"Inspired to Invest" Podcast

PROVEN Real Estate Strategies To Build Wealth

• Serena Holmes • Episode 55

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Could you imagine leaving your corporate job to achieve financial freedom through real estate?

That's precisely what Sarah Larbi did, and in our 55th episode of "Inspired to Invest", she shares her incredible journey from her first investment in 2013 to managing a diverse portfolio that includes new build developments, midterm rentals, and a beach resort.

To watch rather than listen, click here

Sarah opens up about her early struggles, such as navigating financing challenges and the critical importance of tenant screening. Through her story, you'll gain actionable insights on leveraging mortgage brokers and other resources to grow your own real estate portfolio.

Ever wondered about the nuts and bolts of successful tenant screening? Sarah breaks down her meticulous approach, from crafting specific ads with targeted questions to utilizing paralegal resources for comprehensive background checks. 

We also cover creative financing methods like vendor take-back mortgages and private lending, discussing their roles in expanding Sarah's investments. 

Get ready to understand how market fluctuations and economic changes impact real estate investments and why strategic pivots are essential for sustaining success even during tough times.

Curious about multi-unit conversions and midterm rentals? Sarah discusses the strategic advantages of these approaches in today's market, including the benefits of converting commercial properties into residential units and navigating regulatory challenges. Reflecting on her 11-year journey, 

Sarah highlights the lifestyle benefits and financial freedoms that real estate investing has afforded her, particularly during the pandemic. Her experiences underscore the importance of adaptability, problem-solving skills, and keeping a long-term perspective. 

This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone looking to succeed in the unpredictable world of real estate investing.

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Speaker 1:

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 Honeytree REIT and PropertyCastio. Hey everybody, welcome to Inspire to Invest. I have Sarah Larby with me today and, for those of you who don't know her, she left her corporate job back in 2020 after investing in real estate since 2013. In the beginning, her focus was on the BRRRR strategy, but she's now branched out into new build developments, midterm rentals, as well as Inspire Beach Resort. Her results-oriented approach has been featured in Globe and Mail, toronto Star, the Canadian Real Estate Wealth Magazine and 1010 News Talk Radio. She's often on many finance-focused podcasts. She's also the host of her own podcast, which is one of the top 50-rated real estate investing podcasts, featuring guests from all across North America, and more recently, she's also been the co-host of regular investor and entrepreneur events, including a monthly event at her own Inspire Beach Resort. So thank you so much for being here, sarah. How are you today?

Speaker 2:

Very good. Thank you so much for having me on Great. Thank you.

Speaker 1:

So I guess, just to get things started, obviously you have done a lot in a relatively short span of time and you are one of the younger investors, at least that I've met, so maybe you can take us back to the beginning and share how you got into real estate investing and kind of bridge the gap to where you got to where you are today.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely. I started back in 2013 when I realized I did not want to work full time and for somebody else forever. And real estate kept coming back when I was doing some research as one of those you know top choices of how people you know create wealth and leave their nine to five. And so started off with some buy and hold, then got into the birth strategy, then some conversions, then some land development, then resorts and then, from a rental standpoint, you know, long term and then short term rentals and then midterm rentals and everything in between. Yeah, and that was, yeah, a little over 10 years ago now.

Speaker 1:

So when you first started, can you talk a little bit about where your portfolio was and kind of how you segued between each of those things? Because I understand you know buying a property and fixing it up, either refinancing it, using that money to keep on repurposing it Obviously that's been a really popular strategy, as the market has, you know, been trending upwards for many, many years up until you know, the interest rate started going up. But maybe you can talk about that first property and you know how that whole process went for you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, the first one was me cashing out some of my commissions rather than using vacation back in the day. That job allowed us to be able to do that and found the cheapest thing I could afford. And then found my sister in law, as the renter didn't know what we didn't know afford. And then found my sister-in-law as the renter didn't know what we didn't know. Um, you know, it was uh, lots of learning by trial and error along the way. Um, you know, but essentially over time it you know, like I remember, at one point I had two jobs. Um, one, you know, one was not paying well enough so I had to get a second job. But, um, saved some money and bought the first two and then realized that you can actually refinance some of them. And in the beginning we were just going to the bank and the bank is not going to really give you these strategies.

