Real Estate Investing Morning Show ( REI Investment in Canada )

Hosted by Wayne & Gabby Hillier | Canadian Real Estate Investing Coaches / Mentors

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Aug 2026

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"Real Estate Investing Morning Show" with Canadian investor power couple, Wayne and Gabby Hillier. We talk everything real estate. Joint Ventures, Landlording, Buying/Selling, Financing, Flipping, BRRRR, Multi-Family, Secondary Suites, Condominiums, Agreement For Sales, Rent to Own, Wholesaling. Not to mention, sharing routines and strategies that we've implemented into our lives that have helped us 10X our performance, our drive and our efficiency.

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September 4, 202652 min

September 2026 Edmonton Real Estate Market Update

September 2026 Edmonton Real Estate Market Update What is actually happening in the Edmonton real estate market heading into fall 2026? Inventory has climbed dramatically compared with the last couple of years. Months of inventory has increased. August was slower. Buyers have significantly more choice. But that does not mean the opportunities are gone. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , Wayne and Gabby are joined by Edmonton investor-focused realtor Calvin Hexter of Calvin Realty for a September 2026 Edmonton real estate market update. They break down the latest inventory numbers, months of inventory, days on market, pricing, rental vacancy pressures and what investors should expect as Edmonton moves into the fall market. They also discuss why September may create an important buying window, why investors need to look beyond citywide averages, and why some of the best deals Wayne and his students have seen in years are showing up right now. Edmonton Inventory Has Changed Dramatically One of the biggest changes in Edmonton is inventory. Calvin says available inventory is now around 8,050 properties . For comparison, Edmonton had roughly 3,000 to 4,000 available properties during much tighter periods in the previous couple of years. That means buyers now have considerably more selection. For sellers, that creates competition. For buyers, that creates opportunity. Months of Inventory Climbs to 3.88 Edmonton moved from roughly 3.3 months of inventory to approximately 3.88 months . That is a meaningful shift. For comparison, during some of the tighter periods in 2024, Edmonton was around 1.7 to 1.8 months of inventory. The market is now much more balanced. That does not mean every property is easy to negotiate. Real estate is still hyper-local. Different neighbourhoods, property types and price points can behave very differently. But overall, buyers have more leverage than they did during Edmonton's extremely tight market. August Was a Sleepier Month Calvin describes August as a slower month, which is not unusual. People are travelling. Families are preparing for school. Sellers sometimes allow listings to expire or temporarily remove properties from the market. Calvin expects activity to start increasing again around the second week of September. His prediction is that the market begins waking up around September 10 . That combination can create an interesting opportunity for investors: More inventory. Some sellers becoming frustrated. Listings that have been sitting. And buyers beginning to return. Prices Were Mostly Slightly Lower According to Calvin, most major property categories declined approximately 1% from July into August . Townhouses were the exception, increasing by roughly 2% . Properties that are selling are averaging around 40 days on market . But citywide averages only tell part of the story. A townhouse in one neighbourhood can behave completely differently from an infill property or multifamily asset somewhere else. Not Every Property Has the Same Vacancy Rate The same principle applies to rental vacancy. A citywide vacancy number does not tell you exactly what is happening with your property. Calvin gives the example of newer west-end infill projects. While the broader Edmonton vacancy rate may be somewhere around 4% to 5%, certain concentrated property types could be experiencing vacancy closer to 10%. That is why investors need to drill down. What neighbourhood? What property type? What tenant profile? What rent? How much competing inventory? Wayne recommends talking directly with other landlords who own similar properties. Ask them: How long did it take to rent? How many inquiries did you receive? What rent did you achieve? That real-world information can sometimes tell you more than a citywide statistic. Wayne and Gabby Are Seeing Rental Pressure Too Gabby also provides an update on September rent collection. On the morning of September 1, only about 45% of their expected rent had been received. Normally, Gabby likes to see closer to 60% to 65% collected before the first because many tenants pay early. Ultimately, everything was collected. But there were a couple of tenants who needed an extra day or some clarification around credits. Wayne and Gabby believe affordability pressure is becoming more noticeable. Groceries are expensive. Fuel is expensive. Households are feeling stretched. At the same time, Edmonton has more rental supply than it did previously. That means landlords may occasionally need to be slightly more flexible while still maintaining strong systems and boundaries. More Rental Supply Does Not Mean Stop Buying This is an important distinction. Wayne is actively purchasing properties. REI Masters students are actively purchasing properties. And Wayne says some of the deals they are finding right now are among the best they have seen in approximately a decade. The rental market may require stronger management. But the acquisition market is creating opportunities. The answer is not necessarily to stop buying. The answer is to buy properly and manage properly. Strong cash flow gives you room to handle vacancies, slower leasing periods and occasional tenant payment issues without putting the investment at risk. Why Toronto and Vancouver Investors Changed Edmonton The conversation also touches on the wave of Ontario and British Columbia investors who entered Edmonton aggressively during the previous market cycle. Calvin says there was more resentment in 2024 when Edmonton buyers were regularly being beaten by aggressive out-of-province offers. Wayne shares a story about a Mill Woods property he wanted to flip. He submitted an aggressive offer over asking. Another investor from Toronto beat him by approximately $45,000 over asking with no conditions and without seeing the property . Wayne watched the deal afterward. The buyer eventually lost money. That is the difference between buying because you believe prices will keep increasing and buying based on fundamentals. Wayne and Gabby were also able to benefit indirectly from rising Edmonton values by refinancing properties they already owned and redeploying that capital later. Edmonton Investors Have More Choice Again The key takeaway from Calvin's September update is that Edmonton is no longer experiencing the same extreme shortage buyers faced during the tightest parts of the market. Inventory is higher. Months of inventory is higher. Sellers have more competition. Buyers can be more selective. For disciplined investors, that can create excellent buying opportunities. But investors still need to understand the specific neighbourhood, property type and tenant market they are buying into. REIcon – The Summit Series Wayne, Gabby and Calvin also discuss the upcoming REIcon Summit Series in Edmonton. September 11–13, 2026. The event is structured more like an investing workshop than a traditional conference. The goal is to walk investors through the process of completing a real estate deal from beginning to end. Topics include: Finding opportunities Determining what makes a good deal Negotiating Due diligence Financing Joint ventures Seller financing Residential investing Multifamily investing Raising capital Building the right professional team Wayne and Gabby will be presenting during the event. The Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show will broadcast live on stage on Saturday, September 12 . Wayne will also be teaching due diligence alongside experienced Canadian real estate professionals, including his Edmonton real estate lawyer, Richard Bell. REIcon takes place September 11–13 in Edmonton. Use discount code: REIMASTERS15 for 15% off tickets. www.reiconference.ca About Calvin Hexter Calvin Hexter is an Edmonton investor-focused realtor and the founder of Calvin Realty. Calvin and his team work with real estate investors purchasing and selling residential, multifamily and investment properties throughout Edmonton. www.calvinrealty.ca REI Masters Mentorship Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, financing, deal analysis, property management, joint ventures and building a profitable Canadian real estate portfolio. www.reimasters.ca Watch the Morning Show Join Wayne and Gabby every weekday morning at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube. Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube. Questions for the show: info@reimorningshow.com Upcoming Events REIcon – The Summit Series Edmonton, Alberta September 11–13, 2026 www.reiconference.ca Discount code: REIMASTERS15 REI Masters Annual Retreat Edmonton, Alberta October 17–18, 2026 www.reimasters.ca Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor Team www.calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors. www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors. www.kbmortgages.ca keaton@kbmortgages.ca

September 3, 202652 min

The Basement Suite Cashflows - But Is It Actually Legal?

