What Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?

What came first, the chicken or the egg? The egg. No, the chicken. No, the egg. No, the chicken. I am getting dizzy trying to solve this riddle. Scientists, that are much smarter than me, concluded that many moons ago, there was a chicken-like bird. This chicken-like bird laid an egg and a rooster-like bird fertilized it. The combination of this over millions of years ago created what we now know as a chicken. Riddle solved, or at least I think so…

So how does this riddle have anything to do with investing in real estate? The real estate version of this riddle goes something like this: what comes first, the perfect property or the perfect tenant? The property. No, the tenant. No, the property. No, the tenant. Feeling dizzy again?

Be careful what you wish for.

In most cases, riddles can only have one solution; however, the investment riddle really has no right or wrong answer. Both are correct. The perfect property could come first. Alternatively, the perfect tenant could come first. In saying that, I do have a preference. My response to the riddle would be that the perfect tenant comes first, or that I prefer to build a perfect tenant profile first before looking for the perfect property. 

As a buy and hold investor, I have found that finding the right tenant for the property often has worked out better than finding the right property and ending up with a so-so tenant. In fact, most of us use this approach in our daily lives. When making new friends, enjoying our fellow co-workers, participating in hobbies, and making income and lifestyle choices, we surround ourselves with like-minded people. We do this because we feel comfortable and good in these settings. It is about the comfort we have in the relationships with these people.

Find out how COVID-19 has affected the real estate market.

The result of profiling your perfect tenant before putting an investment property in the mix will solidify the standard you are looking for in a tenant, give you more confidence in your tenant selection, and most importantly, through the process, the universe will bring you the perfect tenant. From my perspective, there are many benefits when selecting a tenant through this process, but I feel as though the biggest benefit is that the tenant will feel privileged and end up being a better tenant in the long run. In addition, they will often refer their friends and family to you when you have other properties available.

Profiling, or making the wish list of the perfect tenant, is so important. In a sense, it is almost like dating and finding your significant other that you want to spend the rest of your life with. The key is to get as detailed as possible in finding your perfect tenant. Here are some sample questions to ask yourself as you build your perfect tenant:

1. What is their age range?
2. Single, in a relationship, married?
3. Gender and ethnicity?
4. Individual and combined income?
5. Level of education?
6. What line of work or industry: self-employed or a salary position?
7. Work remotely or on-site?
8. What do they do for fun? Hobbies, pets, TV watchers, social drinkers?
9. Do they eat the majority of their meals out or cook in?
10. Where do they like to eat?
11. What do they drive or ride?
12. What is their political compass?
13. What DISC personality profile are they?

We could add many more questions to our list of what makes the perfect tenant; however, it is important to remember that there is no right or wrong perfect tenant profile. This profile is your own personal perfect tenant and mine may be completely different from yours. It is no different than how we choose whom we want to spend the rest of our lives with. My special person that I choose to spend forever with will very likely be different than the person you want to spend forever with. 

Learn all about Phil the groundhog and how he predicts the end of winter.

Step number one out of four, creating a perfect tenant profile, is the most crucial step for a long-term approach to investing in real estate. We now have a standard for a tenant and the confidence to seek and find the perfect tenant for your investment properties. Now we can move to step number two: finding the perfect community and neighborhood. After that, step number three is finding the perfect property that will match your perfect tenant.

Here is an example of the steps playing out:

1. What is their age range? 55+
2. Single, in a relationship, married? No preference
3. Gender and ethnicity? No preference
4. Individual and combined income? $60,000-75,000
5. Level of education? No preference
6. What line of work or industry: self-employed or a salary position? Employed, office, admin, non-trade worker, clean job
7. Work remotely or on-site? No preference
8. What do they do for fun? Hobbies, pets, TV watchers, social drinkers? Enjoy grandkids, have a small pet, TV watcher, social drinker, pride in their possessions, fitness
9. Do they eat the majority of their meals out or cook in? They make most of their meals
10. Where do they like to eat? White Spot, Tim Hortons, Boston Pizza type of places
11. What do they drive or ride? One car, value is approximately $15,000-20,000
12. What is their political compass? Right wing or conservative 
13. What DISC personality profile are they? “S” for steady and warm personality

From your perfect tenant profile, search for the community and neighborhood that best matches your perfect tenant, and then search properties that would best match your tenant and your investment goals. 

The last piece of the puzzle is attracting the perfect tenant. When being so specific in selecting the tenant, the community/neighborhood, and the property, you need to find the right marketing channel to make the process easier. In the example above, we can select marketing channels like Facebook (age, location, likes), senior blogs, senior clubs (hiking, walking, golf), senior magazines, and community centers.  

The real estate riddle of what comes first, the tenant or the property, may not have been solved; however, visualizing and defining your perfect tenant first, then the city/community, and finally, the property type in my opinion brings better investment results. 

The Fraser Valley market continues to be a riddle or does it? The spring market started early, like in December and here we are in May and it continues to outrageously strong. The theme of low inventory and high demand has become the common month after month. This common ultimately is not healthy for the market and I hope that we soon return to Sellers/Balanced market vs this white-hot Sellers’ market. The stats tell the story, all property types are selling through at an alarming rate and at alarming prices increases. 

I expect the condominium market throughout the Fraser Valley to experience the next surge of substantial price increases. The single-family market was the first to take off, and then followed by the townhome market. However, the buyers, including first-time buyers and buyers from other areas outside the Valley, Province, and Canada are being priced out of most areas in the Valley. It is unfortunate, but home ownership may never be an option for many fellow British Columbians.  

Please reach out to our team for more information or help with all your real estate needs.

Click Below To See The Fraser Valley Stats:

Fraser Valley STR Stats

Click Below To See The Vancouver Stats:

Vancouver STR Stats

STR (Sell Through Rate) Formula = Sales ÷ Active Listings + Failed Listings + Sales