Real Estate Investor Dad Podcast ( Investing / Investment in Canada )

Should You Invest in Vancouver, Montreal or Laval? Plus the 2 Numbers Wayne Uses to Analyze Deals Can you find a good rental property in Montreal or Laval? Should you invest in Vancouver? What numbers actually matter when analyzing a rental property? And if you already bought a bad deal, should you hold it and hope it recovers, or sell it and move on? Today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show is another investor Q&A covering exactly those questions. Wayne and Gabby break down how to evaluate a market, how borrowed down-payment funds affect cash flow, why Wayne would personally avoid certain provinces even when the numbers appear to work, and the two metrics he actually uses to compare real estate deals. The main message: Don't force a market to work. Find the market, property type and deal that actually fit your investment criteria. Can You Cash Flow in Montreal or Laval? A listener from Laval, Quebec asks whether it is realistic to find a property in Laval or Montreal that meets Wayne's cash-flow criteria. Wayne says it may be possible. But instead of starting with one predetermined property type, investors should study the entire market. Look at: Apartment condos Townhouse condos Duplexes Single-family houses Houses with secondary suites Small multifamily Larger multifamily Then compare purchase prices across different neighbourhoods with the rents those properties can realistically achieve. The goal is to become a master of the market. You need to know: What different property types cost. What different neighbourhoods cost. What tenants will pay. What areas attract stronger tenants. Which property types produce the best rent-to-price relationship. Only then can you determine which opportunities deserve deeper investigation. Don't Start With the Strategy and Force the Market The listener specifically mentions wanting to purchase a plex. Wayne's approach would be slightly different. Instead of deciding: "I want to buy a plex." Start with: "Which asset type in this city produces the best combination of cash flow, tenant profile, risk and long-term potential?" Maybe that is a plex. Maybe it is a townhouse. Maybe it is a suited house. Maybe it is something completely different. Do not force the property type. Follow the numbers. Borrowing Your Down Payment From Home Equity The listener is also considering borrowing against their existing home to fund the down payment. Wayne likes the concept of taking otherwise unused equity and redeploying it into another productive asset. But there is an obvious trade-off. Borrowing the down payment creates additional debt. Additional debt means additional monthly interest. That increases the risk. If the investment property itself produces $500 per month in cash flow but the borrowed down payment costs $300 per month to service, the investor's actual financial position is very different. That needs to be considered. Look at the Entire Portfolio When investors use equity from one property to fund another, Wayne sometimes prefers looking at the cash flow of the entire portfolio instead of judging only the new property in isolation. Maybe one property produces excellent cash flow. Another is tighter. Together, the portfolio may still be healthy. The question becomes: Does the entire portfolio still pass the cash-flow test and remain resilient? Borrowing money to scale increases potential profits. But it also increases risk. The goal is finding the right balance. Borrowed Investment Funds May Be Tax Deductible Gabby also points out an important tax consideration. When money is borrowed and used for qualifying investment purposes, the interest may be deductible. That can reduce the true after-tax cost of the borrowed funds. Investors should confirm the exact treatment with a qualified accountant based on their specific circumstances. Why Wayne Still Wouldn't Choose Quebec This is where Wayne's answer changes. Could somebody potentially find a property in Quebec that produces good cash flow? Yes. Would Wayne personally want to operate his rental-property business there? No. The issue is the landlord and tenant laws. Wayne views real estate as a business. And if the jurisdiction makes it unnecessarily difficult to operate that business, enforce agreements or manage risk, that becomes a major negative. Even if the numbers work. For Wayne, that can be enough to eliminate the market. A Great Deal in the Wrong Province Can Still Be the Wrong Deal Wayne compares Quebec with other provinces where investors have historically found strong deals. The purchase price might work. The rent might work. The appreciation potential might work. But if the operating environment creates significantly more landlord risk, the deal becomes less attractive. Wayne would rather invest in a market where: The property works. The cash flow works. The tenant profile works. The long-term fundamentals work. And the laws support the operation of the business. Wayne's "Ice Age" Theory Wayne again discusses the idea of real estate markets entering an "ice age." A market can become temporarily unattractive when prices rise faster than rents and household affordability. That does not mean the city is permanently bad. It means investors may need to wait. Calgary is one market Wayne currently describes this way. He believes Edmonton will eventually reach a similar stage. When that happens, he will look for the next market where the fundamentals work better. What Numbers Should Investors Actually Follow? Another listener asks which indicators they should use when analyzing deals. They currently look at: Cap rate Cash flow ROI DSCR The 1% rule Other rules of thumb Wayne simplifies it dramatically. He primarily focuses on two things: Return on Investment and The 5% Rule™ Cash Flow Test That is it. Metric #1: Return on Investment ROI tells Wayne how profitable the investment is. It allows him to compare completely different properties using one common measure. A townhouse. A suited house. A multifamily building. A condo. A garden-suite development. Whatever the property type, the question is: For every dollar I invest, how much profit am I receiving back? Wayne looks at total profits from: Cash flow Mortgage principal paydown Appreciation Then compares those profits with the initial investment. He generally prefers looking over longer holding periods rather than focusing only on year-one returns. Real estate is a long-term investment. Metric #2: The 5% Rule™ Cash Flow Test Profitability is only half the equation. The other half is risk. Wayne uses cash flow as his primary risk measure. The more cash flow a property produces, the greater its ability to absorb: Lower rents Higher mortgage payments Repairs Vacancy Increasing expenses Unexpected economic changes Imagine one property produces $500 per month. Rent falls by $200. You still have $300. Another property produces only $100. Rent falls by $200. Now you are losing money. Multiply that across a 20-property portfolio and suddenly a small monthly problem becomes a very large one. That is why Wayne created the 5% Rule. Profitability + Risk Wayne's approach is to balance: ROI = profitability with Cash flow = risk protection A property can have an incredible projected return but still be dangerously fragile. Another property can be extremely safe but produce disappointing returns. The goal is finding investments that score well in both areas. Wayne Doesn't Use the 1% Rule Wayne considers rules such as the 1% rule outdated and overly simplistic. The bigger question is: Why 1%? What exactly is it measuring? Profitability? Risk? Financing? There is often no clear reasoning behind the number. Wayne prefers metrics where he understands exactly what they are measuring and why they matter. A Listener Bought a Vancouver Condo and Regrets It Another listener writes in after purchasing a condo in the Greater Vancouver area. They say the property is losing several hundred dollars every month. They relied heavily on their realtor. They did not educate themselves first. And after finding the Morning Show, they realized they had done exactly what Wayne warns investors not to do. Their questions: Should they continue investing in Vancouver? Should they invest somewhere else? And how do they get out of the condo? Would Wayne Invest in Vancouver? Wayne's answer: No. He does not believe Vancouver currently fits the five fundamentals he uses when selecting markets and investments. His issue is not whether Vancouver real estate can appreciate. It obviously can. His problem is that Wayne does not buy properties primarily to speculate on appreciation. He wants to purchase a profitable rental business. If the rent cannot pay the operating costs and produce sufficient cash flow, he is not interested. Appreciation Is Not Enough Someone can buy a Vancouver condo and hope it goes up in value. That is a strategy. It is simply not Wayne's strategy. Wayne wants: Positive cash flow Mortgage paydown Long-term appreciation potential A strong tenant profile A supportive operating environment The property needs to make sense without requiring appreciation to rescue the investment. Should You Invest Outside Your Home City? Yes. Wayne believes investors should go where the fundamentals work. You do not need to live in the same city as your rental property. Wayne and Gabby already manage properties they rarely or never physically visit. The solution is building: The right team Communication systems Maintenance systems Inspection systems Contractor relationships Documentation systems Location matters far less once the management system works. How Do You Get Out of a Bad Vancouver Condo? Wayne's first answer is straightforward: Talk to your realtor and understand what the property can realistically sell for. Then calculate: Mortgage penalty Realtor fees Legal fees Current market value Remaining mortgage Potential loss Tax implications Net proceeds Then determine whether continuing to hold the property actually improves the situation. Wayne warns against holding a bad investment indefinitely simply because you want to "break even." Sometimes the best decision is to accept the loss, learn from it and redeploy the remaining capital into a better opportunity. Don't Make the Next Decision Based on the Last Mistake A bad deal does not mean real estate investing does not work. It means that particular deal did not work. The most important thing is learning from it. Get educated. Understand the market. Understand the numbers. Create proper criteria. Then try again with a stronger foundation. Ghost Listings for Rental Research Another viewer asks about posting a rental listing before the property is actually available to test the market rent. Wayne explains that investors sometimes use "ghost listings" to gauge demand at a particular price. But Gabby raises an important concern. If tenants currently occupy the property, posting their home for rent before it is actually available can create unnecessary problems. There is also a timing issue. If you post the listing in September to determine what rent you can get in December, you are collecting September data. Rental markets are seasonal. The information may not accurately reflect what tenants will pay months later. Ask the Right Professional Wayne closes the discussion with another important principle: Use professionals for what they actually specialize in. A realtor brokers real estate transactions. A mortgage broker arranges financing. A lawyer provides legal guidance. A contractor performs construction. That does not automatically make any of them qualified to provide investment strategy. Build a team of strong professionals. But remain the CEO of your own real estate business. Remote Property Management Course – 50% Off This Week Gabby's Remote Property Management Course is currently 50% off. The eight-module course teaches the systems Wayne and Gabby use to remotely manage their own rental portfolio. Use code: 50OFF at: www.reimasters.ca Edmonton Real Estate Investing Course Want to learn Edmonton neighbourhoods, property types, tenant profiles and investment opportunities? The Edmonton Real Estate Investing Course is available at: www.reimasters.ca REI Masters Mentorship Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on market selection, acquisitions, deal analysis, financing, property management, joint ventures and building a profitable Canadian real estate portfolio. www.reimasters.ca The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's cash-flow framework for Canadian rental properties. 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. Questions: info@reimorningshow.com Upcoming Event 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