Speaker 2:

I found a mortgage broker, streetwise Mortgages, who I've worked since, likely at that third property, and then realized that there's a way to refinance, to pull money out, to repeat, and did that for about 10 properties. And then, at that point in time when we did that, we had a mix of short term, midterm, midterm as well short term and some long term. We had some tenants turn around over and rates were still low back then and decided I was, I was, you know good where I was at and work was getting in the way and it was time to, you know, continue my passion and, you know, figure out what that was going to be. So in 2020, I gave six months notice and decided to continue. I didn't know where, you know, I thought I was retiring. So much for that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah exactly.

Speaker 2:

Well, it's just hard as human entrepreneurs right, there's always new projects and things you want to do. But that's where I was at when I finished essentially working corporates, and it was good. I was sitting on the at the cottage on the dock one day and realized I was paying too much in taxes. Yeah, Worked with my mortgage broker to refinance what we could, since, you know, not having a T4 income changes obviously your refinancing ability. Yeah, and then that was yeah in 2020.

Speaker 1:

Since, then, just going back to when you were you just made a comment and I just wanted to dig into it a little bit more you're talking about when you first started out some of those lessons and not knowing what you don't know. When you look back at when you started, what were some of those big challenges and lessons that you know, you wish maybe you could have done something a little bit differently.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean definitely, you know, the big one was from a financing standpoint and just not understanding how to, you know, use that to your advantage as early on. But I think that's a big one, you know, going and working with a mortgage broker that's actually going to work for you, yeah, and then in the beginning we weren't really screening tenants that great. And you know, almost got caught by a few, a few quote unquote professionals gave, gave, you know, probably a little too many exceptions in the beginning and you know, and then created a process afterwards on, you know, screening and vetting tenants. Um, but you know, the sister-in law was definitely up there with some of the worst I'm not watching no, I don't think she does.

Speaker 2:

I mean, we're okay now, but she was definitely, uh, an example of, of, I think, why my husband didn't want to do real estate in the beginning. He didn't want to have tenants that don't pay and trash the house, and you know, and like, again, we're family, but, um, that's what she did and, uh, we had to re renovate that house all over again when they moved out. Oh, no, um, but you know what it's, it's all good. Look that one we bought for 130. We actually just sold it. It just closed last week for 380.

Speaker 2:

Very, very tiny house, um, from the 1850s. Somehow it's still standing. But, um, you know, there's there's lots of mistakes along the way and I think, over time, you really build the processes from experience, right, um, and you know, I kept listening to podcasts, joining networking events, created some of my own along the way, um, you know, but there's, there's always challenges. I think it's just going to be part of the game, like, even, you know, with these rates, even even with the new government, to implementing these crazy taxes, like there's there's ways that you can maneuver. I think you know and roll with the punches, but it's definitely a long, long-term play.

Speaker 1:

Now, when you talk about screening tenants, I know that's one thing that for people in Ontario they're hesitant to start investing because they don't want to have a property that's maybe outside of the province. But then they're also scared to invest closer to home because you've got these crazy LTV roles and stuff like that. So can you talk a little bit about how you're screening people better now and what's embedded in that process to make sure that you are finding quality tenants and you're not going to run into major issues down the road?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean I think right now, like in you know, 2024, I'm no longer doing it on my own, but prior to that, when I was, I did have like a five step process. So the first step was actually like creating an ad with specific questions and there were like five specific questions that they can't, you know, respond to those and I wasn't happy with the answers. They would be screened out. So they were just measures to screen them out. Step two was more of like a phone screening before I showed them the property. Step three was actually I created like a three page questionnaire that they actually fill out as well with their applications.

Speaker 2:

And then, you know, step four is when you have the application, you're doing all the the canly screening, the open room screening, like going through with your paralegal, like paralegals have access to different things as well in the in the back end that they can check for you, um, calling references and you know and then creating a working with a paralegal to create an addendum to the Ontario standard lease. So you know, I summarize it very quickly, but there are five steps. It does take quite a bit of time, but a lot of the tenants that are those professional tenants that you're going to not want, you know, in a bad way. Professional, they'll realize that your process is pretty thorough and they'll give up along the way. Yeah, no.

