Moving to Edmonton, Advice Options

[HeidivanMalsen]

We are taking the ultimate action step and moving to the top place to invest in Alberta. We attended the quickstart in Edmonton and are new members to REIN. We realise that we need to do our own due dilligence, but would appreciate narrowing the search of top neighbourhoods in the city to invest in. There was alot of talk about the NE, but it is a large area with alot of micro areas within. Within the NE, which neighbourhoods are up and coming. We would like to buy 4 properties right away including a primary residence. We are looking at condos as investment properties, and a small fixer upper house for ourselves. We also want to assemble our team, so any refferals for realtors, brokers, accountants and lawyers would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much to everyone who responds,

Blaise and Heidi van Malsen

This post has been edited by HVM: Nov 1 2007, 02:04 AM

[NickStewart]

Congratulations on taking the plunge!

My wife (Tracey Stewart) is a Realtor who is doing a lot of work with investors in NE Edmonton right now. If you give her a call on her cell (780-686-4663) or an email at tshomes (at) telus.net, I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to you about the NE.

We also have some excellent people in the mortgage broker, home inspection and legal fields who Tracey can tell you about!

I look forward to meeting you when you arrive!

Nick

[RussellWestcott]

Howdy, that shows your commitment... make sure you pack or buy a good winter coat - coming from Vanc. Island.

Since you just came back from the Quickstart™ in Edmonton, I'm sure you were introduced to many people that can help you build your team, you will want to follow-up with them to see if they are 'worthy' to be on your team.

Regarding where to go, the first question you will want to separate is

i) Your personal residence (emotional investments). Live where you want to live, based upon your lifestyle requirements
ii) Your investment properties (financial investments). This is where you will want to analyze the areas fundamentals to determine the best areas for long term growth and tenant profiles.

As a good starting area, (now that there is lots of selection in the market) I like to look North of the Yellowhead and east of 50th Street (Manning Drive). This is a great little area to start from, you can always expand from there.

But make sure you run your own analysis, get a great map of the city and familiarize yourself with the zones and areas of the city. You can then go to the city of Edmonton's website and grab a copy of the area's redevelopment plans. You can then apply the fundamentals that you learned at the Quickstart™ (i.e. property goldmine scorecard) to ask the 'right' questions of the neighbourhoods to determine the good areas for investments

Happy Shopping,

Cheers
RW

[Choda]

congrats on taking such a bold step and welcome to the club. I myself moved here from Toronto 2 months ago leaving wife and family behind to establish an Edmonton branch of our mortgage company and personally manage our portfolio of properties. (we really had a challenging time finding and retaining good quality property mgmt, so i guess we're taking matters into our own hands!)
tons of our clients, both mortgage and tenants are flooding in from BC. All young and eager to work and optimistic of a brighter future here. The air is fresh, the traffic is light (relative to toronto) and it doesn't rain very much vs Toronto and i'm sure vs BC coast. It's been suggested to me to get winter tires with studs cause they don't shovel the snow off the roads here, just sprinkle some sand. Maybe i should've gotten a car with ABS!! Your timing is excellent. There is an abundance of deals in Edmonton right now and no one is buying! In terms of places to live, the nicest areas include St. Albert, Terwilleger, Sherwood Park, Summerside if you prefer newer homes. Investment wise, I stick to the NE whenever possible. good luck!

We are taking the ultimate action step and moving to the top place to invest in Alberta. We attended the quickstart in Edmonton and are new members to REIN. We realise that we need to do our own due dilligence, but would appreciate narrowing the search of top neighbourhoods in the city to invest in. There was alot of talk about the NE, but it is a large area with alot of micro areas within. Within the NE, which neighbourhoods are up and coming. We would like to buy 4 properties right away including a primary residence. We are looking at condos as investment properties, and a small fixer upper house for ourselves. We also want to assemble our team, so any refferals for realtors, brokers, accountants and lawyers would be greatly appreciated.

[PhilipMcKernan]

Fantastic!

Both my wife and I moved from Ireland about 5 months ago to Edmonton which was a scary move and if totally honest still is to a point as we miss our family. That said, Edmonton has a lot to offer. Snow, wind, frost and some team called the Oilers (i think they are a basketball team!)

Joking aside Edmonton is great as long as you have the right mind set. As my wife Pauline said a few weeks back "life is where you live it!" and so right she is. We got hear and got stuck in and went to every festival, event etc and met some fantastic people. THE PEOPLE HERE ARE FANTASTIC and will make you feel so welcome.

I will not tell you where to invest as the opportunity is everywhere. You will get a feel for the city pretty quick and in turn the best place for YOU to invest.

Well done for the brave move. The brave always get rewarded!

Philip McKernan

ps I speak at REIN from time to time so please make a point of saying hello when you see me.

