Episode 82: From $1,000 to $10 Million: A Canadian Real Estate Journey From a 60-Hour Work Week to True Time Freedom 

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Imagine moving to a country with only $1,000 in your pocket and a dream of improving your way of life only to realize that your dream meant grinding over 60 hours per week for “success.” 

In today’s episode, we’ll be interviewing Luis Limgenco as he shares his journey as an immigrant whose hard work and dedication led him to what many would consider professional “success.” However, he quickly recognized that trading all of his waking hours for a paycheque wasn’t going to lead him to the financial or lifestyle freedom that he had envisioned for he and his wife coming to Canada.

Stick around as we dig deep into his story as he went from focusing on the climb up the corporate ladder to going all-in on real estate to escape the daily grind he had created for himself and towards real financial freedom. His story epitomizes the transformative power of strategic real estate investments, showcasing how diligent research, calculated risks, and decisive actions can turn modest beginnings into a multimillion-dollar empire. By immersing yourself in his narrative, you’ll gain invaluable insights into overcoming obstacles, seizing opportunities, and forging your path to true financial independence and time freedom.

From leveraging financial models to gauge property feasibility to timing market fluctuations for optimal gains, Luis’ experience offers a masterclass in proactive real estate investment decision-making. By understanding his mindset and buy-box, you’ll be equipped to identify your own lucrative real estate opportunities, learn how to mitigate risks, and chart a course towards sustainable Canadian wealth accumulation in the ever-changing real estate investment landscape.

What you’ll learn:

• Insights into successful real estate investment strategies, focusing on cash flow and risk reduction.
• Learn how to leverage financial models to identify lucrative opportunities and navigate market fluctuations for maximum returns.
• The importance of integrity, honesty, and strategic planning in building a robust real estate portfolio.
• The value of mentorship and joint ventures in maximizing investment opportunities and achieving financial goals.
• The power of diversification and proactive decision-making in building a sustainable, cash-flow positive real estate portfolio across different markets.

Ready to unlock some Canadian Wealth Secrets to successful real estate investing? Listen in now to gain invaluable insights and take your Canadian financial future into your own hands!

Resources:

• Reach out to Luis Limgenco on LinkedIn and Facebook
• S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index
• Teranet–National Bank House Price Index™
• Episode 6: The 3 Silver Bullets of Real Estate Investing
• Dig into our Ultimate Investment Book List
• Book a Discovery Call with Kyle to review your corporate (or personal) wealth strategy to help you overcome your current struggle and take the next step in your Canadian Wealth Building Journey!
• Follow/Connect with us on social media for daily posts and conversations about business, finance, and investment on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook [Kyle’s Profile, Our Business Page], TikTok and TwitterX.  

Looking for a new mortgage, renewal, refinance, or HELOC? Reach out to Jon to share some options.

Calling All Canadian Incorporated Business Owners & Investors:

Consider reaching out to Kyle if you’ve been…

• …taking a salary with a goal of stuffing RRSPs;
• …investing inside your corporation without a passive income tax minimization strategy;
• …letting a large sum of liquid assets sit in low interest earning savings accounts;
• …investing corporate dollars into GICs, dividend stocks/funds, or other investments attracting corporate passive income taxes at greater than 50%; or,
• …wondering whether your current corporate wealth management strategy is optimal for your specific situation.

By hopping on a discovery call with Kyle, he will review your specific personal and corporate financial situation in order to determine if there are some quick wins available for you to minimize taxes personally or corporately, provide ideas for how you can increase your personal cash flow, and ensure that the net worth of your estate continues to grow in tandem.

Watch Now!

Detailed Episode Summary 

Real Estate Investment Strategies and Experiences

Luis and Kyle discussed their real estate investment strategies and experiences. Luis shared his approach of focusing on cash-flowing properties in emerging areas, emphasizing the importance of honesty, integrity, and risk reduction through property acquisition. He noted his success in various cities, including Scarborough, North York, Las Vegas, Calgary, and New Brunswick, and his continued monitoring of the market for opportunities. Kyle shared his initial hesitation due to emotional reasons, but both agreed on the importance of understanding the local market and the role of realtors in their investment decisions.

Real Estate Investing and Financial Strategies

Luis and Kyle discussed their experiences in investing in real estate and the importance of diversifying cash flow from various sectors in a city. Kyle shared his gratitude towards a mentor who guided him and his wife, emphasizing the significance of trust and the value of their advice. Luis agreed, highlighting the importance of integrity and honesty in a potential partner. They both stressed the need for a strategic approach, focusing on cash flow and built-in equity, and the value of making a commitment towards one’s financial goals. They also discussed the importance of frugality, basing investment decisions on numbers, and avoiding emotional attachments, especially in real estate.

Mentorship, Joint Ventures, and Connections

Luis shared his experiences with mentorship, emphasizing the value of personal conversations with mentors over online resources. He also discussed his upcoming plans for joint ventures in new properties. Kyle affirmed the value of mentorship and expressed appreciation for Luis’s insights. He highlighted the possibility of joint venture opportunities from their mentorship relationships. Luis encouraged people to connect with him through LinkedIn or Facebook. Kyle also promised to share more about Luis in the upcoming episode of Canadian Wealth Secrets and invited listeners to reach out for a discovery call.