Mortgage Rates Are Rising: How Real Estate Investors Should Prepare Mortgage rates are moving higher again. For real estate investors, that raises an obvious question: What should you actually do about it? In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby are joined by investor-focused mortgage broker Keaton Kirkwood of Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group to break down what is happening with rates, why fixed mortgage rates are already reacting, how variable-rate borrowers should think about the next several months, and how investors can protect their portfolios before higher borrowing costs become a problem. The biggest message: You cannot control interest rates. But you can control how prepared your portfolio is for them. Why Rates Are Moving Keaton explains that there are two major forces investors need to understand: Bond yields and The Bank of Canada overnight rate Bond yields react in real time to market expectations, global capital flows and inflation. Fixed mortgage rates are heavily influenced by bond yields. The Bank of Canada overnight rate, on the other hand, directly affects prime-based borrowing products such as variable-rate mortgages and HELOCs. Keaton points out that bond yields have already moved higher. That means fixed mortgage rates can increase even before the Bank of Canada changes its overnight rate. Why the U.S. Matters The conversation also covers what happens when the United States raises rates. Canada does not operate in isolation. If other major economies increase rates while Canada does not, that can put downward pressure on the Canadian dollar. A weaker dollar can make imported goods more expensive. That can contribute to inflation. Eventually, Canada may be forced to respond. Keaton compares global economies to a conga line. The largest economies are closer to the front. Canada is somewhere in the middle. We do not control the direction of the entire global financial system. This Is Not the First Time Wayne points out that investors have seen versions of this before.     Inflation. Rising rates. Higher mortgage payments. Financing stress. The causes may change. The pattern does not. That is why the goal should never be to perfectly predict rates. The goal is to build a portfolio that can survive when rates move against you. Higher Oil Prices Could Help Alberta There is one interesting wrinkle. The current inflation pressure being discussed is connected partly to geopolitical conflict and rising energy prices. Higher oil and gas prices are painful for consumers. But Alberta can sometimes benefit economically from stronger energy prices. That may support: Employment Investment Migration Housing demand Property values Keaton cautions that the effect is not equally positive for everybody. A drilling contractor may benefit directly. A teacher or accountant may not. Still, Alberta can sometimes perform relatively well during periods when global energy prices rise. What Investors Should Do Now Wayne asks the question most investors actually care about: Should you pause? Wait? Switch mortgage products? Rush to refinance? Keaton's answer: It depends on when you are exposed to higher rates. If you are in a variable mortgage, you should be paying attention now. If you have a fixed mortgage renewing within approximately 18 months, you should be paying attention. If you locked into a relatively high fixed rate previously, it may also be worth reviewing whether restructuring creates an advantage. That does NOT automatically mean you should refinance. It means you should investigate. Keaton's Four Pillars When deciding whether to restructure a mortgage, Keaton recommends evaluating four things: Cost Qualifying power Risk Tax efficiency If a change improves three or four of those areas, it may be worth considering. If the only benefit is saving $50 per month but it costs $15,000 to make the change, that may not make sense. The decision needs to improve the overall portfolio. Know Your Break-Even Interest Rate One of the most important pieces of advice from today's episode: Know the interest rate at which each property stops cash flowing. Then calculate the same number for your entire portfolio. For example: What happens if rates increase 0.25%? How much does that reduce monthly cash flow? What about another 0.25%? And another? At what point does the property become cash-flow neutral? At what point does the entire portfolio require money from your pocket? Investors should know these numbers before the rate increase arrives. Stress-Test the Portfolio Keaton recommends going even further. Calculate the impact of each quarter-point rate increase. If every 0.25% increase costs your portfolio $300 per month, you can quickly determine how much room you have. Maybe your portfolio can absorb: Three increases. Five increases. Seven increases. The specific number matters less than knowing it. Uncertainty creates fear. Knowing the numbers creates a plan. Cash Flow Is Your Protection Wayne comes back to the 5% Rule™. The reason he places so much emphasis on buying strong cash-flowing properties is not because high cash flow simply feels good. Cash flow creates safety. If interest rates rise: You have room. If rents temporarily fall: You have room. If expenses increase: You have room. If vacancy rises: You have room. The investor who bought a property with almost no cash-flow cushion can be wiped out much faster. The 5% Rule™ Wayne created the 5% Rule as a simple minimum cash-flow test for Canadian real estate investors. Its purpose is to ensure investors are not buying properties with such thin margins that one market change destroys the investment. Search: The 5% Rule by Wayne Hillier on Amazon. Longer Amortizations Can Reduce Risk Keaton also explains why he often prefers longer amortizations on investment properties. Longer amortization means: Lower mortgage payments. Higher cash flow. Greater ability to absorb rate increases. More liquidity. That does not mean you can never pay the mortgage down faster. You can use prepayment privileges if you want to accelerate the mortgage later. But starting with a longer amortization gives the investor more flexibility. Don't Rush to Pay Off Tax-Deductible Debt Another important point: Not all debt costs the same. Interest on qualifying investment debt may be tax deductible. Interest on your principal residence generally is not. That means a 5% tax-deductible investment mortgage may effectively cost less after tax than a 4% non-deductible home mortgage. Keaton's view is that investors should generally prioritize paying down more expensive non-deductible debt before aggressively eliminating tax-deductible investment debt. Always confirm the tax treatment with your accountant. Variable vs Adjustable Rate Mortgages Keaton also explains an important distinction. An adjustable-rate mortgage changes the payment as rates move. A variable-rate mortgage with a fixed payment keeps the payment the same, while the amount going toward principal changes. For an investor concerned primarily with cash flow, a fixed-payment variable structure can provide more predictability. The specific product still needs to fit the investor's goals. What About Leverage? One listener asks how to hedge rising variable rates when heavily leveraged. Keaton explains that loan-to-value is only part of the picture. For cash flow, amortization can be more important. An investor could have relatively low leverage but a very short amortization and therefore extremely high monthly payments. That investor may actually be more exposed to rate pressure than someone with more leverage and much lower payments. The real question is: How much cash flow does the debt structure require every month? Liquidity Matters Keaton also recommends maintaining liquidity. Cash reserves can make an enormous difference during periods of rising rates. An extra $20,000 or $30,000 in accessible reserves can give an investor time to work through: Higher payments Vacancies Repairs Refinancing Renewal timing Selling an underperforming property Liquidity gives you options. Should You Sell a Weak Property? Keaton gives an example. Imagine your portfolio is healthy until rates reach 6%. But one property is already barely cash-flow neutral today. That property may deserve a closer look. If rates rise further, it could become significantly negative. The question becomes: Does that asset have another compelling reason to hold it? Or would selling it now strengthen the entire portfolio? Asset management means evaluating each property individually, not blindly holding everything forever. Don't Let Rates Stop You From Buying The goal of today's conversation is NOT: "Rates are going up, so stop investing." It is: Understand the risk. Prepare for it. Then continue executing the plan. Higher rates can change the numbers. They can change which properties make sense. They can change financing strategies. But they do not automatically eliminate good real estate opportunities. Remote Property Management Course – 50% Off This Week Wayne and Gabby also discuss the response to Gabby's Remote Property Management Course. The eight-module course teaches the systems Wayne and Gabby use to manage their own rental portfolio remotely without personally attending every property issue. This week, the course is available for: 50% off Use code: 50OFF at: www.reimasters.ca About Keaton Kirkwood Keaton Kirkwood is an investor-focused mortgage broker with Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group. He works with Canadian real estate investors on financing structures designed to protect cash flow, preserve future borrowing power and avoid mortgage decisions that make the next acquisition harder. www.kbmortgages.ca keaton@kbmortgages.ca REI Masters Mentorship Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, financing, market selection, joint ventures, property management 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: info@reimorningshow.com Upcoming Event 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

