The Truth About Real Estate Investing... for Canadians Erwin Szeto

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/
 
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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 info@welloff.ca
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