Transcript:

00:00:00:06 – 00:00:15:19
Luis Limgenco
So when I started my journey, my first rental property again, I came in 2001. I saved aggressively. I saved aggressively, meaning I did my shopping in places like Value Village, Goodwill. I went to garage sales. And again, my goal was I wanted to.

00:00:15:19 – 00:00:44:20
Kyle Pearce
Imagine moving to a country with only $1,000 in your pocket and a dream of improving your way of life, only to realize that your dream meant grinding over 60 hours per week for quote unquote success. In today’s episode will be interviewing Louis Manco as he shares his journey as an immigrant whose hard work and dedication led him to what many would consider professional success.

00:00:44:22 – 00:01:13:24
Kyle Pearce
However, he quickly recognized that training all of his waking hours for a paycheck wasn’t going to lead him to the financial or lifestyle freedom that he had envisioned for he and his wife coming to Canada. Stick around as we dig deep into his story as he went from focusing on the climb up the corporate ladder to going all in on real estate to escape the daily grind he had created for himself and towards real financial freedom.

00:01:14:01 – 00:02:18:20
Kyle Pearce
His story epitomizes the transformative power of strategic real estate investments, showcasing how diligent research, calculated risks and decisive actions can turn modest beginnings into a multimillion dollar empire. By immersing yourself in his narrative, you’ll gain invaluable insights into overcoming obstacles, seizing opportunities and forging your path to true financial independence and time freedom. Here we go. Welcome to the Canadian Wealth Secrets Podcast with Kyle Pierce and John or we are recovering high school mathematics teachers and education consultants whose entrepreneurial spirit led us to begin multiple businesses in real estate investing, digital courses and coaching and consulting after the bell rang at dismissal time.

00:02:18:22 – 00:02:43:04
Kyle Pearce
Fast forward a decade later, where we’ve grown our portfolios in our time, freedom to the point where we can now focus on helping entrepreneurs, business owners and investors just like you to grow their wealth into a legacy that lasts generations. Through hidden investment and tax secrets. Your financial advisors won’t believe our true. All right, my friends, we are going to let Louie take this away.

00:02:43:08 – 00:03:10:20
Kyle Pearce
We had a great conversation and we can’t wait to share his story with you here today. All right. Canadian Wealth Secrets seekers. Today I am excited to bring to you an awesome, awesome, wonderful Canadian wealth secret seeker himself. His name is Louis Lim Henco and he is from the GTA but wasn’t always from the GTA. But before. I don’t want to give too much of it away.

00:03:10:20 – 00:03:19:24
Kyle Pearce
I want to flip it to you. My friend. Tell us a little bit more about yourself there, Louis, and where are you coming to us from and how are things going in your world today?

00:03:20:05 – 00:03:38:10
Luis Limgenco
First of all, Kyle, thank you so much for taking the time to ask me to join this podcast. Great opportunity. What an honor and happy to be here. And to answer your question very, very quickly, I am an immigrant from the Philippines, so I came here to this wonderful country back in 2001, gave me right after we got married.

00:03:38:10 – 00:04:01:04
Luis Limgenco
They had lots of fear back then, back in 2001, and said, Yeah, So we came here with them. I think we had a lot of dollars in our pockets and no jobs. All we had were our degrees and vision of hope, of freedom and economic prosperity in the lands of Canada. So came here 2001. I started working in the finance industry.

00:04:01:04 – 00:04:23:15
Luis Limgenco
I was a financial analyst in one of the big telecoms in Canada. And my working hours there were horrible. So I was working 60 hour workweeks for almost three years. And I said, You know what? This is not the life I dreamed of. So I started thinking of how do I get financial freedom back then? And luckily, as a finance guy, I love spreadsheets, I love numbers.

00:04:23:17 – 00:04:35:05
Luis Limgenco
I came across the world of real estate. I started modeling what it would take to invest in a condo. Back then. Back then, you could get a condo for $100,000 in Scarborough or in the outskirts.

00:04:35:11 – 00:04:38:14
Kyle Pearce
Everyone listening today is like, What are you talking about?

00:04:38:14 – 00:04:39:03
Luis Limgenco
Yes, yes.

00:04:39:05 – 00:04:41:19
Kyle Pearce
That was probably still a big number right back then.

00:04:41:19 – 00:04:50:23
Luis Limgenco
Yes. Yes. But much more affordable to what it is now. And back then. You can actually have something like cash flow in the GTA in the get right.

00:04:50:24 – 00:04:55:04
Kyle Pearce
But that’s been something that’s been a mystery for quite some time now. And the GTA has it.

00:04:55:08 – 00:05:17:17
Luis Limgenco
Because I remember the numbers. I remember the numbers like 2002 three, right? $100,000 condo. You could rent it for $1,000 a month. So that beats the 1% rule in real estate. And back then the interest rates were two 3%. So I would easily cash will even if I pay the condo to right. So that was what intrigued me.

00:05:17:17 – 00:05:42:01
Luis Limgenco
And again, I had a finance guy, I did all of these Excel spreadsheets and it’s like, okay, this is my path to freedom, right? So that’s where I decided, you know what, I’m going to save like crazy. I’d rather spend my financial analyst salary aggressively. Right. And try to aggressively invest in real estate. So that’s all been my journey started and I slowly built my portfolio.

