As the stock markets crashed, the real estate market stayed strong. And with babyboomers looking for a better place to invest their money, real estate world-wide is soaring.
Jurock, who runs several real estate-related businesses out of Vancouver and touts real estate investing in seminars internationally, admits heô a one-dimensional speaker.
"I think real estate is going to go up and up, he said.
While that's his stance in this booming market, he said there are great deals to be made in real estate in both good and bad times.
He outlines such logic in his book norget About Location, Location, Location.
„tô always about the individual deal not whether or not the market is hot, he said.
ûou can make a great deal in a poor market and you can make a poor deal in a great market.ÿ/p>
Thatô why Jurock urges people to be bullish on real estate, not foolish.
With real estate values increasing annually, Jurock said the most natural place to start with your property investing is with a home you can live in.
Uith 100 per cent mortgages out there and low interest rates, itô never been easier, he said.
His advice when it comes to choosing a mortgage is to go short-term for your own home, and long-term on investment real estate.
When it comes to real estate investments you don live in, Jurock outlines three types:
Shark:
These investors trawl the waters looking for cheap properties for sale due to foreclosure or divorce.
Example: the near-foreclosed $92,000 two-bedroom condo in Vancouver.
A deal to live in yourself or rent out to create a nice income stream.
Flipper:
This investor looks for undervalued properties that can be bought cheap, fixed up and resold in five months or so at a tidy profit.
Investor:
This longer-term strategy sees the investor buy a quality property with an eye to holding it for 10-15 years.
It can be a commercial building or a home to rent out at a price that will make a profit.
Always check references in order to find good tenants and hold onto them.
xhe key with real estate investments is to treat it as a business, said Jurock.
åo your research, work with a good realtor and make decisions based on market forces, not emotion.ÿ/p>
For instance, a run-down house with knee-high grass and scary interior decorating in a not-so-good neighbourhood might not engage you emotionally.
However, if it can be bought for $230,000, and you cut the grass and put a new lick of paint on and resell it in five months for $287,000, it is a good flipper investment.
DO THE MATH
Ozzie Jurock makes his point using two stock investments and two real estate investments during the past year.
$10,000 of Disney stock bought in 2002 is now worth $7,500.
$10,000 of General Electric stock from 2002 could now only be sold for $5,800.
A home bought for $211,000 in September 2002 in Kelowna sold for $236,100 a year later.
A Vancouver condo bought in 2002 for $200,000 is now worth $232,000.