Investor Q&A: Garden Suites, Ontario Real Estate, Exit Plans & More Today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show is a full investor Q&A. Wayne and Gabby answer questions live from Canadian real estate investors about: How to eventually exit a real estate portfolio Capital gains and tax planning When to use a financial planner Ontario real estate investing Variable vs fixed mortgage rates Corporations and rental properties Saskatchewan real estate Garage door replacement costs Assignment deals Edmonton garden suites And how investors can use education to recognize opportunities faster The biggest theme throughout today's show is simple: Ask better questions, get better information, and keep moving forward. What Does an Exit Plan From Real Estate Look Like? Craig asks: What is a realistic exit plan when you're done investing in real estate? Or are you ever actually done? Wayne's answer depends heavily on what the investor wants next. Some investors may want to: Sell everything Convert the portfolio into cash Move into lower-maintenance investments Create retirement income Keep real estate but simplify Hand assets down to family Continue holding for cash flow If the plan is to fully liquidate, Wayne recommends building the plan with the right professionals before selling. That could include: An investor-focused accountant A qualified financial planner A wealth-planning professional A real estate coach who understands long-term portfolio planning The key is knowing what the money is supposed to do after the properties are sold. Don't Forget the Tax Bill Wayne emphasizes that investors should not assume every dollar from a property sale becomes spendable cash. There may be: Capital gains tax Capital cost allowance recapture Legal fees Realtor commissions Mortgage discharge costs Other closing costs If you sell several properties at once, those tax implications can become significant. Talk to an investor-focused accountant before liquidating so you know what your actual net proceeds will be. Selling Is Easy. Planning What Happens Next Is Harder. The mechanics of selling real estate are relatively straightforward. Hire the appropriate broker or realtor. List the properties. Sell them. The harder part is deciding what happens to the capital afterward. If somebody sells a portfolio and ends up with several million dollars, they need to know whether that money is intended to: Grow. Generate income. Preserve wealth. Fund retirement. Support family. Or move into another investment vehicle. The answer should be based on the investor's goals, not a generic product recommendation. Be Careful Who You Take Financial Advice From Wayne also warns investors to be cautious with titles like: "Wealth planner." "Investment strategist." "Financial expert." A title does not automatically mean somebody has real experience. Make sure the person has actual qualifications and understands what you are trying to accomplish. The goal should be building the right plan, not simply moving your money into whatever product that person happens to sell. Kyla and Fabian Complete Their First Assignment Deal Kyla shares a big win during the live show. She and Fabian recently completed their first wholesale assignment. The deal came through a lead-generation system they originally built to find properties for their own fix-and-flip business. Normally they would have purchased the property, renovated it, and sold it. Instead, they recognized a different opportunity. They assigned the contract to another investor for: $10,000. No renovation. No construction risk. No holding costs. No resale risk. Just fast cash. Wayne explains that this is exactly what happens when investors understand multiple strategies. As Barry McGuire says: "If you understand the strategies, you recognize the opportunities." Pivoting vs Giving Up Wayne also talks about why he generally dislikes the word "pivot." Too often, people use "pivot" to describe quitting when something gets difficult. They start moving toward one goal. Hit resistance. Then change direction. Hit resistance again. Change direction again. Eventually they never reach any destination. That is different from recognizing a genuinely better path. Kyla and Fabian were not abandoning their business. They recognized that assigning the contract produced a faster, easier return with less risk. That is not quitting. That is making a better business decision. Garage Door Replacement Costs A live viewer asks about the rough cost of replacing a garage door. Wayne estimates approximately: Single garage door supplied and installed: $2,000–$2,700 plus applicable tax Insulated double garage door supplied and installed: Approximately $2,700–$3,500 plus applicable tax Labour-only costs may vary significantly by contractor and location. These are rough estimates and should be confirmed locally. Would Wayne Invest in Ontario? Another listener asks: What do you think about Ontario real estate? Would you invest there? Wayne's short answer: He has researched it. But he does not personally want to operate a rental-property business there. The biggest issue is not necessarily the individual property. It is the regulatory environment. One of Wayne's core investment fundamentals is investing in a jurisdiction that supports the operation of the business. If the landlord and tenant laws create too much operational risk, that can be enough for Wayne to move on. Real Estate Is a Business Wayne explains the distinction again: He is not simply buying an asset and hoping it goes up in value. He is operating a rental business inside that asset. That means the laws governing the business matter. If the province limits: Rent increases Lease termination Enforcement Non-payment remedies Control over the asset Then that becomes a major part of the investment risk. Ontario Real Estate Is in an "Ice Age" Wayne describes much of Ontario's real estate market as being in an "ice age" right now. That does not mean every market in Ontario is identical. It means affordability has become severely disconnected from property values in many areas. After the pandemic, very low borrowing costs and pent-up demand caused prices to accelerate rapidly. Prices then moved beyond what many households could realistically afford. Now the market needs time to rebalance. Wayne believes the long-term opportunity may return, but affordability, borrowing costs and income all need to move back into a healthier relationship. Garden Suites Explained Another listener asks: How do garden suites work? A garden suite is an additional residential unit built on the same property as an existing house. It can be: Ground-level Above a garage A garage suite A duplex-style garden suite Multiple units, where municipal rules allow The exact rules depend on the municipality. Edmonton's Garden Suite Opportunity Wayne explains that Edmonton currently offers a very unusual opportunity because recent zoning changes allow multiple garden-suite units on certain lots. This allows investors to do something that is not currently possible in the same way in most Canadian cities. Instead of simply building one small backyard suite, investors may be able to create: Duplex garden suites Multiple ground-level suites Multi-unit garage suites Four-plex garden suites Wayne and his team recently completed their first four-plex garden-suite project. Why Wayne Built Edmonton Garden Suites Wayne explains that he began developing this strategy when he saw traditional investment opportunities becoming harder to find. He spent approximately two years working through: Design Zoning Permits Construction Builder selection Cost control Financing Appraisal strategy Rental projections The result became Edmonton Garden Suites. Four-Plex Garden Suites Wayne says the multi-unit model is where the investment economics become substantially more attractive. Rather than building one unit in the backyard, multiple units create much more rental income. Wayne says certain projects may be able to create approximately: $250,000 in equity upon completion with some projects potentially creating even more. He also discusses potential cash flow of more than: $1,500 per month when the right property, development model and financing are used. These results are project-specific and depend heavily on acquisition cost, construction cost, financing, appraisal, rents and execution. Edmonton Garden Suites Is a Limited Window Wayne believes this opportunity exists because of current City of Edmonton zoning rules. Those rules can change. If the city changes the rules in the future, the strategy may no longer be available in its current form. That is why Wayne sees the current period as a window of opportunity. For more information: www.edmontongardensuites.com Should Rental Properties Be Owned in a Corporation? A listener asks: How many rental properties should you own before creating a corporation? Wayne's answer: Zero. For passive rental properties, Wayne generally prefers personal ownership or joint ventures using personal ownership where possible. His view is that corporate ownership often creates less favourable tax treatment for passive rental income. He says corporate ownership can become relevant when an investor can no longer qualify personally or when the structure is required for another reason. Before making any ownership decision, investors should speak with a qualified accountant and lawyer about their specific situation. Variable or Fixed Rates? A listener asks whether they should move out of variable-rate mortgages. Wayne explains that he personally remains in variable mortgages. He does not present that as a recommendation for everyone. The correct financing decision depends on: Risk tolerance Cash flow Portfolio structure Time horizon Future purchases Mortgage terms Personal financial situation Tomorrow's Morning Show will feature investor-focused mortgage broker Keaton Kirkwood to discuss rising fixed rates and how investors can prepare their portfolios. What About Saskatchewan? Wayne says he likes Saskatchewan. He believes Regina and Saskatoon can offer strong real estate and rental fundamentals. But if he compared Saskatchewan with Alberta today, he would still choose Alberta. His reasoning is simple: If two markets are relatively close in quality, Wayne prefers investing in the market that currently produces the strongest overall result. He will continue investing there until that changes. Then he will move to the next market. Tomorrow: Rising Interest Rates Tomorrow's Morning Show will feature: Keaton Kirkwood of Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group The conversation will focus on rising fixed mortgage rates and what real estate investors can do to: Protect cash flow Prepare for renewals Structure financing Continue buying Avoid letting higher borrowing costs derail the long-term plan REI Masters Mentorship Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, financing, market selection, joint ventures, wholesaling, property management, garden suites and building a profitable Canadian real estate portfolio. www.reimasters.ca Edmonton Garden Suites Learn more about Wayne's multi-unit Edmonton garden suite strategy: www.edmontongardensuites.com The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's rental-property cash-flow framework. 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. Questions: info@reimorningshow.com Upcoming Event 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

The Best Real Estate Investing Advice From REIcon 2026 REIcon 2026 is officially over. After a packed weekend of presentations, panels, live coaching, deal analysis and conversations with investors from across Canada, Wayne and Gabby are back on the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show sharing some of the best advice they gave from the stage. In today's episode, they recap several of the biggest lessons from the weekend, including a creative way to negotiate inspection repairs, the three real estate opportunities Wayne believes are strongest in Edmonton right now, why residential real estate should not automatically be considered inferior to multifamily, and why buying the property is only the beginning. One of the biggest messages from the weekend: You don't make all your money when you buy the property. How you manage that property afterward determines what you actually keep. Don't Leave an Event Without What You Came For Wayne's final advice before leaving REIcon on Saturday was simple. If you paid to attend an educational event and still have a question preventing you from taking action, do not leave without getting it answered. Find the person who knows. Ask the expert. Talk to the lender. Talk to the lawyer. Talk to the investor. Talk to the contractor. The entire point of attending an event like REIcon is to leave with more clarity than you arrived with. Monday morning eventually comes. Motivation fades. What matters is whether you actually learned something that allows you to take the next step. A Creative Way to Negotiate Inspection Repairs One of Gabby's favourite conversations happened Friday night. An investor had a property under contract. The numbers worked. He liked the property. Then the home inspection revealed several repairs. The seller did not want to reduce the price or complete the work. The investor was considering walking away because every additional dollar he personally invested into repairs would reduce his return on investment. Gabby suggested a different approach. Instead of asking the seller to lower the purchase price: Increase it. Then require the seller to complete the repairs before closing. Why? Because the increased purchase price may allow more of the total acquisition cost to be incorporated into the mortgage financing, while the seller uses the additional proceeds to complete the required work. The seller can potentially walk away with roughly the same net amount. The buyer avoids funding the entire repair bill separately out of pocket. And the deal may stay together. It will not work in every transaction and needs to make sense with the lender, appraisal and contract structure, but it demonstrates an important investing principle: Price is only one part of a negotiation. Stop Obsessing Only Over Purchase Price Investors often become fixated on negotiating the lowest possible purchase price. But the better question is: How do I structure the entire transaction so the investment works? Price. Repairs. Closing date. Financing. Conditions. Credits. Terms. Possession. All of these can matter. Sometimes paying slightly more for the property can actually create a better investment if the overall structure reduces the amount of additional cash you need to contribute. The Three Edmonton Opportunities Wayne Highlighted at REIcon During Saturday morning's live Morning Show, Wayne shared the three opportunities he currently believes are among the strongest in Edmonton: Legal suited houses Edmonton townhouses Multi-unit garden suites Each opportunity serves a different investor. Different capital. Different experience. Different risk tolerance. Different return expectations. There is no single asset class that is automatically superior to everything else. #1: Legal Suited Houses If somebody forced Wayne to choose a straightforward Edmonton rental property for an investor with limited experience, he would choose a legal suited house. Why? They are relatively simple. They have diversified rental income. They serve a broad tenant base. They tend to be resilient. And Wayne believes they are difficult to completely mess up if they are purchased properly. The trade-off? They may not produce the highest returns. Wayne describes them more as a safe and dependable strategy than the highest-return strategy available. For someone wanting a relatively straightforward long-term rental property, that can be exactly what they need. #2: Edmonton Townhouses Edmonton townhouses remain one of Wayne's favourite opportunities. He has been buying them for years. His students are buying them. And he believes the opportunity still exists today. A major advantage is accessibility. A typical Edmonton townhouse may sell for approximately $200,000 to $220,000. At 20% down, that means an investor may need approximately: $40,000 to $44,000 for the down payment. Compare that with a suited house requiring closer to $100,000 or a development requiring hundreds of thousands of dollars. That lower entry point makes townhouses accessible to far more investors. Why Wayne Likes Townhouses So Much Wayne says the returns he has achieved on carefully selected Edmonton townhouses have been exceptional when combining: Appreciation Mortgage paydown Cash flow Some properties were purchased for approximately $160,000 and are now worth well over $200,000. On certain investments, Wayne says the combined return relative to the original invested capital has exceeded 100%. That does NOT mean every Edmonton townhouse will produce those results. The complex matters. The neighbourhood matters. The condo corporation matters. The purchase price matters. Due diligence matters. The property still needs to be selected properly. But Wayne believes investors continue to overlook the strategy because it does not sound as impressive as owning a large apartment building. Residential vs Multifamily One of Wayne's messages throughout the weekend was: Residential and multifamily are apples and oranges. Multifamily is not automatically the "next level." Residential is not automatically beginner investing. Some multifamily deals will outperform residential deals. Some residential deals will dramatically outperform multifamily deals. The correct comparison is the actual investment. Capital required. Cash flow. Risk. Return. Financing. Management. Exit options. Potential appreciation. Wayne believes investors sometimes chase multifamily because it feels bigger rather than because the actual numbers are better. #3: Edmonton Garden Suites The third major opportunity is multi-unit garden suites. This strategy requires considerably more capital and sophistication. Wayne and Gabby are currently developing multi-unit garden suites behind existing Edmonton houses. Instead of demolishing the original house, they retain it and build additional residential units on the property. The finished property can then potentially operate more like a multifamily asset. The strategy combines: An existing house. Newly created units. New rental income. Value creation through development. And potentially an income-based appraisal upon completion. Creating Hundreds of Thousands in Equity Wayne says their current garden-suite developments are projected to create substantial equity upon completion. Depending on the individual property, he discusses potential value creation in the range of approximately: $250,000 to $400,000 The strategy may also allow them to refinance the completed property and recover a significant portion, and potentially all, of the original invested capital. The remaining property then continues operating as a cash-flowing asset. This is effectively a development version of the BRRRR strategy. But Wayne emphasizes that this is considerably more complicated than simply buying a townhouse or suited house. Execution matters. Financing matters. Development costs matter. Property selection matters. Appraisal methodology matters. And investors need enough capital to complete the project. The Window of Opportunity Is Closing Wayne has been discussing Edmonton's investment window for several years. His view remains that Edmonton prices are still relatively affordable compared with the rents certain properties can produce. But that relationship will not last forever. Prices have been increasing. Certain rents are now softening. And eventually the rent-to-price ratio will become less attractive. Wayne believes Edmonton is already partway through that window. The goal is not to panic-buy. The goal is to recognize opportunities while the fundamentals still work. Buying the Property Is Only the Beginning One of Gabby's strongest messages from the weekend came during their property and asset management presentation. Investors spend enormous amounts of time learning: How to find a deal. How to analyze it. How to negotiate it. How to finance it. How to close it. But ownership can last 20 years. The acquisition may take a few weeks. The management lasts decades. Gabby's point: Once you take possession, how you manage the property ultimately determines your profits. A fantastic deal can become a terrible investment through poor management. You Can Self-Manage a Large Portfolio Wayne and Gabby also challenged the idea that investors automatically need a professional property manager as their portfolio grows. They have self-managed their rental portfolio remotely since they started. That does not mean personally doing everything. It means building systems. Communication systems. Maintenance systems. Inspection systems. Rent collection systems. Renewal systems. Contractor systems. Bookkeeping systems. Documentation systems. Then, as the portfolio grows, specific tasks can be delegated. Wayne and Gabby now use an assistant for portions of the communication and administration. But the assistant operates inside systems they created. That distinction matters. Trust the System Wayne describes seeing rental-property emails during the REIcon weekend and barely registering them. Years ago, those issues might have consumed his attention. Today, he trusts the system. That allows him to focus on: Acquisitions. Developments. New businesses. Joint ventures. Raising capital. Family. And everything else requiring his attention. That is the real purpose of systems. Not simply organization. Freedom. Remote Property Management Course – 50% Off This Week Following the response to their REIcon presentation, Gabby is offering a temporary 50% discount on the REI Masters Remote Property Management Course. The course teaches the systems Wayne and Gabby use to manage their rental portfolio remotely. The eight-module course covers how to create a property-management operation that does not require the owner to personally attend every showing, inspection, maintenance call or tenant issue. Visit: www.reimasters.ca Use discount code: 50OFF for 50% off during the promotional period discussed on today's show. The Main Lesson Buying a great property matters. But buying the property is only the beginning. A great acquisition with terrible management can still become a terrible investment. The goal is to: Buy correctly. Finance correctly. Manage correctly. Build systems. And hold great properties for the long term. That is how real estate becomes a wealth-building business instead of a series of transactions. REI Masters Mentorship Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, financing, market selection, due diligence, joint ventures, property management, BRRRR strategies and building a profitable Canadian real estate portfolio. www.reimasters.ca The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's framework for evaluating rental-property cash flow. 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. Questions: info@reimorningshow.com Upcoming Event 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

