Everything You Need To Know About Multiplexing

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Canadian Real Estate Investor, where host Daniel Foch and Nick Hill navigate the market and provide the tools and insights to build your real estate portfolio. We both love an admirer, I think, Dan, rehousing.ca. We've had them on the podcast.

[00:00:37] We've made social media content about them. It is on August 22nd, 2024 at U of T. That's the University Toronto Top 25 School in the World, I might add.

[00:00:50] Episode 134, that was where we had them on the show, convert any house into a multiplex with this resource or perhaps with this event. In that episode that Dan just mentioned, we talked to two of the key players at rehousing. That's R.E. housing.

[00:01:09] And we're going to talk a bit more about the event and our plans for that in today's episode. And the hopes that you can make it out. And hopefully learn a lot and maybe we can even meet you there if you are able to attend.

[00:01:27] And if you're not from the GTA or Ontario and don't want to make the trip in, let us know if you want a live stream. If we get enough demand, we'll try and figure that out.

[00:01:36] Yeah, and we'll probably put a recording up on the realist.ca course as well. Anyway, before we rehouse, we're going to review. Ooh, I like what you did there Dan very clever. Thank you. How's that work and how for you? What? Being clever.

[00:01:52] Great. We'll keep it up then. Did you just, did you just in trap me in like the Tyler Darden airplane dialogue from Fight Club? I'm might of. Here is a clever one. Why, thank you, sir. How's that work and how for you?

[00:02:05] No, no, no, no, no, you can't just do it back to me like that. Just let's, let's get back to that re view. Okay, it's, it says favorite podcast five stars. I believe this is my first podcast review ever. Wow, it's, uh, it's a great.

[00:02:20] It's an honor. Yeah. Dan and Nick, excellent podcast. You should be charging for this info. Well, I mean, technically we do charge for a portion of this information. And if you are inclined to pay us for what we do, that's what the substance was about.

[00:02:37] You can pay to come to a very reasonably priced event that we are hosting again with rehousing.ca. Go check that website out. But I mean in that example, they're still kind of just like paying for the event, the info we're still giving that away for free, right?

[00:02:51] Yep. Very true. But if you want visuals and regular coaching calls with us and with other experts, you can get all that on realist.ca, which is our online community. And course where you can learn how to become a real estate investor in scale, a portfolio.

[00:03:10] It's for people of all experience levels. We've got people in there that are literally buying their first property all the way up to people with hundreds of doors. So go check out realist.ca. You can even join the free group.

[00:03:23] I'm book a console call to discuss what the differences are and what people are doing in that paid version that I just mentioned. Yeah, are you done pitching? Can I get back to the review? Yes. Yes. Yes. Of course.

[00:03:38] Back to our regular, regular, scheduling program of free information after you did. And in an excellent podcast, you should be charging for this info. I believe this is my first podcast review ever. I'm a 30 year residential real estate development veteran and I've worked.

[00:03:54] It always blows my mind when we get people like that. I listen to the show and I've worked in most cities across Canada and I learn something new on each episode. For those of you considering listening in,

[00:04:04] the host stand in egg bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to each episode, breaking down complex topics into clear actionable insights. What I love most about this podcast is its practical focus.

[00:04:16] Each episode is filled with real world examples and expert interviews that provide a deep dive in the Canadian real estate market. Whether you're a beginning investor or a seasoned developer like this individual, you'll find the content incredibly valuable.

[00:04:30] Nick and Dan's passion for real estate shine through making each episode not only informative, but also enjoyable to listen to. That's actually like a really really meaningful comment because I always worry that we're not that interesting to listen to or enjoy a virtual listen to.

[00:04:44] Thank you for your support. From Mark and Analysis to Investment Strategies, they've covered it all. If you are serious about real estate investing, developing or buying a home or just to buy a home in Canada, this podcast is a must listen.

[00:04:56] Five stars for the Canadian real estate investor podcast highly recommended with an exclamation mark. Top it off. That's from Greg K Mills by Apple Podcasts. Man, what a great, great review. Thank you so much Greg K Mills that puts a big smile on our face.

