Where does July not look to buy
I often get asked where I look for good real estate investments. That’s a broad question since I look at most of North America. However, there are certain areas that I do not look and will not buy. They are my reasons, whether you agree or not. In Canada, I will not buy in the Northwest Territories, Quebec or the Maritimes. The NWT is just too far north for my taste with a small population spread out over a vast area. Yes, there are some great buys up there. I’m just not willing to fly up there every year. Quebec has the political separatist issue still hanging over it. Land values remain flat. And once a year on the same day (April 1st), all the tenants move out and move in. There is no staggered end of lease term. They all start and end on the same day. That’s just plain ridiculous. And as for the Maritimes, they do not have a torrens system so you can’t really be sure that you even own the land, and if the land you own is in dispute, it shall remain that way. I like knowing that I have clear title to the land and buildings that I buy. If you’re wondering what Torrens is, look it up in Wikipedia.
Torrens title is a system of land title where a register of land holdings maintained by the state guarantees an indefeasible title to those included in the register. The system was formulated to combat the problems of uncertainty, complexity and cost associated with old system title, which depended on proof of an unbroken chain of title back to a good root of title.
November 17, 2007
