Want to learn how to score big with your real estate investments?
Welcome back to the “Inspired To Invest” podcast. This week, Seif El-Sahly is with us. Tune in!
Embark on a transformative journey with Seif El-Sahly, the engineer who conquered the real estate realm, as he unravels the blueprint for turning derelict spaces into thriving investments.
His narrative is not just about bricks and mortar; it’s the chronicle of pivoting career paths to unlock a world where refined rentals emerge from forgotten foundations. This episode serves as your exclusive guide through Seif’s strategic mindset and the Newfore office’s impressive compilation of real estate gems, revealing how quality and long-term value intertwine in the pursuit of portfolio prosperity.
Venture further into the trenches of property investment, as we confront the unavoidable setbacks that test even the most seasoned entrepreneurs. Hear firsthand about the resilience required when renovations exceed budgets, the insights gained from self-funding ventures, and the art of turning financial hurdles into stepping stones towards greater achievement.
Every anecdote shared is a lesson in strategic thinking, ingenuity, and the relentless drive needed to not only navigate but excel amidst the tidal shifts of the real estate industry.
As we near the episode’s denouement, we don’t just leave you with tales of triumphs and trials; we equip you with the tools to sculpt your success. From assembling a dream team to decoding the financial freedom formula, this session is a treasure trove for anyone ready to commandeer their own real estate voyage.
As we ponder the future market’s horizon and the potential that awaits in late 2023, we encourage you to seize the opportunities that uncertainty uncovers, reminding you that with the right mindset, even the most turbulent waters can lead to new lands of opportunity.
This is an episode you can’t afford to miss!
To connect with Seif, to go @newforeinc on social or online.
Thank you to Judi Pare from Plentitude Inc for bringing us this month’s episodes of “Inspired To Invest”. To learn more about them, go to @plentitudeinc or @mama.judes0 on Instagram and online.
“Inspired to Invest” is proud to support the Beyond Success Program, a not-for-profit financial literacy program for students, launched by More To Give & MAK Investments. Find out more.
Tune back in on Wed., Apr. 10 to hear from an active investor who is sharing the secret to scoring big with your real estate investments.
Thank you for tuning into “Inspired To Invest”, hosted by @serenaholmesrealtor & remember, “when you invest in yourself, the sky’s the limit!”
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Real Estate Podcast Transcript
Speaker 100:02
Welcome to the Inspire to Invest podcast, where we’re sharing stories from real estate investors and how investing has changed their lives. This episode of the Inspire to Invest podcast has been brought to you by Plentitude Inc. Hey everybody, welcome to the Inspire to Invest podcast. I have safe Alsali here with me today and, for those of you who don’t know him, he is a real estate investor, visionary and master renovator behind the pilot episode, tiny Homes Garage Edition. He’s renovated more than 150 units since moving the new four office Hamilton three years ago. He’s a self-proclaimed workaholic and when he’s not at the office, he’s on the hunt for abandoned real estate to turn into luxurious rentals in great neighborhoods. Armed with boundless creativity and unwavering passion, he breathes new life into these abandoned properties and transfers them into awe-inspiring dream homes. So thank you so much for your time today. How are you doing?
Speaker 200:59
I’m doing great. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 101:01
So it sounds like you’ve obviously done a lot in the last few years, but maybe you can take us back to what life looked like before real estate came into the picture for you.
Speaker 201:10
Before real estate came in the picture, what I used to do is I studied engineering, so I used to work in the larger projects mining and metals and then I did that for a few years and after that I became a consultant doing mostly design work.
Speaker 101:27
Okay, and what was the catalyst then? How did you make that jump over to real estate? I know, changing industries is not always necessarily the easiest.
Speaker 201:36
Yeah, it was a bit. Obviously, everything is a bit of a risk. I had gone to the point where I wanted to do a little bit more. I think the consulting side was a bit boring for me. You do your 37 and a half hours a week and then it’s like there’s so much free time, so I wanted to do a lot more. I wanted to be hands-on, more involved, more stressful, feel more productive.
