of mine, my glasses in the Niagara Region, St. Catharines, and he just said that lately on Facebook, he was mentioning that he was going to be converting some of the student rentals into single family because there’s been a lot of campus student housing coming up in the area, right? And so you have to really have your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in your market and what you’re investing in, specifically what your sort of specialty is. So for him, studio student rentals, because you’ve got to be able to make those changes and you’ve got to know what the threats are, right, as they arise in your area. So that’s
Rob Break [00:26:41] interesting. So did I guess I’m asking a question about Mike, but by the way, I heard Mike speak before. He’s really, really good guy. Very inspiring.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:26:52] Yeah, yeah. Nice guy.
Rob Break [00:26:54] So he, I guess, is identified that there’s not as many students. Pool is getting smaller because these big developers are coming in and building like big buildings. Is that what’s going on?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:27:06] Yeah, I think so. Yeah, there’s more student. Yeah, right on the campus. So yeah, and in Winnipeg, we just had new lot development fees being charged by the city. And so that’s going to be adding about $10000 to the cost of a new build. So things are changing or, you know, other people are now maybe again going to be investing outside of Winnipeg, where they could have, you know, ten or fifteen thousand dollars more on the cost of a new build or buying existing building. There’s going to be a home warranty change in twenty eighteen. Again, that affects newbuild. Yeah. So you know, there’s always threats, there’s different opportunities, but it just depends on how you react to them, right? And who’s going to stay in the loop and protect your assets and your property. So a really good way of doing that as well. You know, listening to these podcasts is important. And reading you Canadian magazine, but also just going to local groups is really important, too. So I helped run a group in Winnipeg here, culturally invested and just staying connected to different investors and what they’re experiencing as well as is really important.
Rob Break [00:28:11] It’s funny how we are all connected in a way, too, because Ben Davis has been on the show runs, does he? He runs that with you, does he?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:28:20] Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, he’s a great guy.
Rob Break [00:28:23] Uh-Huh. Yeah, he is a great guy. Definitely. That’s cool. I like that. You guys work together on that.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:28:29] Yeah.
Sandy Mackay [00:28:31] So we’re funny. You know, they’re doing the same thing here in Hamilton as well as around McMaster. They’re building a bunch of like the school is building a bunch of a bunch more student housing. So I’m hearing the same thing here. It’s interesting. You see here the same thing in different markets like that, it seems maybe this is going to be a common theme among student housing. Is this how being that universities and colleges are building more student housing and it’s going to affect particular as you’re right close by the universities or the colleges, you’re going to see this maybe more.
Rob Break [00:29:04] That’s actually a really good point. The same thing is happening here as well. So, yeah, I mean, it’s just it’s been like almost like a tornado of student housing buildings going up all down this, the corridor up by the college and university in the north end of the city. And that’s sort of driving some of these student rental market, at least out of that area.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:29:34] Yeah. And, you know, if you’re relying on that for your income, you know, if you don’t have a job, if you’re a full-time investor and you’re really relying on that income, then you know, if you suddenly don’t have it, it’s going to really impact you, right? So I think it’s again, you know, you just have to be really aware of what’s going on in the markets that you can react quickly.
Rob Break [00:29:54] So what were some of the roadblocks that you’ve encountered or c, I guess maybe other investors struggling with that holds them back from moving forward?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:30:04] Yeah, I think the biggest thing that affects all of us, whether we’re new or experienced, is our mindset like mindset is key to anything in life. And, you know, it prevents success for investors. You know, that’s the biggest thing is like we saw ourselves, right? And so a lot of times people have this analysis paralysis, right? Or their students for life, you know, they’re like, it’s like going to university forever and ever, right? But it’s the same thing with real estate investing in like, OK, well, I’m just going to take that one more course. And oh, I see that this course is coming. So I need I really need to take that because I think I’m going to really need to learn a little bit more about that. And so it’s just really important to make sure that you take action and that whatever is stopping you, if it’s fear or whatever it is that you just need to be able to get past that and do it quickly again. So you could be analyzing deals forever and never writing an offer. Or you could be. I see this as a realtor. You know, there’s people who are like even just buying a home, right? They’re like, I got to find a really good deal. You got to find a really good deal. And then when a really good deal does come, then they’re like, oh, no, no, no, something’s got to be wrong with this house. So, you know, it’s really, it’s just fear, right? And you know, it can be in any part of our life. It can affect anything relationships and family. And there’s all kinds of things where we should be taking more action, but there’s things that stop us.