[00:05:15] Man, some of these reviews are so good. It's like actually hard to believe they look like we paid for them. I don't really think we get a forward to pay veteran developers to relate reviews for all.

[00:05:26] I mean, like people who pay for reviews is just like fake stuff. You know, they make it up. Yeah, I guess you don't think someone would really do that though, right? Go on the internet and lie or boost their numbers up.

[00:05:38] Did you just, did you just, was that our, our third meme reference? You're a, you're on fire today with the memes. Thanks, Dan. We should, we should probably get to this podcast episode. What are we, what are we talking about today? Today? Other than just our event.

[00:05:55] Yeah, today we're talking about our first ever big event. Mmm, that's right. You've all asked us to put on a bigger, take a bit of event outside of the meetups that we host on the second Tuesday of every month. So that's what we're doing.

[00:06:13] And actually a quick note on the meetups. Nick, what do we have? We have something coming up with the meetups on the show. Yeah, we have something really cool where we're going to be featuring meetups. Our host there are going to kind of do local market,

[00:06:31] temp checks for the podcast. And don't forget that happens right now in 22 different cities across the country and Dan. I believe we just crossed 29 hundred members in our meetup group. Our, again, our goal is 5000 by the end of the year.

[00:06:48] So really great progress on that set of things. Yeah, and our goal really is to start like eventually getting content at some of these bigger events to put into the podcast. Really just build a community coast to coast to lead into bigger events.

[00:07:03] And this event that we're talking about today is going to be kind of the first of that, whether you know, bigger take it out of events, a little bit more like learning, a little bit more like workshopby networking.

[00:07:16] And in this first iteration, we kind of just going down the list of like what are the things people want to talk about the most. Right? And so the first one is like everybody wants to know how to do a multiplex.

[00:07:26] So this event is and this is what the episode is about today. Everything you need to know about a multiplex. And this this first event we're very lucky where it's a, it's an extra cool event. An amazing venue.

[00:07:38] And we're very lucky to have some really cool partners with this event. Yeah, I'm shocked at the people that are doing this event with us talk about a legitimate partners.

[00:07:47] It's incredible. The event is called unpacking multiplexes and it's an partnership with Rehausen Gatsier University of Toronto's School of Cities at the John H Daniel's Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. And that is at one spadina in once but I was crescent in Toronto.

[00:08:09] Before I pass over to you Dan, you can quickly talk about tickets and maybe some of the people we have at the event. You know, my vision for this event goes back to some of the questions we've been getting for the last few years, right?

[00:08:23] Where are the opportunities in Canada? For me it really comes down to there's kind of two distinct roads that you can take now as a real estate investor. And that is either stain.

[00:08:36] They're not the mean to you excuse, but usually they kind of end up being like that.

[00:08:40] It's either stain where you are, whether or not you live in an expensive place in the GTH or the lower mainland or whether you've decided to go and invest in a long distance market. There's two main investing strategies. One of them is adding value and multiplexing, right?

[00:08:56] The first thing I've done is we've got to be able to get a good investment in the future. And I think that's the biggest advantage for density has become so apparent. We've started to see red tape cuts lately across the country and I think that will just increase.

[00:09:14] And although it's very difficult now, we're on the forefront of, I think, a massive multiplexing construction boom. So that's one of the investments strategies.

[00:09:25] This is the other thing you should be doing. And I'm really excited because, Dan, every time we do something like this, I learn a ton as well. We have some serious experts on the panel here.

[00:09:37] Some people that are doing this live as we speak. They've got multiple projects like this going on. And I'm just very excited for everyone in the room to be able to learn from these people that are actually doing it.

[00:09:51] Dan, tell us a little bit about who some of these people are and maybe your vision for for what the event is. Yeah, well, I'm going to have to talk about my vision now that you just did it so eloquently.

[00:10:05] Early bird tickets are on sale now. By the way, $55, but there isn't early bird discount for podcast listeners. I guess that's the price with the discount. So if you use a link in the bio before July 20th, you'll get 15% off.

[00:10:18] This is on Thursday, August 22nd from 530pm to 9pm. So it's kind of an after work thing. And you don't have to stay for the whole thing. I think like the actual content will start around like six and then, you know, it's all networking once the content's done.