Speaker 1:

I think that's good to know and it's helpful just to you know, give people hope that if they do want to invest here, there are ways that you can go about it successfully. Now, when you talk about expanding your portfolio, can you talk about some of the challenges and obstacles that you would have faced just as you started to go into different realms? Like, obviously you've got the beach resort, you've done development like those aren't simple things, right, so can you talk a little bit more about those?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so in 2020, when I decided to stop, I stopped probably for about six months and then I just started being a little bit bored and then found some land and then found some more land and then decided to go buy a bunch of properties in Hamilton with some JVs. But I think, you know, when you have a little bit more time, you can be more creative. The resort was actually negotiated through a vendor take back. He had it listed on MLS. I was probably sitting there zoned as a resort specifically, which is what I was looking for, because I'm like let's just do some tiny homes or something fun. I was doing. I had some Airbnb cottages as well and the market was doing quite well.

Speaker 2:

Then, I mean, it's definitely, you know, changed a lot since then. I don't think people have the same disposable income, but it was six acres of land and right now we're finished phase one of probably a five year projection. We bought that VTB. He did a first position. We used private lending, private funds for the renovation, and then we went to Kawartha Credit Union to refinance it out. And then, you know, since then, obviously, like the rates have increased, the market's definitely not doing as well and also like people just don't have the same kind of disposable income. Yeah, so we just have to ride through that wave. It's definitely, you know, not always glamorous and it's not always upside Like there are. You know, I think in the last year and a bit like you know, we're all feeling it, myself included.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, I mean, when I had the chance to see you speak, you talked about pivoting when there are these challenges, so maybe you can talk a little bit about you know what you've done to try to mitigate these impacts so it doesn't hurt your bottom line too much.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, a lot of the new projects are like four unit conversions. So we have, you know, four rents that can come from it, which is, I think, you know, in this market, with these high rates and everything just costing so much money, I don't think the single family properties make as much sense in the markets that I was buying in. So most of it is four units. We have a 22 unit conversion that we're converting from commercial to residential using the MLI program, which is also another pivot point. And then there's midterm rental properties.

Speaker 2:

So, with all the bylaws that are coming with the short-term rentals and obviously the like you mentioned, ltb being backlogged and the RTA being in Ontario, residential Tenancies Act not super in our favor. That you know gray zone is that 30 plus days stay still furnished very similar to Airbnb in the sense that we're short-term rentals but there's not as much turnover. You're not worrying about the same type of HST implications and your clients are likely homeowners in transition for whatever reason, or corporate clients and I've been doing that myself for probably a good six, six years. Decided to make it an actual company and a business and we've incorporated about a year and a half ago. Now we're in 40, 45 different cities right now across Canada and we're expanding yeah that's amazing.

Speaker 1:

Now, for anyone that would want to turn their long term rental into a midterm rental, how do they handle that to make sure that they don't get caught up in any LTV issues?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so we had a paralegal actually draft up a contract for us. We don't use any residential tenancies, leases or anything like that. We don't provide keys, we just do keypads. So there are certain things that you want to keep in mind. You want to make it look and feel as much as possible like a commercial property, aka Airbnb.

Speaker 2:

There's a couple case law that came out one in June, one in December of 2022 that actually got voted in our favor, where the guests were found that they were not tenants into these particular cases that were, you know, longer stays as well, and it was deemed commercial.

Speaker 2:

So work with a good paralegal that has worked through that. But I think the biggest thing is just understanding the guests why they're coming in and when they're leaving and what the reason is. We just don't rent to tenants that are in between tenancies. We rent to homeowners that are in between homes for renovations or moving or insurance claims, uh, or companies and I and and also health care um, like traveling health care staff and stuff like that. But I think that's going to be the biggest understanding is trying to figure out where your client is coming from and why they're coming. Yeah, because if they don't have another primary residence. This is how you can get you know in those unfortunate circumstances. So nothing is foolproof. Everything has some level of risk, you know, but there are things that you can do to mitigate that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, that makes perfect sense. Now, obviously, you have done a lot of different things. When you look back at the last 11 years, what would you say?

Speaker 2:

is something that you're most proud of, would you say is something that you're most proud of, I think during the pandemic, when everything was happening, real estate allowed my husband to take a year off as well and we were able to hang out at the cottage for a good chunk of time.