Rob Break [00:31:30] So, yeah, and I agree, and I see a lot of people that take different courses, too, and it’s sort of one of those things where they are chasing them. Chasing the silver, whatever it is, you know, chasing the shiny object and they go, oh, I think I’m going to learn about this, and then they then they take that course and then they as soon as they’re done, they don’t take any action. They move on to the next course. So the difference between I think like me and you and sandy too, like we’ve all we all sort of dip our feet in different strategies, but we’re the difference between what they’re doing and what we’re doing more is. And I know they say to focus, but I mean, you can assume probably more than us have dipped your feet in a lot of different strategies. And as long as you’re taking action, that’s really got to be the takeaway here. You know, you got yeah, you’re not losing right because you’re continuing to move forward.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:32:34] Yeah, for sure. Exactly. And like I said, you know, there’s benefits to all kinds of different real estate or single families. Great, because you can liquidate it quickly. Multifamily is great because you’re buying it at lower dollars per unit commercial. You’re not dealing with tenancies. And in Manitoba, tenancy regulation really favors the tenant. So commercial is great because you don’t have that, but again, everything. So it’s pros and cons, right? But ultimately, if you’re not taking action, then then what’s the point where you’re just investing in courses, which really, you’re just wasting money? So you need to be taking that action so that you’re recouping your costs, of course, is, of course, of course. But also, yeah, the whole point is that you’ve got to be purchasing properties and grow your wealth. So it’s important that, you know, we’re not fearless, right? But we’re not just taking action for the sake of taking action, like you still have to make educated decisions, but you can’t be controlled by your fear, and we really have to recognize that. And sometimes we can’t see it in ourselves. And maybe you need a culture or a mentor, or you need to go to a real estate investing and be surrounded by people who can help you and can see your limitations that maybe you can, but they don’t their year go by where you’re just dreaming and you’re not doing anything.
Rob Break [00:33:55] Awesome. I love that. No, I guess you haven’t gotten that to where you are without a few successes anyways, do you want to tell us about some of the successes you’ve had?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:34:08] Yeah. Like, I think again, we were just really open to opportunities and sort of being willing to jump and act quickly. And so, you know, you got to have your ducks in a row, or you got to have your financing ready. If you’re doing joint ventures, you have to have partners ready your private money or if you if you’ve got your own money, just have it ready to deploy. So again, we’ve got about 25 to 30 units right now, and we weren’t actively looking for all of them. So that’s the first one they talked about. That was kind of our first one being married, and that’s flex. That was just through the grapevine, right? We weren’t really looking for. Dad was just like my husband’s trying them, my father-in-law. He was. He just said, if you don’t act on this quickly, you’re probably not going to, you know, somebody is going to buy it or he’s the guy who’s going to listed and. And so it was all about, yeah, acting quickly. And, you know, I was just out of university, and we did have tons of cash. So that was private money quick. Otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to do that. And then a year later, building the four-unit site was private money again. And so just be able to act quickly. And sometimes when you’re if you aren’t ready, you have to your sort of forced to do it. But the better way is always just to be to be ready for the opportunities because you can make really good money by being able to buy good deals or good opportunities that come across the table. So.