We are taking the ultimate action step and moving to the top place to invest in Alberta. We attended the quickstart in Edmonton and are new members to REIN. We realise that we need to do our own due dilligence, but would appreciate narrowing the search of top neighbourhoods in the city to invest in. There was alot of talk about the NE, but it is a large area with alot of micro areas within. Within the NE, which neighbourhoods are up and coming. We would like to buy 4 properties right away including a primary residence. We are looking at condos as investment properties, and a small fixer upper house for ourselves. We also want to assemble our team, so any refferals for realtors, brokers, accountants and lawyers would be greatly appreciated.

[RebeccaBryan]

Yes, welcome to Edmonton! Moving to Edmonton will be a choice you'll never regret. There is so much opportunity here. I moved to Alberta in 2001 from Saskatchewan (farm girl), where I'd lived all of my previous life. I agree it is cold here in the winter, but I think Russell would agree (being a Saskatchewan boy himself) that Saskatchewan is much colder. And, every time it's windy here I always think about how happy I am to be out of the Saskatchewan winds, too.

I invest in NE Edmonton as well. There are tons of properties on the market right now, so it's a great opportunity to buy. You'll even be able to get a great deal on your residential property.

There are places in the NE that you'll want to steer away from as there are some shoddy areas, but that will be easy to tell once you get here. You only need to drive through the neighborhoods. Some of the areas I steer away from are Montrose, Belvedere, Balwin.

There are some great areas between 167 Ave and 127 Ave and 82 Street and 97 Street, in that block. I also have a couple of properties in Lago Lindo, which is North of 167 Ave. There are lots of other areas in the NE that are great too though.

When I started investing 2 years ago, I did a lot of driving around to check out areas of the city to familiarize myself with them. I felt it was important for me to do that to expand my comfort zone. Although it might seem I wasted a lot of time and gas, it now makes it a lot easier while searching online for properties.

Hope that helps. Have a safe move.

Rebecca Bryan

[HeidivanMalsen]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you so much for posting a reply to our questions and giving us some words of wisdom and encouragement. It is a big step for us, but all part of acheiving our goals and dreams. We thoroughly enjoyed the Quickstart in Edmonton. You guys really inspired us. It is really reassuring to get all these positive replies as our family and friends think we are completly nuts. We are really looking forward to meeting everyone.

Thanks again and see you at the next REIN meeting in Vancouver or Edmonton!

Regards
Blaise and Heidi van Malsen

This post has been edited by HVM: Nov 1 2007, 01:54 AM

[cgjackson]

Hi and congratulations on your new venture. I am a Realtor with Royal LePage in Edmonton and would be happy to chat with you about any Real Estate questions you have regarding your move to Edmonton.
My name is Cindy Jackson.

[Donal_Ward_McCar...]

Well done,

i spent a short stint in Edmonton and I found the people great, just down to earth and no bells and whistles, and i found this on so many levels.

best of luck,

donal.

[Emily]

Hi Blaise and Heidi
Congratulations on your decision, that's exciting! I don't know if you've set up your team yet, but if you are looking for someone to help you figure out where to buy, etc, I would highly recommend Donna Erickson, who is also a member of REIN. (780-968-3944; or email at eanod@hotmail.com). She has done a great job finding investment properties for us. We've bought a few properties in Edmonton now, and so far, I'd have to say that the ones that she has gotten for us have shown the best DCRs, and are in areas that show a high potential for growth in terms of considering the "exit plan" as well. She is thorough in her research, great at getting back to you, and is quick at finding good properties.

Good luck to you...
Emily

We are taking the ultimate action step and moving to the top place to invest in Alberta. We attended the quickstart in Edmonton and are new members to REIN. We realise that we need to do our own due dilligence, but would appreciate narrowing the search of top neighbourhoods in the city to invest in. There was alot of talk about the NE, but it is a large area with alot of micro areas within. Within the NE, which neighbourhoods are up and coming. We would like to buy 4 properties right away including a primary residence. We are looking at condos as investment properties, and a small fixer upper house for ourselves. We also want to assemble our team, so any refferals for realtors, brokers, accountants and lawyers would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much to everyone who responds,

Blaise and Heidi van Malsen

[donna]

Thanks for the reference, but I do need to correct the phone number and email address.

Phone 780-913-8373 or 780-968-3844

email: eannod@hotmail.com

Donna Erickson

[jamurphy]

Belvedere is a true area of "Gentrification & Renewal" (REIN Economic Fundamentals)...City have already sunk millions and I buy as much as I can there.

The road widening is almost complete.....the sewage/facilities infrastructure is in place for the new Station Pointe multi-family develpment and there is already 1 developer who has purchase one zone of land to begin building iin 2010 (one high rise plus a few lowrise & townhouses).

Every few months a new retailer starts up there in a previously abandoned retail space.

It is also one of the few places you can still cash-flow with condos.

Its a risk admittedly...but a calculated one (which all investing is to a degree).

[Goodstuff]

Anyone have an opinion on Bonnie Doon area of Edmonton?