The Basement Suite Cashflows - But Is It Actually Legal? A basement suite can make a rental property look fantastic on paper. Two rents. Better cash flow. Stronger returns. But there is one question investors sometimes forget to ask before removing conditions: Is the basement suite actually legal? In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , Wayne and Gabby explain how investors can verify whether a secondary suite is permitted, why an illegal or non-conforming suite can create serious financial risk, and what could happen if the city, lender or insurance company eventually starts asking questions. They also discuss the Bank of Canada's latest interest-rate announcement, why investors shouldn't build deals assuming rates are going to fall, and why sufficient cash flow is what protects a rental portfolio when borrowing costs change. What You'll Learn Why the Bank of Canada holding rates doesn't mean investors should assume rates are headed lower How variable-rate mortgages and HELOCs are affected differently than fixed-rate mortgages Why Wayne believes deals should work at today's interest rates How the 5% Rule™ Cash Flow Test creates a cushion against higher borrowing costs Why reserve funds make property repairs and renovations much easier Why a basement suite can make a mediocre property look great on a spreadsheet How to determine whether a basement suite is actually legal Why pulling a permit does not necessarily mean the suite received final approval Why investors should confirm that the existing suite matches what was originally approved Why you should never automatically treat rent from an illegal suite as guaranteed income How an illegal suite can affect property value Why neighbours and former tenants can create unexpected problems What could happen if the municipality orders a secondary suite to stop operating Potential tenant relocation costs when a suite can no longer legally be occupied Why insurance becomes particularly important with non-conforming suites How Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver differ when researching secondary suites Why Wayne and Gabby recommend buying or building legal suites whenever possible Bank of Canada Holds at 2.25% The Bank of Canada held its overnight rate at 2.25% in its September announcement. Wayne points out that the bigger story for investors is not simply that the rate stayed the same. It is the possibility that the environment could change. His message to investors is straightforward: Do not buy a rental property assuming interest rates are going down. Make the property work at today's numbers. If rates eventually fall, great. But your investment should not require that to happen. Variable vs. Fixed Mortgages Wayne also explains an important distinction. Changes to the Bank of Canada's overnight rate directly influence prime-based borrowing products such as: Variable-rate mortgages Adjustable-rate mortgages Home equity lines of credit A fixed-rate mortgage does not immediately change simply because the Bank of Canada changes its overnight rate. For investors with variable borrowing, however, rate increases can mean either higher interest costs or higher monthly payments depending on the mortgage structure. That makes cash flow especially important. Could Your Property Survive Higher Rates? Imagine your mortgage payment increases by $50 per month. Probably manageable. What if it rises by $500? Now the question becomes much more serious. Over a 20-year investment period, investors should expect interest rates to move. The property needs enough cash-flow cushion to survive those changes. Wayne points back to what happened when investors purchased properties during extremely low-rate environments and built their deals around financing conditions that did not last. When rates increased, some properties and projects could no longer support themselves. That is exactly the type of situation the 5% Rule™ Cash Flow Test is designed to help investors avoid. Why Cash Flow Creates Options Wayne and Gabby share another example from their own portfolio. One of their properties recently became vacant after several years. The property now needs repairs and improvements. But they are not scrambling to find the money. Why? The property's cash flow has been accumulating inside its reserve fund. That reserve can now pay for the work. No emergency credit card. No unexpected cash call to the joint venture partner. No panic. The rental business generated the money needed to maintain the rental business. That is how Wayne and Gabby believe a long-term portfolio should be built. Is That Basement Suite Actually Legal? The second major topic today begins with a situation Wayne recently heard about. An investor had been renting a basement suite when the municipality contacted them and wanted to inspect it. The problem? The suite was not properly permitted. Now the investor is facing questions about whether the tenant can continue living there and what happens to the economics of the property if that basement rent disappears. This is why Wayne believes investors need to verify secondary-suite status before purchasing the property. The Numbers Can Look Amazing Non-conforming suites can be tempting. Imagine two similar properties. One has a fully legal secondary suite. The other has a basement suite that looks almost identical but was never properly permitted. The non-conforming property may sell for less while producing almost the same advertised rental income. On a spreadsheet, that can look like an incredible deal. But that additional rent comes with risk. If something happens and you can no longer rent the basement separately, does the property still work? The Question Wayne Would Ask If you are considering purchasing a property with a non-conforming basement suite, Wayne suggests running a worst-case scenario: Does this property still cash flow if I cannot rent the basement separately? Assume the suite gets shut down. Assume you must rent the entire house as one unit. Does that rent still cover the property's expenses? Does it still pass the 5% Rule? If the answer is no, you need to understand exactly how much risk you are accepting. Wayne and Gabby's preference remains much simpler: Buy or build legal suites. Don't Overpay for an Illegal Suite Wayne gives a simple example. Imagine similar bungalows in a neighbourhood are worth: $400,000 A comparable property with a properly permitted legal suite might be worth: $500,000 Now imagine another $400,000 bungalow has an unpermitted basement suite. An investor sees the additional rental income and pays: $450,000 They think they received a bargain because it is cheaper than the legal suited property. But that unpermitted suite does not necessarily create the same market value as a fully legal one. You may have simply paid $50,000 too much for a $400,000 house. How to Check Whether a Basement Suite Is Legal Before buying a suited property, investigate it. 1. Check the Zoning Determine whether secondary suites are permitted under the property's zoning and municipal rules. 2. Check the Permits Find out whether the correct permits were actually issued for the secondary suite. Do not simply take the seller's word for it. 3. Confirm Final Inspections A permit being opened does not necessarily mean the work received final approval. Ask whether all required inspections were completed and the permit was properly closed. 4. Compare the Current Suite to What Was Approved A previous owner may have obtained approval and then changed the property afterward. Make sure today's layout and use still correspond with what was permitted. Some Cities Make This Easier Depending on where you are investing, your municipality may provide online tools that can help with the initial research. Wayne and Gabby discuss several examples. Edmonton has tools investors can use to research secondary-suite permits. Calgary has a secondary-suite registry. Winnipeg allows investors to search issued permits by address. Other cities, including Toronto and Vancouver , have permit and property-research tools, but investors may still need to contact the appropriate municipal department to confirm the actual status of a secondary suite. The easiest approach is usually: Search the city's online tools first. Then, if there is any uncertainty, contact the municipality directly and ask: "Does this address have a permitted secondary suite, and were all required final inspections completed?" What Causes the City to Investigate? Municipalities generally are not driving around neighbourhoods searching for illegal basement suites. Problems often begin because somebody complains. Two obvious possibilities are: Tenants. And: Neighbours. A tenant who becomes unhappy with the landlord may discover that the suite is not legal. A former tenant may complain. A neighbour who is frustrated with parking, noise or repeated rental problems may report the property. Everything can operate smoothly for years. Until somebody makes the phone call. What Happens to the Tenant? This is one of the risks investors sometimes overlook. You may have a valid residential tenancy agreement with someone living in the basement. If the municipality determines they can no longer legally occupy that space, you now have two problems. You lost the rental income. And your tenant may need somewhere else to live. Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, the landlord could potentially face costs resulting from being unable to provide the premises promised under the tenancy agreement. That could include temporary accommodation, moving, storage or other expenses. This is an area where investors should obtain proper legal advice for their specific situation. Don't Forget the Insurance Company Another major concern is insurance. Imagine you buy a property with an illegal secondary suite. You obtain landlord insurance. You collect rent. Everything appears fine. Then there is a major claim. A fire. Serious water damage. Liability involving an occupant. The insurance company investigates and discovers the property was being used differently than represented or that an unpermitted secondary suite was being occupied. That is not the time you want to discover that your coverage may be affected. Wayne recommends being transparent with your insurance professional and making sure the property is properly insured for the way it is actually being used. The Liability You Don't Want Wayne also discusses the extreme scenario investors sometimes hear about involving fires in illegal basement suites. If a landlord knowingly operates an unsafe or prohibited suite and someone is seriously injured or killed, the consequences could go far beyond lost rent. The circumstances surrounding any legal liability would depend heavily on the facts, but the underlying lesson is simple: Do not knowingly ignore serious safety or permitting issues. Saving money by avoiding permits is not worth taking a catastrophic risk. The Main Lesson A beautiful basement suite does not automatically mean you have two legal rental units. And a spreadsheet showing two rents does not mean you can count on receiving both rents forever. Before buying: Check the zoning. Check the permits. Confirm final inspections. Verify what was actually approved. Speak with your insurer. And run the property numbers assuming that basement rent disappears. If the entire investment collapses without the non-conforming suite, understand that you are taking a significant risk. Wayne and Gabby's preferred approach is straightforward: Buy legal. Build legal. The additional cost is usually much easier to deal with than discovering years later that the rental income your entire investment depended on was never guaranteed in the first place. About Your Hosts Wayne and Gabby Hillier are Canadian real estate investors, entrepreneurs and founders of REI Masters. Through the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , they provide practical Canadian real estate investing education, lessons from their own portfolio and free coaching every weekday morning. Send Your Questions to the Show Have a question you want Wayne and Gabby to answer? 📧 info@reimorningshow.com REI Masters Mentorship The REI Masters Mentorship Program is a 12-month real estate investing coaching program with Wayne and Gabby. Students receive education, courses, resources, contracts and ongoing coaching to help them analyze deals, build systems and grow their real estate investing business. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's framework for determining whether a rental property produces sufficient cash flow relative to the investment. Search The 5% Rule by Wayne Hillier on Amazon. Watch the Morning Show Join Wayne and Gabby every weekday morning at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube. Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube. Upcoming Events REIcon – The Summit Series Edmonton, Alberta September 11–13, 2026 Wayne and Gabby will be at REIcon Friday and Saturday. The Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show will broadcast live on stage Saturday morning , followed by Wayne and Gabby presenting later that day. 🌐 reiconference.ca Use discount code: REIMASTERS15 for 15% off your tickets. REI Masters Annual Retreat Edmonton, Alberta October 17–18, 2026 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor Team 🌐 www.calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.kbmortgages.ca 📧 keaton@kbmortgages.ca

September 2, 202649 min

Your Tenant Is Running a Business From Your Rental. Now What?

