{"id":1368,"date":"2013-04-24T12:06:04","date_gmt":"2013-04-24T12:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montreal-realestate.ca\/english\/?p=1368"},"modified":"2019-03-29T17:03:40","modified_gmt":"2019-03-29T17:03:40","slug":"buying-a-profitable-duplex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montreal-realestate.ca\/english\/buying-a-profitable-duplex\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying a Profitable Duplex"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Written by MARLENE EISNER, The Gazette, 30 March 2013<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Two factors led Jennifer Lynn Walker into real estate \u2014 a friend, and a book. It was the friend who suggested it would be fun to become brokers together. That was eight years ago and since then, the two have gone their separate ways.A couple of years later, Walker read Robert Kiyosaki\u2019s book Rich Dad Poor Dad and was introduced to the world of real-estate investment. Kiyosaki\u2019s notion of building one\u2019s wealth with passive income through assets has stuck with Walker to this day.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe considers real estate that gives you money as an asset, but when it takes money out of your pocket, it\u2019s a liability,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the investment world, when you buy a house and a condo and rent it out, it is an investment. If you live in it, it\u2019s a liability.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Montreal native, who has a background in sales and marketing, took that advice to heart. Six years ago, when she and her husband were looking to buy their first house, they chose a duplex in Lachine. The couple lived on the main level and rented out the top floor, using that income to pay the mortgage and renovate their unit. When the tenant upstairs left, they gutted the interior and renovated it as well. After the dust settled and they had two attractive, highly rentable units, they began searching for something else.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remortgaged to get money to buy another property,\u201d Walker said. \u201cI was looking for a duplex, but we decided to buy a house. The beautiful thing about this right now is that we make $2,000 a month in income from the duplex, and after our expenses, we have a profit of $1,000 a month \u2014 which pays for our house. So in a sense we have no mortgages, but we have the equity of two properties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker is so passionate about the benefits of investment properties that in 2010 she founded Montreal Real Estate Investors, a free-to-join online organization that now has approximately 220 members.<\/p>\n

Her intention in starting the group was to share her knowledge, bring people together, and to provide herself with an opportunity to learn as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the group, people help each other,\u201d said the 45-year-old real-estate broker.<\/p>\n

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eal estate holds its ground. Even if there was a big drop in the market, eventually it will go back up.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two factors led Jennifer Lynn Walker into real estate \u2014 a friend, and a book. It was the friend who suggested it would be fun to become brokers together. That was eight years ago and since then, the two have gone their separate ways.A couple of years later, Walker read Robert Kiyosaki\u2019s book Rich Dad Poor Dad and was introduced to the world of real-estate investment. Kiyosaki\u2019s notion of building one\u2019s wealth with passive income through assets has stuck with Walker to this day.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe considers real estate that gives you money as an asset, but when it takes money out of your pocket, it\u2019s a liability,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the investment world, when you buy a house and a condo and rent it out, it is an investment. If you live in it, it\u2019s a liability.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Montreal native, who has a background in sales and marketing, took that advice to heart. Six years ago, when she and her husband were looking to buy their first house, they chose a duplex in Lachine. The couple lived on the main level and rented out the top floor, using that income to pay the mortgage and renovate their unit. When the tenant upstairs left, they gutted the interior and renovated it as well. After the dust settled and they had two attractive, highly rentable units, they began searching for something else.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remortgaged to get money to buy another property,\u201d Walker said. \u201cI was looking for a duplex, but we decided to buy a house. The beautiful thing about this right now is that we make $2,000 a month in income from the duplex, and after our expenses, we have a profit of $1,000 a month \u2014 which pays for our house. So in a sense we have no mortgages, but we have the equity of two properties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker is so passionate about the benefits of investment properties that in 2010 she founded Montreal Real Estate Investors, a free-to-join online organization that now has approximately 220 members.<\/p>\n

Her intention in starting the group was to share her knowledge, bring people together, and to provide herself with an opportunity to learn as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the group, people help each other,\u201d said the 45-year-old real-estate broker.<\/p>\n

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MEET JENN<\/h1>\n

Real Estate Broker & Educator<\/h4>\n

Jennifer Lynn Walker has specialized in buying and selling both residential and multiplex properties since 2003. She’s built a strong network of specialist, to give her clients a seamless experience throughout the real estate journey. Founder of\u00a0Montreal Real Estate Investor\u2019s Group, and Jolly Green Homes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>How can I help you today?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