00:05:42:01 – 00:05:49:22
Luis Limgenco
I can go on it, but I know we have a time limit. But in a nutshell, that was when I started buying real estate.

00:05:49:24 – 00:06:09:18
Kyle Pearce
I love it and I know sometimes it’s nice to kind of hold back, but I almost want to fast forward for a second and then we’ll fill in some gaps here. But I want to fast forward because you’re talking about getting started. I know that there’s people that listen to this podcast. Some invest in other asset classes, some invest in real estate, some are at various spots in the journey.

00:06:09:18 – 00:06:28:00
Kyle Pearce
Some are business owners that are successful business owners, but they haven’t really figured out what they want to do. I know you and I hit it off very well because you’re a numbers guy. I’m a numbers guy. Spreadsheets. I dream about them in a positive way. It’s not nightmares. It’s actually like these are the best dreams I have are about numbers and spread.

00:06:28:02 – 00:06:29:10
Luis Limgenco
So that 100%.

00:06:29:10 – 00:06:52:10
Kyle Pearce
Yeah. So we definitely align there. So you came in, you had basically $1,000 in your pocket, you got started. Obviously you had some education to back you up because you landed in. What I’m going to argue is a good quote unquote career, but just not a great lifestyle career. And then all of a sudden you recognize that, you know, what real estate was going to be this path.

00:06:52:12 – 00:07:16:08
Kyle Pearce
I love it. Fast forward to today. What is your portfolio look like and sound like? And we can unpack what that what’s consisting in that portfolio. But how big is it? And from my understanding, I think that you actually did this pretty much through self-funding for the vast majority of it. So it’s not like you were just putting no money down deals or JV deals where you have all these doors, but you never you own parts of these doors.

00:07:16:08 – 00:07:18:09
Kyle Pearce
Tell us what’s going on in your portfolio. Yeah.

00:07:18:12 – 00:07:45:21
Luis Limgenco
So just to summarize, today, I have around 18 properties in North America, if memory serves me right. I have six detached homes in Las Vegas, Nevada. I have three Triplexes in Calgary and I have eight rental properties in New Brunswick, plus my primary residence in Toronto. So that’s a total of around 18 as of today.

00:07:45:23 – 00:08:08:07
Kyle Pearce
I love it. I love it. That is fantastic. So first of all, I want to congratulate you because that is a massive accomplishment. Do you think something that I’m sure is intriguing people is this idea that you didn’t necessarily stick to the GTA for these properties and that actually when we actually run through your portfolio here, you don’t have any rental properties in the GTA.

00:08:08:07 – 00:08:22:23
Kyle Pearce
So I’m guessing that you’ve got management in place and that you’ve done some of that legwork. Tell us a little bit more about where did you start the investment journey and why in that particular part of North America.

00:08:23:00 – 00:08:44:20
Luis Limgenco
So when I started my journey, my first rental property again, I came in 2001. I saved aggressively, right? I say progressively, meaning I did my shopping in places like Value Village, Goodwill. I went to garage sales and again, my goal was I wanted out of this rat race and I knew that real estate was the path for me to take me to financial freedom.

00:08:44:22 – 00:09:06:01
Luis Limgenco
So I actually started when you say trade in the GTA. So I bought a couple of rental properties starting in 2005 in Scarborough and in North York, right? And I chose these properties because they were cash flowing. I chose a bungalow in Scarborough in the top house in North York. The reason why I did not go to condo rock was because, again, the cash flow was limited.

00:09:06:03 – 00:09:29:19
Luis Limgenco
I didn’t want to pay condo juice and I didn’t have to divide rooms or units into separate living living quarters away. So that’s why I chose this Scarborough property and not property. But then again, properties in the GTA were coming up to the point where the cash flow did not make sense anymore. And at that time the US property market crashed, right?

00:09:29:21 – 00:09:50:08
Luis Limgenco
The property market crash. I think this was during the time of Lehman Brothers in 2008 or nine and I thought maybe there’s an opportunity here, right? So as I monitor the market, right, I look at my spreadsheets and lo and behold, I saw Las Vegas where properties that used to be half a million U.S. dollars dropped around one 5180 K Right.

00:09:50:14 – 00:10:13:04
Luis Limgenco
And at that time, if you would Google it, the Canadian dollar actually was worth more than the U.S. dollar. So I thought this was a perfect storm with it. Oh, my gosh. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. What I can easily buy right. A detached home in a nice area of Vegas called Summerlin, half a billion U.S. dollars to 2008.

00:10:13:06 – 00:10:34:23
Luis Limgenco
Now it’s down to one 5180. I went all in. I went all in. Meaning I sold my two rental properties in the GTA. I borrowed everything that I could. I refinanced my house. I wanted to collateralize my RRSP at RRSP, but my wife said, You’re not touching RRSP at all. But I wanted to go all in. So that was all.

00:10:34:23 – 00:10:47:17
Luis Limgenco
I went all in. I, I, I talked to the banks in the U.S. Unfortunately, during that time, 2011, very, very few lenders were willing to lend to non-U.S. residents.

00:10:47:19 – 00:10:56:15
Kyle Pearce
And I mean even to many U.S. residents. Right, Because, I mean, they had really the mortgage crisis was definitely affiliated with that big crash.