Rob Break [00:35:37] So now you said you had private money ready, so how would one go about, you know, having that kind of financing in their back pocket?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:35:48] Oh, it’s a little of talking to people and having the conversation. So I think as realtors, that’s the main way that you can start as a realtor to really make money as well. And you know, investing is kind of the same. It’s all sales and you’re selling as realtors were selling houses, but as investors were selling an idea, a dream or were helping somebody overcome a problem that they have. So maybe they’re not making a very good return with their mutual funds or whatever they’re invested in with their space. So it’s yeah, it’s just about having the conversation and again, making sure that you’re doing it all the time. So you’re constantly telling people what you do, what you’re looking for, you know, if you’re looking for a really good deal, tell people, I’m looking for a single-family home that I can make into a duplex so that I can sweet or I’m looking for somebody or I’m looking for money to buy a property. Do you know if anyone who’s recently sold a business? Do you know of anybody that you know, has a whole bunch of resources just sitting around? Or maybe they just got a big inheritance rights? And so sometimes as investors, we maybe find one person and we’re like, oh, good, we don’t have to talk about money anymore, but it’s really getting comfortable with being able to ask for money present good opportunities for people. And again, it’s your mindset. So it’s making sure that you realize you can help a lot of people who don’t know anything about financing or sorry about their investments. And you can help people that maybe are losing money year after year in mutual funds that they’re just in really bad investments. And they have no clue, right? So changing your mindset to really see that, yes, they are helping you by buying properties that you can really help a lot of people, you know, you can help a tenant of a really great place to live. You can help an investor get a really good return on their money. And that’s the beauty of it real estate. Mm-Hmm.
Rob Break [00:37:45] Mm-Hmm. Yeah, you’re not going to get if you don’t ask for it. And I was just going to come up and offer it to you either, right?
Sandy Mackay [00:37:52] There are
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:37:54] not enough. It does. Yeah.
Sandy Mackay [00:37:56] And I think even if you get even if you’re, I think a lot of people struggle with rejection of that, too. If they ask a couple of people they had turned, it turned down and then they get, you know, they go negative about courage. So yeah, I mean, there’s a there’s really a ton of money out there, right? There’s a ton of opportunity out there. You need to be, you know, you need to be able to OK with a couple of people telling, you know,
Rob Break [00:38:20] yeah, that was just what I was going to say. One of the things that somebody taught us on one of the shows, it was it. I think it was. It was a Joey. I don’t know. Somebody was saying, go for no track like, you know, expect those no’s and
Sandy Mackay [00:38:34] by the way, know if you ever get it. Oh, I haven’t read the author of
Rob Break [00:38:38] that’s actually that’s actually a book where you know, everyone go out and read that and I will to
Sandy Mackay [00:38:43] the best of your ability. It’s really, it’s really
Rob Break [00:38:45] got to come the idea. OK, great. Yeah, I think
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:38:51] I think one other issue that why this comes up so much is that most people don’t talk about money, right? Your parents don’t talk about money when you’re a kid, and that’s a really good point. Again, if you have kids, listeners talk about money with kids, it’s it can’t be. A topic that’s just taboo, right? You have to be able to tell your kids like, you’re going to need to know how to master money. Money is important in everything in life and no not to worship money, but it’s not the be all end all, but it’s a huge tool that can again completely change your life, whether you’re able to master money and employee into different opportunities, or if you’re just wasting it on ridiculous things that really don’t change your life, right? So. Just having the mindset again, that it’s OK to talk about, money is huge. It’s just not one step. And then before you know it, you’re going to have more than enough money for investing.
Rob Break [00:39:50] Beautiful. I love this. This is a great episode, Sandy.
