My background I'm an engineer with a bachelors degree from the University of Toronto. I also have an MBA in Financial Management and graduated with Distinction. My educational background combined with my love of math and business has led me to this path. I've been called a math geek once or twice before. I've moved so many times that evaluating real estate runs in my blood. |
How I started out
It was my first time buying a place. My nerves combined with my relentless need to know exactly how much I'd have to pay every month did not make things any better. I had a financial advisor from a bank to help me with my investments and sell me a loan. On the other hand I had a realtor to show me condos in my lunch hour and point out where the kitchen was. When I asked whether the property would make a good return financially over 10 years and what the rough ROI would be for my situation, no one raised their hand. Shockingly, neither were willing to help me with the financial analysis, which should be the most important aspect of my property search. How did I know the property was not a money pit? So I ended up building my own detailed financial models and used this to narrow down the property search before going for showings and signing my life away. I spent more time building and analyzing my models than I did inside the properties.
Over time, my friends who were also buying their first homes used to come to me for help to determine the complete cost of the property and the potential return on their investment. Eventually, I refined my models and was able to help more family and friends. I now use this to provide financial advise to prospective investors most of whom have not estimated their precise expected return on investment and many of whom do not know what the ongoing cost will be to hold on to their property. This is especially useful for first time buyers, first time investors, serial investors and those simply on the fence about buying property. Every client's situation is different and I customize my models for your situation. If you're looking for something basic that glosses over things, then an online calculator may suffice for you. If you're serious about investing and making money, use a custom model.
My mission
I'm here to provide an independent view based on the facts and some reasonable assumptions. My clients can then confidently target more profitable properties in their property search and make a more informed decision when buying property. Contact me if you have not yet calculated your property ROI or you want someone to tell you if the numbers are screaming "MONEY PIT". Numbers do not lie, thankfully.