How Are We Finding So Many Great Real Estate Deals? If great real estate deals really exist, why isn't everybody buying them? That was the question that came into the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show today. A listener wanted to know how Wayne keeps finding strong deals, how REI Masters students keep buying cash-flowing properties, and why those opportunities seem almost invisible to everyone else. Wayne and Gabby's answer is simple: You don't know what you don't know. The properties are not hidden. The MLS is not secretly showing Wayne different listings. The opportunities are sitting in front of everybody. The difference is understanding what you are actually looking at. Today's episode also covers the growing infill controversy in Edmonton, a suspicious fire in Parkview following an anti-infill protest, the current Edmonton rental market, and several recent deals being completed by REI Masters students. "Something Seems Off" The listener's email asked: How can Wayne and his students keep finding all these great deals if everyone else can see the same properties? Wouldn't somebody else buy them first? Wayne's response is that most people are looking at real estate one-dimensionally. Experienced investors are looking at it from multiple angles. Two people can look at the exact same property. One sees: An old townhouse. A condo fee. A property that has been sitting on the market. Something that needs work. Another investor sees: Strong tenant demand. Cash flow. A below-market acquisition. A refinance opportunity. Long-term appreciation potential. A BRRRR. A wholesale assignment. Or simply a property that fits a very specific investment framework. The property did not change. The investor's knowledge changed. Buying the Property Is the Easy Part Wayne explains that even when he tells people exactly what type of property to buy, that does not guarantee success. He could say: Buy three-bedroom townhouses in Edmonton. He could narrow it down further. West end. South side. Certain neighbourhoods. Certain price ranges. But there are still plenty of ways to make a mistake. Which complex? What condo corporation? What reserve fund? What future repairs are coming? What tenant profile? What rent? What condition? What purchase price? What financing? What cash flow? What due diligence? And once you buy it, how will you manage it for the next 20 years? The purchase is only one piece of the puzzle. Why Education Changes What You See Wayne compares real estate knowledge to assembling a puzzle. The Morning Show gives investors pieces every weekday morning. Over time, listeners begin understanding how those pieces fit together. But somebody who hears only one episode may hear: "Buy an Edmonton townhouse." And think that is the entire strategy. It is not. The strategy is the complete framework surrounding the acquisition. Gabby summarizes the difference: Education. Someone who understands an industry will recognize opportunities that somebody without that education will completely miss. That principle applies far beyond real estate. The Deals Are Right in Front of You Wayne explains how his own acquisition process often works. Every month or two, he decides he is ready to buy. He messages his Edmonton realtor, Calvin Hexter, and tells him: I'm in buy mode. Then Wayne reviews the available inventory. He may look at seven properties. Write three offers. Get two accepted. And buy them. There is no secret inventory. There is no hidden database. The opportunities are already available. The key is recognizing which properties meet the framework and knowing how to evaluate them quickly enough to act. Wayne Has Already Locked Up Three Properties Wayne says he has already locked up three properties recently and still wants to purchase two more. The reason he has not bought the additional properties yet is not a lack of money or financing. He simply has not seen anything good enough. That is another important lesson. Being ready to buy does not mean forcing a deal. You wait until the property fits. Then you move. Opportunities Constantly Change A great real estate strategy today may not be a great strategy three years from now. Markets change. Prices change. Rents change. Interest rates change. Inventory changes. Investor competition changes. That means opportunities appear and disappear. Wayne says there are currently two particularly strong opportunities in Edmonton. Eventually, everybody may recognize them. Prices will increase. Competition will increase. Returns will compress. And the opportunity will disappear. Then investors need to recognize the next one. The Cost of Waiting for Proof One of Wayne's biggest warnings is waiting too long for proof that a strategy works. People often want to see everybody else doing it before they feel comfortable. But once everybody else is doing it, that creates the very competition that removes the opportunity. Wayne says his best deals often happen because he recognizes the opportunity before the broader market does. His students may then enter shortly afterward. Eventually everybody catches on. By that time, prices may already be 15%, 20% or 25% higher. Education allows investors to recognize opportunities earlier. REI Masters Student Deals Wayne and Gabby also highlight several deals currently happening inside the REI Masters community. Dennis Dennis recently took possession of another rental property generating approximately: $580 per month in cash flow. Wayne says Dennis and Andrea have acquired several properties during their first year and have added substantial monthly cash flow to their portfolio. Kyla and Fabian Kyla and Fabian found an off-market property through their We Buy Houses marketing. Instead of completing the flip themselves, they found another buyer and are assigning the opportunity for approximately: $10,000. Kane Kane recently locked up his first wholesale deal. Wayne describes it as an excellent potential Edmonton BRRRR opportunity. The property is a three-bedroom townhouse requiring approximately $15,000 to $20,000 in renovations. The potential strategy: Buy. Renovate. Refinance. Recover the invested capital. Keep the property. Cash flow approximately $300 per month afterward. Wayne says the property scored approximately 9% on the cash-flow test. Jas and Rupinder Jas and Rupinder recently acquired another property for approximately $30,000 to $40,000 below market value. They plan to complete renovations and may potentially use a BRRRR strategy. Anya Anya recently acquired a commercial property worth approximately: $2 million. Amanda Amanda has secured her first joint venture partner. Her challenge now is finding the right deal for the available capital. Additional Students Wayne also highlights several other students who have been acquiring properties, raising joint venture capital, building rent-to-own businesses and expanding their portfolios. The common thread is not luck. It is education followed by action. Edmonton's Infill Debate Gets Hotter The episode also covers a very different Edmonton real estate story. Residents in Edmonton's Parkview neighbourhood recently held a protest against increasing infill development. Residents have raised concerns about: Density Parking Traffic Garbage collection Snow removal Construction disruption Neighbourhood character Property values Shortly after the protest, a vacant house slated for redevelopment caught fire. The property reportedly had approval for a four-dwelling row house with four secondary suites. Fire officials considered the blaze suspicious, and Edmonton police began investigating. Wayne makes clear that nobody knows whether the fire had any connection to the protest. But the timing intensified an already heated debate around infill development in mature Edmonton neighbourhoods. Another Infill Fire Had a Different Cause Wayne also discusses another recent Edmonton infill-related fire. That fire was reportedly connected to a lithium-ion battery inside an electric scooter. Wayne says Edmonton fire officials reported numerous lithium-ion battery-related fires and millions of dollars in associated damage. The two fires were unrelated, but both highlight risks surrounding increasingly dense residential development. Wayne's Complicated View on Infill Wayne openly admits he has mixed feelings about Edmonton's infill boom. He participates in infill development. He believes new housing supply is necessary. He also understands why existing homeowners may be frustrated. Wayne believes Edmonton went too far in certain areas and added too much competing rental supply too quickly. That additional supply has created significant pressure on some segments of Edmonton's rental market. But not every property type is being affected equally. Edmonton Rents Are Down — But Not for Every Property Wayne says Edmonton rents overall have softened year over year. However, rents within his own portfolio have continued increasing. Why? Because he deliberately purchased properties that serve a different tenant profile than much of the new rental supply being built. This is another example of why understanding property type matters. Citywide averages do not tell you everything. You need to understand exactly who your tenant is, what alternatives they have and what type of property they actually want. The Main Lesson If you look at Wayne's deals or the deals being completed by REI Masters students and think: "Something seems off. Why don't I see these?" The better question may be: "What am I not seeing yet?" The listings are there. The opportunities are there. But opportunities only become obvious when you understand: The market. The numbers. The property type. The tenant. The risks. The financing. The exit. The operations. And how all of those pieces work together. Education changes what you see. Action determines what you do with it. REIcon – The Summit Series REIcon starts tonight in Edmonton. September 11–13, 2026 Wayne and Gabby will be there Friday and Saturday. The Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show will broadcast live on stage Saturday morning at 8:00 AM. Wayne will also be teaching due diligence, while Wayne and Gabby will present together on property and asset management. Get tickets at: www.reiconference.ca Use discount code: REIMASTERS15 for 15% off. REI Masters Mentorship Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, financing, market selection, joint ventures, wholesaling, BRRRR strategies, due diligence, property management and building a profitable Canadian real estate portfolio. www.reimasters.ca The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's cash-flow framework for evaluating rental properties. 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. Questions: 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