Sandy Mackay [00:39:54] Well, I think that point, I don’t think I don’t know if you’ve heard that point specifically, as Qantas has said it there. It’s not that difficult a concept but being able and open to talk about that is so, so big. I don’t. There’s not many. I guess it’s our culture in Canada or North America that we really don’t talk about it very much. And like financials and money, people are very tight about that and. You know, just even just a little more open about a little more especially parents and being open about with children and talking about it as. Amazing points, actually. Mm-Hmm. I don’t think that made a lot of it. Maybe we’ve heard that, but not exactly like that on the show, so it was really cool. No, you’re right. Awesome. So, Kendis, you’re offering a rent to own. Of course, coming up soon, can you tell us a little bit about that?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:40:47] Yeah, you bet. So again, you know, if you’re looking to learn a little bit about rent to own some, again, it’s a really great strategy, not for every market. You know, if you’re in a depreciating market, then you don’t want to employ rent to own right now. But it’s a good tool to have in your in your tool, though again, because if you’re an opportunist, if you’re willing to look at different opportunities and how that can benefit you and maybe you’re looking for an alternatives, maybe you’re tired of flipping houses, but you do need the income. Maybe rent own is something for you. So, yeah, so a couple of weeks ago, I did a summer Aquino in. I guess it was the end of April in Kamloops. There’s a really good group out there, so if any of your listeners are from the Kamloops area, he’s in Cologne and it’s not too far, but it’s called rents are ants. It’s run by some parent. And so I did a little talk about rent to own, and I’m actually coming out to Jeff Woods Group on the 30th of this month for 10 days here. And his group is Terra C.A.R.E Tech Park and we’re also going to be talking about rent on there. So if you’re close to that group, then come on out and it’ll be a fun night. But again, if you’re looking for income, it’s a great strategy. So if you if you want to learn a little bit more about that, then you can definitely join the course and we’d love to have you.
Rob Break [00:42:18] Beautiful.
Sandy Mackay [00:42:19] And Jeff Woods, by the way, episode 40 for episode 10, if you want to look back and hear about it from him, we’ve had a market summit.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:42:26] Yeah. And now the good guy.
Rob Break [00:42:28] Yeah, he is, isn’t he?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:42:30] Yeah, yeah. So if you guys do want to maybe give away two spots, it’s a six-week course. It’s worth, well, six hundred ninety-seven dollars. If you want to give away a couple to your listeners, feel free. And again, I’d love to be able to help people out with was learning some new stuff. So I was just
Rob Break [00:42:48] going to take one and give one to Sandy.
Sandy Mackay [00:42:52] Generous.
Rob Break [00:42:55] Well, to give one to you. Yeah. Well, okay, then I’ll give it to somebody else. No, that’s amazing. So you’re giving away, you’re going to give two spots to the course to us there. Yeah, yeah. OK, so how are we going to do this?
Sandy Mackay [00:43:10] We had to go through Facebook or something right now we’re going to do.
Rob Break [00:43:13] Yeah, OK. So actually, we just started the links to the bottom of the show notes for each episode. So the first two people, I guess after this episode comes out that that share the episode on Facebook and comment on our website and write a review on iTunes. How about that? All three of those things? OK, I got to do all three of those things and then they’ll win. So the first two people are the first two people that do that. We can’t give it away for free. They got to do work for it, right?
Sandy Mackay [00:43:46] Yeah. I mean, look at what you just said there is going to take. I was going to do that right now. I would take people five minutes
Rob Break [00:43:51] here,
Sandy Mackay [00:43:53] five minutes over five minutes for seven hundred for six hundred ninety-seven dollars for the value. And probably that’s probably being on the low end is probably like twenty-six hundred ninety-seven dollars with a value, at least.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:44:06] And if you take action, you’re going to make some money. It’s a good, good opportunity.
Rob Break [00:44:11] That’s amazing. OK, so tell us about the course then.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:44:15] Well, it’s a six-week course and there’s going to be some self-study and then some group participation. I’m always available to people see a part of being a real turn, always being available to clients that we do. Right. So if anyone has any questions or needs any help. Typically, questions come up that aren’t always rental on either. And you know, maybe it’s mindset. Maybe it’s I just can’t raise money. Whatever it is, I’m always available, so it’s a good opportunity to bring your concerns, as well as again, learning about rent to own and having that strategy available to yourself.