00:10:56:15 – 00:11:21:06
Luis Limgenco
Correct. So what financed my investments in Vegas were mostly the proceeds of the sale of my two rental properties in the GTA, plus the refi in my primary home. Okay. And during that journey, I think within the first 12 months, talking to people in the U.S. and to Canada and to mine, that’s what I heard that RBC, U.S. backed that.

00:11:21:06 – 00:11:44:09
Luis Limgenco
It was only RBC. U.S. had a program for non for Canadians not living in the U.S. and it wasn’t even a mortgage. It was more of a hillock. So I had a couple of properties already acquired back then and they said, you know what, We can put locks on these too. And that’s how I got more financing. And during the course of the year, I just tried to acquire more and more.

00:11:44:09 – 00:12:05:05
Luis Limgenco
And this however, I met six and again, similar strategy when it came to a point in the biggest market just which is appreciating too much. And this one I stuck on the brakes within the cash flow was not because that’s anymore simply because the property values have decreased significantly. And that’s how I pivoted to Calgary and then to New Brunswick.

00:12:05:07 – 00:12:31:10
Kyle Pearce
I love it. I love it. You and I are very similar. That was what drew my attention. I had looked in Vegas for quite some time now. Mind you, this was a couple of years after you started the journey. I was looking in, starting probably around 2010, finally pulled the trigger twice in 11, and I actually picked up a property in Florida, not because it was the best numbers, but because emotionally I struggled with the idea that I’m like, What if rentals don’t work?

00:12:31:10 – 00:12:52:12
Kyle Pearce
I’m like, I would be okay with having a Florida property, you know? So that was sort of my that fear driving my decision there. But I was looking in Vegas for a while. We ended up picking up a property in Arizona. But having I’ve talked about my primal question on this show a number of times before, my primal question is, am I financially secure?

00:12:52:14 – 00:13:01:05
Kyle Pearce
So I was unable to go the full all in all, in, all in like you did. And wow, what a regret that I had years later.

00:13:01:07 – 00:13:23:07
Luis Limgenco
I’m smiling because what drew me to the U.S. was not because it was actually Florida, because I been. But you know what? Being new to Canada, the word cottage was alien to me right back where it came from. When you say cottage, it’s like a small hut. And that’s where people who are marginalized live. Right. And so cottage to me was like, okay, that’s a cottage concept.

00:13:23:09 – 00:13:41:24
Luis Limgenco
Wouldn’t it be nice if I had a cottage in Florida? So I started looking at Florida as well, just like you. What drove me to Vegas was with I was chatting about properties in the US to my network, to my relatives. I heard that one of my aunts was actually a realtor in Vegas, and I didn’t know that.

00:13:42:01 – 00:13:52:12
Luis Limgenco
So that’s what drove me to Vegas. And again, given that I had a trusted realtor back then and yeah, that’s what made me pivot. Proposal River to Vegas.

00:13:52:14 – 00:14:10:20
Kyle Pearce
100% in on. I can relate on so many levels, not only because we were both kind of looking down there and maybe looking for similar reasons in certain areas, right? Going, hey, cottage vacation home, whatever. As the fallback strategy, my goal was investment. But at the end of the day, there was this idea like, what if I can’t rent it?

00:14:10:20 – 00:14:29:16
Kyle Pearce
That’s what every new real estate investor asks themselves, right? And for me, the big reason why I ended up picking the location where I ended up in Florida, I was looking at a number of different places. But I’m telling you, there was a realtor, his name is Brett Croom, and he’s still someone that we keep in touch with.

00:14:29:22 – 00:15:10:13
Kyle Pearce
He took me and Sean held my wife under his wing, and he was just amazing, just an amazing person, but just someone who we built trust and he built trust. And ultimately we trusted his guidance, his advice, his recommendations. And it sounds like you have that same thing as well. So sort of a bit of a Canadian wealth secret sauce right now that I want to make sure people recognize is it’s all about not only your team, but also if you are looking outside of your area, not only I mean, in your area, you still need to have someone you can trust, but finding that person in that place that’s going to take care of

00:15:10:13 – 00:15:29:10
Kyle Pearce
you. It’s not just look in the yellow pages or I don’t even know if Yellow Pages exist and are going to Google picking the first person out of Google. Like you really do need to make sure that you find that person because when push comes to shove, when the deal lands in your lap and you’re about to make that final choice, right?

00:15:29:10 – 00:15:42:18
Kyle Pearce
It’s that person that you’re going to be looking to to help you with, you know, sort of that final decision if you don’t have that trusted individual, you may pass on an opportunity that probably should have been an all in opportunity.

00:15:42:18 – 00:16:03:16
Luis Limgenco
100%. Kyle and I want to make that right. And again, being a spreadsheet guy, I knew that numbers and finding the right property was only step one, right? That’s one of the maybe two or three pillars that you need in order to be successful when doing investments outside of your province, outside of their town or even outside of your country.

00:16:03:18 – 00:16:28:22
Luis Limgenco
And you said it’s right there next to numbers and finding the right property. It’s finding the right people. Right. And need to find somebody you can trust somebody Come on, risk, pool integrity. I value integrity over competence, right? If you can find the most competent and most honest person. Perfect. But if I have to choose between competence and honesty, I would go with honesty because competency, I can coach that.