01:58
So I started venturing out and doing a bunch of stuff on the side. One of them was I bought my first rental property that needed a little bit of work and then it kind of got involved with that and bought a second one, needed a lot more work and was really involved with that one and I just loved it. It kept going from there.
Speaker 102:15
Yeah, I find that an interesting parallel because I feel like a lot of people think they don’t want the rat race, they don’t want the grind of their jobs and their careers and stuff. They go into real estate investing because they want that freedom but then they end up finding themselves probably working more than they would have if they stayed in their job. Obviously you sacrifice in the short term to reap those benefits in the long term. But I just found that an interesting parallel with your approach that you wanted more work and you’re kind of hungry for a bigger challenge. Now, I guess, in terms of growing your portfolio, you obviously started with your first couple of rental properties. How did you shift to growing to the point of your portfolio now? Can you speak a little bit about what that looks like at this point?
Speaker 202:53
Yes. So it’s kind of one property at a time, so you do one and then at some point, sooner or later, you stop and then you think you’re like, wow, we’ve done quite a bit of work so far. But you really take it one property at a time and then, when you’re just in the industry all the time, you keep your eyes and ears open. You find that you tend to get pretty lucky, because if you’re in the industry the entire time, odds are you’re going to be there when the opportunities are there, so you end up capitalizing on them.
Speaker 103:20
So you’re just typically going in and just buying and selling. You’re not necessarily refinancing and growing the portfolio that way.
Speaker 203:27
I’ve only sold one property ever. I always just refinance and hold on to it. But I believe more in long-term value and brand holds and refinance. So I always buy in neighborhoods I would say the worst home and the best neighborhood. So then you need some forced appreciation, fix it up, get quality tenants and then you get rid of that deferred maintenance line item. So that way when you’re coming in and you’re putting in new tenants you have very minimal maintenance for the next like five to 10 years if the place has been fully gutted. So you reap your long-term rewards.
Speaker 103:59
Yeah, I know that makes sense. So what does your portfolio look like these days?
Speaker 204:04
Right now I have 11 units and they’re all duplexes and triplexes and a few garden suites as well.
Speaker 104:10
Nice and can you speak? I know you’ve got your career with Nu4. So can you talk a little bit about that business and what you’re doing with that?
Speaker 204:18
So yeah, Nu4, we’re general contractors. We’re based in Hamilton.
04:22
We do residential and commercial work. We do a big variety of projects. Some of the jobs are for homeowner and users that are looking to be at a second story a real addition got their home. Other projects we do are investment properties for investors residential investors and that’s duplex conversions, triplex, garden suites and apartment buildings. And then we also have a commercial side as well, where this is more where businesses bring us on board, typically do a full retrofit or redesign of the space, and in other jobs we have are government jobs where we’re doing public tenders for the city.
Speaker 104:59
Oh nice. So you’re pretty diverse and you’re specifically like Hamilton in more South West Ontario.
Speaker 205:05
Initially the focus was only Hamilton, but then, since then we’ve grown but naturally we’re in this area, so 80% of our business is in Hamilton.
Speaker 105:12
Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. So you look back at your career in real estate. What would you say is probably your biggest success or something that you’re most proud of?
Speaker 205:21
I think it’s that you focus on quality assets and building long-term real value, not buying something quickly for a cheap price and then doing a quick turnover you know make X number of dollars in the share amount of time. I think when you build true value and do forced appreciation you really make out on top in the long run.
Speaker 105:42
Yeah, yeah, and I think a lot of that obviously had to do with timing. Like there are a lot of investors right now that are experiencing challenges because they properties high, they’re planning to obviously burn them, sell higher, but then the market’s going down and stuff like that. So I think obviously, like in the last 10-ish years or even 15 years, a lot of investors have been on that trajectory up, but now we’re experiencing a bit of a turnaround. So how do you think that will impact your strategy when it comes to real estate investing going forward?
Speaker 206:09
Well, definitely. I bought quite a bit last year and the year before, so there’s definitely losses there, but I wouldn’t exactly say their losses, because they’re losses today but they’re not something I’m looking to sell today anyway. So if you hold on for 10 years, you know five years from today, if needed I could do a refinance and you’re definitely on top, Even if you average it out for those five or 10 years.