Rob Break [00:44:55] So it’s an online course you don’t have to actually be in the market in your market to join.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:45:00] No, I won’t make you
Rob Break [00:45:01] know for you to want to pay. That is amazing. Well, thank you so much. Yeah, yeah. No problem. Right on. OK. All right. So get to it first to people.
Sandy Mackay [00:45:13] You’re going to have to go in like if you’re lascivious, you’ve got to do it now because they probably better chance, right?
Rob Break [00:45:18] Yeah, you already have.
Sandy Mackay [00:45:20] Is that OK? Well, what’s next, Candace? I mean, we’ve talked a lot about what you’ve done. I would love to hear about what you’re up to for the future and what your new big dreams, big goals and everything you’ve got planned. I mean, I know you’re going to do great things. So what have you got coming up?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:45:35] Well, real estate wise, investing wise, we’re just going to keep acquiring properties. So it’s a good buy and hold comes up. We’re still all about building long term wealth, even though right now it’s a rent to own focus. So, yeah, that’s always on the go, and philanthropy is really important to me giving back to those in need. So. So that’s kind of an ongoing thing, too. There’s always different things that come up, whether it’s, you know, helping out a single mom who just needs some extra groceries all the way to soup kitchens or whatever. It is, right? There’s so many different needs. And so that’s a really important thing to me. And I just want to encourage your listeners to really think impact and legacy because real estate honestly just gives you the opportunity to dream big and it gives you options to do so much for others, like whether you want to start a scholarship in your name or in your family’s name or a bursary or could start a foundation, then you know, sometimes we think, Oh, you know, that’s a great idea, but I’m going to look at that when I’m like 50 or 60, but we don’t know how long we’ve got, right? So it’s really important to think about these things now and to tell different people to like, tell your family or tell people that you work with. You know what? What is important to you? Because you know, if something does happen, your dream can still live on, and I think legacy is just so important. Yeah, it’s just really, you know, I think that’s kind of the big thing is it eventually probably when again, you know, we’re in a busy season with the kids and stuff, but eventually probably will do more. I’ll probably do more retreats and do sort of more holistic living type stuff as well. But for now, it’s all about real estate and the kids and all that good stuff.
Rob Break [00:47:26] Well, I guess that’ll be more possible, too, when your husband quits his job in a couple of years, because that’s a pretty exciting goal.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:47:33] Yeah, yeah, he does stucco right now, which is pretty labor intensive. So it’s hard on your body. It’s kind of like bricklaying, right? It’s heavy cement all day and stuff like that. And it wouldn’t take obviously were very seasonal here and now. But so, yeah, it’s been about 20 twenty-two years. So that’s so it’s time to move on an entry level, doing something else and slow down a bit. So. Awesome.
Rob Break [00:47:59] My grandfather did that. Those is his entire career. Very cool. OK. Now is there is it was there ever like a I guess some in for advice that’s always stuck with you?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:48:15] Oh, my, my parents were self-employed, so I think we and my grandparents like it’s kind of in the blood, so I think a lot of that knowledge, maybe it just came from just being a kid and being around all the time. And even with our kids, you know, we’re constantly trying to tell them, you know, we don’t necessarily do everything like what the world teaches us. We’re, you know, think differently, right? And yeah, so that’s probably one of the biggest things like, look at really, even as kids, you know, we’re telling them what’s the most important thing right now? And we’re teaching them philanthropy already, right? Do you really need another Lego set, or do you think that it would be more important actually to maybe donate some money to somebody who needs it right? And so all those kinds of things, I think you are teaching your kids when they’re like three or four already. There’s all these different lessons. And but the biggest thing for sure is taking action. Take action, take action. Just start. You’re not always going to know all the different steps, and you’re never going to be able to prepare for everything but just take action. Success is messy, right? It just it happens, but it’s not going to be in the exact steps that you think it is before you start. You know the saying the teacher will arrive when you’re ready. I think that’s really important, too. So. Or the teacher will arrive when you’re ready, right? Mm hmm. And to really again watch fear and don’t let fear stop you. So I think often if you’re very entrepreneurial minded, if I think of myself, I’ve got a million ideas and sometimes we can’t do everything at once and we can shelf an idea, but don’t just throw those ideas out altogether. So again, if you’re thinking, oh, maybe I’m going to do rent to own and then later you hear the next podcast is about multifamily and oh no, maybe I’ll do multifamily again. You’re just not doing anything, but it’s OK to shelf an idea or to think, OK, you know what? I’m going to maybe talk about next year and just focus in on this right now. But don’t just throw away different ideas, you know, because of fear again. So keep taking action.