00:16:28:22 – 00:16:44:14
Luis Limgenco
I can teach someone how to be more competent but honesty to something I cannot teach. I would have to rely on that person that person is my eyes and ears, and without honesty, the probability of failure is very, very high for an investor. Right? So yeah.

00:16:44:16 – 00:16:49:22
Kyle Pearce
You remind me of there’s the triangle of time skill cost.

00:16:49:22 – 00:16:50:09
Luis Limgenco
Yes. Yes.

00:16:50:10 – 00:17:21:17
Kyle Pearce
And usually they’re battling, right. It’s usually you can you can kind of find two, but it’s really hard to find all three. Right. So it’s like if I want best skill, best timing, then it’s going to cost you. If you want low cost and skill, it’s probably going to take a lot longer and vice versa. And I almost I picture a similar triangle in what you’re suggesting there where you know, that honesty, integrity and then there’s competence and then there might be maybe it’s time or price or something there where you’re going to have to sacrifice.

00:17:21:17 – 00:17:39:04
Kyle Pearce
And I’m with you on that. I want somebody who I’m going to want them to at least make sure there’s enough time in their day to deal with me. But then also that integrity, that honesty, that piece, because those types of individuals are going to be the type that go, listen, this is a little bit outside my wheelhouse.

00:17:39:04 – 00:18:08:06
Kyle Pearce
I’m going to bring in this person and they’re going to help us along and so forth. Right? So bang on. Now, I want to continue along this journey. And you’ve done so you did very well in the Nevada market. I’m guessing prices, as you mentioned, started to increase and then you started to look in other areas and you found yourself out west in I believe it was Alberta, in Calgary and in New Brunswick.

00:18:08:06 – 00:18:31:16
Kyle Pearce
Now, we don’t necessarily need to talk about both markets in particular, but now that you’re looking at it, I’m curious because you’ve continue to grow. I’m guessing that you’re going to continue crunching numbers, underwriting deals, seeing what makes sense for you. What is it, would you say, now, knowing what you know? Because clearly you’re looking for numbers that make sense.

00:18:31:22 – 00:18:58:24
Kyle Pearce
You’re looking for people you can trust, right? So I’m guessing you’ve got people in Calgary, people in New Brunswick that you can trust. But I’m wondering, what is it now that you’re actually now that you have these properties, you have a portfolio? There’s no will say probably no urgency for you to necessarily pick up the next property. What would you say is sort of like your buy box, your sweet spot for finding, say, the next deal that might land in your lap.

00:18:59:01 – 00:19:19:05
Luis Limgenco
So, Kyle, as you were talking to, thoughts keep going because I think I think suddenly you were asking why. But from my journey from Vegas to Calgary to New Brunswick, I want to tell the audience, why did I choose Vegas so I mentioned it as my own. But actually the bigger reason why Vegas, why Calgary, why you’re possibly being a numbers guy.

00:19:19:05 – 00:19:41:24
Luis Limgenco
I tracked house price indices in the US. They have this thing called the Case-Shiller Price Index, House Price Index. And it’s a bunch of numbers which tell you all the major cities in the U.S. it tracks house prices like like the stock market, right? So that’s what I saw. Florida and Las Vegas having the biggest decline from 2008 to 2011.

00:19:42:01 – 00:20:09:01
Luis Limgenco
So I thought, you know, simple real estate, simple and yes, aggressive. Buy low, sell high. So that’s what drove me to Florida. And then to Vegas. Right now, Calgary, same thing. In Canada, we have this thing called the Pattern House Price Index. Again, being a numbers guy, I looked at the graph, the charts and the graph and I saw that Calgary, unlike Toronto, actually declined until 2016, right?

00:20:09:03 – 00:20:31:04
Luis Limgenco
I thought, okay, this is a good opportunity if I could just buy up the dips. But probability of failure is very low. So that’s where it went, right? And again, similar, similar before I went to your week, Calgary was a new place because I didn’t know anybody in Calgary, but I didn’t have my aunt there nor relatives. So I had to basically find the right person.

00:20:31:06 – 00:20:37:14
Luis Limgenco
And back then there were no Zoom calls. This is like back in 2018 also, because everything mostly was done through the telephone.

00:20:37:17 – 00:20:38:15
Kyle Pearce
Only telegram.

00:20:38:15 – 00:21:02:06
Luis Limgenco
Correct? Correct. So. So, so so. So I would talk to people. I mean, I would email them and I would evaluate them on how they respond to the emails and how they communicate. I could more or less. And then I would ask around, who is this person? Is he on this? Is he competent? Right. And again, that’s how I pivoted from Vegas and that’s how I chose Calgary in all the cities of the back pocket.

00:21:02:08 – 00:21:26:05
Luis Limgenco
Now, Calgary, just like Vegas, started going up and that was after cash flow down. Right. And my my goal was given my portfolio back then. It just got big enough where I could actually consider retiring from my corporate job. I was now looking for cash flow and that’s how your prospect came into play, right? And because I knew that the cash flow in Europe was much higher in Alberta, right?