[00:10:32] So I mean, my vision for the event really is to give people everything they need. Like everything including all of the people, like we want to bring together the people, not just on the panels, but we want attendees to be people who, you know,

[00:10:45] One of my favorite things about like what we do is when I hear that somebody met somebody else at the event that we put on, you know, and they're like, oh, I met this, my, my investor at this or I met a private lender, I met, you know,

[00:10:58] Like the realtor who helped me buy this, this deal or, you know, I met a lender at this event. And I'm like, that's like that is exactly what we're trying to do.

[00:11:08] So, you know, we want to bring the audience of people who are going to be able to help you execute multiplexes. That's the theme right?

[00:11:16] And then we want all of the content to be like really, really granular detail of everything that you need to know to execute a multiplexing, including like even condominiumizing them because one of the people that we're talking to is,

[00:11:28] or sorry, it one of the people on the panel actually condominiumized her multiplex, which is, which is remarkable. So I mean, maybe let's, let's dive into the panelists here at neck.

[00:11:36] Yeah, yeah, no, we've got some really great panels speaking damn, but before we get to that, I just want to reiterate what you're saying. One of my favorite things about what we do is, yes, we provide this, you know, free content.

[00:11:48] And we give, we give people the tools and the resources to go do it themselves. But that's not enough. I love the fact that we go and really push for the execution part of all this stuff, right?

[00:12:02] Okay, I understand how to do it when you go step by step. But who do I need where are they? How do I get in contact with them? What's possible? What do my returns look like?

[00:12:12] And, and that's what we're trying to do here. So the first panel is going to be the contemplation panel. We're trying to answer questions like, okay, you are ready to plan a multiplex project. Well, what can you build on your lot? How do you go about getting permits? What kind of financing options do you have?

[00:12:30] So the first individual on that panel is going to be Greg UNC who worked as a urban planner with the City of Toronto for 12 years. He was on the E-Hon E-Hon Stanford Expanding Housing Options and Neighborhoods Program that led to multiplexes.

[00:12:42] I had his LinkedIn up here, but I got distracted. And he's a huge expert when it comes to zoning on these projects. He's now at the Victoria Management. So he went private sector. And they're actually going to be sponsoring.

[00:12:54] So I just found that out, which is so we're very excited to have them involved as well. Oh, awesome. Yeah, that's great news. Then we've got a good friend of the show and partner in the mortgage business founder of our mortgage owner of a

[00:13:09] MAKE owner of a construction company and a guy that is literally doing this. I think he's got three active multiplex projects going on right now. And he just does phenomenal work. I'm going to be filming some content with him.

[00:13:21] That is Mr. Vansquetano, who we just had on the show episode 196. So not that far back that title is what happened in Canada's last real estate crash the 90s. And he goes into all of that because he was around doing mortgages and investments back then as well.

[00:13:38] And then of course we have I think at least one possibly more than one person from re-housing likely either corner or Samantha who are both experts in all things multiplexing.

[00:13:52] Yeah, and you may remember rehousing.ca. It's a platform dedicated to helping individuals and families find affordable housing solutions. So it's basically like a comprehensive database of housing options financial assistance and support services to ensure that everyone has access to safe and

[00:14:08] stable housing. The website also provides tools for landlords and property managers to list their properties and connect with potential tenants and they also show like this catalog of housing, which we're going to talk about a little bit.

[00:14:24] Let's get into the panel, the second panel here as well. Yeah, that's so we went from the contemplation panel to the execution panel now you completed the planning for your project.

[00:14:38] And you're ready to execute amazing, but you probably have a couple of questions. What is the design process like how long does one of these actually take to build? And what are the legal issues behind multiplex tentantine?

[00:14:55] So the first member of that panel and there's a couple more that will be announced.

[00:15:00] Row hand Walter, principal designer from custom homes places of business and interiors and furniture strategies for site development to obscure and difficult city spaces. You can see the work of spaces by row on throughout Toronto.

[00:15:13] What you'll see is often striking always imagine in beyond what you might have expected. So somebody who obviously has done a lot of pleasing spaces throughout Toronto using creative and entrepreneurial thinking and going to apply that knowledge to multiplexes.