Your Tenant Is Running a Business From Your Rental. Now What? Your tenant starts operating a business from your rental property. Do you care? Maybe not. But your condo corporation, municipality, lease agreement and insurance company might. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , Wayne and Gabby break down a real situation happening inside their own rental portfolio after a condo corporation discovered that one of their tenants was advertising childcare services from the property. The tenant may simply have been trying to earn some additional income. From Wayne's perspective, that alone is not the problem. The problem is what that business could potentially do to the risk and liability attached to the property. Customers entering the rental. Children being cared for inside. Additional traffic and parking. Increased wear and tear. Business equipment or inventory. Potential injuries. And most importantly: What happens to your landlord insurance policy if the property is being used for something your insurer never agreed to cover? This is the kind of boring property-management system that becomes extremely important the day something goes wrong. What You'll Learn What happened when Wayne and Gabby discovered a tenant advertising childcare from their rental Why the condo corporation became involved Whether landlords should automatically prohibit every home-based business The difference between working from home and operating a customer-facing business Why customer traffic may dramatically change the risk How a business can create parking issues in a condominium Why certain businesses may increase wear and tear Why condo bylaws matter even if the landlord personally approves of the business Why municipal permission does not necessarily override condo bylaws Why Wayne recommends prohibiting businesses by default in the lease How landlords can later approve specific activities individually Why landlord insurance is based partly on the property's intended use How business activity could change coverage, exclusions, deductibles or premiums Why the tenant may need separate business liability insurance Whether the landlord may need to be added as an additional insured Why you should get insurance approval in writing Why landlords should confirm the facts before confronting a tenant How Wayne and Gabby communicated with their tenant Why simply sending an email is not the end of the process How landlords can verify compliance Why a property manager does not eliminate the owner's responsibility Why regular inspections and systems still matter even with professional management Why Wayne Doesn't Obsess Over Daily Real Estate News Wayne starts today's episode responding to a listener who complained that the Morning Show does not spend enough time discussing inflation, trade negotiations, interest-rate predictions and daily real estate-market news. His response is that most of that information has very little impact on how he operates a properly structured long-term rental portfolio. Wayne's strategy is not built around predicting what property values will do next month. It is built around buying properties capable of surviving 20 years or more . That means strong cash flow, strong returns without relying on appreciation, strong tenant demand, the right landlord environment, promising long-term market fundamentals and systems capable of protecting the investment when something inevitably goes wrong. Wayne does pay attention to market information when it could influence an actual decision. Should he buy? Sell? Refinance? Take equity out? Change financing strategy? Those forecasts matter because they affect the operation of the business. But endlessly predicting whether values will move slightly up or down is not the foundation of his investing strategy. Long-Term Investors Need Systems This leads directly into today's primary topic. If you are planning to own a property for 20 years, you need systems for situations that may only happen once or twice during that ownership period. A tenant operating a business from the property is one of those situations. The probability may be relatively low. The consequences could still be significant. And Wayne's philosophy is that the investor should have the system before the problem appears. The Real Situation: A Tenant Advertising Childcare Wayne and Gabby recently received an email from the manager of one of their condominium corporations. Someone had discovered a social-media advertisement from their tenant offering childcare or day-home services from the rental property. The condo corporation provided Wayne and Gabby with a screenshot of the advertisement, the applicable condominium bylaw and a request that the activity stop. The condo bylaws prohibited this type of commercial activity from the townhouse. Wayne's personal reaction was not: "How dare our tenant make money?" Quite the opposite. If the tenant can earn additional income, that may improve their financial situation and ability to pay rent. The problem is that Wayne's personal opinion does not override the condo bylaws. And even without the condo restriction, there would still be several other issues to investigate. Working From Home Is Not Necessarily the Same Thing A home-based business can mean many different things. Someone working remotely on a laptop is obviously different from operating a daycare. Someone selling T-shirts online and shipping them through the mail is different from running a salon with customers coming through the door every hour. Gabby says one of the most important dividing lines is often: Are customers attending the property? Once customers begin arriving, the potential liability changes. That can also affect parking, neighbours and common-property usage in a condominium. A childcare business creates another level of concern because multiple children may be on the property for extended periods. Increased Wear and Tear Insurance is not the only concern. Different businesses can also affect the physical property. Consider customer traffic, equipment, furniture, inventory, frequent use of entrances, additional plumbing or electrical usage and changes made to rooms to accommodate the business. The question becomes: How is this business changing the way my rental property is being used? That matters to both the landlord and insurer. Check the Condo Bylaws For condominium properties, this is one of the first checks. A tenant must comply with the condominium corporation's bylaws. A landlord cannot simply tell the tenant: "I'm okay with it." If the activity violates the condo bylaws, the landlord's permission does not solve the problem. That is exactly what happened in Wayne and Gabby's situation. The activity was prohibited under the condo bylaws, so it could not continue. Check Municipal Requirements If the property is not governed by restrictive condo bylaws, or if the bylaws permit the activity, the next question is whether the municipality allows it. Some businesses may require licensing, permits, specific zoning, parking requirements, occupancy restrictions or other approvals. However, municipal approval does not automatically mean the landlord or condo corporation must allow it. There can be multiple layers of requirements. Put It in the Lease Wayne recommends that landlords address home-based businesses directly in the lease. His preferred default is: No business activity without landlord approval. That does not mean the landlord can never approve one. It means the tenant must first ask. The landlord can then investigate: What exactly is the business? Will customers attend? Is it permitted by the municipality? Is it permitted by the condo corporation? Does it affect insurance? Is additional coverage required? Once those questions are answered, the landlord can make an informed decision. Leaving the lease silent creates unnecessary ambiguity. The Biggest Issue: Insurance This is where today's episode becomes especially important. A landlord insurance policy is written based on the expected use of the property . The insurer believes it is insuring a residential rental. If that rental begins functioning partly as a commercial operation, the risk may change. That could affect policy eligibility, liability coverage, premiums, deductibles, exclusions or required coverage. Wayne uses the example of someone operating a hair business. Imagine a customer gets injured. Or a hot styling tool causes a fire. The insurer investigates the loss and discovers that a commercial hair operation was being run from a property insured simply as a residential rental. That is not something Wayne wants to discover after the claim. Questions to Ask Your Insurance Broker If you are considering allowing a tenant to run a business from your rental, Wayne and Gabby recommend speaking directly with your insurance broker. Ask: Does my landlord policy permit this specific activity? Does customer traffic change my coverage? Does childcare change the coverage? Does business equipment or inventory change anything? Does the tenant require separate commercial liability insurance? Should the landlord be added as an additional insured? Are there new limits, exclusions or deductibles? Can the insurer confirm its approval in writing? That last question matters. A phone conversation with a broker is useful. Written confirmation is much better. Don't Accuse the Tenant Before Confirming the Facts Gabby emphasizes another important part of the process. Just because somebody tells you that your tenant is running a business does not automatically make it true. Verify first. Ask for evidence. Review the advertisement. Review the condo bylaws. Confirm what the tenant is actually doing. Check municipal requirements. Speak with your insurer. Then communicate with the tenant. In Wayne and Gabby's situation, they already had screenshots of the advertisement and the applicable condominium rule. That gave them enough information to address it properly. How Wayne and Gabby Addressed the Tenant Their assistant sent the tenant a professional written message. The tone was not aggressive. They acknowledged that the tenant may not have realized the activity would create an issue. They explained that the childcare services were contrary to the condominium bylaws and their lease agreement. They asked the tenant to discontinue providing the services from the property. And they invited the tenant to respond if there had been a misunderstanding. That is a much better approach than immediately sending an angry threat. Get the facts. Explain the issue. Put it in writing. Don't Stop at the Email Sending the email does not finish the process. The landlord still needs to verify compliance. That may mean a follow-up. It may mean an inspection with proper notice. It may mean monitoring whether the activity continues to be advertised. The important part is having a documented process rather than simply assuming: "I told them to stop, so I'm sure they stopped." Property Managers Don't Remove Your Responsibility Wayne finishes with an important warning for investors using property managers. Hiring a property manager does not mean you should completely stop paying attention. A tenant could pay rent on time, have excellent credit, never complain, remain in the property for five years and still be operating an activity that creates significant liability. If nobody ever checks the property, how would you know? Wayne is not criticizing property managers. His point is that the risk ultimately belongs to the property owner. If something goes wrong, ignorance does not automatically protect you. You need systems that ensure these issues are actually being checked. The Main Lesson Home-based businesses are not automatically bad. Some may create almost no meaningful additional risk. Others can fundamentally change how the property is being used. The landlord's job is not to make assumptions. The landlord's job is to investigate. Check the lease. Check the condo bylaws. Check municipal requirements. Check the insurance. Confirm the facts. Communicate in writing. Verify compliance. That may not be as exciting as predicting next month's interest-rate decision. But these are the systems that help you keep a rental property profitable and protected for 20 years. And that is where long-term real estate wealth is actually built. About Your Hosts Wayne and Gabby Hillier are Canadian real estate investors, entrepreneurs and founders of REI Masters. Through the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , they provide practical education, free coaching and lessons from operating their own Canadian rental-property portfolio. Resources & Contact Send Your Questions to the Show Have a question about tenants, insurance, property management, buying rental properties or building your portfolio? Wayne and Gabby answer investor questions on the Morning Show. 📧 info@reimorningshow.com REI Masters Mentorship Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, financing, landlord systems, tenant management, deal analysis and building a profitable Canadian real estate portfolio. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Remote Property Management Course Learn Gabby's systems for managing rental properties without needing to personally attend every inspection, showing or property-management issue. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Get The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's framework for evaluating rental-property cash flow and reducing investment risk. Search The 5% Rule by Wayne Hillier on Amazon. Watch the Show Live Join Wayne and Gabby every weekday morning at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube. Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube. Upcoming Events REIcon – The Summit Series Edmonton, Alberta September 11–13, 2026 Join Wayne and Gabby for real estate investing education in Edmonton. 🌐 reiconference.ca REI Masters Annual Retreat Edmonton, Alberta October 17–18, 2026 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor Team 🌐 www.calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.kbmortgages.ca 📧 keaton@kbmortgages.ca

September 1, 202649 min

Stop Gambling On Real Estate

Real Estate Is a Business, Not a Gamble Why did Wayne Hillier choose real estate investing over stocks, traditional investments, or other ways of building wealth? Because Wayne never wanted to rely on simply hoping an asset would increase in value . In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , Wayne and Gabby answer two investor questions: why they chose real estate investing in the first place, and how to approach friends or family about becoming joint venture partners without making the relationship weird. Wayne explains the realization that changed how he looked at real estate: A rental property isn't just an asset. It's a business. You can buy a property for its ability to generate revenue, control expenses, create cash flow and build equity — without requiring the property value to increase for the investment to work. The second half of today's episode tackles another common investor roadblock: raising money. If you have a great deal but need a money partner, how do you ask your friends? Wayne and Gabby's advice is surprisingly simple: Stop being weird about it. Have the conversation. 🧠 What You'll Learn Why Wayne prefers turnkey rental properties at this stage of his investing journey Why investors do not always need to buy distressed properties Why "make your money on the buy" is not a requirement for a profitable rental How Wayne and Gabby choose the path of least resistance when investing What happened when they recently took back possession of a rental after a three-year tenancy Why strong cash flow and reserve funds make expensive property decisions easier Why Wayne treats rental properties as businesses rather than speculative investments Why appreciation is a bonus rather than a requirement How Wayne compares a rental property to purchasing a franchise The two numbers Wayne focuses on when evaluating the business Why the Five Fundamentals matter before buying How the 5% Rule helps Wayne assess cash flow and risk Why Wayne believes investors should focus on what happens inside the property financially , not only what the property might eventually be worth How to approach friends and family about investing with you Why asking someone about a joint venture does not need to damage a friendship Why a real estate partnership should be presented as an opportunity, not a request for a favour What a basic 50/50 joint venture structure can look like Why a "no" does not need to become awkward Why your friends may become interested later after watching your progress What to do if everyone in your existing network says no Why sometimes the solution really is: go meet more people Two More Rental Properties Under Inspection Wayne and Gabby start today's episode with another update from their own portfolio. They recently completed an inspection on one of their newest potential acquisitions. Gabby had not previously seen the property but liked what she saw. It had already been renovated, appeared well suited to their target tenant profile, and looked like the type of property that could potentially be rented quickly without a major renovation. There were some areas that looked somewhat DIY or rough around the edges, but nothing immediately appeared catastrophic. Wayne was also heading to inspect another recently renovated property immediately after the show. That reflects where Wayne and Gabby are today in their investing journey: They like easy. Turnkey. Minimal renovations. Minor repairs. Get the property rented. Then move on to the next opportunity. You Don't Have to Buy the Worst House Wayne pushes back against a common message in real estate investing education: That investors need to find the ugliest, smelliest, most distressed property possible. Those properties can create opportunities. But they are not required. You also do not have to manufacture massive equity on every purchase for the investment to be successful. If the property functions properly as a rental business, generates good cash flow and produces an appropriate return, buying something turnkey can be completely reasonable. The strategy should depend on the investor. What are you trying to accomplish? How much time do you have? How much work are you willing to take on? What risks do you need to avoid? Wayne and Gabby describe their role as coaches as helping investors reverse engineer the life they actually want , then finding the path of least resistance to get there. The objective is not to become really good at renovating terrible houses. The objective is to use real estate to create the outcome you want. When the "Smell of Money" Is Your Own Property Ironically, Wayne and Gabby also walked into one of their existing rentals yesterday and immediately noticed a smell. The tenant had lived there for approximately three years and had always paid rent. But after getting possession back, the property was rougher than expected. It needed a substantial deep cleaning. There were damages and worn finishes. Some things needed repairs. And replacing one item could easily start pulling the thread that turns a small refresh into a major renovation. Wayne joked that this time it was not the "smell of money." It was the smell of money leaving their pocket. Their goal is to find the balance. They do not want to be cheap landlords. They also do not want to over-renovate a rental property and spend money that will never generate an adequate return. The property needs to meet the expectations of the tenant profile and market it serves. This Is Why Cash Flow Matters There is one reason this situation is not particularly stressful: The property has been extremely profitable. Wayne and Gabby keep their rental-property cash flow inside the portfolio rather than pulling it out personally. That money builds reserves. So when a property eventually needs repairs, cleaning, renovations or updates, the money is already available. There is no panic. No scrambling for a credit card. No wondering how they will afford the work. The business has generated the money required to maintain the business. As Wayne explains: Good cash-flowing properties are easier to operate. That is one of the reasons his investment criteria place so much emphasis on cash flow from day one. Why Wayne Chose Real Estate Investing The first listener question today was: "What made you decide to invest in real estate?" Yesterday's episode explained part of Wayne's origin story before real estate. Today he explains why, once he was earning good money in Alberta, real estate became the investment vehicle he ultimately chose. Wayne had reached a point where his career income had grown significantly. But he could also see the ceiling. The next major promotion was not immediately coming. The next huge raise was not coming. And he watched people around him make great incomes while spending almost everything they earned. Wayne did not want to do the same thing. He needed somewhere productive to put the additional money. That led him to investing. Why Traditional Investing Didn't Appeal to Wayne Wayne started researching stocks and traditional investments. But he struggled with the concept. From his perspective, putting money into something and then hoping its price increases felt too much like gambling. Give money to a financial advisor. Hope they choose the right investments. Buy a stock. Hope the company performs. Buy an asset. Hope demand increases its value. Wayne wanted more control. His previous experience playing poker actually helped shape the way he thought about this. Poker involved uncertainty, but Wayne could still make decisions throughout the game. He could evaluate information. Control his bets. Change his strategy. Manage his risk. He wanted an investment where his own knowledge and decisions could similarly influence the outcome. Then he started understanding rental real estate. A Rental Property Is Like Buying a Franchise This became the key realization. Imagine someone offered you several franchises. Every franchise costs: $300,000. Forget about whether the franchise itself will eventually increase in value. Instead, evaluate the business. How much revenue does it generate? What are the expenses? How much profit remains? What return are you receiving on the money you actually invested? What is the demand for its product? What are the risks? Wayne realized that rental properties can be evaluated in much the same way. Except instead of paying $300,000 cash for the entire business, you may invest approximately: $60,000 as a 20% down payment. Now evaluate what that $60,000 produces. Cash flow. Mortgage principal paydown. Return on invested capital. Tenant demand. Operating expenses. That is the business. Forget Appreciation Wayne says he could theoretically buy a $300,000 rental property and have it remain worth exactly $300,000 for decades. If the business itself produces strong profits and acceptable returns, the investment can still work. That changes everything. Instead of asking: "Will this house go up in value?" Ask: "Does this rental business make money?" Wayne argues that too many investors obsess over the value of the box while ignoring what is happening financially inside the box . His investment strategy does not require appreciation. If appreciation happens over a long holding period, great. That is a bonus. But the property should already work without it. The Five Fundamentals + The 5% Rule That does not mean rental properties are guaranteed to succeed automatically. There are still variables outside an investor's control. Tenant demand. Rental supply. Economic conditions. Interest rates. Market conditions. That is why Wayne developed a set of fundamentals for determining where and what to buy. He wants properties that: Cash flow from day one Generate strong returns without requiring appreciation Operate in a strong landlord and tenant environment Attract a strong tenant profile Exist in markets with promising long-term growth He also uses the 5% Rule™ Cash Flow Test to determine whether the property produces enough cash flow relative to the investor's down payment. The objective is not to predict the future perfectly. It is to build enough margin into the investment that it does not require everything to go perfectly. How Do You Ask Friends to Invest With You? The second listener already has a deal. Their problem is money. They want to bring on an investor but are concerned that asking friends to partner could damage the relationship. Wayne's first piece of advice: If they are genuinely good friends, respectfully asking them about an opportunity should not destroy the friendship. You are not demanding money. You are asking a question. If they say no? Cool. Move on. Continue being friends. Stop Treating It Like You're Begging for Money Gabby makes an important distinction. A joint venture is not: "Please give me money because I need it." It should be: "I have an opportunity that may benefit both of us." A basic example discussed in the episode could look like this: You have the deal, experience and ability to operate the investment. Your partner brings the mortgage qualification and capital. You manage the real estate investment. When the deal eventually exits, the investor receives their contributed capital back according to the partnership structure, and profits are shared — in Wayne's example, potentially 50/50 . Both parties bring something valuable. Both parties benefit. That changes the conversation. How Wayne Would Ask It does not need to be a presentation. It does not need to be a dramatic meeting. And you probably do not need a PowerPoint projector in your basement. Have a normal conversation. You are investing in real estate. You found a good opportunity. You are looking for people who may want to partner. Explain what each person contributes. Explain how the economics work. Ask whether they are interested. If the answer is no: "No problem. I figured I'd ask." Then continue with your friendship. Do not make it weird. They May Say No Today and Yes Later There is another reason Wayne believes investors should consider letting people know what they are doing. Your friend may say no today. But now they know. They may begin watching. They see you buying properties. They see deals succeeding. They watch your knowledge improve. They watch your portfolio grow. Six months or two years later, they may come back and ask: "Are you still looking for partners?" That conversation never happens if nobody knows the opportunity exists. What If All Your Friends Say No? Wayne's solution is uncomplicated: Go make more friends. If you have spoken respectfully with everyone in your existing network and nobody wants to partner, expand your network. Meet more investors. Attend events. Build relationships. Keep doing deals. Keep improving your knowledge. Keep demonstrating what you can do. Your current social circle does not have to define the eventual size of your real estate business. The Main Lesson Both topics today ultimately come down to the same idea: Take control of the things you can control. Wayne chose rental real estate because he could focus on operating a profitable business instead of relying entirely on asset appreciation. And if capital is currently the obstacle preventing you from buying another property, you can control whether you actually have conversations with potential partners. Stop waiting. Stop imagining every possible negative outcome. Evaluate the opportunity. Understand the numbers. Have the conversation. If somebody says no, move on. If they say yes, you may have just created an opportunity for both of you. But you will never know if you never ask. 👥 About Your Hosts Wayne and Gabby Hillier are Canadian real estate investors, entrepreneurs and founders of REI Masters. Through the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , they provide practical real estate investing education, coaching and lessons from their own experience buying and operating rental properties. 💡 Resources & Contact Send Your Questions to the Show Wayne and Gabby provide free coaching by answering real estate investing questions on the Morning Show. 📧 info@reimorningshow.com Join the REI Masters Mentorship Program Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, deal analysis, financing, joint ventures, raising capital, property management and building a profitable Canadian real estate portfolio. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Get The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's framework for evaluating rental-property cash flow and reducing investment risk. Search The 5% Rule by Wayne Hillier on Amazon. Watch the Show Live Join Wayne and Gabby every weekday morning at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube. Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube. 📅 Upcoming Events REIcon – The Summit Series Edmonton, Alberta September 11–13, 2026 Join Wayne and Gabby for an intimate real estate investing education weekend in Edmonton. 🌐 reiconference.ca REI Masters Annual Retreat Edmonton, Alberta October 17–18, 2026 The annual REI Masters mentorship retreat brings the community together for education, planning and long-term real estate investing strategy. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca 🤝 Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor Team 🌐 www.calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.kbmortgages.ca 📧 keaton@kbmortgages.ca

