Monday, June 30, 2014

Happy Canada Day

Alberta Oil Sands Investment Real Estate News®
Glenn Simon Inc., Suite 1217, 5328 Calgary Trail NW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Tel 1-888-780-5940 Fax 1-888-276-4517
www.glennsimoninc.com   email: info@glennsimoninc.com


June 30th, 2014
Volume 17, Issue 1

Dear Friends and Partners,

Happy 147th Birthday Canada!
What a great time to celebrate, reflect, relax and reset this long weekend halfway through the year.

There are some great news articles below to give you insight about pipelines, taxes and investment. But, if you prefer something a bit more lighthearted, check out these 50 Insane Canadian facts.

Have a good one eh!

South Central Edmonton: King Edward 4-Unit Cashflow 

This 1961 built 4 suite (Duplex) property is located near King Edward Park and minutes from Whyte Ave and Wayne Gretzky Drive in the mature and desirable neighbourhood of King Edward.
This property has front entrances for the 2 X 3BD main floor units and rear entrances for the 2X 2BD lower units. This property was built as a 4-Unit but has RF-3 zoning.

Lots of modern touches and very good square footage. Shared laundry down, 2 x double detached garages . Excellent access to UOA, downtown and the Whitemud.

Comes complete with great tenants making this a totally turn-key property for you. King Edward is a much sought after, mature area that will benefit further from the proposed LRT near Bonnie Doon.

HUGE upside potential due to the quality of the building, great purchase price, strong economic fundamentals and the proximity of this property in relation to Edmonton's desirable growing core.

Purchase price: $705K
Total Investment: $171,400 K
Your Estimated 5 Year Profit $103,785K.
Your pre-tax Total ROI is 60% or 12% per year


These 4 suites rent for top dollar and have everything arranged, including financing structure and incredible tenants. Your investment includes: impeccable tenant selection, financial analysis, professional inspection, insurance, financing set-up, legal fees, basic accounting, reserve fund, CMA, bi-annual statements, strategic market planning to ensure successful entry and exit, plus much more!


=========================

Lamphier: Northern Gateway not essential to oilsands growth


By Gary Lamphier, The Edmonton Journal, June 19th, 2014

EDMONTON - In the end, it was an utterly predictable decision.
Ditto for the storm of protest that followed it, particularly on the West Coast.

Despite all the drama, the Harper government’s approval of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline project was about as shocking as the Oilers’ eighth-straight year out of the NHL playoffs.

Ditto for the Sturm und Drang that erupted among pipeline foes immediately after Ottawa issued a cryptic news release announcing its ruling late Tuesday.

“The war is on: Protesters set sights on Harper after Northern Gateway decision,” blared a headline in The Globe and Mail. “The Northern Gateway decision is dangerous and unacceptable,” fumed The Huffington Post. FOLLOW THIS ARTICLE

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Edmonton is Canada’s most tax-competitive city for business: study

By Bill Mah, Edmonton Journal, June 17th, 2014

Businesses in Edmonton pay lower taxes than in any other city in Canada, according to a new report.
In its Competitive Alternatives 2014: Focus on Tax report released Tuesday, KPMG compared the total tax burden faced by companies in 10 countries and 107 cities.

Among 15 Canadian cities, the accounting and consulting firm ranked Edmonton at the top, up from its second-place finish in a 2012 report.

“It’s a very positive story for what I’ll call the Edmonton Advantage of attracting business to northern Alberta,” said Barry Travers, business unit leader for tax in western Canada at KPMG.  GRAB THIS STORY


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Lamphier: TriWest Capital, Alberta Teachers pick up stake in crane firm
hot Alberta economy attracting large private equity pools

By Gary Lamphier, Edmonton Journal, June 25th, 2014

EDMONTON - Two of Alberta’s largest private equity players are teaming up to acquire control of one of Edmonton’s top industrial companies.
Calgary’s TriWest Capital, the province’s largest private equity firm, and the $10-billion Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund (ATRF), based in Edmonton, have agreed to buy a majority stake in NCSG Crane and Heavy Haul Corp.

