Real EstatE
Canadian Commercial
the real deal
Amy Detwiler
ClIffHaNGER
Next time you have a great deal in your grasp, and it slips through your fingers, brush off your
disappointment and take a hard look at what went wrong. you’ll likely walk away with a valu-
able lesson learned, if not your profitable property.
mentors could have made all the difference in what
was essentially a classic no-money-down deal.
GW: Can you describe the situation?
SL: A former student discovered a great commercial
property — a 21-unit assisted living facility —
in Canada.
GW: That’s an interesting investment opportunity.
Wouldn’t it be somewhat daunting to take on
that level of responsibility?
SL: No, not really. We’re not talking about a nursing
home. The residents are elderly, but self-sufficient.
They share a facility where they have common living
areas in which they can socialize and dine together.
GW: How did the property come on the market?
SL: The owner of the property was an elderly investor
who was looking to liquidate a portion of his invest-
ment portfolio. In other words, he was a motivated
seller. His motivation was reflected in the asking
price, which was little more than the assessed tax
As this story of a novice real estate investor reveals, what value of the property.
you don’t know can hurt you. Stephen Libman shares with
Growing Wealth the true account of a student who let a
GW: How did the deal progress?
cash-flowing Canadian commercial property slip through
SL: The student asked for some photos of the property,
her fingers — and how mentoring could have saved the day.
as well as for some basic facts and figures. Though
a prospective buyer should never judge a property
Growing Wealth: So this is the story of “the deal that
by a seller’s photographs, particularly with regard to
might have been?”
a commercial site, the pictures did at least indicate
Stephen Libman: Yes. It was a potentially great deal that that the property was in a decent and serviceable
fell through because of a number of factors, mainly condition that would require few if any repairs.
inexperience and indecision. It’s a perfect example A common problem for many novices in situations
of how tapping into the knowledge and advice of like this is to leap into a full-scale renovation process,
though a prospective buyer should never judge a property by a seller’s phoTographs,
particularly with regard to a commercial site, the pictures did at least indicate
that the property was in a decenT and serviceable condition.
36 I July 08 I Growing Wealth I
growingwealthmag.com
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