August 31, 202652 min

Wayne Hillier Before Real Estate: Debt, Gambling & Rock Bottom

*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-6a7495ae-8138-83e8-af4d-0964d8c65345-9" data-turn-id-container= "request-6a7495ae-8138-83e8-af4d-0964d8c65345-9" data-testid= "conversation-turn-16" data-turn="assistant"> Wayne Hillier Before Real Estate: Debt, Gambling & Rock Bottom Before the rental properties, businesses, coaching and real estate investing success, Wayne Hillier was living a very different life. He was working at a gas station for roughly $14–$16 an hour, carrying credit-card debt, gambling, trying to keep up with friends who were progressing in their careers, and feeling increasingly stuck. Then one weekend, Wayne bought a sports lottery ticket. For several hours, he believed he may have won approximately $340,000 . What happened next became one of the pivotal moments that eventually pushed him to leave Ontario, move across the country to Alberta, meet Gabby and ultimately discover real estate investing. It is a chapter of Wayne's story he says he had almost completely forgotten — and had never shared on the podcast before. The lesson that came from it would eventually shape much of what happened next: No one is coming to save you. 🧠 What You'll Learn What Wayne's life looked like before real estate investing Why his original plan to become an accountant fell apart What it felt like watching friends move ahead while he remained stuck How debt and trying to keep up with others affected his decisions Why gambling became part of that period of his life The Proline Pools ticket that made Wayne think he had won approximately $340,000 Why the result turned into only about $350 How Wayne lost that money shortly afterward playing online poker Why that experience became part of his rock-bottom moment The late-night conversation that convinced him to move to Alberta How one decision led to another and eventually led Wayne to Gabby Why small decisions can completely change the trajectory of your life Why money alone would not have fixed Wayne's problems at that stage Why education eventually became more valuable than luck How Wayne went from making bad decisions to deliberately making better ones Why knowledge changes what you are capable of doing with money Why action matters more than waiting for something to rescue you Before Real Estate, Wayne Was Stuck Wayne says he has told the story of how he got into real estate investing hundreds of times. Usually, the story starts with him leaving Ontario and moving to Alberta. But today he realized there was an important part missing. Around 20 years ago, Wayne was in his early twenties and had effectively abandoned his original plan to go to school and become an accountant. He had paid for school and had a plan, but the path did not feel right. He talked to people already working in accounting and realized that the life he was building toward was not the life he wanted. The problem was that once he walked away from that plan, he had no replacement. He was working at a gas station, making close to minimum wage, while many of his friends were progressing through the trades, earning more money, buying cars and moving forward. Wayne felt like everyone else's life was moving while his was standing still. Debt, Gambling and Keeping Up Instead of solving the bigger problem, Wayne started trying to keep up. His friends were earning substantially more than he was. They could afford the bar. They could afford the casino. They could afford nicer cars. Wayne could not. That led to increasing credit-card limits and spending money he did not really have. The casino became part of the routine. Online poker became another outlet. Wayne says he was actually a decent poker player, but a terrible gambler. He could win repeatedly and then lose everything by increasing the stakes. That was the pattern. Win. Get confident. Bet bigger. Lose it. The $340,000 Ticket One of the gambling activities Wayne and his friends regularly participated in was Proline Pools . They would select the winners of a group of NHL games, and everyone who correctly picked every game would split the prize pool. Most weeks, Wayne remembers there being only one, two or maybe three winners. That meant the payouts could become very large. One weekend, Wayne got almost everything right. By the final night, only a few games remained. One by one, his picks won. Eventually it came down to the final game. The team Wayne had selected fell behind badly. He basically gave up on it. Later, the game became close again. With very little time remaining, the team he picked scored and won. Wayne had selected every game correctly. The prize pool was approximately: $340,000. For a Few Hours, Wayne Thought His Life Had Changed At the time, Wayne was making roughly $14 an hour, working limited hours and carrying debt. Suddenly he believed he might be about to receive life-changing money. He started imagining what that money could mean. He thought he had bought himself years of freedom. He did not have a real investment plan. He did not know anything about real estate investing yet. He simply thought: I finally have options. But the official results did not appear. Wayne kept refreshing the website. Nothing. He eventually went to sleep. He woke up early. Still nothing. Then he had to go to work. This was before smartphones were common, so Wayne spent most of the day wondering whether he had just won hundreds of thousands of dollars. From $340,000 to $350 When Wayne finally checked the results, he understood why they had taken so long to process. There were not one or two winners. There were more than: 800 winners. His portion of the approximately $340,000 prize pool was roughly: $350. The emotional swing was enormous. For hours, Wayne believed life had finally handed him an escape. Instead, he received a few hundred dollars. The Spiral Got Worse That was not quite the bottom. Wayne then took the money and entered an expensive online poker tournament. For someone making roughly $14 an hour, spending hundreds of dollars on a single poker tournament was a major risk. He played for hours. He finished just outside the payout positions. The money was gone. The imagined $340,000 was gone. The $350 was gone. Wayne says he nearly threw his computer monitor through the wall. That week forced him to face something he had been avoiding: His life was not going to change because he got lucky. "No One Is Coming to Save Me" Wayne describes this as one of the moments when he realized: The world was not going to take care of him. The lottery was not coming. Nobody was going to arrive and fix his life. If something was going to change, he had to change it himself. That realization led to another decision. Late at night, Wayne drove to the gas station where another employee was working. That employee had previously moved to Alberta and had done well financially before eventually returning to Ontario. Wayne stayed there for hours asking questions. What was Alberta like? Could he find work? How much money could he make? Where would he live? How would he get there? What would he need? Less than a week later, Wayne loaded up a U-Haul and drove across the country. One Decision Led to Another That move changed everything. Moving to Alberta eventually put Wayne in a townhouse complex across the walkway from Gabby. Then another small decision changed his life again. Wayne happened to work overtime one day. Instead of arriving home at his usual time, he got home later while Gabby was celebrating her birthday. Someone invited him over. Wayne said yes. He met Gabby. They have been together ever since. None of those decisions looked life-changing in the moment. Taking overtime. Talking to a coworker. Moving provinces. Choosing one rental property. Accepting an invitation. But each decision moved Wayne in a different direction. Together, they completely changed his life. What If Wayne Had Actually Won the Money? During the episode, Wayne asks an interesting question. What if he really had won the $340,000? His conclusion is that the money probably would not have saved him. At that point in his life, he did not have the knowledge, discipline or experience to use it properly. He believes he probably would have spent it. He may have gambled more. He may have bought expensive things. And eventually he may have ended up in exactly the same position — just later. That is the important distinction. Money alone does not create wealth. You need to know what to do with it. Knowledge Changed Everything Today, Wayne says if someone handed him $340,000 and asked what to do with it, the situation would be completely different. Now he understands: Cash flow Return on investment Risk Financing Property selection Market fundamentals Asset management How to deploy capital intelligently That knowledge came from years of reading, coaching, education, experience and actually investing. Wayne's biggest asset was not getting lucky. It was becoming the person who knew what to do when opportunities appeared. The Main Lesson If you are in a difficult place right now, the message from today's episode is not that everything changes overnight. It usually does not. Start with one decision. Ask a question. Learn something. Talk to somebody who has already done what you want to do. Stop waiting for the perfect opportunity. Stop waiting for luck. Stop waiting for somebody to rescue you. Wayne went from making bad decisions to making better ones. Those better decisions eventually led him across the country. They led him to Gabby. They led him to real estate investing. They led to businesses, investments and opportunities he could not have imagined while working behind the counter of a gas station twenty years earlier. The turning point was recognizing: No lottery is coming to save you. No one is coming to save you. And that means you are allowed to start changing your own life. 👥 About Your Hosts Wayne and Gabby Hillier are Canadian real estate investors, entrepreneurs and founders of REI Masters. Through the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , they provide practical real estate investing education, coaching, personal experiences and lessons for investors across Canada. 💡 Resources & Contact Send Your Questions to the Show Have a real estate investing question or something preventing you from taking action? Send it in and Wayne and Gabby may answer it on an upcoming episode. 📧 info@reimorningshow.com Join the REI Masters Mentorship Program The REI Masters Mentorship Program is a 12-month coaching and education program designed to help investors shorten the learning curve, analyze deals, make better decisions and build a real estate investing strategy. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Get The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's framework for evaluating rental-property cash flow and reducing investment risk. Search The 5% Rule by Wayne Hillier on Amazon. Watch the Show Live Join Wayne and Gabby every weekday morning at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube. Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube. 📧 info@reimorningshow.com 📅 Upcoming Events REIcon – The Summit Series Edmonton, Alberta September 11–13, 2026 Join Wayne and Gabby for an intimate real estate investing education weekend in Edmonton. The Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show will also be recorded live on stage during the event. 🌐 reiconference.ca 🤝 Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor Team 🌐 www.calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.kbmortgages.ca 📧 keaton@kbmortgages.ca _:empty]:hidden">