[00:15:30] Who's next here? We got to dive in a little bit on the construction side as well, which would be you'd be remiss to not include that in the multiplex strategy.

[00:15:40] We're going to have Mr. Andrew, J. Duffy, Andrew holds an architecture degree from the University of Toronto. So we're actually holding that as alma mater.

[00:15:55] And he's been involved in the design and construction field for over 25 years with his architectural education and his hands on experience in the trades as well as a year in taskinnie working with the broadhag agnally architecte and a local group of mason's continues to inform Andrew's work since then.

[00:16:18] He's built on his experience in expertise in both design and construction as a result of increasingly complex challenges and opportunities. So this is looking to be pretty impressive panel so far.

[00:16:30] Yeah, and I think he's funny you but your detail into I put that in there with the bio but apparently it's no better than your French so.

[00:16:41] Thanks for that. I thought you're Italian so you would have but anyway and you were just there. You want to get by your practicing but you want to me to go full. You got to get back on my dual lingo.

[00:16:52] So, Naly architecte. Yeah. So now we've done the language portion of our learning can be a little bit of a history lesson and talk about the venue for this event.

[00:17:00] I would love to the event is that the Daniels building that's the historic once been a crescent a site of deep historical significance here in the sort of Toronto.

[00:17:13] And at the western edge of the University of Toronto St George campus just north of college street it's this iconic neo-gaothic building with a stunning contemporary edition that are reconnecting the vital vitally important space to the city in a new way.

[00:17:27] I'm really inventing it as a gateway to the University and an iconic hub for urban design. The original heritage building has been renovated and integrated with a new work of contemporary architecture on the north side of the circle and I was clicking through some images of it. It's pretty stunning so I'm excited to actually check it out inside.

[00:17:44] Yeah, yeah same night. I also just love how we're just nerdy note on architecture.

[00:17:49] I mean, I feel like that's one of the things like a lot of people are like, oh, why would you invest in real estate? You can invest in so many different other things. You know we're other than that right.

[00:17:59] But I feel like that's a big thing that attracts people to this asset class is like you get to nerd out on like you know if you appreciate houses and design and like being creative and and like actually creating things like houses structures space et cetera.

[00:18:13] That's that can be like a big qualitative factor why people like real estate investing and you really have to when you're talking in the context of university of Toronto they have some of the most beautiful architecture and especially brutal start architecture in the world honestly.

[00:18:28] I knew that was coming on the Brutalist architecture. I mean we might be some of the only guys around who who love those kind of buildings robots library in particular.

[00:18:38] Yeah, I don't know. I feel like the true nerds appreciate the solid concrete buildings. I think and I think like brutalism as a big place in Canadian.

[00:18:45] We've talked about it on the show before, but like it was a make word project during a recession and like the 70s I think because and it was using like all Canadian aggregates and concrete et cetera.

[00:18:54] So and that's why you see so many public sector and university buildings that are all built out of concrete and brutalist architecture.

[00:19:00] Yeah, true. I mean if you get if you get kind of south of Blur north of college on on Bay Street you will you will see a ton of brutalist architecture.

[00:19:14] I mean, it's just architecture buildings that are all all government stuff. So anyways there is this funny article you've teased five worst buildings and of course all of your favorite buildings are are on it Dan so there you have it.

[00:19:29] I thought it was the CIA and say building maybe but there's like this iconic US building that's like that's brutalist as well, but anyway that the five worst buildings. I would say that is like literally the best buildings on that or not list anyway tell me about the faculty of architecture over hosting this event.

[00:19:48] Yeah, so I mean talk about a badass venue that aligns perfectly with this event. This is this is a big win for us and super excited to have it at the John H Daniel's faculty of architecture architecture landscape and design.

[00:20:01] Usually just known as the Daniel's faculty it's an academic division at the University of Toronto which focuses on architecture urban design and art.

[00:20:11] The faculty was actually the first school in Canada to offer an architecture program all the way back in 1890 when it was founded in 2008 to faculty change its name to the current one to acknowledge the 14 million donation made by benefactors John and mine rent Daniel's including five million dollars for scholarships.