The seller, Seattle-based NCA Partners, a private equity firm that purchased control of NCSG in 2006 and has since supported its aggressive acquisition-driven growth plan, will retain a minority interest in the company.  READ MORE HERE
 
 ===============


I appreciate all your calls and emails. I'm looking forward to helping you with your next step towards building real wealth.
Your success continues EVERYDAY, let me help you build for tomorrow.

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal"  - Earl Nightingale

Warm Regards,

Todd and Danielle Millar

===SPECIAL NOTICE: NO CASH, BUT GOOD CREDIT? CALL US TODAY TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN OWN INVESTMENT PROPERTY===

P.S. Stay ahead by checking out Danielle's  blog at Edmonton Real Estate Investor for all your cutting edge market news and information.

P.P.S. Don’t forget to visit our website and take advantage of the Resource Tools and product section including REIN's #1 real estate books and Quick Start homestudy sets at a discount. Get your copy of the Canadian Success Stories book and the 2010-2014 Top Ten Investment Towns of Alberta and Ontario.


Saturday, June 28, 2014

Edmonton Peregrine Camera

I'm only familiar with peregrine falcons because of the ill fated bus trip on Fireman Sam.
If you aren't a parent to anyone 6 and under that may be an abstruse reference.

However, I was delighted to find out that in Edmonton there are three live streaming peregrine cameras.

The chicks just hatched last week we've already seen them being feed by the mother (not for the faint of heart). Take a look here

Read about the Alberta Conservation Association here.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Greening Edmonton

Who said Edmonton isn’t innovative? Check out how this new project is further ‘greening’ for Edmontonians.

"The world’s first municipal facility to convert household garbage into biofuels opened Wednesday at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre. It’s expected that by 2016, 90 per cent of the city’s waste will be diverted out of the landfill due to this new facility. Currently, Edmonton recycles and composts 60 per cent of its waste." Read More

Check out the Top 10 Greenest cities in the world. In Reykjavik the hot water is geothermally heated. One local told us on a recent trip that  1 hour long showers were a past time.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Iceland direct

I went to Iceland last month. I took advantage of the direct flights from Edmonton.

Over my 5 day trip I managed to hit a lot of must see destinations but I feel like I could go back and do a completely different trip.

It's a great jump off for European trips and I hope to use that transfer next year. Very affordable except for dining out.







Monday, June 23, 2014

Alberta in the news


"Alberta Ingenuity plays a key role in fostering partnerships, like this with Hitachi, that enhance Alberta’s research capabilities.....Our goal is to ensure the quality of research in Alberta remains at a world-class level through support to place advanced equipment like this in the hands of talented Albertans." Dr. Peter Hackett, President and CEO of Alberta Ingenuity Fund Jump 
 
Good cash injection for Alberta’s nanotechnology sector. It's nice to see investment diversification.  


"Alberta is the most entrepreneurial province in Canada with the rate of entrepreneurship in Alberta 50 per cent higher than the national average, according to a new report." Here


With a real ‘can-do’ attitude Alberta boasts many start ups that have a long standing success rate.


"Alberta’s annual growth in retail sales will far outstrip the rest of the country this year, says the Conference Board of Canada." Here

I feel as though I have posted this article or some incarnation of it for the last 12 years. Sign of strong economy: increasing retail spending.

Get your message across

Some incredible advertising:

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Northern Gateway Pipeline

It's not a surprise that the Northern Gateway got approval yesterday, but it still has many hurdles to pass before actually being built.

It's too bad that these basic transit routes needed to keep our economy moving are met with such opposition; so politically charged.

Much of Canada’s energy sector is tightly regulated and meets or exceeds global environmental standards, especially compared with other global oil extractors.

Read "Alberta Reacts"  and "A tale of two pipelines" - a good basic overview of the pipelines and their political process.

Monday, June 16, 2014

This and That

Alberta's economy to boom
“Employment in the province is expected to increase by 2.9 per cent this year, the same as in 2013, about three times the national average. That was underlined in last Friday's labour market report from Statistics Canada which showed that of 85,500 jobs created in Canada over the last 12 months, 71,200 were in Alberta.”