Sandy Mackay [00:50:28] Yeah, that’s a good. I know for I know for sure there’s a lot of listeners out there that do that. I’ve probably done that. I’m sure maybe all of us have done a passphrase this episode. We’re talking about rental or next one multifamily and pulling it alone. But that’s where you get that analysis paralysis, right? Yeah.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:50:45] Yeah, it’s really. Yeah, I think one of the cool things to just another little piece of advice was, you know, the ability to do things like e-transfer is huge and it’s really something important to think about. So like, here’s a few years ago that wasn’t as common. And when my second child was in kindergarten, so I was playable four years ago, he actually ended up taking a pile of our rent cash to school, using kindergarten in the little turkey to kill a whole bunch of cash. And his kindergarten
Rob Break [00:51:16] is like off the counter.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:51:19] Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, I know, like you don’t you shouldn’t be losing cash on your counter, but obviously we’re just kind of like, probably it was the weekend and the first was on the weekend and we had collected a whole bunch of rent and all these renters were paying cash. You weren’t even paying check. I don’t I don’t know what it was, but it was just the thing. And his grandpa had ended up picking them up after kindergarten. It was like, what is he? A couple hundred dollars in his little kid backpack? And I was like, Oh. So if you want to take one take aways, it’s just keep using e-transfer. And, you know, we’re really lucky to have that option right now. And yeah, yeah.
Rob Break [00:51:56] So, yeah, yeah, that and make sure your kid doesn’t live close to the store too, I guess.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:52:02] Or yeah, and he was people wanting to spend. I don’t know why he brought it to school, but like, thank goodness the teacher didn’t walk in the door like, oh, they didn’t even find it cops. No, no. In any way, you can be cops at my house wondering what’s going on when my kid’s got hundreds.
Rob Break [00:52:19] So maybe there is like more in there. But the teachers just kept it quiet, and I took a little bit.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:52:24] And so but now they’re screaming, OK, well, there’s so many seats that have to us real serious. Again, like this funny little stories or different things. And you know, you just have to sometimes just go with the fun, just go with the flow rate. And it’s a bit of a wild ride sometimes. But.
Sandy Mackay [00:52:44] CANDIDACIES want to hear what you were telling us about abuse of how, how we will see. Sorry, they have. You want to tell us that one quick way to.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:52:53] Yeah, sure. OK, so. Yeah, so usually have boiled these four parties, but this is BYOB because when the tenant ended up leaving, it was during the summer and there was like nine coaches. So we are just my husband and I, we were just saying how to have been like a bring your own coach party because there was nine massive coaches in the backyard. So we were just cleaning up. You know, things they lost in the house were cleaning up all these old coaches. I say we, but of course, my husband was cleaning up the coaches. So. Yeah, he’s been constructive, he’s got like stucco trailers and, you know, big car hauling trailers, right? So it wasn’t too big of a deal, and it was going to bring them to the dump. But at the time, like, we’re living right in town, so we had a double lot. And so in the back of our property was another road and there was a neighbor there and stuff. And so he just put that trailer in the back, and he was nine coaches and nine coaches. So it was like an eyesore. And thankfully, again, being a small town, nobody really said anything or it. It’s not like being a city where people are like, can you please get that out of here? But yeah, so I had to run across the neighbor to the back there at the grocery store, and he was just, we’re just chatting. And he was saying, oh, he’s got a trailer and like, Be a realtor. We do stage and so has got a whole inventory worth of stuff. So we have like a little just a 10-foot enclosed trailer to move coaches and stuff and to doll up these houses when we’re when we’re listing them, right? So I was telling him about how awesome this was, and I was selling how great staging is. And then later I realized that he was totally talking about those other cultures. And so he was like, just mortified, thinking, you are putting like these coaches in houses that have been in the rain, in the sun and all summer that are just disgusting.