August 28, 20261 hr 1 min

Agreements for Sale Explained: Real Seller Financing Deals With Zero Money Down

Agreements for Sale Explained: Real Seller Financing Deals With Zero Money Down Seller financing sounds almost too good to be true. An investor buys a property with little or none of their own money. The seller leaves financing in place. The investor operates the property, collects rent, benefits from cash flow and mortgage paydown, and eventually pays the seller out according to the terms of the agreement. In Canada, one strategy Wayne used extensively to accomplish this is an Agreement for Sale . In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , Wayne and Gabby continue yesterday's seller-financing discussion by breaking down two real Agreements for Sale Wayne negotiated himself . These are not hypothetical examples. They show how Agreements for Sale can work in the real world, why a seller might agree to one, how Wayne found these opportunities, what he listened for during conversations with sellers, and why the best Agreement for Sale deals create a legitimate win for both sides. As Wayne says: "If you understand the strategies, you'll recognize the opportunities." 🧠 What You'll Learn What an Agreement for Sale is How Agreements for Sale fit into seller financing Why Agreements for Sale are sometimes compared conceptually to "subject-to" investing in the United States Why the Canadian legal structure and documentation are different Why Agreements for Sale are considered an advanced real estate investing strategy Why Wayne became obsessed with Agreements for Sale for several years How Wayne built an entire lead-generation funnel around finding Agreement for Sale opportunities Why understanding seller motivation matters Why a seller does not have to be desperate for an Agreement for Sale to work How Agreements for Sale can solve problems for sellers with little or no equity How a property can potentially be acquired with zero money down Why the length of the Agreement for Sale term matters How mortgage paydown, cash flow and appreciation can benefit the buyer Why Wayne wanted multi-year Agreement for Sale terms rather than short terms How Wayne structured an eight-year potential term in one real deal Why listening is more important than convincing How Wayne structured another Agreement for Sale for a seller who was not financially distressed Why delaying the seller's payout can sometimes create a better financial outcome for them How Wayne assigned Agreements for Sale to other investors How the two example contracts generated approximately $15,000 in assignment income Why ethical seller financing matters What Is an Agreement for Sale? An Agreement for Sale is a form of seller financing where the buyer and seller enter into a contractual arrangement that allows the buyer to acquire control and economic benefit from the property while some or all of the seller's existing financing remains in place for an agreed period. Wayne explains that the concept is often compared with "subject-to" investing in the United States, although Canadian Agreements for Sale have their own legal structures, documentation and requirements. This is not a strategy Wayne recommends trying after watching a handful of social-media videos. The contracts matter. The financing terms matter. The legal protections matter. The underlying property still needs to make sense. And the more complicated the financing structure becomes, the more important proper education and professional advice become. Why Wayne Loves Agreements for Sale When Wayne first learned Agreements for Sale, he says the strategy completely changed what he believed was possible in real estate investing. Before understanding creative financing, investors often think their growth is limited by two things: How much cash they have. And how many mortgages the bank will approve. Agreements for Sale can potentially create another option. The seller may become part of the financing solution. Wayne became so focused on the strategy that, for approximately three years, he says he lived and breathed Agreements for Sale and developed systems specifically for finding these opportunities. Agreements for Sale Must Be Win-Win Wayne also explains that he initially struggled with seller financing because he did not want to build wealth by taking advantage of people in difficult circumstances. The solution was changing the objective. The goal was not: Find desperate sellers and convince them to sign an Agreement for Sale. The goal became: Understand the seller's problem and determine whether an Agreement for Sale genuinely solves it. If it does, great. If the seller has a better option, they should take the better option. Wayne and Gabby describe that approach as ethical sales. You listen first. Then determine whether you actually have a solution. Agreement for Sale Deal #1: The Couple Who Needed to Move On The first example involved a couple who had purchased a home together and later decided to separate. They had only recently purchased the property and had very little equity. Their mortgage balance was approximately equal to the property's market value. They had already attempted to sell conventionally and privately, but selling would potentially require them to bring money to closing. They also did not want to keep the property as landlords because that would force them to continue operating something together after their relationship ended. Their real problem was simple: They wanted to separate financially and move on with their lives. An Agreement for Sale provided a possible solution. Why This Became a Zero-Money-Down Agreement for Sale Under normal circumstances, Wayne was not particularly interested in the property. The cash flow was not exceptional. There was no significant renovation opportunity. And if he needed to put 20% down and obtain a traditional mortgage, there were better investments available. But the financing changed the economics. The sellers had essentially no equity. If they sold conventionally, they were not going to receive a large cheque anyway. So Wayne asked: Why would he need to give them a traditional down payment? Instead, the Agreement for Sale could allow the underlying mortgage to remain in place while the buyer assumed the contractual responsibility for operating the property and making the required payments. The sellers could walk away. The buyer did not need to bring a conventional down payment. That created a potential zero-money-down Agreement for Sale . Why the Agreement for Sale Term Matters Wayne did not simply want seller financing. He wanted enough time for the strategy to work. A one-year Agreement for Sale would have created pressure to refinance or sell almost immediately. Instead, the sellers had approximately three years remaining on their mortgage term. Wayne proposed: Three years, with an option to extend another five years. Potential total term: Eight years. During that time, the buyer could potentially benefit from: Rental cash flow Mortgage principal paydown Property appreciation Increased rents Multiple exit options At the end of the Agreement for Sale term, the remaining mortgage balance could be paid out through refinancing, sale or another agreed strategy. What Did the Sellers Get? The sellers got the thing they actually cared about. They got to move on. Wayne proposed taking responsibility for the expenses and operation of the property while the existing financing remained in place. A joint bank account could be used so the sellers could see that the required mortgage payments were being funded. There was no need for an aggressive pitch. The Agreement for Sale simply solved their problem. Wayne ultimately assigned the Agreement for Sale contract to another investor rather than keeping it. Based on his original projections, Wayne estimates that the investor may eventually generate somewhere around $150,000–$200,000 from the deal, depending on the final rents, financing costs, appreciation and exit. Agreement for Sale Deal #2: A Seller Who Was Not Desperate The second Agreement for Sale example had a completely different seller. This seller was not facing foreclosure. He was not desperate. He simply wanted to sell privately and maximize how much money he kept. His expected outcomes were approximately: Private sale: $30,000 in his pocket versus approximately: Traditional realtor sale: $10,000 in his pocket Wayne stayed in contact but did not try to force an Agreement for Sale on him. Eventually, after struggling to sell privately, the seller came back to Wayne. That is when Wayne asked one very important question: "What are you going to do with the money?" Turning the Agreement for Sale Into an Investment for the Seller The seller did not actually need the $30,000 immediately. He said he would probably invest the money. That gave Wayne a completely different way to structure the Agreement for Sale. Instead of receiving approximately $10,000 immediately after a traditional sale, Wayne proposed that the seller wait roughly seven years and receive approximately $30,000 later . For that seller, the Agreement for Sale was no longer just creative financing for Wayne. It became an investment decision for the seller. Wayne framed the alternatives clearly: Take approximately $10,000 today and invest it yourself. Or allow the Agreement for Sale to remain in place and receive approximately $30,000 later. The seller understood the numbers and agreed. Wayne says the seller signed the Agreement for Sale very quickly once the structure made sense to him. You Don't Convince Sellers to Do Agreements for Sale This may be the biggest lesson from both examples. Wayne did not convince either seller to accept an Agreement for Sale. He listened. He asked questions. He learned what they were actually trying to accomplish. Then he determined whether an Agreement for Sale could provide a better solution. If it did, he presented it. If it did not, he was prepared to walk away. Gabby points out that this is why trust matters so much in creative financing. Seller financing is not about high-pressure sales. It is about problem solving . Agreements for Sale Can Also Be Assigned Wayne did not keep either of the two Agreements for Sale discussed today. Instead, he assigned the contracts to other investors. One Agreement for Sale assignment produced approximately: $5,000 The second produced approximately: $10,000 Total assignment income: Approximately $15,000 That means understanding Agreements for Sale does not only create opportunities to build your own portfolio. It can also create an additional source of off-market deals and assignment income for wholesalers and other real estate investors. The Main Lesson Agreements for Sale can be incredibly powerful. They can potentially allow investors to: Acquire properties with very little capital Buy properties without immediately qualifying for new traditional mortgages Generate cash flow Benefit from mortgage paydown Benefit from appreciation Structure longer-term seller financing Solve difficult problems for sellers Assign creative-financing opportunities to other investors But none of that means Agreements for Sale are easy or risk-free. This is advanced real estate investing. You need to understand the underlying property. You need to understand the financing. You need proper contracts. You need legal guidance. You need to understand your responsibilities to the seller. And above all: The Agreement for Sale needs to create a legitimate win for both parties. 👥 About Your Hosts Wayne and Gabby Hillier are full-time Canadian real estate investors, entrepreneurs and founders of REI Masters. Through the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , they share practical lessons from buying, financing, operating and managing rental properties across Alberta. 💡 Resources & Contact Learn Agreements for Sale & Seller Financing Agreements for Sale, seller financing and creative real estate strategies are covered through the REI Masters education and mentorship programs. Learn how to find opportunities, understand seller motivation, structure financing and use proper systems and agreements. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca REI Masters Mentorship Program The REI Masters Mentorship Program is a 12-month coaching and education program covering: Agreements for Sale Seller financing Off-market deals Wholesaling BRRRR Rent-to-own Fix and flips Multifamily investing Financing Joint ventures Property management Deal analysis Portfolio strategy 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Send Your Questions to the Show Have a question about Agreements for Sale, seller financing, creative financing or Canadian real estate investing? 📧 info@reimorningshow.com Watch the Show Live Join Wayne and Gabby every weekday morning at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube. Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube. 📅 Upcoming Events REIcon – The Summit Series Edmonton, Alberta September 11–13, 2026 Wayne and Gabby will be presenting during the Summit Series, including education around due diligence, asset management and property management. The Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show will also be recorded live on stage Saturday, September 12. Use promo code: REIMASTERS15 for 15% off registration. 🌐 reiconference.ca 🤝 Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor Team 🌐 www.calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.kbmortgages.ca 📧 keaton@kbmortgages.ca