What You Need To Know Before Investing in a New City How do you know whether a city is actually a good place to invest in real estate? A market can have cheap houses. It can have great-looking cash flow. Population might be increasing. Property values might be rising. And it can still be a terrible place to build a long-term rental portfolio. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby answer a question from listener Carmen: What do you look for when deciding whether to invest in a new city? Wayne breaks down five of the major factors he looks at before putting money into a new real estate market. The goal is not simply finding the city with the highest appreciation or cheapest properties. The goal is finding a market where you can buy a profitable rental business, operate it successfully, and have confidence that it can remain sustainable for the next 20 years. The Framework Comes Before the City Wayne explains that he does not start by falling in love with a city and then trying to make the numbers work. He starts with his investment framework. Then he asks: Does this market fit? If it does not fit the fundamentals, he moves on. Gabby describes it as trying to fit the correct peg into the correct hole. You do not start sanding the corners off because you really want the deal to work. The standards stay the same. The market either meets them or it does not. 1. Landlord and Tenant Laws One of Wayne's first considerations is the legal environment where the rental business will operate. A city can have: Great cash flow. Strong population growth. Excellent rents. Good appreciation potential. Low vacancy. And attractive properties. But if the landlord and tenant laws prevent you from operating the rental business effectively, that can be enough for Wayne to walk away. Wayne uses Ontario as an example. Issues such as restrictions surrounding lease termination, rent increases and lengthy dispute processes can materially change the risk profile of owning rental property. Gabby makes an important point: Managing the property properly is how you ultimately make money. You can make money when you buy. You can have great appreciation. You can have positive cash flow. But poor operations can destroy all of it. Wayne wants to know that both landlord and tenant are held accountable to the agreement they signed and that there is a reasonably efficient process when somebody does not fulfil their obligations. Before researching individual cities, understand the landlord and tenant laws of the province. 2. Cash Flow Potential Cash flow is one of the most important filters Wayne uses. If the type of property he wants to purchase cannot generate sufficient cash flow in that market, he will not buy there. Why? Because Wayne does not view rental real estate as simply purchasing an asset and hoping its value increases. He is buying an asset and operating a business from it. A business consistently spending more every month than it generates is not attractive simply because the building might eventually appreciate. Cash flow is also Wayne's primary risk mitigator. The greater the cash-flow cushion, the more room the investment has to absorb things outside the investor's control: Higher interest rates Vacancy Lower rents Increasing expenses Job losses Economic changes Unexpected repairs Wayne uses the 5% Rule™ Cash Flow Test as a minimum standard for evaluating this. Understand the Specific Neighbourhood Do not simply search: "What is the average rent in this city?" That is not enough. Different neighbourhoods attract different tenants. Different property types command different rents. One side of a city may perform very differently from another. Wayne and Gabby recommend researching the actual properties competing with the one you intend to purchase. Wayne gives an example from recent market-rent research. There were only a handful of comparable rentals available, and his property was clearly superior to the competition. Instead of simply copying the average asking rent, he decided the property could justify charging more. Market rent is not just a statistic. It is the price your property can command relative to the alternatives available to tenants. 3. Market Size Small towns can sometimes produce incredible-looking cash flow. Properties can be inexpensive. There may be almost no rental competition. Rents may appear exceptionally strong relative to purchase prices. That can be tempting. But Wayne sees a major problem: Sustainability. Everything can look fantastic while the town is booming. Then one employer closes. One construction project ends. One mine shuts down. One mill disappears. One economic event hits the dominant industry. Suddenly the rental demand that supported your investment disappears. Wayne generally prefers major cities with populations of approximately 500,000 or more. That is not a universal rule for every investor. It is his preference because larger markets generally provide more diversification and resilience. What About Smaller Cities Around Major Centres? Gabby adds an important exception. Smaller communities immediately surrounding a major metropolitan area can function as extensions of the larger city. Examples around Edmonton include: St. Albert Sherwood Park Spruce Grove Beaumont Residents may live there while still working, shopping and participating economically in the larger metropolitan area. Sometimes those communities offer lower purchase prices while maintaining similar rental demand. The important distinction is whether the smaller community has a genuinely diversified economic connection to the larger centre or exists primarily because of one local employer. 4. Industries and Employment Once Wayne identifies a potential market, he wants to understand: Why do people live there? Where are the jobs? How much do those jobs pay? Are those jobs sustainable? Are more jobs being created? Is the city dependent on one employer or industry? A market dominated by a single mill, mine, manufacturing plant or temporary infrastructure project creates more risk. If that employer disappears, the rental market can change extremely quickly. Wayne prefers markets with diversified employment and industries capable of producing good-paying, long-term jobs. Temporary Growth Can Fool Investors Imagine a small community suddenly gets thousands of workers because a major highway, mine, pipeline or infrastructure project is being built. Rental demand explodes. Vacancy disappears. Rents increase. Investors see the numbers and rush in. But what happens when construction finishes? If those workers leave and there is no permanent economic reason for people to remain, the rental demand can disappear just as quickly as it arrived. Wayne wants investments that can survive for 20 years. Not just the next construction cycle. 5. Population Growth and Migration Population growth is another major factor. More people moving into a city creates additional demand for housing. Initially, many newcomers rent. Eventually, some become homeowners. That can create pressure on both: Rental demand and Real estate values. Wayne wants to study the history of population growth and net migration. But historical numbers are not enough. He also looks forward. What projects are being announced? What employers are expanding? What new industries are arriving? What infrastructure is being built? What will cause people to move there over the next five, ten or twenty years? Follow the Jobs Wayne gives a theoretical example of a major new project creating thousands of construction jobs followed by thousands of permanent jobs. During construction, many workers may become renters. That puts pressure on rental supply. Later, some of those workers may take permanent jobs and become homebuyers. If you own the right type of property, you can potentially benefit from both phases. First, strong rental demand. Later, increased homebuyer demand for the same type of property. That is exactly the kind of long-term market dynamic Wayne looks for. Real Estate Prices Going Up Is Not Enough A city can have rapidly increasing real estate prices and still be a poor rental market. Gabby discusses communities where outside buyers drove prices higher while local residents increasingly struggled to afford either rents or homes. That creates a disconnect. Wayne repeatedly comes back to the same principle: You are not simply buying a box and hoping the box becomes more valuable. You are operating a business from the property. The market needs to support that business. The Five Filters When Wayne begins evaluating a new real estate market, five of the major things he considers are: Landlord and tenant laws Cash flow potential Market size Industries and employment Population growth and migration These five factors are only the beginning. Once a market passes those filters, deeper due diligence begins. What neighbourhoods? What asset classes? What tenant profile? What vacancy? What property values? What rents? What long-term development is happening? The purpose of the first analysis is not to prove that you should invest somewhere. It is to determine whether the market deserves further investigation. A Rare BRRRR Opportunity in Edmonton Wayne and Gabby also discuss an opportunity brought to the previous night's REI Masters coaching session. One student operating a wholesaling business found an Edmonton property that Wayne believes could potentially make an excellent BRRRR. The renovation appears relatively simple, potentially around $10,000 to $20,000 in cosmetic improvements. The strategy would be: Buy the property. Complete the renovation. Increase the value. Refinance. Recover the invested capital. Then hold the property as a cash-flowing rental. Based on the analysis discussed during the coaching session, Wayne says the property performed exceptionally well on the cash-flow test. He describes opportunities like this as increasingly rare and says Edmonton has not offered many comparable BRRRR opportunities in several years. Weekly REI Masters Coaching Wayne and Gabby also share several wins and challenges discussed during their weekly REI Masters coaching session. Students are currently working through: Condo document due diligence Off-market acquisitions Wholesale assignments Joint venture partnerships Finding deals for money partners BRRRR opportunities Financing Legal issues Market selection The coaching sessions are designed around helping students solve the actual roadblocks preventing them from reaching their next objective. REIcon – The Summit Series REIcon begins tomorrow in Edmonton. September 11–13, 2026 Wayne and Gabby will be there Friday and Saturday. On Saturday morning at 8:00 AM, the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show will be recorded live on stage. Wayne and Gabby are also presenting during Saturday's sessions. Get tickets at: www.reiconference.ca Use discount code: REIMASTERS15 for 15% off. REI Masters Mentorship Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on market selection, acquisitions, financing, deal analysis, property management, joint ventures, wholesaling and building a profitable Canadian real estate portfolio. www.reimasters.ca The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's cash-flow framework for evaluating Canadian rental properties. 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. 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