[00:20:34] Now Daniel's that rings a bell doesn't it Dan? Yeah, you may be wondering who is this John Daniel's not to be confused with Jack Daniel's.

[00:20:44] Hey John Daniel's is a U of T alumnus who earned a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1950 and received an honorary degree in 2011 Daniel's lifelong generosity helped Toronto students and citizens alike.

[00:20:56] He built the iconic Toronto Eaton Center just this this yeah, yeah, set emotion groundbreaking projects to make housing more affordable and catalyzed a game changing revolution in Canadian architecture education pretty cool guy by the sons of it.

[00:21:13] They're a site goes on to say that John H Daniel's rose to success through champion accessibility and removing barriers to home ownership.

[00:21:24] Well, Mr. John H. channels we could use a little more of that right now Daniel's was born and Poland to immigrate to Canada in 1939 and he was 12 years old and he saw his new country as a refuge. A welcoming place of opportunity and a beacon of diversity.

[00:21:41] The high school of the Victorian back in 1944 when he wrote Canada will be home for many millions of people and many different races and creates let us realize that we are all Canadian and pride ourselves with more community consciousness.

[00:21:55] We should put away our selfish desires and work together to establish a model country for all of the world these ideals were to inform all this later career as an advocate for quality and a champion of Canada.

[00:22:09] Love it what a guy in 1949 while a student at U of T's faculty of architecture made his first for a in a real estate development by founding modern age construction so start on construction side.

[00:22:20] Though intended as a summer building project to help raise some tuition money the project showed the young entrepreneur his way forward.

[00:22:28] He went on to become CEO of the Cadillac Fairview development corporation little known company that owns like 80% of the office buildings in Toronto now where he helped build Toronto's Eden Center and the Aaron Mills community in Nassasaga community.

[00:22:43] He'll hold the whole thing. Not a couple houses literally the community fast forward to 1983. Mr Daniel's left Cadillac Fairview to start the Daniel's corporation a company that would quickly become synonymous with vibrant communities affordable housing social infrastructure and architectural innovation.

[00:23:06] Responsible for countless Canadian residential development projects that Daniel's corporation also closely worked with government to develop thousands of non profit rental units and founded the first home communities to lower market barriers for first time home buyers.

[00:23:22] We can really use somebody like that in the current state of Canada's economy. The company was also instrumental in revitalizing the Regent Park neighborhood transforming it from a failed public housing estate to a vital Corrowing community at the center of Toronto.

[00:23:36] John and Renault were also early investors in the Toronto International Film Festival supporting the iconic and fully accessible Bell light box theater.

[00:23:44] One of the things I get a lot on social media is people demonizing me for being a landlord slash real estate investor and always say oh like who in near like if you hate landlords you must hate tenants too like who in your in year world would would provide housing to tenants like should they all just be forced to own houses.

[00:24:00] What if they don't want to and they're like oh the government should do it and I think that you know that that neighborhood as well is the other.

[00:24:08] I'm not going to name anything because that one doesn't exist anymore but the other iterations of public housing and many municipalities but Toronto specifically as examples of government run housing are I think are pretty.

[00:24:21] Pretty. Those sufficient evidence is to why it may be that's not a good idea anyway transition over here too. Yes, we should remind people that we did an episode with them right.

[00:24:32] Yeah, we we actually went to Daniel's corporate headquarters in downtown Toronto beautiful new building in the south core of this city where we interviewed some of the top executives episode 1 16 what does a real estate recovery look like go check that out if you want more details on.

[00:24:50] Daniel says a company and what their executive team has to say about where we are currently and where they think Canada and more specifically Toronto and Ontario are going.

[00:25:02] Yeah, so I guess we just a quickly go through re housing and then we're going to go through basically like a very quick how to from start to finish on which will be this is going to become the event framework but how to build a multiplex if we want to do it.

[00:25:15] So last thing before we jump into that rehousing we're going to dive into their design catalog a little bit more at this event so.

[00:25:23] You know they acknowledge that multiplex is going to be very different depending on where they are right Toronto's big city and the homes that you find are very diverse so they have basically a catalog of I think 12 different houses and they show what's possible developing this design catalog price conscious designs for converting oh the 13 most common houses in Toronto.