Speaker 106:34
Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. Now, in terms of obstacles, what would you say are some of the obstacles that you’ve faced and had to overcome as you’ve grown your portfolio and launched your business?
Speaker 206:46
I would say probably the biggest question mark in Gray area is the complexity of the work and the renovations. Yeah, when to stop renovating, that’s a little bit hard to control yourself, because when you’re building a quality asset that’s long term you really want to do things right. It’s very hard to turn a blind eye and say, okay, let’s not do this. You know, let’s not do all this additional work on the sub floors before we put this brand new flooring, because you know you’re going to end up picking up the tab in a couple of years.
Speaker 107:14
Yeah.
Speaker 207:15
Yeah, it’s a bit hard to draw that line.
Speaker 107:18
Now, have you engaged investors for any of your properties or are you just doing this all pretty much on your own for your business?
Speaker 207:24
Everything I’ve done is on my own.
Speaker 107:26
Yeah, yeah. No, it’s great. I mean there’s a lot of people that find that to be like a difficult concept to consider, but obviously a lot of investors start with nothing and then they just use investors capital to be picking up properties or to do those renovations and stuff like that. So it’s interesting just to hear what everybody’s approaches and how it’s different. Now, in terms of lessons, like, what would you say has been some of the lessons that you’ve learned, if you could go back, is there anything that you would have done differently to maybe achieve a different outcome?
Speaker 207:54
I would say if I were to do it differently at the very start, I would hire the right people for the right job and not be afraid to pay a bit of a premium I can say massive premium. You don’t have to hire a custom home builder to build your legal basement. I would definitely hire the professionals at a bit of a premium because there’s a lot you can learn from them that you don’t just see on a line item. Sometimes I find this is always the case with entry-level investors they’re always like, okay, this is going to cost X amount of labor. I definitely can’t get someone to do it. Or then it can cost a handyman.
08:28
This plus this is the list that I need from Home Depot. Now let me go pick it up. And when you do that, you kind of rob yourself because you don’t get to build that quality team that could have taken you to the next level. So, yes, you might be losing up to 10% on that first project in terms of construction costs, but if you think about it in 10 years, just put an Excel sheet, put your appreciation in there, look at the total numbers that 10% of the construction costs on day one is really nothing I would say I would have tried to become less short-sighted on day one.
Speaker 109:01
Yeah, I can understand that. It’s kind of like the quote when you talk about not necessarily paying for the job. You’re paying for the years of experience and the person, that they might cost a little bit more. Maybe they can do the job in half the time, and time is money. So it just depends on how you look at it. So, that being said, we’re just going to take a really brief break from our sponsors and we’ll be right back.
09:21
Inspired to Invest is proud to support the Beyond Success program. In today’s complex world, it’s absolutely crucial for our youth to learn how to take charge of their financial future. We believe that every young person deserves access to accurate, practical financial information. Designed to bridge the gap, the Beyond Success program leverages a comprehensive educational bootcamp to equip young minds with essential financial literacy skills. At Beyond Success, it’s not just about teaching financial literacy. It’s also about fostering a foundation for a prosperous and empowered future. Join us Together, we can build a brighter financial future for the next generations. Join us Together, we can build a brighter financial future for the next generations.
11:13
Music. Thanks again for following along with this episode of Inspired to Invest. In addition to real estate investing and running my own brand experience agency for 18 years. I also published a book called the Accidental Entrepreneur in October of 2021. This is my story and it chronicles how I turned tragedy into triumph to embrace my destiny in entrepreneurship. If you’re interested in picking up a copy, you can find the link at SerenaHomesRealtorcom and you can also find my link tree with all of the retailers in the details below. Thanks again for your support. Hey everybody, welcome back to the Inspired to Invest podcast. I’ve got Saif Al-Sali here. He has a company called New For Construction based out of Hamilton, and he’s also been investing in real estate for the last several years, so he’s sharing his experiences with us. I guess one thing I want to know is what’s the craziest thing you’d say has happened to you so far, as a business owner or as a real estate investor?