Is Calgary Still a Good Place to Invest in Real Estate? Calgary real estate investors have had an incredible run. Properties that once sold for under $300,000 are now worth significantly more. Rents increased. Investors who bought several years ago benefited from cash flow, mortgage paydown and substantial appreciation. But that creates a different question in 2026: Does Calgary still make sense for someone buying today? In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby answer a listener who already owns Calgary rental properties and wants to know whether they should buy more, continue holding what they own, or sell. Wayne's answer comes down to one important relationship: The rent-to-price ratio. Property values can continue increasing, but if rents are no longer high enough to support the cost of owning the property, the investment stops functioning as a profitable rental business. Don't Fall in Love With a Market Wayne starts with an important reminder. Being from Calgary is not a reason to invest in Calgary. Loving Calgary is not a reason to invest in Calgary. Having made money there previously is not automatically a reason to buy there again. Real estate investing decisions should be based on the numbers and fundamentals available today. Markets change. Strategies need to change with them. The Difference Between Holding and Buying Today This is one of the most important distinctions in the episode. Someone who bought a Calgary property five years ago may be in an excellent position today. They may have: A much smaller original mortgage Years of mortgage principal paydown Increased rents A large amount of equity Positive cash flow A substantial reserve fund That does not mean someone purchasing the exact same property today will get the same result. The existing owner and the new buyer are working with completely different numbers. The Calgary Investor Who Bought at $280,000 Wayne walks through a simplified example. Several years ago, an investor might have purchased a Calgary house for approximately: $280,000 At 20% down, that investor would have contributed approximately: $56,000 Their mortgage would have been around: $224,000 At the time, similar properties could potentially rent for approximately $1,700 to $1,900 per month depending on the property and neighbourhood. Interest rates were also dramatically lower. The property could cash flow. Then rents increased. And property values increased significantly. That investor may now be sitting on an asset worth well over $500,000 while still carrying a relatively small mortgage. That is an excellent position. Now Buy the Same Property in 2026 The problem is the next investor is not buying it for $280,000. They may be buying it for: $550,000 At 20% down: $110,000 Mortgage: $440,000 Now add today's mortgage rate, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy and other operating expenses. The same rental income that produces great cash flow for the person who bought five years ago may produce negative cash flow for the buyer purchasing today. That is the problem. The Rent-to-Price Ratio Is Out of Balance Wayne describes the rent-to-price ratio as the relationship between: What the property costs and What the market will pay to rent it. Calgary property prices increased extremely quickly. Rents increased too. But eventually prices outpaced rents. And rents cannot simply keep increasing indefinitely because tenants still need to be able to afford them. Once purchase prices increase faster than rental income, cash flow begins disappearing. That is where Wayne believes Calgary is today for many residential rental properties. Appreciation Does Not Fix Bad Cash Flow Wayne believes Calgary property values can continue to increase over the long term. Residential real estate generally trends upward over long holding periods. But it does not move upward in a straight line. Interest rates change. Oil prices change. Inflation changes. Employment changes. Government policy changes. Immigration changes. Economic conditions change. Investors cannot reliably predict every short-term movement. That is why Wayne does not want to purchase a negative-cash-flow property simply because he believes it may appreciate. The business still needs to work. The $550,000 Example Wayne runs another simple example. Purchase price: $550,000 20% down: $110,000 Mortgage: $440,000 At approximately 4% over 30 years, the mortgage payment alone is around $2,100 per month. Then add approximately: $300+ per month in property taxes $150 or more in insurance Repairs Maintenance Vacancy Other expenses If the market rent is approximately $2,200 to $2,300, the numbers do not work. You are negative before even accounting for several real operating expenses. That is not the type of rental business Wayne wants to buy. Don't Follow the Headlines This is where investors can get confused. They see headlines saying: Calgary prices are increasing. Calgary is appreciating. Calgary is growing. Calgary remains desirable. Those things may all be true. But the important question for a rental-property investor is: Can I buy this property today and operate it profitably at today's price, today's rent and today's financing costs? If the answer is no, rising property values do not automatically make it a good investment. Wayne Is Still Holding His Calgary Properties Wayne makes an important distinction between buying more and selling what he already owns. He is not currently looking to buy more Calgary residential rental properties. But he is also not rushing to sell the Calgary properties he already owns. One example from his portfolio was purchased for approximately: $350,000 Today, Wayne estimates that property is worth around: $575,000 That represents roughly 65% appreciation over approximately five years. Even more interestingly, Wayne estimates the property increased from around $530,000 to $575,000 in the last year alone. That is approximately an 8.5% increase. The property still cash flows because Wayne's mortgage is based on the original purchase price, not today's value. Why Wayne Isn't Refinancing All That Equity That property now contains a significant amount of equity. So why not refinance it and pull the money out? Because increasing the mortgage could destroy the cash flow. Wayne's existing mortgage started at approximately $280,000 and has been paid down over time. Refinancing against today's $575,000 value would dramatically increase the debt and potentially eliminate the profitability of the rental business. So Wayne is comfortable allowing the equity to sit there. The property cash flows. It continues paying down debt. It has a healthy reserve. And it may continue appreciating. That is enough. Calgary Was an Incredible Opportunity Wayne is not saying Calgary was a bad investment. Quite the opposite. For investors who purchased the right properties before prices accelerated, Calgary created exceptional returns. Some properties appreciated 50%, 60% or more over several years. At the same time: Rents increased. Mortgages were paid down. Cash flow accumulated. That combination produced tremendous returns. The problem is that once everybody recognizes the opportunity, capital rushes in. Prices rise. Eventually the original opportunity disappears. The Opportunity Moves Wayne explains this as a pattern. A market has a strong rent-to-price ratio. Investors recognize it. Capital enters. Homebuyers enter. Prices increase. Eventually the rent-to-price ratio gets squeezed. Investors then start looking for the next market where rents still support the purchase prices. Wayne believes this is part of what happened as attention shifted from Calgary toward Edmonton. Edmonton then experienced substantial appreciation as more capital entered that market. Eventually another market may become the next opportunity. The investor's job is to recognize it before everybody else does. Wayne's Answer: Hold Calgary, But Be Careful Buying More For the listener who already owns successful Calgary rentals, Wayne's approach would generally be: Keep the profitable properties. Continue collecting cash flow. Continue paying down the mortgages. Let the equity grow. Be cautious about refinancing if it destroys the cash flow. And wait for the right time to eventually sell. But for someone looking to purchase a typical Calgary residential rental today, Wayne believes it is difficult to find properties that meet the investment fundamentals he teaches. There may still be specific opportunities. But they are much harder to find. The Main Lesson Do not ask: "Are Calgary prices going up?" Ask: "Does this rental property make sense at today's price?" Understand: Purchase price Market rent Financing Property taxes Insurance Repairs Maintenance Vacancy Cash flow Then determine whether the property meets your investment criteria. The goal is not to predict which city will increase the most next year. The goal is to buy a rental business capable of surviving for the next 20 years. Coming Tomorrow A listener asked another important question during today's live show: What do you look for when deciding whether to invest in a new city? Wayne and Gabby plan to tackle that question on tomorrow's Morning Show. REIcon – The Summit Series REIcon takes place in Edmonton this weekend: September 11–13, 2026 Wayne and Gabby will be there Friday and Saturday. The Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show will broadcast live on stage Saturday morning. Wayne will also be teaching due diligence and pre-purchase analysis. Get your tickets at: www.reiconference.ca Use discount code: REIMASTERS15 for 15% off. REI Masters Mentorship Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on acquisitions, market selection, financing, deal analysis, joint ventures, property management and building a profitable Canadian real estate portfolio. www.reimasters.ca The 5% Rule™ Learn Wayne Hillier's framework for evaluating rental-property cash flow and determining whether a property produces sufficient return relative to your 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. 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

Fall Rental Property Maintenance Checklist: What Landlords Should Do Before Winter Winter problems are expensive. A furnace that fails during the first cold snap. A frozen exterior water line. Clogged gutters sending spring melt toward the foundation. Too much humidity creating condensation, ice and eventually mold. These are predictable problems, which means landlords should be dealing with them before they become emergencies. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby walk through their fall rental-property maintenance checklist and explain the systems they use to prepare their portfolio for winter. The goal is simple: Be proactive instead of reactive. A relatively inexpensive preventative repair in September can save you from a much larger emergency repair in January. Why Every Landlord Needs a Seasonal Maintenance System When you own your own home, seasonal maintenance can happen naturally. You notice something in the yard. You walk past the furnace. You see leaves accumulating in the gutters. With multiple rental properties, that does not happen automatically. The more properties you own, the more important systems and checklists become. Wayne and Gabby recommend creating a repeatable fall inspection checklist, saving it permanently and putting a recurring reminder into your calendar every year. You should not have to remember everything. The system should remind you. Start With the Furnace One of the most important fall checks is the furnace. Do not wait for the first -30°C night to discover that the furnace does not work. During the fall inspection: Turn the furnace on Confirm it fires properly Change the furnace filter Consider servicing it if it has not been checked recently Make sure airflow is not being restricted Deal with known issues before winter The worst time to discover a furnace problem is late at night during the first major cold snap when every HVAC company in the city is already dealing with emergency calls. Preventative maintenance gives you options. Emergency maintenance usually gives you a bill. Check the Humidifier Gabby considers humidity control one of the most important seasonal checks. If the property has a furnace-mounted humidifier or HRV system, the settings may need to change as outdoor temperatures drop. Too much indoor humidity during very cold weather can cause condensation and ice around: Windows Window frames Exterior walls Corners Areas behind furniture Other cold surfaces That ice eventually melts. Then you have water entering drywall, flooring and framing. And moisture problems can quickly become mold problems. Make sure the humidifier is set appropriately for the season and outdoor temperature. Winterize Exterior Hose Bibs Exterior water lines are another major concern. Before freezing temperatures arrive: Disconnect exterior hoses Locate the interior shutoff Shut the water supply off Open the exterior hose bib Drain the remaining water from the line Close everything properly for winter Water expands when it freezes. If water remains trapped in the pipe, the line or hose bib can burst. You may not even discover the damage until spring when somebody turns the water back on. Wayne and Gabby have purchased properties where exterior hose bibs did not survive the previous winter. A simple preventative step can save hundreds or potentially thousands of dollars. Clean Gutters and Check Downspouts Make sure gutters are clear and downspouts direct water away from the house. In Alberta, snow may accumulate for months before melting rapidly in spring. When that happens, you want the water moving away from the foundation. Clogged gutters or poorly positioned downspouts can contribute to: Foundation moisture Basement leaks Water intrusion Landscaping damage Properties surrounded by mature trees may require gutter cleaning every spring and fall. Wait until most of the leaves have fallen before completing the final fall cleaning. Check the Roof While inspecting the exterior, look at the roof. Check for: Missing shingles Damaged shingles Storm damage Fascia issues Soffit damage Areas where water could penetrate A small roof problem in September is much easier to repair than a roof problem buried beneath months of snow. Don't Ignore the Attic Attic issues can create serious winter problems. Look for: Inadequate insulation Poor ventilation Disconnected vents Bathroom fans exhausting incorrectly Signs of moisture Previous water staining Heat escaping into the attic can create condensation and ice. When that ice melts, the water can end up inside the ceiling, insulation or walls. That can lead to stains, leaks and mold. Wayne and Gabby emphasize another lesson here: If your home inspector identifies an attic issue when you buy the property, do not simply file the inspection report away and forget about it. Fix the important items. Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors Every seasonal inspection should include life-safety equipment. Test every smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector. Check: Operation Batteries where applicable Expiry dates Proper placement These devices are not decorative. They exist to protect the people living in your property. Check Windows and Doors Look closely at exterior windows and doors. Check: Caulking Sealant Weather stripping Visible gaps Signs of water intrusion Areas where daylight is visible around doors If you can see daylight around a door, cold air can get through too. Wayne and Gabby have become increasingly focused on exterior sealing after dealing with water-intrusion issues in their portfolio. Water will find surprisingly small openings. Seal them before weather makes the problem worse. Check the Rest of the Property While You're There If you are already inspecting the property, use the opportunity to perform a broader maintenance review. Consider checking: Hot water tank Appliance filters Plumbing Exterior drainage Interior moisture Property condition Previously identified maintenance items Treat the rental property the way you would treat your own home. The goal is to leave knowing the property is prepared to operate safely through winter. Document Everything Do not simply walk through and rely on memory. Take photos. Record what was inspected. Document repairs required. Keep the inspection record. Then compare it against the next seasonal inspection. If something does not need immediate attention but should be reviewed again in spring, document it and schedule the follow-up. Proactive Beats Reactive Wayne summarizes the philosophy behind the entire episode: Good property management is not about fixing things when they break. It is about identifying predictable problems before they become emergencies. A $150 preventative repair in September can easily prevent a $2,000 emergency repair in January. The exact number is not the point. The principle is. Preventative maintenance is almost always easier and cheaper than emergency maintenance. Build the System Once For investors with multiple properties, the solution is not becoming better at remembering everything. Build a system. Create a fall checklist. Create a spring checklist. Put recurring reminders into your calendar. Delegate inspections where appropriate. Document the results. Schedule repairs automatically. The simpler the system is, the more likely it will actually be followed. That frees up your mental bandwidth for higher-value activities: Finding deals. Building relationships. Raising capital. Growing your portfolio. And spending time on the things outside real estate that actually matter to you. REIcon – The Summit Series REIcon takes place in Edmonton this weekend: September 11–13, 2026 Wayne and Gabby will be there Friday and Saturday. On Saturday morning, the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show will be recorded live on stage. Later Saturday, Wayne will participate in a due diligence and pre-purchase session with Patrick Francey. Wayne and Gabby will also present together on asset management and property management. Get tickets at: www.reiconference.ca Use discount code: REIMASTERS15 for 15% off. 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 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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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 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.