[00:25:43] Yeah, so they categorize the designs in a catalog based on the relative cost and complexity of the construction. They call their categories low medium high and new.

[00:25:57] Each design is mindful of future phases you can move from one level to the next without having to redo the work that you've already done.

[00:26:10] So let's go through these categories I'll start with low Dan for the low these designs are interior renovations within an existing building footprint so low equals interior rentals.

[00:26:25] And that would be like you know if you had a rate what's both the most common doplex probably like an up-down rate.

[00:26:32] Do placed conversion yeah like a side door kind of yeah yeah so like you already have a wartime bungalow with the side door yeah goes to the basement.

[00:26:40] And it's you know fireproofing the between the units and putting a kitchen and all that stuff the medium which is the next level up from that is minor additions so like you know adding some square footage to the house or garden or laneway suite.

[00:26:51] And renovations within the existing building footprint. Then we're on to high the third one out of their four categories within this one these designs are major additions or combination of minor additions, accessory to all units and renovations.

[00:27:08] So let's just say you got a big project on your hands here regardless of what way you look at it the scope of work can overlap with the designs in the low and medium categories.

[00:27:17] So this just means there's a whole bunch of work going on likely adding square footage adding units and but not full new construction which Dan is the last one that you're going to talk about.

[00:27:29] Yeah and the new category is they would assume you're demolishing the existing house and building a new multiplex in its place so they have a zoning diagram reference for what permits you could get for building sizes for homes.

[00:27:47] Depending on the lot size a garden or laneway suite may also be included in that format and then Nick.

[00:27:54] Without further ado let's get through the event framework which is basically this is this is a list of everything that you need to do so I'm going to go through list first and then we'll dive in so love it.

[00:28:06] Yeah, okay so this is what the event framework is going to be this is everything you need to do to build a multiplex in Canada.

[00:28:13] Zoning in land use property acquisition permits and approvals site plan approval building codes and regulation utilities and services financing and budgeting architectural engineering and design neighborhood impact and community engagement environmental assessments.

[00:28:29] Construction and project management legal considerations marketing and leasing and scaling and building a portfolio of multiplexes after that okay so. That's a lot which someone had like a step by step process that right someone can.

[00:28:44] So so we're going to go through it starting with this zoning and land use regulation so understanding the different zoning bylaws and land use designations for the property.

[00:28:53] Checking to see if the property is zone for multiplex use or zoning amendment is needed and diving in a little bit more there as well.

[00:29:00] Because that's that's kind of coast to coast but we're also going to talk and Greg I imagine is going to really go into this is like what.

[00:29:06] What properties are as of right where you what what criteria do you need to hit for the as of right for multiplexes in Toronto or for some of these major streets up zoning where you can now get like many stories on certain roads.

[00:29:19] Yeah exactly that will be a very key piece because the next step here is of course acquiring one of those properties so this takes research to identify the right type of property.

[00:29:31] That is suitable for whatever type of multiplex development you plan to proceed with now you have to consider factors like location size accessibility and of course immediate market demand for that neighborhood.

[00:29:47] You'll conduct your due diligence including title searches property inspections of course to make sure there are no hidden issues.

[00:29:54] Again you want to pick a property that is the best fit for that multiplex so let's say for example you're going to pick a house a wartime bungalow like we just mentioned and it's very easy to put a basement suite in there okay well then you know specifically what you're looking for that's part of your investment thesis that we talk so much about.

[00:30:15] But let's assume you're not doing the basement suite and you're looking to actually maybe build something that's you know three or four stories and it has maybe you know five six seven eight units in it okay.

[00:30:29] Well, what is the difference between that piece of land that you're going to need to do that and every other one that you're going to look at so. You need to be able to match that land to the type of project you plan on doing.

[00:30:42] The next piece would be getting your permits in approval so even though everything's been up zone you still have to obtain the necessary building permits from a local municipality which would include.

[00:30:52] A site plan approval building permits and possibly minor variances which you know will learn a little bit about in this event.