August 27, 202648 min

Can You Fully Finance an Investment Property?

Can You Fully Finance an Investment Property? Can you buy an investment property without bringing your own down payment? Sometimes. But there is a big difference between what is technically possible and what is actually smart . In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , Wayne and Gabby answer a listener question about borrowing the down payment for an investment property, using home equity, private lenders and seller financing. The biggest takeaway is simple: You can sometimes borrow the money — but the source of that money, the cost of that money and the risk you are taking matter enormously. 🧠 What You'll Learn Why traditional lenders generally require investors to bring their own down payment What 80% loan-to-value actually means Why lenders want borrowers to have "skin in the game" When higher loan-to-value financing may be available for a principal residence Why investment properties are treated differently How home equity can be used toward the down payment on another property Why a HELOC is very different from an unsecured line of credit How moving equity from one property into another can help investors scale Why borrowing 100% of a rental property through private financing can become extremely expensive When private financing may make more sense for short-term investments What seller financing is How vendor take-back mortgages, lease options and agreements for sale can work Why seller financing is an advanced strategy How Wayne and Gabby used seller financing to build their own portfolio Why zero-money-down deals can still create significant long-term risk How one of their seller-financed properties has generated approximately $160,000 to date Why balancing leverage with strong cash flow matters Why the most aggressive strategy is not always the best strategy Why Banks Usually Want 20% Down For a typical investment property, major lenders generally work around an 80% loan-to-value limit . That means if you are buying a $500,000 property, the lender may finance approximately: $400,000 The remaining: $100,000 needs to come from an acceptable down-payment source. Lenders want the borrower to have some financial exposure in the deal. If the investor has no money at risk, the lender may reasonably worry that it becomes much easier for that borrower to simply walk away if the investment starts going badly. That is why the source of the down payment matters. What About 5% Down? Higher loan-to-value mortgages can be available in certain circumstances for an owner-occupied principal residence. That is different from buying a traditional rental property. Wayne also gives an important warning in this section: Do not misrepresent an investment property as your principal residence in order to qualify for financing you would otherwise not receive. That can cross into mortgage fraud. Can You Borrow the Down Payment? Yes — under the right circumstances. One of the most practical examples discussed in the episode is using equity from a property you already own . Imagine your home is worth: $500,000 And you owe: $250,000 If a lender is willing to lend against the property up to 80% of its value, that would be approximately: $400,000 Since you already owe $250,000, there may be approximately: $150,000 of accessible borrowing room , subject to qualification and the lender's requirements. That equity can potentially be accessed through a home equity line of credit and used toward the down payment on another property. The important distinction is that the new debt is secured against existing equity . You are effectively moving some equity from one property into another. You Are Not Creating Equity Out of Thin Air Wayne walks through the concept visually during the episode. If you have $250,000 of equity in one property and borrow $100,000 or $150,000 against it to purchase another property, your equity in the original property goes down. But you now have equity in the new property. The money did not magically appear. It moved. The potential advantage is that you now own two assets instead of one . If both properties appreciate, both mortgages are paid down over time and the rental property produces cash flow, you have created more opportunities for your net worth to grow. But that only works if the property you buy actually makes sense. Do Not Borrow Against Your Home for a Bad Investment Wayne is very clear on this point. Using home equity can be a powerful tool. It can also be a terrible idea if you use that money to buy an investment that depends on speculation, excessive leverage or appreciation just to survive. The fact that financing is available does not mean the investment is good. The property still needs to produce strong enough economics to justify the risk. What About Private Lenders? Private lenders operate differently from major banks. They can create their own lending criteria and may be willing to finance deals that traditional lenders would not. Some may provide higher loan-to-value financing or permit borrowers to obtain the remainder of the capital from another source. The problem is: You pay for that flexibility. Wayne uses an extreme example of a $500,000 property financed around 15% interest . At 15% interest, the annual interest alone would be: $75,000 That works out to approximately: $6,250 per month in interest before property taxes, insurance, repairs, vacancy or any other expenses. For a long-term rental property, those numbers become very difficult to justify. Private Financing Can Have a Place Wayne does not say private lending is always bad. For a short-term strategy such as a fix and flip, higher-cost financing may sometimes be acceptable if the investor has enough margin in the deal. If you borrow expensive money for three to six months, renovate the property, create substantial equity and sell it, the carrying cost can potentially be absorbed into the project. That is very different from trying to operate a long-term rental property indefinitely with extremely expensive debt. Seller Financing The other major option discussed is seller financing . Instead of the bank providing all of the financing, the seller may agree to finance part or potentially all of the purchase. Seller-financing structures can include strategies such as: Vendor take-back mortgages Agreements for sale Lease options Other negotiated seller-financing arrangements These can create opportunities where the buyer does not need a traditional down payment. But Wayne emphasizes that these are advanced strategies . The contracts, protections, risks and responsibilities matter. It is not something he recommends learning from a five-minute social media explanation. How Wayne and Gabby Built Their Portfolio Seller financing played an important role in Wayne and Gabby's early portfolio growth. At the time, raising capital was more difficult and social media did not provide the same opportunities to build an audience and attract investment partners. So they learned how to structure deals directly with sellers. They acquired properties where the seller financed the purchase, in some cases allowing Wayne and Gabby to buy with none of their own money invested into the acquisition . A Zero-Money-Down Property That Has Made $160,000 Wayne shares an example of one property they acquired using seller financing in approximately 2017. They invested: $0 of their own money into the deal. The seller financed the property. Today, Wayne says the property cash flows approximately: $400 per month And has generated approximately: $160,000 in total profit/equity to date. He estimates they may be around $200,000 ahead by the time the property is eventually sold. That demonstrates the potential of seller financing when it is done properly. But Zero Money Down Does Not Mean Zero Risk This is where Wayne adds an important warning. Just because a strategy produces an incredible return on the amount of cash invested does not mean you should fill your entire portfolio with highly leveraged deals. Wayne and Gabby deliberately moved toward building a portfolio with stronger cash flow and a more balanced debt structure over time. Why? Because eventually something goes wrong. Interest rates rise. Vacancies happen. Properties flood. Expenses increase. A pandemic arrives. An investor needs enough margin in the portfolio to survive. The Main Lesson Can you fully finance an investment property? Yes, there are ways. You may be able to: Access equity from another property Use secured borrowing for the down payment Work with a private lender Negotiate seller financing But every additional layer of leverage introduces risk. The objective should not be: "How can I buy as many properties as possible with no money?" The better question is: "How can I structure this investment so that it produces strong returns while still giving me enough margin to survive when something goes wrong?" Financing can help you scale. It should not become the reason the investment fails. 👥 About Your Hosts Wayne and Gabby Hillier are full-time Canadian real estate investors, entrepreneurs and founders of REI Masters. Through the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , they share practical lessons from buying, financing, operating and managing rental properties across Alberta. 💡 Resources & Contact Send Your Questions to the Show Have a question about financing, down payments, seller financing, rental properties or building your portfolio? 📧 info@reimorningshow.com Join the REI Masters Mentorship Program Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, financing, seller-financing strategies, deal analysis, cash flow, risk management and portfolio growth. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Get The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's framework for evaluating rental-property cash flow and reducing investment risk. Search The 5% Rule by Wayne Hillier on Amazon. Watch the Show Live Join Wayne and Gabby every weekday morning at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube. Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube. 📅 Upcoming Events REIcon – The Summit Series Edmonton, Alberta September 11–13, 2026 Wayne and Gabby will be presenting on real estate investing, due diligence, property management and asset management. Calvin Hexter from Calvin Realty joins tomorrow's Morning Show to discuss the Edmonton real estate market and the upcoming Summit Series event. 🌐 reiconference.ca REI Masters Annual Retreat Edmonton, Alberta October 17–18, 2026 The annual REI Masters mentorship retreat brings the community together to build investing roadmaps, work on long-term goals and strengthen the relationships within the mentorship community. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca 🤝 Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor Team 🌐 www.calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.kbmortgages.ca 📧 keaton@kbmortgages.ca