 I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: job + salary = need for housing. First, folks come for the jobs and rent, some will buy a home, some continue renting and some move to another province. A strong economy is good for the housing market.  HERE

Planning and protecting the Pacific Coast -







I’m sure we’ll see a mini-boom of refinery proposals for North Western B.C. when/if Northern Gateway goes through. It’s a numbers game – many will race in few will get approval and have the wherewithal to complete.

It's good to see forward looking expansion in the area, especially with the high level of environmental scrutiny in place. HERE

Alberta's Jobs -
Did I mention that a lot of jobs are created in Alberta? That’s one of the reasons why the economy is so darn good right now. HERE and HERE

And then there's Alberta

Alberta Oil Sands Investment Real Estate News®
Glenn Simon Inc., Suite 1217, 5328 Calgary Trail NW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Tel 1-888-780-5940 Fax 1-888-276-4517
www.glennsimoninc.com   email: info@glennsimoninc.com


June 16th., 2014
Volume 16, Issue 10

Dear Friends and Partners,

Alberta is certainly getting a lot of well deserved attention these past months. We’re finally launching into another up-cycle. Its felt like a long time to recover from the global recession. Yes, Alberta fared much better than others but it was (and in some places is) still tough. Plan well during the up-cycle, invest prudently and early - plan your investments for the long-term; those are solid observations to follow.

We have a good buying window now, but it’ll be a short one. Take this opportunity to reposition your portfolio and cash out of some deals to fund other ones as per your investment plan and market timing.

DO - get into action.
DO - understand that everything is a cycle, both up and down; plan for both.


North West Edmonton: Calder 4-Unit Cashflow
Turbo charge your portfolio. This 2002 built 4 suite (Duplex) property is located near Grand Trunk Park and minutes from the Yellow head Trail in the transitional area of Calder.

This property has front entrances for the 2 X 3BD main floor units and rear entrances for the 2X 2BD lower units.


This is NOT a legally built 4-plex but a duplex with lower units added. 

Lots of modern touches and very good square footage. Shared laundry down, parking for 6 cars. Excellent access to Yellow head, downtown and Anthony Henday.

Comes complete with great tenants making this a totally turn-key property for you. Calder is a mature area that is showing early signs of transition. HUGE upside potential due to the age of the building, great purchase price, strong economic fundamentals and the proximity of this property in relation to Edmonton's desirable growing core.

*Please note: this is not a target area of Glenn Simon Inc’s but does offer potential for a ‘hands on’ investor.

Purchase price: $665K Total

Investment: $165K
Your Estimated 5 Year Profit $89,085.19K


Your pre-tax Total ROI is 54% or 11% per year


These 4 suites rent for top dollar and have everything arranged, including financing structure and incredible tenants. Your investment includes: impeccable tenant selection, financial analysis, professional inspection, insurance, financing set-up, legal fees, basic accounting, reserve fund, CMA, bi-annual statements, strategic market planning to ensure successful entry and exit, plus much more!
=========================

BMO on Canada’s economy: ‘There’s Alberta, then there’s everyone else.'

By Michael Babad, The Globe and Mail, June 10th, 2014

Alberta’s economy powers ahead:  As Bank of Montreal puts it, there’s Alberta and then the ROC where the economy’s concerned.
Everyone knows that the province’s economy is on fire, and that’s its forecast to stay that way, but BMO economists today have fresh numbers to back up a research note titled “There’s Alberta, then there’s everyone else.”  

Looking deeper into last Friday’s jobs numbers, BMO’s Benjamin Reitzes says the Statistics Canada report “reinforced that the Alberta economy is in a league of its own.”

Employment in Alberta, home to Canada’s oil industry, has climbed 3.2 per cent over the course of a year, compared to just 0.1 per cent for the rest of Canada.

FOLLOW THIS ARTICLE

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Lamphier: Northern Gateway may be the first big pipeline approved, last to be built
$7.9 billion pipeline faces many hurdles beyond Ottawa’s OK


By Gary Lamphier, Edmonton Journal, June 13th, 2014

EDMONTON - Neil Young insists “rock stars don’t need oil,” but since crude is Canada’s top export, our resource-driven economy certainly does.
So unless Stephen Harper suddenly changes his tune — which seems as likely as Young retooling his LincVolt to run on gasoline — Ottawa appears close to approving Enbridge’s $7.9 billion Northern Gateway pipeline project.