Speaker 212:14
Thank you, the craziest thing is we got so far ahead in a project and then you know we were sending out invoices and invoices and then one investor ran out of money, so we were out kind of a few hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker 112:33
Yeah.
Speaker 212:33
I would say that was probably one of the craziest things that’s happened to me, and dealing with that has been a big challenge and a learning curve.
Speaker 112:40
So how have you gone about dealing with that, Like as a not to say your small business, but like any business like that is a big hit to absorb.
Speaker 212:48
Yeah. So obviously I had to hire the right professionals to give me the best advice, because at the end of the day, the good thing about real estate is there’s always guarantee against the asset itself. The asset is worth something you know. You’re not just doing something where you shipped some furniture over some product or office supplies and you don’t really have an exact handle on something. So there’s always a guarantee of the asset. But then managing that deficit for many years was a bit of a challenge as well.
Speaker 113:16
Yeah, I can understand that completely. Now, when you look at things like advice and education, what would you say? Some of the best advice that you’ve ever received?
Speaker 213:25
I would say it’s the same thing in the sense of that I mentioned prior, which is hiring the right people for the right job, because you’re just able to move better as a unit.
13:35
Yeah not just in terms of the quality of the work, but also in terms of the speed. Yeah, when you’re an entry level investor, I find that a lot of people overlook the holding costs and operating costs of the property. Yeah, so they’re okay to let the project potentially slide by two, three months to save a thousand or two thousand dollars, which is backwards, just because you don’t see it in a direct cost. There’s no real bragging that comes with. Hey, I got the construction done for X amount. It’s really. Was this project a success or not? How quick did it get done? Was everything predictable, unscheduled or not? And then did you build a team after that project where you could take that exact same team and then replicate the project again or potentially do it even better?
Speaker 114:25
Now, is there anything that you’ve added to your due diligence process to understand who is the best fit for you? Because obviously, what I found is that quotes can really really widely vary. I know I just speak to having renovated an office and at the time, I think, the landlord gave us a least-hold improvement budget of 35,000, so we kind of use that as our benchmark and one quote was 25, one is 38, and then one was 60 for the same work and we’re like, well, why would this be that much different, right? So just trying to understand that, based on your experience, what are the things that you’re looking for that are most important?
Speaker 215:00
When, comparing quotes, you’re asking.
Speaker 115:02
Quotes and just evaluating who to work with and your team members.
Speaker 215:05
I would say make sure when you’re collecting quotes, don’t go get you know there’s a bit of a stigma in the industry go get three quotes. Yes, you need three quotes. But the very important part is you need three qualified quotes. If you get a handyman to do an office rental, then he may not be familiar with certain building code requirements and to him that’s excluded from the quote. But if you bring a commercial contractor, they may know that. Okay, if you’re putting up a partition wall, there’s associated costs to do with that.
15:33
For a handyman, he’s just framing and drywalling two sides. If you’re putting up a commercial contractor, they’re running electrical, they’re probably having a sprinkler head inside and then probably a duct as well. Yeah, know that. So you got to make sure that, first off, all the quotes are qualified. So three qualified quotes. And then I would say, once you get a few that are within a pretty reasonable cost of each other, make sure you visit their job sites and don’t just you know, look at the place, look at the employees that are there. You know they’re coming in with smiles on their face. Are they moving quickly? Are they dragging their feet? They’re moving there because these things do make a difference. That means to reliability. It’s just someone where everybody’s all excited in the field and everybody’s getting more done. Well, guess what’s going to happen when that person tells you they’re going to be done next week. They’re going to be done next week. The guys that are dragging their feet are, that’s unpredictable.
Speaker 116:17
Yeah, yeah, I can understand that. Do you ever get client references as well, or do you see a value of that?
Speaker 216:23
Yes, as in clients referring us.
Speaker 116:25
Well, no, like when you’re exploring a contractor or someone to work with, like will you ask for references from their clients.
Speaker 216:32
Well, we are the contractors, so we wouldn’t really hire contractors.
