I able to choose who I married, (married Leigh 33 years ago), where I live, what I do for a living (sometimes I think otherwise on a bad day), my friends, social activities and my investments.

What I had no choice over was my parents, and relatives. For some this presents a great challenge and for others an advantage. For me, it was an advantage. The one advantage I got from my Father was Real Estate Investing. Dad made a lot of money in the late 70’s and lost a lot of money in 1980’s. I learned about real estate cycles and more importantly, the ability to make a choice. Chris is learning the same lessons today.

Real estate investing is all about making choices.

• Choose to be an investor or not. (Why are you doing this?)
• Chose to buy ( hands on property owner or mutual funds owner)
• Where to buy? (REIN’s Goldmine scorecard)
• What to buy? (Davies Group Investor Discovery Tours)
• When to buy? (timing and business cycles, Recessions past)
• Where will the money come from? (REIN’s joint venture secrets)
• Where to get the financing? (Peter Kinch’s sandbox rules)
• Who is the tenant? (tenant screening tips)
• Who does the day to day business? (retaining control)
• Exit strategies? (how do I get out?)

A few Examples of Poor Choices

• Buying property in poor neighbourhoods ( It cheap for a reason)
• Lone wolf syndrome (I’m smarter than the rest of you)
• “They don’t build land anymore” (real estate markets can boom and bust)
• HOT ! HOT! real estate markets (Condominium conversation and pre-builds frenzies)
• Refinancing real estate (forgetting that eventually you have to pay tax on the money)
• My Accountant does the numbers (not look after the details)
• Speculation (buying based on a tip)

The Results of Poor Choices

• Foreclosure
• Bankruptcy
• Family breakups

The Results of Good Choices

• Establishment of long term wealth
• Personal freedom including the ability to say ”take this job and shove it”
• Improved Standard of living.

Choice is the biggest single tool for the investor. You, the investor; can choose your investment type, the property, the renovations, the tenant, the color of the walls and when and if you sell.

Real estate education is so critical and that is why I support organizations such as the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN). Getting great information on relevant issues and strategies that work in your neighbourhood is so important. I roll my eyes whenever I see in the paper advertising a seminar coming to town teaching all about buying tax liens. Strictly an American strategy and it does not work in Alberta. But people pay thousands every year on learning how to buy something that does not exist in Alberta.

I was given a book many years by Milton Friedman, Free To Choose
. Milton Friedman was an advisor to Ronald Reagan, and a Nobel Award Winner. A good read for the entrepreneur. And why we Free to Choose.

Enjoy your freedom to choose, and enjoy the results.

The Main Floor

This 1500 sq ft four-level split has new flooring, painting and light fixtures throughout. The kitchen has new stainless steel appliances, new modern cabinets and leaves oodles of space for two or more people to work together. The bathrooms have been upgraded throughout, including a powder room off the main entrance. The living room features two large windows overlooking the back yard and the enormous Lorelei park, as well as a new fireplace (chimney, tiles and mantle) make for a comfortable living room.

View more pictures on Flickr

The Upstairs

Four spacious and well laid out bedrooms leave lots of room for kids, hobbies or a home office. The master bedroom includes a walk-through closet, ensuite bathroom and a deck! On the landing, a large, bright room will serve equally well as a spacious bedroom or an ample home office/den. Warm, comfortable carpet and neutral paint colours throughout leaves the upper level functional, well laid out and ready for you to put your stamp on it.

Basement and Garage

The finished basement includes a large, fully finished, well lit family room, home theater room or playroom. Paneled doors lead to a potential fifth bedroom or den, a large laundry room, and a storage room beneath the stairs. A single-car attached garage is steps from the main floor, with a new garage door recently replaced by the Condo Board.

The Neighbourhood

Lorelei Close is close to three schools, both Castledowns and Namao Center shopping centers and will be less than 5 minutes from the newly completed Anthony Henday ring road in in fall 2010.