00:21:26:05 – 00:21:48:16
Luis Limgenco
So that’s how I chose New Brunswick. Now, to ask you a question, finally, what are the parameters? Right. So one parameter is basically looking at geography. Then I try to look at the house price indices and see where the market stands historically. Right. I mentioned how I chose Vegas and Calgary. What I saw was a historical dip. That’s how I chose Vegas.

00:21:48:16 – 00:22:15:12
Luis Limgenco
It’s how I chose Calgary. New Brunswick is a different story because the Brunswick I started doing your investing once last year. However, I was already studying that market since 20, 22 years ago. I wanted to invest in New Brunswick, even if the prices had not simply because of cash flow. That’s what drove me, and I knew that given what was happening at the macro level, I knew that the risk was manageable.

00:22:15:12 – 00:22:38:14
Luis Limgenco
Even if the prices were not at the dip, even if the prices were just maintaining from where it was back in 2020 just a little bit. But I knew that Casual was going to grow given what was happening in the market. New college students from international markets, new hospital workers and the addressable market. And I talked to the people in Brunswick, I even talked to the meter.

00:22:38:16 – 00:22:57:15
Luis Limgenco
I know they’re not my Facebook friends. I know that the city is growing. The cities where I’m investing it is growing and that’s where I’m focusing right now. And my parameters are still the same, making sure that the cash flow works, making sure that I have different sources of revenue for the different sectors in the city that I’m investing in.

00:22:57:17 – 00:23:23:08
Kyle Pearce
I love it. I love it. That paints a really clear picture. And what I hear from you is very similar to the journey that myself and my partners have been on as we built our portfolio. And I always like to say I’ll hop on calls with some aspiring real estate investors. You’ll have some people that maybe they’ve been investing in, say, you know, traditional asset classes, maybe just the index funds or they, you know, whatever that might be.

00:23:23:10 – 00:23:51:18
Kyle Pearce
And they want to get into the real estate market. But what I often mention is that when you’re getting into the real estate market, it’s a lot easier to get into the real estate market to generate wealth than it is to necessarily generate cash flow off the back or right off the bat, I should say. And why I say that is because typically when you’re getting into the real estate market, much like you, I mean, I guess a little unlike me because I went to where the dip was at the time.

00:23:51:18 – 00:24:16:03
Kyle Pearce
So for me it was Florida instead of locally. But for most people starting out in their local area if possible. Now I know it’s very impossible for many people in, say, the GTA area, so they’ll have to get a little bit more creative. But looking at it from a building wealth perspective over a cash flow perspective I think is sort of a mindset that you have to at least be open to.

00:24:16:03 – 00:24:42:15
Kyle Pearce
Now that doesn’t mean by cash flow negative. That’s not what I’m saying. But what I mean is that in the early goings, until you have enough doors where the portfolio can kind of sustain those unexpected costs, you have to just be aware of the fact that, hey, if I buy one property and I might go five years without a big expense, or it could be three months, and then the big expense comes.

00:24:42:15 – 00:25:09:18
Kyle Pearce
So the cash flow in the early goings is more about helping you to sustain and build that portfolio. And then as you go, much like yourself, it’s like now we look more much more strategically around cash flow over, let’s say built in equity. I still am a sucker for built in equity. I love buying when I feel the property is either undervalued or maybe the market is undervalued, although that’s harder to find these days.

00:25:09:20 – 00:25:33:05
Kyle Pearce
But ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s like this transition to build enough quote unquote wealth that you’ve kind of created a bit of a foundation for yourself, right? Like in the worst case scenario, you can always pull equity from one of your properties. You could use that home equity line of credit on one of those Arizona properties if you still have it, or you could actually sell and be okay.

00:25:33:05 – 00:25:54:23
Kyle Pearce
Right? So it’s like if I’m going to add more doors to this portfolio, I’m going to want to make sure that it’s actually going to improve my cash flow, because as we get into later life and now you having been retired from, say, your career, it’s all about cash flow, right? Having equity is not that helpful when you’re trying to survive, right?

00:25:55:00 – 00:26:20:07
Luis Limgenco
Then you hit the nail on the head. And again, that was my journey when I was when I started in Vegas again, what attracted me there was equity. It was not really cash flow. Remember half a million dollar U.S. property down to 150. My logic there was, you know what, I don’t care even if I needed a little bit of cash, because what I’m looking for is if that 150 goes back to 500, then all of a sudden I have tripled the investment just like that.

00:26:20:07 – 00:26:41:20
Luis Limgenco
So I just come back to where it was prior to the crash. And same thing with Calgary. That was the same similar logic. Well then I want a little bit more cash and cash flow now. But Calgary, I love because I was buying a dip. Your Brunswick for your point. As I have built the foundation, I wasn’t focusing on cash flow and you summarize it perfectly.

00:26:41:22 – 00:26:51:23
Luis Limgenco
The mind shift changed from pure equity play to equity and a little bit of cash flow, and they’ll just purely cash flow. It’s what’s driving my investments right now 100% amazing.

00:26:51:23 – 00:27:13:19
Kyle Pearce
Amazing. This has been awesome. And I want to pause here for a moment because we’re coming near the end of this episode and I want all of the audience, the listeners to really reflect here for a second. Okay. 2001. I got it, I got it. That was over 20 years ago. So it’s been a journey for you. But when you started, I want everyone to kind of think to themselves.

