Heating options

It's time to go shopping. Now, you won't see me carrying any European handbags soon, but I am excited about the prospects of learning a few things. I need some new heating systems. At least, I think I do. I want to buy a new furnace for my Arlington property to increase the efficiency of the furnace and hopefully save some money in the long-run on my gas bills.

Now, with the Arlington properly, there aren't that many options for me. I can go with a mid-efficiency or high-efficiency gas furnace. You're thinking, big woop. The interesting savings will come from my decision regarding the fringewood property.

At Fringewood, it is heated using electricity. It's probably the most expensive form of heating, so I want to use the natural gas that is available to me. I have some more options here. I can go with a gas fireplace which will reduce the dependency on the electric baseboards, or I can try to see how much it would cost to convert the whole system to gas heated. There are probably not a lot of savings to be had on such a huge cost outlay, but it may make the property sellable in the future.

Anyways, I thought I would mention this stuff as I have not written lately. I'm still trying to wheel and deal, but it gets hard when I've been at the office so much lately. 5 more days!!!

US real estate

With the American housing market in crisis, the Canadian dollar at near parity, and foreclosures at an all-time high in some of the southern states, Real estate is becoming a very attractive venture for Canadians. I hadn't really thought about US real estate at this point in my portfolio, but it certainly appears as if this is the time to be acting.

There are quite a few risks to consider when going into real estate in the US. At this point, I am probably just posting this as a reminder to myself to look at some these risks in further detail. There are different rules for estate taxes. There is currency risk. There are higher property taxes for non-residents. There are a slew of things to consider.

On the other hand, if you had owned an ocean-side property, in say Florida this past winter, you would be smiling as you would have been able to take a mini-vacation at a very reasonable cost. US real estate may not be everyone's cup-of-tea, but under the current circumstances, this may be the chance to take advantage of the weak American economy.

My latest scheme

I have caught the property bug fever. With interest rates at great levels, I just want to keep consuming property. I am constantly trying to figure out ways where I can continue to buy more property. In order to expediate the process, I need more help. I'm thinking that I could jump in as a partner on my next property. If a partnership was created, the level of risk for everyone would be shared, including costs. I understand that most people do not even have enough money to purchase their own home, but I know there are people out there that should be looking at investing in something.


The thing I like about the Ottawa housing market is that it is very constant. The property values rarely boom or bust due to the nature of our government town. People aren't losing jobs or gaining them in huge cycles. This makes for a relatively safe investment, but real estate is not a very liquid investment. By that, I mean that once you are in, it is not as easy to get out.

With my current financial situation, I do not see myself being able to invest in another property for awhile on my own. The only exception would be if I sold one of my current properties, and at this point I cannot see myself doing that.

This is what I want to do. If there is someone interested in buying a property on their own, I want a piece. I want to find somebody willing to sell me a smaller stake in the property. If that does not work, we could find other investors that are willing to buy even stakes in the property and jointly own the property. I'm guessing the bank would want about 35% down payment for a investment property for a jointly held investment.

If there is anyone out there that is interested in this kind of thing, please let me know.

Hydro Tip

I recently got a hydro bill that nearly knocked me to the floor. When I first glanced, I was in shock to see the bill nearly $300 more than I had anticipated. I looked over at my windowsill to see if I had a money-tree growing, but with no such luck, I began to look at the details of the hydro bill.

My suspicions were right. There was something unusual about the hydro bill. I had received a charge for a deposit on the account. It was a new account because I had just bought my place at 75 Arlington. I decided to call because a deposit shouldn't have been necessary with my good credit history with the other property.

I was fortunate that I was right. I called Hydro Ottawa, and they were able to remove the required deposit from my bill. I was much happier. I saved myself a couple of hundred dollats.

However, my tip is this. If this is the first time you have a hydro bill, you may wish to get your parents or someone with some credit history to create the account. That way, the deposit is not required. After the account has been setup, you should be able to switch the names on the account without any repurcussions. Even though there is a new name on the account, there is an existing account and the hydro company may not require an account deposit. I figure this is a good way to save some extra coin when you first buy a house. It can be pretty hard on the pocketbooks when you are trying to get everything setup in the house.

This has never been actually tested by me, so I can't guarantee it will work. If it does, let me know and I'll write something to say that it works, so that other people can save some money.

Newest submission

It should read "Eagles" instead of Gryphons after some slight confusion.

More help

The Greely Men's Fastball Club needs more help. We have been planning our upcoming season but we need an official team name to build a fan base upon. We need a good name, and similarly, we need a good logo. Our colours will be blue and white, and we have DNTW Chartered Accountants as our major sponsor. Above, my submission of "Greely DNTW Diamonds" is displayed.

Tenant issues

Yesterday, I had my first issue with the house at 75 Arlington. The tenants had called me last night while I was at work to tell me that the furnace was not working. When I bought the house, the home inspector had indicated that the furnace was quite old and that there would be a good chance that it would need to be replaced in the near future. I didn't think it would be so soon.

I called Direct Energy to come and check out the furnace. Unfortunately, they wanted me to pay the service man the day of the service, so I had to attend. They told me over the phone that it was going to be anywhere between 8-12 in the morning. Being an accountant, I was not thrilled with this appointment. This meant that I would have to leave work at some point or be late for work. It means that I will have to work a couple of nights pretty late to make up the time.

Thankfully, the service man called me pretty early in the morning, so that I was only minimally late for work. I called to say that I was going to be late, and I bet they understood, but I would have certainly preferred not to be late.

When everything is running smoothly, being a landlord is a great way to make money. There are very few headaches when things are running smoothly. On the other hand, it just seems like the bad things always occur at the worst times. When I had water issues with my Fringewood property, my parents were out of town, so I could not rely on them to help me out. It was my property anyways, and I would have done the work myself, like I had, but it would have been nice if someone like my dad was able to check on things during the daytime while I was at work. It just helps to relieve the stress a bit.