To View #85 Lorelei Close, call Brent Davies at 780-297-2810

Come and visit actual listings and learn the secret to evaluating neighbourhoods, property selection, due diligence, cash flow analysis, budgeting for reno’s and flips, and writing/presenting offers with no fear, and no obligations. Discover the money makers to watch for and the landmines to walk away from.

Download the registration form here.

Join us to tour and discuss real properties:

Thursday,  Sept 9, Samll Multiplexes, duplex, 3 plex, 4 plex
Wednesday, Sept 22,      Multi-family 5 units to 40 units
Wednesday, Oct 5            Townhouses
Wednesday, Oct 27         Suited Properties, (basement suites)
Wednesday Nov 3,          Condos and the LRT
Wwednesday Nov 24,     Single Family Homes

Each night will follow the same format:
6:30 p.m. Meet other investors, review the property type and neighbourhoods
7:00 – 8:30 Tour selected properties
8:30-9:30 Review the properties, analyze the numbers and write an offer.

To reserve your spot, email brent@brentdavies.com, fax this form (PDF) to 780-484-3018 or call Brent at 780-297-2810.

Property managers and landlords are constantly looking for quality tenants. In March 2008, we
ran some tests on Internet advertising because the response to both our newspaper and internet
rental ads in Edmonton, Alberta had decreased. We felt that this type of advertising was not cost-
effective and we were not getting a large enough number of applicants to find great tenants.
We decided to try Internet advertising because it is frequently used by out-of-town residents who
are looking to move to Edmonton. These people are usually young blue-collar tradesmen,
looking to take advantage of Edmonton’s low unemployment rate. We find these tenants are
desirable because once they find a job they usually make good long-term tenants.

In 2006 we discovered an oddity in our properties. A majority of the tenants in our higher end
rental suites and homes owned at least one computer. On the other hand, only 3 of 22 tenants in
one of our lower income buildings had computers. Home internet use was a sign of prosperity.
We felt that by using internet advertising we would be able to screen out lower income tenants
who don’t have computers and would have too low an income to be consistent tenants.
We tested our advertising in March of 2008 by placing five identical ads on different rental
websites. Each website listed a different email and phone number, allowing us to track the
effectiveness of each ad.

The sites we used were:

• Gottarent.com
• Rentedmonton.com
• Rentfaster.ca
• Albertarent.com
• Homerent.ca

Prior to this test, our marketing was based on all calls and inquiries to a central number. Inquires
were asked where they got our name, the internet as the answer. Many times they could not
remember the website.
Our questions were:

1. Was our current program of internet ads working? We were using Rentfaster.ca as our primary website.
2. Which rental websites led to the most inquiries?
3. Was there one site we could use exclusively?

Fill out the form to download the full 12 page whitepaper with the complete results:

If you were one of the victims, it is critical that you file a written complaint with RECA (the Real Estate Council of Alberta) at www.reca.ca.

These investors are also at risk of being sued by thier joint venture partners because as the real estate expert, they can ask what due diligence did you do before you hired the ” renovator/property manager”?

5 Critical Questions to Ask Your NEW Property Manager (in Alberta)

1. Are you licensed with RECA? Yes or No.

All Property Managers in Alberta must be licensed with the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA). All funds must be handled under “trust conditions”, which means strict handling and report requirements for all trust funds. Investors are protected by an industry Assurance Fund for up to $35,000 per client for cases of Fraud.

If Yes, go to www.reca.ca and check license status. Check out your current property manager.
If No, DO NOT HIRE

Word of Caution, for a Realtor to act as your property manager, he must have the written permission of the Company’s Broker to do so.

2. How Long have you been in Business?

There are many long term property management companies in Edmonton. The shorter time in business, the more check you must do.

3. What is your primary business? Real Estate Sales, Condominium management, or renovations?

You want someone who does property management of the same type of building that you’re trying to buy. If you need a renovator, hire a renovator. If you’re buying condos, look for someone who has delt with condominiums or managed condo-rental units in past.

4. How do you manage property?

This includes tenant selection, maintenance, accounting and reporting, how do you pay the proceeds to the investors? When?