[00:30:58] You may need to go through a committee of adjustment or similar body if your project requires variances from existing bylaws what architectural considerations matter for retrofits as an example like you know can we buy properties well that are easily converted or that aren't going to have these major costs come up.

[00:31:16] The architectural and building permit face and how to cost out retrofit versus ground up to know what's the better solution. Yeah, now the next piece here is of course a site plan approval so this will include you submitting a detailed site plan in our contextual drawings that show.

[00:31:33] How the building will actually fit on the property including layout landscape and parking in access you'll do this by creating beautiful renderings that potentially you may able to use those and take those back to investors if you are. You know syndicated a project like this.

[00:31:51] This is also what you want to engage with city planners and other stakeholders nice and early on in that process go bring those guys coffee and don't it's make friends.

[00:32:00] And other stakeholders can be like lenders your real estate professional maybe who's going to help you sell or release the project on the end. And there's like anybody who would be involved in the process to usually prove it to involve them as early as possible.

[00:32:13] The taxes building codes and regulations ensure that the design complies with all of these building codes and standards basically local municipal level provincial level federal level.

[00:32:22] You know there's different fire codes, ingress and egress that you need to consider to especially if you're doing a conversion of how you can make this new this old space safe for many people to live in it.

[00:32:33] Consider all those fire safety regulations accessibility standards and other specifics requirements for residential buildings. Then of course utilities and services. You got to think about this stuff more than you would and other projects because you are increasing density.

[00:32:47] You want to plan provisions for utilities like water, sewage electricity and gas. And again, since you are increasing density, this may involve involved upgrading the existing services. And you're going to consider sustainable building practices and the potential integration of green technologies.

[00:33:05] Dan, it was a couple episodes back. We just did a an episode where we outlined all of the green technologies that are being implemented in people's renovations.

[00:33:15] And there are a ton of them, there are a ton of rebates on that stuff. If you're going to be retrofitting substantially or building new it is just stupid not to include green technology at this point. Yeah, for sure.

[00:33:28] And I think there's another wave of those grants and stuff coming out so the next piece is financing and budgeting. So, you know building out a cost like comprehensive budget covering your land cost, your construction costs permits and contingencies.

[00:33:42] And you're going to be securing financing. You may need a loan, you may need a private capital, right? Private, private lender or equity or some grants like we mentioned before.

[00:33:51] Vince who is one of the panelists is going to talk about the project that he did, which he did. What is it two side by side for units? Yes, right. And that's projects.

[00:34:01] And that, for Vince has has multiple really amazing conversion projects on the go. I believe he's got at least three on the go right now.

[00:34:09] Rees, bought single family, almost needs converting them into three or four units inside and putting a lay-inway suite or in some cases a garden suite in the back and really just maximizing the space required.

[00:34:24] So, it's a powerful power team to get this stuff done. So he handles the financing through his make that's one of the ways one of these projects can get finance but more to come from that obviously you're not doing anything without financing.

[00:34:36] The next piece here is architectural and your engineering design. So this is where you have to hire a qualified architect and engineer to help design that building ensuring of course that it meets structural functional requirements.

[00:34:48] And also, as the aesthetics, the aesthetics of the neighborhood and to make sure that design inside is functional. This is where you might want to consider hiring a project manager to oversee the construction process. I'll tell you right now for anyone listening that's like I can handle that.

[00:35:03] I renovated a basement one time or you know what I mean? It's this is a lot different. Again, multiplexing can be adding one unit. It can be adding three or four.

[00:35:13] The minute you start to get structural engineers and architects and planners and that scale of things, you do need to be quite proficient in being able to manage those trades and streamline this process.

[00:35:28] Yeah, and I think you know it's interesting because one of the big things like you mentioned is how does it fit into the neighborhood aesthetic and you know one of the reasons why this has been considered like an easy solution to kind of push through is because it should have like minimal impact on the on the local community.

[00:35:47] But you still need to engage with the local community to address their concerns and gain support for the project. You know there are still counselors and neighbors and they're still traffic and noise and impact on local infrastructure.

[00:35:59] And so those are all things that will need to be considered in the process. Less so with some of the more upzone areas, but I think it's still like one of those things is worth considering in the process. And we are trying to give you a coast to coast kind of solution here right.