The Smith Manoeuvre Explained Most Canadian homeowners understand that mortgage interest on their principal residence is generally not tax deductible. The Smith Manoeuvre is a strategy designed to change how that debt is structured. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby are joined by Keaton Kirkwood of Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group, a Smith Manoeuvre Certified Professional, to explain how the strategy works, why it can be powerful for Canadian homeowners and real estate investors, and what risks investors need to understand before using it. At a high level, the Smith Manoeuvre is about converting non-tax-deductible debt into tax-deductible investment debt while building investments at the same time.

Should You Hire a Property Manager? Should you hire a property manager for your rental properties, or should you manage them yourself? For Wayne and Gabby, self-managing their rental portfolio was one of the scariest decisions they made early in their investing journey. It also became one of the biggest reasons their portfolio became more profitable and easier to scale. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby explain why they chose not to use traditional property management companies, how much that decision can potentially save, and the systems they built to manage rental properties across Alberta without constantly driving to them. The goal is not to convince every investor that property managers are bad. The goal is to understand the numbers, the trade-offs, and whether there may be a more profitable way to operate your rental business.

Writing a real estate offer is simple. Writing an offer that actually gets accepted is a different story. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne breaks down the key components of a real estate offer and shares his Stop, Look and Listen system for negotiating stronger deals. The biggest mistake investors make is getting emotionally attached to a property before the negotiation even begins. You do not need this deal. Another deal will come. Once you understand that, you can slow down, look at the situation objectively, gather information and build an offer around what actually matters to the seller.

The Trick to Keeping Long-Term Tenants Tenant turnover can quietly become one of the biggest expenses in a rental property. Vacancy, repairs, repainting, cleaning, advertising, showings, and lost rent can quickly add up when tenants move every year. The good news is that tenant turnover is also one of the expenses landlords have the most control over. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby break down what actually keeps tenants in a rental property long term and why tenant retention can have such a major impact on profitability. The core idea is simple: If you buy the right property, attract the right tenant, price it fairly, and treat them well, there is a much greater chance they stay. And when they stay, your returns improve.

Being a great landlord is not just about being nice. It can directly affect your vacancy, tenant turnover, repair costs, rental income, and ultimately the profitability of your real estate portfolio. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby break down what it actually means to be a great landlord and why landlord quality has a much bigger impact on returns than many investors realize. The core idea is simple: If tenants feel respected, appreciated, and taken care of, they are more likely to stay longer, communicate better, treat the property properly, and renew their lease. That means fewer turnovers, less vacancy, lower costs, and better long-term returns.

Finding great tenants starts long before the application and screening process. It starts with your rental listing. In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby break down how landlords and real estate investors should market their rental properties to attract more qualified applicants, avoid wasting time, and create enough demand that they can choose a tenant instead of settling for one. Wayne explains that real estate investors are also marketers. If your listing does not clearly communicate what your property offers, you may attract the wrong people—or nobody at all. The goal is to make it easy for prospective tenants to quickly determine whether your property fits their needs, while removing unnecessary friction that could cause good applicants to disappear before they ever reach the application stage. Wayne and Gabby also answer a listener's three-part question: Where should landlords advertise rental properties? What information should be included in the listing? What questions should you ask prospective tenants?

What is happening in the Edmonton real estate market right now, and where could the next opportunities be for investors? In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby are joined by Calvin Hexter from Calvin Realty for an updated look at the Edmonton market heading into late summer and fall 2026. Calvin breaks down the latest July market statistics, including price movement across detached homes, semi-detached properties, townhouses, and condos, as well as Edmonton's rising inventory levels. The big story right now is inventory. Greater Edmonton is sitting at more than 8,000 listings, which is significantly higher than what is typical for this time of year. That is giving buyers more choice, more negotiating power, and more opportunities to be selective. At the same time, the market is not weak. With approximately 3.2 months of inventory, Edmonton remains in a balanced market that still leans slightly in favour of sellers. Wayne, Gabby, and Calvin also discuss why August can create opportunity for investors, what they expect heading into September and the fall market, and why investors should focus less on trying to perfectly time the market and more on whether a property meets their investment criteria. They also preview the upcoming REIcon Summit Series, happening September 11–13 in Edmonton.

The Easiest $20,000 I've Ever Made in Real Estate What happens when you recognize value that everyone else has overlooked? In today's episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne shares the story of how he made a $20,000 profit from a real estate deal with approximately one hour of work. A wholesaler secured an Edmonton townhouse for $90,000 and assigned the contract to Wayne for a $10,000 assignment fee. Wayne immediately recognized that the property was worth far more—not necessarily because of its condition, but because of the different strategies that could be applied to it. Instead of renovating, refinancing, renting, or flipping the property himself, Wayne assigned the deal to another investor for $120,000. The original wholesaler made $10,000. Wayne made $20,000. The final investor completed a successful BRRRR, recovered their invested capital, created equity, and ended up with a rental property that now produces approximately $600 per month in cash flow. The seller also received the fast and straightforward solution they needed. Everyone won. This episode explains why real estate profits are not always created through physical labour. Often, the greatest profits come from knowledge, experience, relationships, and the ability to recognize opportunities that other investors cannot see.

Raising money through joint venture partnerships is one of the fastest ways to scale a real estate portfolio—but what happens if your investor changes their mind? In today's episode, Wayne and Gabby answer a listener question about what to do if a joint venture partner wants to back out before purchasing a property—or even after the deal has already closed. They explain how to properly structure joint venture partnerships, the importance of setting expectations from the beginning, why communication is the foundation of every successful partnership, and the legal documents every investor should have in place before raising capital. If you're planning to use joint venture partnerships to grow your real estate portfolio, this episode could save you from one of the biggest mistakes new investors make.

Ohio has introduced a new law that makes wholesaling real estate more difficult by requiring greater transparency and disclosure when assigning purchase contracts. The stated goal is to protect vulnerable homeowners from misleading or predatory real estate practices—but could similar legislation eventually make its way to Canada? In today's episode, Wayne and Gabby break down Ohio's new wholesaling law, examine similar regulations that have already been introduced across several U.S. states, and discuss what these changes could mean for Canadian real estate investors. The conversation also explores the ethics of wholesaling, the difference between creating value versus taking advantage of people, and why Wayne believes real estate investors should always focus on solving problems—not exploiting them.

Not every rental property is a good investment—and one of the biggest mistakes new investors make is focusing on the wrong numbers. In today's episode, Wayne breaks down one of the most important metrics every real estate investor should understand: Return on Investment (ROI). While many investors obsess over cash flow, ROI allows you to compare properties, investment strategies, and even different asset classes to determine which opportunities are truly the most profitable. Wayne walks through exactly how he analyzes investment properties before making an offer, the simple ROI formula every investor should know, why he ignores appreciation in his projections, and the minimum returns he personally looks for before buying another rental property. The episode also answers a listener question about multi-unit garden suites and explains why Wayne believes Edmonton continues to offer some of the best real estate investing opportunities in Canada.

Real estate investing doesn't happen in a perfect world. Sometimes life throws unexpected challenges your way—floods, repairs, tenant issues, family responsibilities, or financial setbacks. The key isn't avoiding adversity. It's learning how to keep moving forward despite it. In today's episode, Wayne and Gabby answer several real-world questions from listeners across Canada, including how to recover when a tenant backs out before moving in, what to do if you're approaching retirement with limited options, and how to build a rental portfolio that can adapt as markets change. Along the way, they also share an honest behind-the-scenes update on navigating one of the busiest and most challenging seasons they've faced as investors—and why growth requires continuing to move forward, even when life tries to slow you down.