The Prime Minister and several of his key cabinet ministers have broadly hinted as much in recent days, so the decision itself appears to be little more than a formality, although some speculate it may yet be delayed.

But don’t attach too much significance to the ruling. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and the jockeying and legal games have just begun.

Multiple court challenges are already filed or expected from various First Nations and environmental activist groups, and the project’s many critics in British Columbia are as vocal as ever.  GRAB THIS STORY

 
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Hodgson: How to keep Alberta’s economy the world’s best

By Glen Hodgson, Calgary Herald, May 16th, 2014

Like the famed Calgary Stampede, Alberta’s economy is the Greatest Show on Earth. Riding the resource wave, Alberta has the top-performing economy among the 10 provinces and 16 of the most advanced countries in the world. The challenge for Alberta is to keep it that way, as competitors rebound and the global economy continues to shift.
The Conference Board has been assessing Canada’s overall economic and social performance for almost two decades. This year, for the first time, we incorporated individual provincial results into the first of six report cards in our How Canada Performs analysis. This one — the economic report card — is a snapshot ranking of each province’s most recent performance. It reveals that Alberta gets an A+ overall, with high grades across most of the indicators that are used to assess the performance of an economy. READ MORE HERE

 
 ===============


I appreciate all your calls and emails. I'm looking forward to helping you with your next step towards building real wealth.
Your success continues EVERYDAY, let me help you build for tomorrow.

“Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait to long, you’ll miss them."  - William Arthur Ward

Warm Regards,

Todd and Danielle Millar


===SPECIAL NOTICE: NO CASH, BUT GOOD CREDIT? CALL US TODAY TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN OWN INVESTMENT PROPERTY===

P.S. Stay ahead by checking out Danielle's  blog at Edmonton Real Estate Investor for all your cutting edge market news and information.

P.P.S. Don’t forget to visit our website and take advantage of the Resource Tools and product section including REIN's #1 real estate books and Quick Start homestudy sets at a discount. Get your copy of the Canadian Success Stories book and the 2010-2014 Top Ten Investment Towns of Alberta and Ontario.





Tuesday, June 03, 2014

A new low...

Alberta Oil Sands Investment Real Estate News®
Glenn Simon Inc., Suite 1217, 5328 Calgary Trail NW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Tel 1-888-780-5940 Fax 1-888-276-4517
www.glennsimoninc.com   email: info@glennsimoninc.com


June 3rd, 2014
Volume 16, Issue 9

Dear Friends and Partners,

Just when you thought mortgage rates couldn’t get any lower, Scotia Bank pushes down their 5-year fixed to 2.97%. For first time home buyers these are amazing rate options and simply can’t get much lower.

The qualifying process has become tougher than it was a few years ago, even a few months ago, with CMHC. These changes are more in-line with current global lending practices and (slightly) better designed to reduce the number of default mortgages. At least Canada doesn't have NINJA (No Income No Job or Assets) loans.

The lowest rates offered are for properties deemed 'primary residences’. However, there are many terrifically low rates available for both residential and commercial mortgages. When we entered into the last up cycle in Alberta (2004-2007) we saw rates averaging 6%.

A great wealth building tip is to pay extra on your mortgage. If you are in a variable or fixed rate at 3%, adjust your payments so you are effectively paying 4.5% either bank the difference or increase your payment amount. When rates climb up you won’t get a shock and you will have added to your equity. Veteran investors may choose to divert the cash flow generated from low rates to build down payments and add more properties.

I like to run 75% of my rentals lean and upgrade the properties for top-dollar sales as an exit strategy. I also pay down my long-term keepers (15+ years) to clear off the mortgage for maximum cash flow then refinance to reinvest in another cash flow asset. There are many different strategies that you can deploy.

When and what strategy to use can be determined by measuring your current portfolio/lifestyle against your future ideal portfolio/lifestyle; the goal being to bridge the gap while improving performance along the way.