While the social meet-ups are free, Walker organizes speakers who specialize in some aspect of real-estate investment. For these events, she charges a nominal fee to cover the cost of the room.
\u201cOur members are bilingual, but the speakers are English, which is nice in a sense because there is a huge French investors club in Montreal, but I don\u2019t know of any other English real-estate club in Montreal that\u2019s my size.\u201d<\/p>\n

People who are interested in venturing into the real-estate investment arena should do their research, Walker said, and determine beforehand how much time they want to put into their endeavours.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many types of investors and I tell beginners to set goals of where they want to be because it could be a part-time job or it could be a full-time job.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s a part-time job and part of my retirement portfolio. I enjoy it, but I don\u2019t want to put tons of hours into the investing business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once people have decided the amount of time they want to spend, the next step is to choose the kind of property they wish to purchase, since each one comes with its own benefits and challenges.<\/p>\n

Commercial properties carry a higher risk, Walker said, but the return is greater than with residential units. Leases are different as well, since the commercial domain is not regulated by the R\u00e9gie du logement \u2014 but there is more involvement with l awyers and notaries. For anyone thinking of investing in the new condos going up in the city, Walker recommends choosing units that are not the cookie-cutter variety \u2014 units that have a garage and are unique in some way to increase the resell potential.<\/p>\n

But regardless the choice of property, the goal is always the same: more money coming in than going out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot to consider \u2014 the market, the interest-rate fluctuation \u2014 you don\u2019t want to be strung up with each property, or choked. If there is a little fluctuation, you will be caught. If the interest rates go up significantly and you go to remortgage your property, your monthly payments will go up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker is content with her holdings \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n

She and her husband plan to buy something else in three or four years. Investing in real estate, she said, is a solid way for her to save for retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re living here, and you\u2019re trying to build roots and a lifestyle, there\u2019s no other way to go,\u201d she said. \u201cReal estate holds its ground. Even if there was a big drop in the market, eventually it will go back up.\u201d
Written by MARLENE EISNER, The Gazette, 30 March 2013<\/p>\n

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Written by MARLENE EISNER, The Gazette, 30 March 2013Two factors led Jennifer Lynn Walker into real estate \u2014 a friend, and a book. It was the friend who suggested it would be fun to become brokers together. That was eight years ago and since then, the two have gone their separate ways.A couple of years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\u201cReal estate holds its ground. Even if there was a big drop in the market, eventually it will go back up.\u201d <\/strong> -Jennifer Walker\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Two factors led Jennifer Lynn Walker into real estate \u2014 a friend, and a book. It was the friend who suggested it would be fun to become brokers together. That was eight years ago and since then, the two have gone their separate ways.A couple of years later, Walker read Robert Kiyosaki\u2019s book Rich Dad Poor Dad and was introduced to the world of real-estate investment. Kiyosaki\u2019s notion of building one\u2019s wealth with passive income through assets has stuck with Walker to this day.\r\n\r\n\u201cHe considers real estate that gives you money as an asset, but when it takes money out of your pocket, it\u2019s a liability,\u201d she said.\r\n\r\n\u201cIn the investment world, when you buy a house and a condo and rent it out, it is an investment. If you live in it, it\u2019s a liability.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe Montreal native, who has a background in sales and marketing, took that advice to heart. Six years ago, when she and her husband were looking to buy their first house, they chose a duplex in Lachine. The couple lived on the main level and rented out the top floor, using that income to pay the mortgage and renovate their unit. When the tenant upstairs left, they gutted the interior and renovated it as well. After the dust settled and they had two attractive, highly rentable units, they began searching for something else.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe remortgaged to get money to buy another property,\u201d Walker said. \u201cI was looking for a duplex, but we decided to buy a house. The beautiful thing about this right now is that we make $2,000 a month in income from the duplex, and after our expenses, we have a profit of $1,000 a month \u2014 which pays for our house. So in a sense we have no mortgages, but we have the equity of two properties.\u201d\r\n\r\nWalker is so passionate about the benefits of investment properties that in 2010 she founded Montreal Real Estate Investors, a free-to-join online organization that now has approximately 220 members.<\/td>\r\n\"\"