How We Built Our Real Estate Investing Empire (Starting with Just $15,000) In this episode, Wayne and Gabby pull back the curtain on their entire real estate investing journey—from starting with debt and a single $15,000 down payment to building a large real estate portfolio, multiple businesses, and achieving financial freedom. They explain the strategies they used at each stage of their journey, why they adapted to changing markets, and how everyday Canadians can follow a similar path.

Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show – July 28, 2026 Should you buy a single-family home, a duplex, or even both sides of a half duplex? In today's episode, Wayne and Gabby answer a listener email that explores one of the most common questions new real estate investors ask. They break down why choosing between a single-family home and a duplex isn't about the property type—it's about the numbers. They discuss how professional investors evaluate rental properties based on cash flow, return on investment, tenant profile, risk, and long-term appreciation potential. Wayne also explains why buying both sides of a duplex isn't always the advantage many investors think it is. The episode also includes an update on Edmonton's historic rainfall, the challenges it's creating for landlords, and why maintaining a healthy reserve fund is one of the most important principles of successful real estate investing.

Ethical Off-Market Real Estate Deals: Helping Sellers Without Taking Advantage Off-market real estate investing has a reputation problem. Too often, investors are taught to search for desperate homeowners, exploit difficult circumstances and negotiate the lowest possible price. In this episode, Wayne and Gabby explain why that approach is not only unethical—it is also unnecessary. This is Part 2 of their series on sourcing great off-market deals, but the focus goes beyond flyers, direct mail, bandit signs and websites. The bigger conversation is about how investors should conduct themselves when dealing with motivated sellers. Wayne explains the important difference between a desperate seller and a motivated seller. A motivated seller may need speed, certainty, flexibility or a creative solution. That does not mean an investor should use the situation to strip as much value away from them as possible. A good off-market deal should solve a real problem. The seller should receive the outcome they need, while the investor creates value through knowledge, creativity, market expertise and the ability to see opportunities others may overlook. Wayne and Gabby also discuss the uncomfortable reality that when an investor purchases a property below market value, the seller is receiving less. That makes integrity, transparency and self-awareness especially important. The goal should be to create wealth without manipulating people or building a business at someone else's expense. The episode also covers scalable lead-generation methods, including flyers, direct mail, bandit signs and websites, while examining the type of sellers those strategies attract and the responsibility investors have when those calls come in.

Some of the best real estate deals never make it onto the MLS. In Part 1 of this series, Wayne and Gabby break down how investors can source great off-market real estate deals by speaking directly with property owners, building relationships and being willing to knock on doors. Wayne explains why many investors hide behind websites, flyers, signs and marketing campaigns instead of doing the actual work of talking to sellers. Those tools may help generate leads, but the real opportunity is usually created through a direct conversation. He also shares how a personal connection led him to a turnkey rental property that he purchased approximately 25% below market value. The sellers needed a fast and reliable sale so they could access their equity and start a business. By understanding their motivation, closing quickly and creating a solution that worked for both sides, Wayne secured an exceptional investment without aggressively grinding down the sellers. This episode also explores why market knowledge matters. A property that looks average to most investors can become an incredible opportunity when you understand the neighbourhood, rental demand and true value better than everyone else.

Our Rental Property Was Broken Into—Then the Basement Flooded A break-in at one of our vacant Edmonton rental properties quickly turned into a much larger disaster. After entering through a basement window, the intruder appears to have shut off the electrical panel—possibly to disable the security system. Unfortunately, that also shut off the sump pump that had been keeping the basement dry during Edmonton's extremely wet summer. By the time our contractor arrived, his tools had been stolen and the entire basement was covered in water. In today's episode, we share the bizarre series of events, how we responded and why unexpected disasters are part of building a large rental portfolio. We also discuss the systems, reserve funds, experience and support investors need to remain calm when something goes wrong. Real estate investing is not completely passive, and problems are inevitable. The goal is not to eliminate every possible risk. It is to understand the risks, prepare for the most likely outcomes and build the confidence to handle whatever happens next.

Most people did not deliberately choose the life they are currently living. They finished school, found the first reasonable opportunity available, started working, accumulated responsibilities, and continued moving in the same direction because that was what everyone around them appeared to be doing. Years later, they may have a career, a mortgage, children, bills, and an income they cannot afford to lose. Yet they still feel like something is missing. In today's episode, Wayne and Gabby examine how people fall into careers and lifestyles they never consciously selected, why changing direction becomes harder as responsibilities increase, and why so many nurses, tradespeople, oil and gas workers, and other professionals turn to real estate investing. The goal is not necessarily to quit your job tomorrow. The goal is to begin making small decisions that gradually change the trajectory of your life. Wayne explains how he reached a point where he made one clear decision: he was not going to continue following the same path as everyone else. That decision did not create freedom overnight. It led to years of small businesses, experiments, side hustles, uncomfortable choices, and eventually real estate investing. Those small decisions compounded until Wayne and Gabby had built a life that allowed them to spend more time with their daughter, create businesses, help other investors, and choose how they spend their days. Gabby explains why they would rather help thousands of ordinary Canadians purchase one solid rental property than only help a few people build enormous portfolios. One property may not change everything immediately, but it can improve retirement, provide additional income, create equity, and give the next generation a stronger starting point. The first property is not about becoming a billionaire. It is about proving to yourself that another path is possible.

What is really stopping you from building a larger real estate portfolio? Is it money? Mortgages? Finding the right deals? Fear of tenants? Fear of repairs? Fear of the market changing? In today's episode, Wayne and Gabby break down the most common reasons investors give for not moving forward and explain why those obstacles are often not the real problem. The episode begins with a real example from their own portfolio. After nearly 100 millimetres of rain fell in Edmonton, multiple properties experienced water issues, including one basement suite with wet carpet that required immediate restoration work and temporary accommodations for the tenant. Wayne and Gabby explain how years of experience, strong systems, the right network, and knowing what they could and could not control allowed them to manage the situation while attending their daughter's soccer tournament. A problem that may have felt overwhelming early in their investing journey became something they could manage calmly and efficiently. That leads into the bigger conversation. Many people want to build large portfolios but do not understand how investors continue buying after they run out of money or stop qualifying for traditional mortgages. Wayne explains that successful investors do not have unlimited money or unlimited access to financing. They learn how to get creative. They use joint venture partnerships. They work with people who can qualify for better financing. They use seller financing. They build relationships with investor-focused mortgage brokers. They focus on strong cash-flowing properties that support future borrowing. They bring knowledge, systems, experience, deal-finding ability, and confidence to partnerships with people who have the capital and borrowing power. Wayne also explains why seller financing can help investors acquire properties with little or no money down, but why those opportunities still need to be evaluated carefully. Not every creative deal is automatically a good investment, and many seller-financed properties may not meet the same standards as the investor's ideal property. The central lesson of the episode is that the final obstacle is usually not the mortgage, the down payment, or the deal. It is confidence. Investors can find the information. They can learn how to analyze properties. They can find mortgage brokers. They can learn how joint ventures work. They can find money. But many people still do not take action because they are afraid of making a mistake, being judged, losing money, or stepping outside what feels familiar. Gabby explains that knowledge alone does not create confidence. Confidence comes from combining knowledge with action. Wayne explains why investors need to believe in themselves and the opportunity before they can inspire a joint venture partner to believe in them. If you do not have the confidence, experience, or desire to manage the deal yourself, the solution may be to partner with someone who does. It is better to receive half the profits from a properly managed investment than to receive nothing because fear kept you from acting. This episode is for anyone who wants to buy more rental properties but feels stuck, overwhelmed, underfunded, or unsure how other investors keep scaling. The answer is not unlimited money. It is resourcefulness, partnerships, knowledge, systems, and the confidence to take action. What You'll Learn in This Episode How Wayne and Gabby handled flooding across multiple rental properties Why heavy rain exposed weaknesses around grading, drainage, and foundations Why proactive tenants can help landlords prevent major damage Why the right network can make emergency property problems easier to manage Why systems and experience reduce stress during unexpected events Why real estate investing always comes with storms, both literal and figurative Why investors should focus on what they can control Why many people believe mortgages will prevent them from scaling Why every investor's mortgage situation is different Why an investor-focused mortgage broker matters Why buying strong cash-flowing properties supports future financing Why lenders, mortgage rules, rates, and policies constantly change What investors can do after traditional lenders stop approving them How credit unions may provide additional financing options Why expensive financing can reduce profitability and increase risk Why joint venture partners can help investors access better financing Why investors eventually run out of their own money How seller financing can help investors acquire properties with little or no money down Why not every seller-financed property is a good investment Why creative financing requires strong due diligence How investors can exchange expertise and systems for a partner's money and mortgages Why the ability to put deals together is one of the most valuable investing skills Why knowledge and network are both necessary for scaling Why confidence is essential when raising capital Why investors need to believe in the opportunity before presenting it to others Why knowledge without action does not create confidence Why action without knowledge can create unnecessary risk Why most investing excuses are figureoutable Why fear of mistakes and judgment keeps people stuck Why your final obstacle may be yourself Why it may be better to partner with an experienced investor than do nothing Why getting half the profits can be better than getting no profits Why the most successful investors focus on solutions instead of excuses Upcoming Events Edmonton Garden Suites 101 July 24, 2026 Edmonton, Alberta www.reimasters.ca REI Masters Edmonton Real Estate Investing Bus Tour August 22, 2026 www.reimasters.ca/edmontonbustour About Your Hosts Wayne & Gabby Hillier are full-time real estate investors and real estate investing coaches based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Through the REI Masters Mentorship Program, they help Canadians build long-term wealth through rental properties, BRRRRs, joint ventures, seller financing, rent-to-own, garden suites, and other real estate investing strategies. The Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show releases new episodes every weekday morning featuring real stories, market analysis, coaching conversations, investor questions, landlord advice, business systems, personal development, and practical real estate investing education. Resources & Contact Learn about the REI Masters Mentorship Program: www.reimasters.ca Get Wayne's book: The 5% Rule™ – A Real Estate Cash Flow Test for Canadian Investors https://a.co/d/jdZaBXM Submit a question: info@reimorningshow.com Thanks To Our Sponsors Calvin Realty – Edmonton Investor-Focused Realtor calvinrealty.ca Finngo Bookkeeping & Tax www.finngo.com/rei Kirkwood & Brennan Mortgage Group www.kbmortgages.ca keaton@kbmortgages.ca