August 26, 202659 min

Scared to Buy Your First Rental Property? Start Here

Scared to Buy Your First Rental Property? Start Here Fear is normal when you are about to invest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. The question is not whether you are scared. The question is whether you understand enough to know what you are actually scared of, how to manage it, and what systems need to be in place before you take action. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , Wayne and Gabby respond to a listener who wants to buy her first rental property but is worried about buying the wrong property, choosing the wrong tenant and eventually losing somebody else's money through a joint venture. The conversation becomes a live coaching session about fear, education, trust, relationships, joint ventures and why confidence in real estate investing comes from understanding — not blind optimism. 🧠 What You'll Learn Why fear is normal for new real estate investors Why Wayne and Gabby were not always on the same page How their relationship evolved as their investing experience grew Why simply telling your spouse to "trust me" usually does not work How education creates trust between investing partners Why fear and anxiety often come from uncertainty How understanding landlord laws helped Gabby become more confident Why couples can actually benefit from having different personalities Why one partner's confidence and another partner's caution can create balance Why real estate strategies should change when market opportunities change Why Wayne and Gabby are not loyal to one property type or strategy How fundamentals matter more than trends Why a property strategy that worked four years ago may not be the best opportunity today How one former student generated approximately a 275% ROI over four years on a property that fit the opportunity at the time Why new investors should focus on fundamentals instead of copying a strategy Why Wayne believes inexperienced investors should be extremely careful with joint ventures Why using somebody else's money magnifies the consequences of mistakes When a coach or experienced partner can help fill knowledge gaps Why asking better questions is one of the fastest ways to build confidence Fear Is Not the Problem The listener who wrote into the show described three main fears: Buying the wrong property. Choosing the wrong tenant. And potentially losing somebody else's money through a joint venture. Gabby's response is that those fears are completely reasonable. Real estate investing involves significant amounts of money. You should take it seriously. The mistake is assuming the solution is to simply become fearless. It is not. The solution is to understand the risks well enough that they are no longer unknown. Education Comes Before Trust Gabby explains that in the early years of their relationship, Wayne would often tell her: "Just trust me." The problem was that she did not understand enough to know why she should trust the decision. Blind trust was not enough. The turning point came through education. Gabby learned how rental properties worked. She studied Alberta's Residential Tenancies Act. She learned what would happen if a tenant stopped paying rent. She learned how evictions worked. She learned what to do if a tenant damaged a property. She learned the processes behind the situations she was afraid of. The more she understood, the more comfortable she became. As Gabby explains in the episode, fear and anxiety often come from not knowing what is going to happen or not knowing how you would handle it if it did. Once the process becomes understandable, the fear starts to shrink. Are Wayne and Gabby Always on the Same Page? Today? Usually. In the beginning? Absolutely not. Wayne describes Gabby as someone who often went along with the plan even when she was uncomfortable with it. Gabby says she would not recommend that approach to other couples. What eventually made their partnership work was understanding that they brought different strengths. Wayne brought confidence, drive and a willingness to solve problems. Gabby brought caution, risk awareness and a desire to understand the details. Those traits can clash. But they can also create a very strong investing partnership when both people communicate and respect what the other brings to the table. The aggressive partner may need somebody to slow them down. The cautious partner may need somebody to keep them from becoming permanently stuck. One person provides the accelerator. The other provides the brakes. You need both. Stop Falling in Love With Strategies A major part of today's conversation is about something Wayne sees constantly: Investors becoming attached to a particular strategy. Townhouses. Single-family homes. BRRRRs. Rent-to-own. Fix and flips. Multifamily. Wayne and Gabby say they are not loyal to any particular strategy. They are loyal to fundamentals . Cash flow. Return on investment. Risk. Tenant demand. Good systems. Strong long-term economics. Then they look at the market and ask: What opportunity currently fits those fundamentals? That answer changes. Four years ago, Wayne was recommending certain single-family properties because the numbers made sense at the time. He recently re-ran the numbers on one of those properties purchased by a former student and calculated an approximately 275% ROI over four years . Today, that same opportunity may no longer exist. Different properties may now offer better economics. That is why investors should understand the fundamentals rather than simply copying the property type somebody else is buying. You Do Not Know What You Do Not Know Wayne explains that coaching a new investor is difficult because sometimes the person thinks they understand the entire picture when they are actually missing important context. A new investor might ask: "Why can't I just do this strategy?" The answer may require months of understanding cash flow, market conditions, financing, tenant profiles, risk, returns and property management before everything finally clicks. That does not mean the strategy is automatically bad. It means the investor may not yet understand why it does or does not work in their particular market. Real confidence comes from understanding those relationships. Joint Ventures Raise the Stakes The strongest warning in today's episode is directed at the listener's husband, who wants to begin using joint venture partners. Wayne sides with the cautious spouse. If you are still worried that you might buy the wrong property and do not yet understand how to deal with the problems that can arise, Wayne does not believe you should immediately begin investing somebody else's money. Joint ventures add responsibility. You need to understand: How the partnership should be structured Who is responsible for what How reserve funds work What happens when additional money is required How decisions are made How disagreements are handled What happens if somebody wants out How profits and losses are shared What happens when a tenant stops paying What happens when repairs exceed expectations How the deal continues when something goes wrong Those are not things you want to learn for the first time while somebody else's money is already at risk. Experience — or Access to Experience That does not mean you must personally experience every possible problem before doing a joint venture. But Wayne believes you need one of two things: Experience yourself, or direct access to somebody who already has it. If you have an experienced coach, mentor or partner who can answer questions when unfamiliar situations arise, that experience can help fill the gaps. Without that support, you may be making important decisions for the first time with your partner's capital on the line. That is unnecessary risk. The Goal Is Not to Eliminate Fear Gabby still experiences anxiety when something completely new happens. The difference today is that most situations are no longer new. She has seen them. She understands the processes. She knows what to do. And if she does not know, she trusts that they can find the answer. That is what confidence actually looks like. Not: "Nothing will ever go wrong." But: "If something goes wrong, I know how to deal with it." The Main Lesson If you are scared to buy your first rental property, that does not mean you should quit. It probably means you need more information. Identify exactly what you are worried about. Then learn it. Scared of tenants? Learn tenant screening and landlord law. Scared of buying the wrong property? Learn deal analysis, market research and cash-flow requirements. Scared of repairs? Learn inspections, capital expenses and reserve planning. Scared of joint ventures? Learn how partnerships are structured before taking somebody else's money. Fear becomes manageable when the unknown becomes known. Keep learning. Keep asking specific questions. Keep building your understanding. Eventually the goal is not to blindly trust the process. It is to understand it well enough that you actually believe in it. 👥 About Your Hosts Wayne and Gabby Hillier are full-time Canadian real estate investors, entrepreneurs and founders of REI Masters. Through the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , they share practical lessons from buying, financing, operating and managing rental properties across Alberta. 💡 Resources & Contact Send Your Questions to the Show Have something holding you back from buying your first property, growing your portfolio or making an investing decision? Wayne and Gabby answer listener questions on the show. 📧 info@reimorningshow.com Join the REI Masters Mentorship Program Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on real estate investing fundamentals, acquisitions, joint ventures, tenant management, financing, systems and portfolio growth. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Get The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's framework for evaluating rental-property cash flow and reducing investment risk. Search The 5% Rule by Wayne Hillier on Amazon. Watch the Show Live Join Wayne and Gabby every weekday morning at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube. Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube. 📅 Upcoming Events REIcon – The Summit Series Edmonton, Alberta September 11–13, 2026 Wayne and Gabby will be presenting on due diligence, pre-closing preparation, property management and asset management. 🌐 reiconference.ca REI Masters Annual Retreat Edmonton, Alberta October 17–18, 2026 The annual REI Masters mentorship retreat brings the community together to build investing roadmaps, work on long-term goals and strengthen the relationships within the mentorship community. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca 🤝 Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor Team 🌐 www.calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.kbmortgages.ca 📧 keaton@kbmortgages.ca

August 25, 202648 min

The Tenant Move-Out Checklist Every Landlord Needs

The Tenant Move-Out Checklist Every Landlord Needs A tenant tells you they are moving out. What happens next? For many landlords, the move-out process becomes unnecessarily stressful because they wait until the final few days to start thinking about inspections, cleaning, repairs, utilities, advertising and the security deposit. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , Wayne and Gabby walk through the tenant move-out system they use in their own rental portfolio — from the moment a tenant decides not to renew all the way through the final inspection and security-deposit accounting. The goal is simple: Prepare early, reduce vacancy, protect the property and make the transition to the next tenant as smooth as possible. 🧠 What You'll Learn When to contact tenants about lease renewal Why Wayne and Gabby start the process roughly 45 days before lease expiry How to prepare a new rental listing before the tenant leaves Why you should complete a fresh market-rent study When you can begin advertising and showing the property in Alberta How to schedule the final move-out inspection Why noon on the final day can create a useful turnover buffer Why tenants should receive a detailed cleaning checklist What areas tenants commonly forget to clean Why exterior areas and yards should be included Why Wayne and Gabby send tenants their original move-in inspection How that inspection helps identify tenant damage versus pre-existing damage When a pre-move-out inspection may make sense How an early inspection helps landlords prepare contractors and cleaners Why vacancy can be a good time to evaluate strategic upgrades Why Wayne generally avoids unnecessary renovations When an upgrade may make sense if the increased rent justifies the expense Why landlords need to transfer utilities back into their name How to complete the final move-out inspection What can potentially be deducted from a security deposit Why the goal should be returning the tenant's entire deposit Why proactive systems protect your time, profit and freedom The final Alberta security-deposit accounting step landlords cannot forget Start Before the Tenant Moves Out Wayne and Gabby typically begin thinking about renewal approximately 45 days before the end of a fixed-term lease . In the example discussed today, the tenants had lived in the property for approximately three years. Wayne and Gabby offered to keep the rent the same because they were happy with the tenants, even though the rent was already slightly below current market levels. The tenants ultimately chose not to renew because their financial circumstances had changed. Once Wayne and Gabby knew the property would become vacant, the turnover system started immediately. Step 1: Prepare the Rental Listing Do not wait until the tenant has already moved out to begin creating your advertisement. Most of the listing already exists. The number of bedrooms has not changed. The bathrooms have not changed. The neighbourhood has not changed. Your previous photos and property information may still be useful. The variable that does need to be reconsidered is rent . After several years, the market may have changed considerably. That is why Wayne recommends completing a new market-rent study before advertising. Look at comparable rental properties currently available and determine where your property fits within the market. But do not only look at the asking rents. Consider the competition. Does your property have features others do not? Is supply limited? Is there something about the layout, yard, parking or location that makes it more valuable? The objective is to determine the highest reasonable rent the market will support without pricing the property out of consideration. Step 2: Schedule the Move-Out Inspection As the end of the tenancy approaches, establish the exact date and time for the final move-out inspection. Gabby's preferred starting point is: 12:00 PM on the final day of the lease. That timing can create a useful buffer. If the next tenant is scheduled to move in the following day, the landlord still has several hours to deal with anything unexpected. Maybe the outgoing tenant needs another hour to remove boxes. Maybe a quick repair is required. Maybe something was left behind. Creating that buffer is much better than having the next tenant sitting outside with a moving truck while the previous tenant is still inside. Step 3: Send a Detailed Cleaning Checklist Do not simply tell the tenant: "Please clean the property." Be specific. Gabby sends tenants a detailed cleaning checklist covering the property from top to bottom. That may include: Baseboards Walls Appliances Behind the refrigerator Behind the stove Blinds Windows Window tracks Floors Bathrooms Cabinets Exterior entrances Yard maintenance Weeding and trimming Other areas expected to be returned clean Window tracks are one of Wayne's favourite examples. They are easy to forget. But if every tenant skips them, years later the tracks can become extremely dirty and potentially stained. The standard should be clear: Return the property in the condition it was provided, subject to normal wear and tear. Step 4: Send the Original Move-In Inspection Wayne and Gabby also provide the tenant with the original move-in inspection report before move-out. Why? It gives the tenant a reference point. If there was already a scratch in the flooring when they moved in, they know it was documented. If there is now a new hole in a wall that was not there before, they have time to address it. Wayne would much rather give the tenant several weeks to repair something than discover it at noon on the final day when another tenant is scheduled to move in the next morning. Being proactive reduces everyone's workload. Step 5: Consider a Pre-Move-Out Inspection Gabby does not do this for every tenancy. But if there is reason for concern, she may schedule a quick inspection during the final month. This gives the landlord an early look at the condition of the property. Are there damages? Does the property need professional cleaning? Will a handyman need to come in? Is repainting required? The purpose is not to hassle the tenant. It is to prevent the landlord from walking into the property on move-out day and discovering a week's worth of unexpected work. If you already know what needs to happen, you can line up the people required before the property becomes vacant. Step 6: Evaluate Strategic Improvements Vacancy can also create an opportunity to assess whether an upgrade makes financial sense. Wayne generally does not recommend continuously renovating rental properties after purchase. Every additional dollar invested affects your return on investment. But occasionally the market creates an opportunity. The property discussed on today's episode has a partially finished basement. Wayne is considering completing the space and potentially adding a fourth bedroom because the current rental market may reward that additional functionality with substantially higher rent. The important distinction is this: Do not renovate because something would "look nicer." Renovate when the numbers justify it. If a relatively small investment can create enough additional rental income to produce an attractive return, then the upgrade may make sense. Step 7: Put the Utilities Back in Your Name This sounds obvious. It is also easy to forget. If the outgoing tenant is responsible for utilities, make sure those utilities are transferred back into the landlord's name for the vacancy period. Otherwise, you may discover the problem when an agent arrives for a showing and none of the lights work. Give the utility company enough notice so everything transfers smoothly when the tenant leaves. Step 8: Complete the Final Move-Out Inspection On move-out day, complete the final inspection using the same inspection documentation that was completed when the tenant moved in. Compare the two conditions. What existed before? What is new? What is normal wear and tear? What is tenant-caused damage? What was clean when they moved in but has been returned dirty? That documentation becomes extremely important when determining whether any legitimate costs need to be deducted from the tenant's security deposit. The Goal Is NOT to Keep the Deposit Wayne sees some landlords approach the security deposit as though it is extra money they are trying to capture. That is the wrong mindset. If a tenant caused $1,500 in legitimate damage and the landlord spends $1,500 repairing it, the landlord did not make $1,500. They simply recovered the cost of fixing the damage. Wayne and Gabby's preferred outcome is: Give the tenant their entire security deposit back. Why? Because that means the property was returned clean and in good condition. There is less work. Less downtime. Less vacancy. And the next tenant can move in faster. The Final Step: Security-Deposit Accounting Gabby makes sure Wayne does not end the episode without one final important step. In Alberta, landlords must properly account for the security deposit after taking possession back from the tenant. Gabby notes that the required statement of account needs to be sent within the applicable 10-day period . Do not forget the paperwork after the keys have been returned. The process is not complete until the security deposit and accounting requirements have been properly handled. Systems Protect Your Freedom The bigger lesson from this episode is not really about window tracks or utility accounts. It is about systems. Rental properties are supposed to help create freedom. They should not become another full-time job. A simple move-out checklist reduces the chances of forgetting something, scrambling at the last minute or unnecessarily extending the vacancy between tenants. Prepare the listing. Know the market rent. Schedule the inspection. Send the cleaning checklist. Provide the original inspection. Inspect early if necessary. Plan repairs. Transfer utilities. Complete the final inspection. Handle the security deposit properly. None of these steps are complicated individually. But together, they protect your property, profit, time and sanity. 👥 About Your Hosts Wayne and Gabby Hillier are full-time Canadian real estate investors, entrepreneurs and founders of REI Masters. Through the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , they share practical lessons from buying, operating and managing rental properties across Alberta. 💡 Resources & Contact Need Help Determining Market Rent? Wayne offers one-on-one coaching to help investors complete rental-market studies, evaluate comparable properties and determine appropriate market rents. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Join the REI Masters Mentorship Program Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, tenant management, property-management systems, deal analysis and building a profitable Canadian rental portfolio. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Get The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's framework for evaluating rental-property cash flow and reducing investment risk. Search The 5% Rule by Wayne Hillier on Amazon. Watch the Show Live Join Wayne and Gabby every weekday morning at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube. Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube. 📧 info@reimorningshow.com 📅 Upcoming Events REIcon – The Summit Series Edmonton, Alberta September 11–13, 2026 Wayne and Gabby will be presenting on real estate investing, due diligence, property management and asset management. 🌐 reiconference.ca REI Masters Annual Retreat Edmonton, Alberta October 17–18, 2026 The annual REI Masters mentorship retreat brings the community together to build investing roadmaps, work on long-term goals, strengthen relationships and plan for the year ahead. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca 🤝 Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor Team 🌐 www.calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.kbmortgages.ca 📧 keaton@kbmortgages.ca

