Wondering which renovations add more value to your home?

"How do you find out the market value of your home? You may be tempted to use the assessment that your municipal government sends to you with your property tax bill. But this assessment is likely to be on the low side. Their calculation typically leaves out any renos that have been done without permits (like windows or flooring, updated bathrooms, etc.), general maintenance, finishes, landscaping and other aesthetics. The municipal assessment rarely reflects real market values." 

If done wisely, a bathroom remodel can not only recoup your initial investment, it can actually turn a tidy profit. In fact, I've installed bathrooms that I know have returned 150 to 200 percent on my investment. But to see this kind of result, you've got to get the reno right -- aesthetically and technically. And you have to avoid mistakes.

Up until about 1990, most provincial building codes didn’t have specific rules for income suites in primary dwellings. Since then, a number of provincial building codes have introduced sections that govern new building of family homes that feature secondary suites as well as renovations that add these units to existing homes

An extremely vague quotation may indicate that the contractor is not serious about undertaking the job, hasn’t been paying attention to what you want or isn’t factoring in things he or she knows will need to be done, even if you don’t.

"Within an hour of talking to an advisor, my mind was exploding with ideas."

I told my parents, I got this great idea, I'm going to use my student loan to buy a house -- complete silence on the other end of the phone.

We found a property just up the street, we said we'll rent this out for $900 a month, get positive cash flow.

This group was a little different, within 24 hours we had our first phone call. It was pure panic on the phone. "Hi Scott it's Maria, we have a huge problem, Maria is trying to crawl out her window ..." I'm sweating, I can picture the house on fire. So I'm like wait a second, you're what? "We're all stuck in Marisa's room and we can't get out."

Real estate investing is about "get rich slow." It's about delayed gratification.... It needs to be able to sustain market terms.

Tip: One of the best tools that we have discovered that has helped with tenant relations, is the idea of reciprocity. As a landlord, I feel it's my responsibility to set the precedent in this relationship.