Speaker 116:38
Well, I mean like your team members and stuff like that.
Speaker 216:41
Okay, you’re potentially sub-trades. So if we’re hiring sub-trades, for example, we pay attention to things that are a lot more difficult. One it’s a lot more different sorry, it’s the personality and making sure that things are getting along. So we pay attention. Once we hit a certain price point, we don’t care about hiring the cheapest sub-trade, it’s not about getting the cheapest. Is this person reliable? Are they going to show up on time? Let me see their job sites, Let me see what their actual crew size looks like, and then we have different criteria where we go through that.
Speaker 117:12
Yeah, no, that makes perfect sense. Now, when you look at kind of your journey as a real estate investor, is there any particular number in mind that you look at as your financial freedom number? So whether that’s cash flow, number of doors, like, is there something to you that you’ll really feel like? You know, I’ve made it at this point.
Speaker 217:28
I don’t think so. I think it’s always changing, because it’s like you set a number and then you hit it and then you want more. Because I find that driven people are always going after the sense of purpose. It’s not really there’s no number. After a certain number you’re not going to say you know what I’ve found my sense of purpose? You always want to do more and it’s kind of the gift and the curse. It makes you work a lot but at the same time it also makes you never satisfied. So I don’t think there’s no. I do have a current number, but I’m sure once I hit that then it’s going to go even higher as well.
Speaker 118:00
Yeah, yeah. I find it interesting just to hear what people say, because in some instances it’s like a thousand doors or a value of 50 million or whatever. That is right, so everyone has their own approach to things, so I just find that really interesting. Now, how would you say real estate investing and being a business owner has changed your life in terms of opportunities and just lifestyle and things like that?
Speaker 218:23
Yeah, well, obviously the flexibility is nice. You don’t work less hours, but you’re more flexible in terms of the hours.
Speaker 118:28
Yeah.
Speaker 218:28
If you know, if I don’t have the absolutely crucial meetings tomorrow, I could say, ok, I’m not coming in and I’m taking a flight and going somewhere warm for the week.
Speaker 118:39
Yeah.
Speaker 218:39
Yeah it’s. That’s kind of nice, but with that comes an enormous burden. So your personality has to be able to handle all that stuff. If you’re naturally a more timid person, for example, you don’t like confrontation, things like that that may not be the best route for you because you’re just going to have a hard time. But if your personality lines up with something like that, where all those things come natural and being a business owner and an entrepreneur is a great path for you.
Speaker 119:03
Yeah, yeah, I think one of the challenges that any business owner will face is that you’re not necessarily off.
19:09
You know, when I had my own business for 18 years, like I can’t think of any vacations where I wasn’t still checking my emails, like you still have to pay people, you know we didn’t have a system set up where it just completely ran itself. So even when we had a bookie, we still have to like hit the submit button to approve payroll and like send money, and you’ll still kind of feel certain things. Or if there’s an issue, obviously it escalates to you as a business owner, right? So sometimes you can think that your day is going to go a certain way and Things come up right. So at the end of the day you’re always going to be responsible for it. But again, it is that blessing and that curse that you’ve got the flexibility and the freedom. But you’re never just off, like when my employees, when on vacation, like they’re off, like their phones are off, we’re not talking to them whatsoever, right? So I think it’s just understanding the pros that come along with the cons.
Speaker 219:55
Yeah, that is true. When you’re, people always think that they’re. You know, being a business owner, you’ll have a bit more flexible of a schedule. You can do all this stuff now, yeah, but you don’t. You work so much more, and especially you work when other people get to rest and yeah, you can’t even. And even when you’re resting, I would say 90% of the time, your mind’s not even turned off. So are you really resting?
Speaker 120:16
Yeah, yeah, I saw like a meme on that recently and it’s like most people and they’re sleeping and it’s like an entrepreneur and there’s like a bubble of all the things going through their head when they’re laying on their pillow at night, right, so what?
