97 Tips for Canadian Real Estate investors

When I was on my trip to San Jose, I picked a few books to read while on the road. I figured I could do a little more research and share some of the advice from those books. The first book I read was called "97 Tips for Canadian Real Estate Investors" by Don R. Campbell.

The best part of this book is the fact that it is a Canadian book. The tips and advice that are offered in this book relate to many things, but it is nice to know that things such as tax advice are applicable in Canada, and not necessarily worldwide. I've noticed in the other books I have read that not all the tips necessarily work.

As an example, in some American books, there is a special rollover available to real estate investors that allows them to increase their investment in real estate without necessarily incurring a taxable event. I think this should serve as a lesson about any real estate book that you pick up. The advice and tips that are available may not work for you for a variety of reasons. However, you should learn about the possibilities and do the research necessary to ensure you are making the right decision.

The reason I am making this point is that, when I bought a different book, I was asked some questions by the person who recommended the book. It was a tax question, and being a CA, I questioned the tax advice that he had learned about. After reading the book, I realized where he got his misinformation. Although the information in the book was true, it does not apply to Canadian property at this point in time. Canadians have a different set of rules. You should contact a tax specialist to learn more.

Back to the book.

I thought that this book was a pretty advanced book. For the novice investor, I would say that if this was the first book you read, be sure to pick it up once you've gained more experience. There is a lot of content in this book and you won't be able to take it all in at once. It's also a very fragmented read. You might want to have this book in the bathroom, so you can read it in bursts. I don't find it easy to read from beginning to end. It's too scattered in the thought process.

The thing I do like about this book is that it can act as a good reference guide down the road. The advanced tips will be there to quickly read, so that you can move quickly on any investment decisions. It's like picking up a bible for some quick guidance, except this is for real estate. Therefore, if you are just thinking about getting into real estate, I might recommend a different book. If you are a novice investor, I would highly recommend for you to pick up this book if you are involved in real estate in Canada.