00:27:13:19 – 00:27:40:01
Kyle Pearce
I know some other people who have immigrated to Canada who have come with not a whole lot of money in their pocket. But the reason I love your story so much is the fact that you’ve essentially committed to it. And I didn’t mention it earlier, but you had also you had articulated the sacrifices you had made, not only in the 60 hour workweeks you were doing in order to start on this journey, but you were also you were living quite well, say, responsibly.

00:27:40:01 – 00:28:00:18
Kyle Pearce
Some might call it frugal, but ultimately, at the end of the day, you were making sacrifices to your personal lifestyle, so you were essentially stealing cash flow from the now from the present in order to increase your cash flow in the future. And that’s something that for me is a big takeaway that I’m getting from your story here.

00:28:00:18 – 00:28:22:00
Kyle Pearce
And I feel that a lot of us as humans and this isn’t a bad thing for those who are listening and maybe feel that I’m talking directly to them. The reality is, is that it’s hard to have your cake and eat it, too. Meaning you have to decide what is more important for you. And I’ve been on the phone with many people who are looking into doing this type of journey.

00:28:22:02 – 00:28:51:06
Kyle Pearce
And I asked them and I say, Listen, it’s which one do you actually want more? Do you want more in the future or do you want more now? Because you can have more now. You could have had more now when it came to those material things, to your lifestyle choices, but you made a different decision and I know for those who are successful like yourself, and I would argue that I’m kind of that guy as well, I don’t spend a ton and I love the challenge of it.

00:28:51:06 – 00:29:10:04
Kyle Pearce
I love working towards that longer term goal. So ultimately, for those who are listening, I think a big takeaway I’m getting here before I want to flip it to you for, you know, the big takeaway you want for the audience is really getting a handle on what it is that you really want and just making sure that you’re fully committed to it.

00:29:10:04 – 00:29:26:03
Kyle Pearce
I always say to people, Hey, as a former teacher, I used to say, if you want to be an astronaut, you can be an astronaut. But let me tell you something right now, that when you go home today, if you just sit on YouTube watching videos, you don’t really want to be an astronaut. You should be working towards becoming an astronaut.

00:29:26:04 – 00:29:45:24
Kyle Pearce
Like, so what are you going to need to do? The same as the NHL baseball and whatever you want to do? And I would argue the same is true when it comes to investing and creating a financially free future for yourself. So I want to flip it to you, my friend. When people think about this episode with Lewis, what are you hoping will resonate with them?

00:29:45:24 – 00:29:53:01
Kyle Pearce
What Canadian wealth secret sauce do you want them to kind of resonate with them as they leave here today?

00:29:53:03 – 00:30:16:18
Luis Limgenco
I’ll summarize it through three points. Okay. I love what frugality, right? Because again, that’s an immigrant who came here when English being my first language, I thought being cheap was the same as being frugal. There’s a big difference now after 20 years in Canada. So, yes, I love frugality. I continue to shop at the value, but it’s because the equity need to go to garage sales.

00:30:16:20 – 00:30:35:17
Luis Limgenco
It’s because of the thrill of the hunt. I love buying things that I know are underpriced. It’s the same mentality as buying assets, right? I love buying cheap clothing. Right. So so I still buy my clothes to this very day at a value village. I think my number one is it’s not what you make, it’s what you say.

00:30:35:19 – 00:30:56:21
Luis Limgenco
Okay, one number two is I hate to say it, but we both love numbers. Numbers work. Do your research right. Make your investment decisions on the numbers. Don’t be too emotionally attached, especially in the game of real estate. It’s not really how the house looks like. It’s how the numbers look like for that particular property. So I think that’s number two.

00:30:56:23 – 00:31:24:10
Luis Limgenco
Number three, seek mentorship, right? That estate being where I am right now, I do a lot of free mentorship. I talk to so many people, people I’ve never met. We just do video calls and I teach them on what is the best practice. I also do joint ventures where within them some of my friends and some of the people I got introduced to or want to learn to invest in new provinces or new areas.

00:31:24:12 – 00:31:42:02
Luis Limgenco
I’ve started doing that and we are about to embark on a new journey for two or three properties in the next few weeks. So mentorship is my last advice. It now there are certain things which you can never learn, just watching through YouTube channels and all that. It is different when you actually have a conversation with a mentor.

00:31:42:04 – 00:31:49:21
Luis Limgenco
And again, I do this for free and I also and I’m anti to people who have been through the journey where I plan to go to next.

00:31:49:21 – 00:32:13:02
Kyle Pearce
So I love it, I love it and that I love that idea as well. It’s it’s a model that both John and I use with Canadian Wealth Secrets. We offered people to come on to calls with us and we just want to help them get to the next step in their journey. And it may lead to something like you said, maybe it leads to a joint venture opportunity for both of you, where you get to both when it’s all about the win win.

00:32:13:04 – 00:32:43:20
Kyle Pearce
I love those three. It’s not what you make. It’s what you save, not how the house looks, it’s how the numbers look amazing and get mentorship. Mentorship is hopping into a time machine from where you are now to where you are, or at least closer to that success that you’re after is able to hit the fast Forward button because you have somebody there to help guide you along to help get those bad irrational thoughts out of your mind, to ask you the right questions.