Speaker 220:27
last night I fell asleep. I thought I got a pretty good night’s sleep, but then when I woke up in the morning I realized I was doing, we have, we have to hand over a building tomorrow. So it’s end of this week, it’s yeah, and I was in my dream thinking of deficiencies. Okay, what if this comes up? And I’m not kidding, you know, I don’t even, I didn’t even think at the time that this was something Weird, but then now they were talking about it.
Speaker 120:48
It’s like I don’t think you know, I’m the same, and it has a business you know would be about things like that.
20:54
Yeah, no, I’m the same way.
20:55
I mean it’s not like I would keep my phone on and I say would just never stop going off.
20:59
But I remember even we had an event and and we provided staffing all across the country and at the time we had an event going on in Vancouver and I think I checked my phone just to see the time at two in the morning and I saw someone canceling for a 6 am shift in Vancouver and I was like, well, if I leave this to the morning I probably won’t get a hold of anyone because it’s going to be so early. But if I message some people right now, it’s 11 o’clock at night there I’ll probably be able to fill it. So I’m literally like squinting in two in the morning and I got it covered, send them the stuff, went back to sleep. But it’s like stuff like that. Like you know, I wouldn’t say that happened all the time, but when there’s things going on like you always have to just be attuned to, like the things that can come up just so that you can Deliver to your clients and you can meet, nixie, their expectations.
Speaker 221:41
Yeah, you’re right. Yeah, and even as a real estate investor, that’s an entrepreneur as well. Yeah, dealing with attendance a full-time job.
Speaker 121:47
Oh, yeah, yeah I expect the unexpected, yes, yeah. So in terms of your favorite quotes, obviously the name of this podcast is inspired to invest. So what would you say is your favorite quote that motivates and inspires you?
Speaker 222:01
Uh, I have one in my wall. Look, I have one that I carry in my wallet, so it’s right here.
Speaker 122:07
Nice.
Speaker 222:08
So it’s a bit long, but it says nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful mental talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated delirics. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. So basically, be persistent and be determined, because that counts more than anything.
Speaker 122:32
Yeah, yeah, and you just when challenge is happy, you just got to keep going.
Speaker 222:36
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 122:38
Awesome. Is there anything else that you wanted to leave with the audience at all? Uh, you know, I think we covered a good amount.
Speaker 222:44
I mean, if the audience is looking to sort of get into real estate now it’s really at the end of 2023 it looks like we’ve kind of hit the peak in terms of where the interest rates are and I would say if anyone’s entering the market now would be an absolute fantastic time, because it looks like 2024, rates wise is going to stay fairly stable, if not slightly go down.
23:05
So it’s like we’re kind of at the end of the, the last stop, you know what I mean. And 2024, it looks like things might start Sort of recovering. Whether that recovery takes a year or two years, I don’t exactly know.
Speaker 123:20
Yeah, it could take a while, but I feel like there’s a a mentor he had that said. You know, when everyone’s on pause or run away, he’s like I’m going over and I’m going shopping, so you just got to look at things a certain way and you can never completely time the market, so you just have to do what works for you but also identify the hidden opportunities, right.
Speaker 223:38
Yeah, that’s true.
Speaker 123:39
Okay, so thank you for being here today. If anyone wants to get in touch, what’s the best way for them to get a hold of you?
Speaker 223:45
We’re really active on instagram, so if you just look us up new for ink and uw f or e, I and c and you can also go to our website. New for dot com.
Speaker 123:54
Great, so we’ll include that in the show notes below. And, of course, thank you for being here. For anyone that is watching and tuning in, please make sure that you follow along at inspire to invest podcast on social. And for anyone watching on youtube, make sure you like, comment and subscribe below. And, of course, above all else, make sure that you remember when you invest in yourself, the sky is the limit. Thanks for tuning in. Thank you to plenitude ink for bringing you this episode of inspired to invest. The views represented on this podcast are for general information only and does not constitute investment or other professional advice or an offering of securities. The hosting guests featured on inspired to invest Make no representations as to the performance of any particular investment. Should you decide to make an investment, you are responsible for conducting your own review and analysis. It is recommended that you obtain independent legal accounting and tax advice from licensed professionals.