Rob Break [00:54:51] I see nothing wrong with this.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:54:53] I know. I know. So it was like being really true. It was like, Oh, my goodness. But whatever it was, it was a good laugh. And we still talk about that. Sometimes random violence against See this happen and you never know what you’re going to end up with nine coaches when you have rental properties, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s no big deal, right?
Rob Break [00:55:14] That would have to be a biological party. There is no other explanation for that.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:55:20] It was pretty crazy. Yeah. So it goes,
Rob Break [00:55:24] that is amazing. Yeah. Nine couches. And did they leave any more inside or were they all outside?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:55:32] Oh, those were just the ones outside. That was the story. So I don’t even know what the house was like anymore, but
Rob Break [00:55:38] there was like three or four or five more inside.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:55:41] Yeah, pretty much.
Rob Break [00:55:42] OK, great. Candace, thank you so much for coming on the show. This is a lot of fun
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:55:48] and has husband.
Rob Break [00:55:50] So now we talked about the courses and all that stuff, but nobody knows how to get in touch with you. So how can people reach out and ask you some questions or get involved in your course?
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:56:04] Yeah, so my education brand, I suppose you would say, is investor sports, so Candice, that investor smarts dossier Oregon new, you find that online investors won’t start seeing or I’m pretty active on Facebook. So you know, Richard, any time and ask me any question. I’ve got loads of experience and would love to help your listeners in any way that they need it.
Rob Break [00:56:26] So awesome. OK, and we’re also going to put all those links in the show notes. So if you didn’t catch that or write it down, don’t worry, you will be able to find them there as usual. Thank you so much. And Sandy. What do you have coming up? How can people get in touch with you and?
Sandy Mackay [00:56:45] complain too much? As always, if interest rates out, they can reach inside info. Mackay Realty Network dot com or through five three zero eight three three. If anyone’s looking to do some real estate and anything real estate related in the Hamilton and surrounding areas where we’re specializing, they’re ready to help out whenever it needs a super awesome use me.
Rob Break [00:57:12] Oh, thank you for asking. If anyone wants to reach out to me, they can reach me at Raabe, at Mr. Breakthrough Dossier. And if you are interested in Sweeting, a basement, just like Candace was talking about earlier, that’s sort of our specialty out here looking for properties that’ll work for adding a second unit and all of the legalities involved in getting that up to code and running your own very, very cool new unit legal cash flowing property out here in this area in Oshawa. Please give me a call. My number is two eight nine two seven zero four six four or as usual, you can reach either Sandy or I at Info at Breakthrough Aria Podcast Dossier. Well, this was another one in the books, super cool, and I think this is going to be one of the more entertaining ones, and it was definitely one of the more educational ones, so. Thank you, Candice. This was amazing.
Candice Bakx-Friesen [00:58:13] So to encourage also the women out there, you know, real estate tends to be very Male-Dominated, which is fine, but I want of always put a plug for the women, get out there and take action because it’s just as important for you to be building wealth as well, even if you’re, you know, single woman and you feel like, Oh man, I don’t know if I could do this, just get out there and again, take action.
Sandy Mackay [00:58:37] So perfect.
Rob Break [00:58:39] Thank you. OK, everyone. Thanks again for listening again and have a great night.