The news for mortgages is good - be sure to make a sensible investment and take advantage of the current lending environment.



North West Edmonton: Calder 4-Unit Cashflow

Turbo charge your portfolio. This 2002 built 4 suite (Duplex) property is located near Grand Trunk Park and minutes from the Yellow head Trail in the transitional area of Calder.

This property has front entrances for the 2 X 3BD main floor units and rear entrances for the 2X 2BD lower units.


This is NOT a legally built 4-plex but a duplex with lower units added. 

Lots of modern touches and very good square footage. Shared laundry down, parking for 6 cars. Excellent access to Yellow head, downtown and Anthony Henday.

Comes complete with great tenants making this a totally turn-key property for you. Calder is a mature area that is showing early signs of transition. HUGE upside potential due to the age of the building, great purchase price, strong economic fundamentals and the proximity of this property in relation to Edmonton's desirable growing core.

*Please note: this is not a target area of Glenn Simon Inc’s but does offer potential for a ‘hands on’ investor.

Purchase price: $665K Total

Investment: $165K
Your Estimated 5 Year Profit $89,085.19K

Your pre-tax Total ROI is 54% or 11% per year


These 4 suites rent for top dollar and have everything arranged, including financing structure and incredible tenants. Your investment includes: impeccable tenant selection, financial analysis, professional inspection, insurance, financing set-up, legal fees, basic accounting, reserve fund, CMA, bi-annual statements, strategic market planning to ensure successful entry and exit, plus much more!


=========================

Alberta housing market a standout performer

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald, May 20th, 2014

CALGARY - Alberta has emerged as a standout performer in Canada’s housing market and while a slowdown in Canada’s broader housing market is underway, the province’s housing sector has been heating up, says a new report.
The Alberta Treasury Board and Finance’s Economic Spotlight said housing starts continue to trend higher, prices are accelerating, and the resale market remains firmly in seller’s territory in the province.

“The underlying driver is a robust economy. Alberta’s economy has grown at double the rate of the Canadian average over the past three years, and accounted for a disproportionately high share of the nation’s new jobs,” said the report. “  FOLLOW THIS ARTICLE


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Canada’s receptive oilpatch in line for trillions in new investment

By Peter Tertzakian, Globe and Mail, May 20th, 2014

The first trillion dollars came over one hundred years. The next trillion is likely to take only a dozen.

Last week, Western Canada’s oil and gas industry celebrated its centenary in Turner Valley, Alta. Since the time a big metal spike repetitively bashed a hole in the earth at an oil well named Dingman #1, Canada has grown to be the world’s fifth-largest producer of crude oil and natural gas.  GRAB THIS STORY

 
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Lamphier: Ambitious industrial project to break ground this summer


By Gary Lamphier, Edmonton Journal, May 8th, 2014

EDMONTON - Edmonton’s downtown building boom gets a lot of positive media attention, as you’d expect.

The splashy new downtown arena, the new Walterdale Bridge, the growing forest of stylish new condo and office towers, and the new Royal Alberta Museum are quickly transforming the public face Edmonton presents to the world.

That’s something worth celebrating, and for most of city residents who wish Edmonton had more of Toronto’s busy urban vibe or a bit of Vancouver’s West Coast style, it can’t happen too soon. READ MORE HERE

 ===============


I appreciate all your calls and emails. I'm looking forward to helping you with your next step towards building real wealth.
Your success continues EVERYDAY, let me help you build for tomorrow.

“Action is the foundational key to all success."  - Pablo Picasso

Warm Regards,

Todd and Danielle Millar


===SPECIAL NOTICE: NO CASH, BUT GOOD CREDIT? CALL US TODAY TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN OWN INVESTMENT PROPERTY===

P.S. Stay ahead by checking out Danielle's  blog at Edmonton Real Estate Investor for all your cutting edge market news and information.

P.P.S. Don’t forget to visit our website and take advantage of the Resource Tools and product section including REIN's #1 real estate books and Quick Start homestudy sets at a discount. Get your copy of the Canadian Success Stories book and the 2010-2014 Top Ten Investment Towns of Alberta and Ontario.