00:32:43:22 – 00:32:54:19
Kyle Pearce
So I love it so, Luis, where can people where can the Canadian wealth seekers find you if they’d like to reach out and learn more about you and what you can do to help them along?

00:32:54:21 – 00:33:14:20
Luis Limgenco
I am very active in LinkedIn, right? So they can just type by name. It’s Luis Louis Lippincott. I am Team SEAL. I’m very active in LinkedIn. I’m also very active with Facebook. You can be my friend even if you haven’t met. Let’s have a chat. And I’m sorry I’m not as advanced as Kyle where I don’t have a website.

00:33:14:22 – 00:33:31:16
Luis Limgenco
Kyle to me is I consider one of my mentors. I mean, I’ve talked to Kyle before this interview and he has a wealth of knowledge. And rest assured, Kyle, I’m sorry to say this, but I will be bugging you every now and then to pick your brain because I have a lot to learn from you. Okay?

00:33:31:18 – 00:33:47:13
Kyle Pearce
I love it. I love it. I so appreciate it, my friend. And listen, it is all about again. It’s always a win win. I find I always learn something when I’m on a call. I learn something. In the calls that we had previously, and I’m sure it’s going to be the same for both of us. On the future calls.

00:33:47:13 – 00:34:23:10
Kyle Pearce
I know we’ve got lots of tax strategy. We’re talking about estate planning, all kinds of beautiful stuff. And my friends, we will have all of the information on how you can get connected to Luis in the show notes. This episode number. As I’m recording this, I’m actually not sure which episode it’s going to be, but it will be on the Canadian Wall Secrets website, Canadian Wealth, Secret Satcom and of course, Friends, if you’re looking to hop in for a discovery call head to Canadian while secrets dot com forward slash discovery And my friends we’re wishing you all the best Luis thanks for taking the time here today this was awesome.

00:34:23:10 – 00:34:24:13
Kyle Pearce
We so appreciate you.

00:34:24:19 – 00:34:27:14
Luis Limgenco
Thank you. Have a wonderful day. Thank you.

00:34:27:16 – 00:34:49:19
Kyle Pearce
All right. My wealth secrets seekers. Hopefully you took that story and I’m hoping it struck a chord with you. Regardless of where you are in your journey, be it entrepreneurial. If you have a small business, if you’re an investor, maybe you’re climbing the corporate ladder right now and you’re trying to think about how can I actually create more time freedom for myself?

00:34:50:00 – 00:35:12:10
Kyle Pearce
Well, look at this story as a great example of just that. Of course, it was not an overnight success. As you heard. Louis has been doing this work for now. It’s almost two more than two decades that he’s been building up this portfolio and he’s now comfortably, quote unquote, retired and living off of cashflow and feeling quite confident.

00:35:12:16 – 00:35:36:00
Kyle Pearce
So wherever you are in this journey, just remember we had a couple who came to Canada with only $1,000 to their name and managed to put something quite impressive together, something that very, very few Canadians ever do over their lifetime. It’s not because it’s not possible, it’s just because you’ve got to commit to doing it. And this is a great example of committing it.

00:35:36:05 – 00:36:00:21
Kyle Pearce
It’s about consistency, not intensity. So consistency over a long period of time instead of intensity over a short period of time, and then maybe burning out and then being done with it. So wherever you are, please take story and use it to motivate you to take the very next step. If you’re curious about what that next step should be for you, you should hop on a Canadian Wealth Secrets discovery.

00:36:00:21 – 00:36:21:03
Kyle Pearce
Call you can head over to Canadian while secrets dot com forward slash discovery and hop on a call where we can go through your situation be it personal or corporate. Ultimately it ends up being both. If you do have an incorporated business or your investments are inside of a corporation, we’ll be looking at the whole plan and trying to help you decide.

00:36:21:03 – 00:36:43:21
Kyle Pearce
What is your very next step? Head over to Canadian wealth secrets dot com forward slash discovery so that we can help you along your journey here. And hopefully my friends, if you enjoyed this episode, you will head over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify or YouTube. Wherever you’re getting this, please head on over there and hit the follow button or subscribe button.

00:36:43:23 – 00:37:03:13
Kyle Pearce
And very importantly, do us a favor and leave us a rating and review. Make it honest. We want an honest rating and review, but whatever is left there will be helpful for us to make the show better and to also reach a larger audience. So the only way we can continue producing this content is for us to continue growing the community together.

00:37:03:13 – 00:37:41:07
Kyle Pearce
So we appreciate you for doing that and we look forward to hopping on a discovery call with you sometime soon. All right, Canadian while Secret seekers, We will see you next time. Just a reminder that this content is for informational purposes only. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal tax investment, financial or other advice.

00:37:41:09 – 00:38:03:03
Kyle Pearce
And to keep in mind, John, or is a mortgage agent with Brick’s mortgage license number Rm2 3006803 And Kyle Pierce is a licensed life and accident and sickness insurance agent and the VP of Corporate Wealth Management with the PAN Corp. team that includes corporate advisors and pan financial.

Canadian Wealth Secrets is an informative podcast that digs into the intricacies of building a robust portfolio, maximizing dividend returns, the nuances of real estate investment, and the complexities of business finance, while offering expert advice on wealth management, navigating capital gains tax, and understanding the role of financial institutions in personal finance.

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