Speaker 2:

So I think that piece is, you know, the lifestyle piece, even though you know our lifestyle today, with these rates and everything that's happening, and maybe not as great as you know a couple of years before, but it'll come back around but I think it's that piece is just the lifestyle.

Speaker 2:

And then just not having to work for someone else and being able to, you know, like, even though you probably work harder, make your own hours and you know being able to work from wherever, no-transcript, and you have to be able to handle the downs. You know, like there are months where my cash calls are $20,000 because I have to cover some. You know unexpected things and I think you know that comes with the territory of. You know the risks that we take for the rewards that we get from it, but it is a long-term play at the end of the day and I think probably having that mindset is something that you know I try to pride myself in because I'm pretty mellow with all the chaos that's happening in general. But you know, just being able to create that lifestyle I think is important. Yeah, no, that makes perfect sense.

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

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.

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

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. Hey everybody, welcome back to Inspired to Invest. I have Sarah Larby here with me today and she's talking about how she got started in real estate back in 2013 with the long-term rentals and the birth strategy, and then she pivoted into development multi-unit conversions and even a resort. So I guess one of the things that I also want to know, what would you say is one of the craziest things that's happened to you as a real estate investor so far?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, the craziest thing that is a great question Probably this resort, I guess you know it's a whole beast on its own. Just having to pivot and having to be in the hospitality industry know a whole new, a whole new chapter. You know the midterm rental company. I think that's also a crazy piece that comes out of, you know, being an investor for so long, seeing where the trends are, and then you're like over a glass of wine, literally. I was, I was saying to Aisha, I'm like let's just start a company, you know. And here we are with staff and interns and you know and everything like that, and I think we're you're going to be going in bringing in some venture capital as well, and just you know figuring out that whole set of things. Yeah, I don't think there's like anything crazy per se. I mean, once in a while you might have somebody that like recognizes you on the street. I don't know if that's crazy or not. Yeah, you know. Actually, you know what here's.

Speaker 2:

Here's a good, good story. There was one day last year in February the coldest day of the year that I went to the resort as we were testing it out because it just opened, with a couple friends and it was so cold that the pipes all started freezing and the water stopped working and my cleaner was there and I'm like, oh okay, well, that's not good. So we ended up having to stay in a hotel nearby and then the next morning I woke up and we had, like you know, it was a hotel, there was a restaurant downstairs, we had some drinks, it was. It was good times. It was a little little hungover in the morning, but the morning I woke up and then my building that was caught on fire because somebody had gone onto the roof and decided that they were really cold. So they started a fire and they burnt down a chunk of the mechanical room of that building and there were people like living upstairs on the roof.

Speaker 2:

So those two things happen in less than 24 hours apart. Somehow I still managed to laugh it off. You know, and you know in the grand scheme of things, here's the thing is that there's challenges and there's problems, and I think it's how you react to them, but things are solvable, even though they don't seem like they are that quick. Um, that heat pump needed it was like the one off, I think. It goes until minus 25 and everything past that it stops. So it was like the good thing, is it? It wasn't like a pipe issue where all our pipes are obviously yeah exactly.

Speaker 2:

And then the roof, the roof thing. We ended up getting insurance. We ended up getting a check for $85,000. So that helped towards the $300,000 that we had to pay the city for development and parkland fee that they want from investors before we convert. So that helped with a little bit of that cost. But I would say if there's one biggest crazy day, that's probably 24 hours of having a fire and, yeah, your entire resort pipe freezing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you know, I know earlier on, when you were talking about getting started, that you were learning and listening to podcasts and educating yourself what would you say is some of the best advice that you've ever received probably just like work on your mindset.

Speaker 2:

Um, that is the biggest thing ever, especially in times like these. Uh, like Harry, harry James is one of my mentors and he's been in the business for 40 plus years and that's the biggest thing, right? It's not. You know, financial success is only like a part of your overall success. If you don't have the fitness or the relationships or the you know well-being and everything like that, then who cares about the financial piece? And I think we put a lot of emphasis on that and we don't focus on the other things and all of a sudden, when we get the financial, we realize that we don't have friends, family or others to you know, share it with. And so I think that's the you know biggest piece of advice. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