5. Get references from other investors with similar types of property.
Call and ask the hard questions.

In the Edmonton yellow pages, there are about 150 property mangers listed.  Many Property Mangers restrict the number of properties that they handle, and many new investors discover that they can’t get a manager for the new single family home they bought.

Property Management Companies in Edmonton who do or have done single family units:

This list is not complete and we do not endorse or guarantee any of the companies therein. Please leave a comment if we’ve missed anyone and we’ll add it to the list.

Bermont Realty (St Albert)
Bella Management
Davies Management* (waiting list so please, don’t call)
Economy Management
Esquire Management
Inland Property Management
Kelly Management
Keywest Management
Kirkside Real Estate
Libertas Property Management
McCrea Management
Milligan Realty
Realty Canada Inc
Realty Corp
Oakwood Management (Fort Saskatchewan, ask for Don Grey)
Redford Management
TRC Management (Spruce Grove)
York West Asset Management

* I am the Broker for Davies Management.

If you property manager isn’t licensed, your money isn’t safe.

Many people don’t realize that property managers need to be licensed by the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA). When you’re considering a property manager, take the time to check your property manager’s licensing status. You can do this on RECA’s website.

If you’re in a Joint Venture (JV) Partnership as the Real Estate Expert and you use a non-licensed property manager you can be held liable for any losses. Working with professionals is an important part of your Real Estate Investment Business.

What license does a property manger need?

A property manager holds security deposits from your tenants. To be able to hold security deposits for someone else, they need a Broker’s Trust Account. Only a RECA certified broker can hold security deposits and rents from your tenants. There can also be a staff of property managers working under the broker, and they must be licensed as associates.

You need to check that your property management firm has a registered broker in good standing. You should ask them at the outset, but you should also do your own due diligence.

How Do I Use RECA to check on my Property Manager?

We’re going to start by checking out our friend Barry McGuire of the Ritchie Mill Law Office. He’s a lawyer and doesn’t have or need a real estate license. We shouldn’t be able to find him.

1. Go to the RECA website, www.reca.ca.

2. You want to click on Consumers and then we’re going to find the license search link in the top right.

To go straight to the search function click here.

3. Now there’s three options to search: last name, brokerage name and location. There are also some wildcard options if you’re not quite sure where you’re looking.

We’re going to start by searching for McGuire. Put the name in the first box and click the little globe button.

4. You’re going to get a result like this one below. You’ll notice there are no entries matching Barry McGuire or the Richie Mill Law Office. If Barry was claiming to be a property manager, we’d have a pretty big red flag.

5. Now we’re going to do the same thing again for myself (Brent Davies). We’re also going to use the wildcard function. Because some people spell Davies without the ‘e’ (Davis) we’re going to search for both of them by using the % wildcard. There’s an explanation of how to use these on the RECA search page.

The search result you will see will have a listing on it like this:

6. The second listing down is William Brent Davies. It tells you he is the broker for Davies Management & Realty, and his license is valid until September 2009. Your property management company must have a broker listed for that company, and they must have a little green circle next to them. The other options are a grey or black circle, and those should raise some red flags. If they’re not listed at all, they need to prove to you that money will be handled through an authorized broker’s trust account.

Other possible red flags that your Property Management firm might not be licensed:

- Mailing address is a post office (P.O.) box.

- Requesting payments (cheques or money orders) in a personal name or a name different than what’s on the license or management agreement

- Advertisements in a different name. This property manager is in a grey area and may be playing for multiple teams.

Where else should I look?

It’s also a great idea to check the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Good property managers also tend to be good corporate citizens. Make sure your property manger can provide good references, interacts with you in a professional way and is properly licensed.

Hopefully many of you had a chance to attend Brent’s presentation to the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) in Calgary on November 5th, 2008. This was the first in a three part series about landlording. Brent spoke about dealing with difficult tenants, in particular how realizing what type of game face you’re presenting to your tenants can change the way you behave. There’s three types of ‘game faces’ and you need to understand them and use that to change how you communicate.

Here’s a copy of the presentation for those who want a chance to review it, and an audio recording should be forthcoming.