August 24, 20261 hr 1 min

Tariffs, Tenant Risk & Why Cash Flow Matters More Than Ever

What happens to Canadian real estate investors when trade uncertainty, tariffs and job losses start working their way through the economy? The answer may show up in the rental market before it shows up in property values . In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , Wayne and Gabby recap the sold-out Edmonton Real Estate Investing Bus Tour, share details from Wayne's latest property-hunting trip, break down a newly accepted Edmonton rental-property offer, and answer a listener question about how tariffs could affect Canadian real estate. The bigger lesson is about risk. You cannot control tariffs, unemployment, interest rates or the economy. But you can control what properties you buy, how much they cash flow, the tenants they attract and the systems you build around them. 🧠 What You'll Learn Why the latest REI Masters Edmonton Bus Tour was about education rather than pitching What Wayne believes is wrong with parts of the real estate investing education industry Why good investing should be repeatable, ethical and fundamentally profitable What Wayne found while touring seven Edmonton investment properties Why four of seven properties were potentially worth writing offers on How Wayne identified financial problems inside a condo corporation in only a few minutes Why condo documents can completely change an investment decision How Wayne recently negotiated a renovated rental property from a $210,000 original list price down to $192,000 Why Edmonton is currently giving buyers more negotiating power Why Wayne believes the fall market could create strong opportunities for investors The difference between the real estate market and the rental market Why tariffs may affect tenants and rental affordability before property values How employment losses can lead to rent delinquency, vacancies and downward pressure on rents Why investors cannot eliminate economic risk How strong cash flow acts as a safety net Why tenant quality and property desirability matter when the economy weakens How the 5% Rule can help investors determine whether a property has enough cash flow to weather difficult periods Seven Properties, Four Potential Offers Wayne spent the previous day touring seven Edmonton properties . After several weeks of seeing properties with poor condition, bad smells, mold concerns and renovation requirements, the quality of this group was noticeably different. The first property was already renovated, had updated cabinets, countertops and flooring, a finished basement and a newer furnace. It immediately became an offer candidate. Then the second property did too. By the end of the tour, Wayne says four of the seven properties were strong enough that he considered writing offers on them . The common characteristics were exactly what Wayne looks for: Good areas. Strong rental demand. Minimal renovation requirements. Strong projected returns. And approximately $500–$600 per month in potential cash flow on several of the deals. The Condo Documents Changed Everything Three properties Wayne toured were inside the same condominium complex. At first, the numbers looked unusually attractive. Then Wayne entered one of the units and discovered a large package of condo documents sitting on the counter. Within only a few minutes of reviewing the reserve-fund information, financial documents and meeting information, Wayne determined that the condominium corporation had financial concerns. Not necessarily catastrophic problems. But enough uncertainty that the potential upside was no longer worth the additional risk. That information prevented him from wasting time writing offers, submitting deposits and completing deeper due diligence on properties he was unlikely to purchase. The lesson: A good unit does not automatically mean a good condo investment. You are also investing into the financial health of the condominium corporation. A $210,000 Property Negotiated to $192,000 One of Wayne's offers was accepted the night before the show. The property had originally been listed at approximately $210,000 , followed by a price reduction to around $200,000 after spending several weeks on the market. Wayne offered: $186,000. The seller countered: $192,000. Wayne accepted. The property is renovated, has a newer furnace and hot water tank, strong curb appeal and is located in an area Wayne already understands. He anticipates some minor plumbing and electrical work, but believes the property is fundamentally worth significantly more than his purchase price and should produce strong cash flow. More importantly, the negotiation happened quickly. That tells Wayne something about the current Edmonton market: Buyers have leverage. Why Wayne Is Bullish on the Fall Buying Market Several of the properties Wayne toured had been sitting on the market for weeks. There did not appear to be significant competition from other buyers. Sellers were responding reasonably to aggressive offers. And there were multiple properties available that still produced strong cash flow. That combination has Wayne optimistic about opportunities for Edmonton real estate investors heading into the fall. This does not mean every property is a deal. It means investors who know exactly what they are looking for may currently have more opportunities to negotiate than they did during hotter market conditions. Real Estate Market vs. Rental Market A listener asked how tariffs and recent trade uncertainty could affect real estate. Wayne emphasizes an important distinction: There are two markets investors need to understand. The real estate market is driven by the supply and demand of properties being bought and sold. The rental market is driven by the supply of rental properties and the demand from tenants who can afford them. They are connected, but they are not the same thing. Wayne's view is that major trade disruptions may show up in the rental market first . Why? Jobs. If tariffs hurt businesses and employers respond with layoffs, tenants may lose income. That can lead to: Rent delinquencies Tenants leaving properties Increased vacancies More financially stressed applicants Reduced rental affordability Downward pressure on achievable rents Those problems can appear before there is a major change in residential property values. You Cannot Control the Economy There is no property-management system that can guarantee your tenant will never lose their job. There is no screening system that eliminates economic downturns. And there is no investing strategy that prevents recessions, tariffs, interest-rate changes or unexpected economic shocks. Those things are outside the investor's control. So Wayne focuses on what is controllable. Buy good properties. Create strong cash flow. Attract strong tenants. Build good systems. Maintain reserves. And think long term. Cash Flow Is Your Safety Net Wayne describes cash flow as the safety net that protects an investor from things they cannot control. One property shown on the recent bus tour was producing approximately $680 per month in cash flow and approximately a 21% cash-on-cash return based on the investor's original investment. That cash flow creates room. If rents soften, the investor may be able to reduce rent and still remain profitable. If vacancy occurs, there is additional income available to absorb it. If expenses increase, there is a buffer. That is fundamentally different from owning a property that only works if rents continue rising and property values continue appreciating. The Main Lesson Economic uncertainty is inevitable. Today it might be tariffs. Previously it was interest rates. Before that it was COVID. Tomorrow it will be something else. Investors cannot predict every storm. They can build a portfolio capable of surviving one. Wayne's approach is to purchase rental properties that produce strong cash flow from day one , generate strong returns without depending on appreciation and attract tenants who genuinely want to live in them. The objective is not simply to make the most money when everything is going well. It is to make sure you are still standing when things go wrong. 👥 About Your Hosts Wayne and Gabby Hillier are full-time Canadian real estate investors, entrepreneurs and founders of REI Masters. Through the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show , they share practical lessons from buying, financing, operating and managing rental properties across Alberta. 💡 Resources & Contact Get The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's framework for determining how much rental-property cash flow is enough to help protect an investment from vacancies, repairs, market changes and other risks. Search The 5% Rule by Wayne Hillier on Amazon. Join the REI Masters Mentorship Program Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, deal analysis, financing, property management, risk reduction and building a profitable Canadian real estate portfolio. 🌐 www.reimasters.ca Watch the Show Live Join Wayne and Gabby every weekday morning at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube. Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube. 📧 info@reimorningshow.com 📅 Upcoming Events REIcon – The Summit Series Edmonton, Alberta September 11–13, 2026 Wayne and Gabby will be teaching due diligence, pre-closing preparation, property management and asset management. The Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show will also be recorded live on stage Saturday morning. 🌐 reiconference.ca 🤝 Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor Team 🌐 www.calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors. 🌐 www.kbmortgages.ca 📧 keaton@kbmortgages.ca