No, I've gotten to see Harry James speak at an event a little while back, so I can understand all of that. And I think you know you have to be happy with what you have while working towards what you want. So I think that's always great advice. Now you talk a little bit about, you know, having the freedom and the lifestyle freedom. So what would you say financial freedom really means to you, whether that's a number, whether it's having that balance to have that work life like what does that really mean to you?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I mean, I think for me. So like I'm a little crazy, but like I want to be able to work on my lifestyle as much as possible and and fitness is a big part of it. So I work out in the morning and I work out in the evening. I like to go twice a day if I can, but even having the time to be able to do that and then having the time to be able to go to the cottage in May and come back in September if I want to, I think it's a huge piece. And hang out on the boat, and you know, I've never been the person that cared so much about like having like a big mansion, like I would rather just have the location, freedom, and I think that's the biggest piece in having you know friends and people around me to be able to share that with. Yeah, and having a good network of people that you can bounce off ideas, I think that's super successful in my opinion.

Speaker 2:

I don't know if it's like a number per se. I think we always just want more and more and more, regardless from a financial standpoint. But you know, like, how does that change your lifestyle and how does that you know that change your lifestyle and how does that? You know, like to me, having a fit body and, you know, and feeling amazing is probably worth more than you know. An extra million dollars as an example, right, um, have, being able to do what you want where you want, how you want, um, I think is key, but I also think, as investors and entrepreneurs, I don't think we'll ever be 100% satisfied. Anyways, it's just about going to the next goal and, you know, and expanding, and so I think, you know, the next big thing for me right now is obviously getting the resort going and working on the midterm business and you know, why can't we, why couldn't we be that you know? Next, airbnb platform as an example, and so that's kind of what I've got on the radar in terms of goals right now.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

So you answered my next question, which is what's next for you? So we got ahead, which is awesome. But I understand what you're saying when you talk about lifestyle. Like I had my own business for 18 years and I felt like being able to take time away was kind of a testament to two things, but one was how successful the business can run without me.

Speaker 1:

Like, I think you want to obviously have a business that doesn't rely a hundred percent on you, but being able to, you know, be on the other side of the world and be able to check emails for 10 minutes a day, as opposed to being attached to it, I think is, you know, definitely for me, uh, one of the most fulfilling parts of being an entrepreneur and now being an investor and just having that time and shifting your priorities towards, like, family and lifestyle balance and things like that. But I think that's why most people get into investing. Right, it's not to have that grind, it's to eventually have that freedom and that balance. Now, this podcast is obviously called Inspire to Invest, so I always like to ask people what their favorite inspirational quote is.

Speaker 2:

Well, you know, you know, with the resort, it's called inspire beach resort. So we just we have this, this hashtag be inspired, um. So I would say I would say likely, you know, likely, that, um. But you know, in terms of inspiration, in terms of a quote, I think it's just a matter of you know. I would just say good is better than perfect, and I think that's why I also got here today is I would rather just, or I should say done is better than perfect, because, you know, we're not like this midterm company is not perfect by any means. It's still, but it's it's existing A resort not perfect, but it's existing, right, and sometimes we just focus so much on just trying to have everything 100% that we never get started.

Speaker 2:

My podcast, when I first started it, and even now it still needs work. You know it's never going to be perfect and I'm okay with that Because you know, if I didn't start back in 2017, I wouldn't be where I am today. And I think that that's the biggest thing is just stop with the perfectionism and then just get things done and over time, you can make it better and it'll never be perfect because things evolve. And then you want, you have new ideas and you want to do different things, so just get it done.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and just start yeah. So for anyone that does want to get in touch with you, what's the easiest way for them to find?

Speaker 2:

you. Sarahlarbycom is my website or they can email me Sarah. At Sarah Larbycom. They want to check out the resort. It's InspireBeachcom, the midterm rental company, is MidtermRentalPropertiescom, or on Instagram, which is Investor, sarah Larby.

Speaker 1:

Okay, perfect. So we'll include all that information in the show notes below, Of course. Thank you for your time. I can see you're obviously at a trade show, so we'll let you get back to that and for anyone that is tuning in, thank you for your time. Make sure that you have followed along at Inspired to Invest podcast and you have subscribed and, of course, above all else, remember when you invest in yourself, the sky's the limit. Thanks again, Thank you to Honeytree REIT and PropertyCastio 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 host and 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.