[00:36:11] Yeah, love it. And it's a great point and one that cannot be forgotten about essentially is a step in the process as is the next one which is environmental assessments. This is where you have to conduct required so again this is not optional yet they can conduct any required environmental assessments to ensure that this site is suitable for whatever type of residential development you plan on doing.

[00:36:33] This way at the implement measures to mitigate any identified environmental impacts and those can range in a very quite substantially. So this is again where you need an expert on your team. Maybe we'll be able to help you do this. Yeah, and then the next the next piece is construction and project management.

[00:36:52] So you want to develop a detailed construction timeline and project management plan and higher reputable contractors and ensure all work is done to code and on schedule which are a couple of the big difficult things to manage when building out a project, especially one of this size.

[00:37:07] I mean it's so easy to think about multiplexes as like kind of in between the big stuff and the small stuff like even you know the small it's like a small end of missing middle right it's like oh I'm not like an apartment building owner.

[00:37:18] Like it's you still kind of think of it as like a house right but there are some complexities still like you know that there's different.

[00:37:25] HVAC as an example like you know in a lot of cases you have baffles between units to the to for fire separation or there's different fire separation things required different types of materials that you need to use to get STC ratings.

[00:37:38] So there's no noise transferring between units I mean there's so many different things that need to be considered you really need and want to be involved with a construction manager who has experience with the stuff and unfortunately they brought one of the best and brightest for this type of product who's going to be on the panel.

[00:37:54] Yeah, really really good point then I do love how you said it's funny because you know the look of them they do a lot of multiplexes especially the ones that we're going to be discussing still do on the outside kind of look like that more traditional home or you could be mistaken that you know maybe one family lives in there and they got a bunch of kids or whatever but.

[00:38:14] You walk in one of these things one of the ones that's been renovated and there's you know two three bedroom and a two bedroom apartment in them.

[00:38:21] And you realize how complicated that stuff is you know no longer you just stick frame construction you might need to steal i beams in there. The HVAC systems have changed need multiple multiple meters you might need to upgrade the services all those things that really take it from.

[00:38:36] You know that kind of basement reno or the DIY renoer to that next level where you do need a professional because one mistake could really cost you something here now.

[00:38:46] Speaking of cost we're going to talk about step number 12 which is legal considerations this is where you need to consult with legal professionals to navigate both your contracts liability. Compliance insurance and an of course compliance with your local provincial and federal laws.

[00:39:03] And then and I think this piece is is key to because you know like zoning right you know can you even legally have that many units there.

[00:39:13] And then an ex piece is the marketing and leasing develop a strategy to attract tenants once the building is completed obviously I mean most cases this is just like putting the units up for lease on MLS or KGG or Facebook Marketplace or whatever else.

[00:39:27] And then the needs of the target markets and design the units accordingly right like that's a really interesting one from my perspective.

[00:39:33] And this is where you know you said earlier and that involve your stakeholders early okay well should be involved our real estate professional early and say hey what units are going to be the best bang for my buck when I'm designing this thing.

[00:39:46] Yeah, are these the things that we're thinking about I mean you look at any like just unpack this go all the way to like marketing 101 in university right.

[00:39:54] Marketing begins with product design people just don't think about like real estate investing as a product right they just don't I don't know why but.

[00:40:03] Or can you develop your your product developers do actually think about it this way like when I talk maybe this is where I kind of have this kind of crept into my psyche around real estate investing but.

[00:40:13] It's like are you thoughtfully designing the product that you're going to bring to market around what the market actually wants most people will be like now I'm just doing whatever I can get like really if they're on honestly answer that they're like no I just crammed as much.

[00:40:27] Crap units into this house as I possibly could and that's that's not a winning strategy no right.

[00:40:34] I I'm really happy brought that up by I love that thought process again like if you can think about the think about how much better you would feel if you had each one of these units rented out but like you know.

[00:40:47] Three months at least before the construction was done and actually that's what vince and his team and a few other small cat developers in the city do right they've got waiting list.

[00:40:56] They know they're they've done this for me times that they know what standard they build to right they can go to or virtually to other projects they've done.

[00:41:04] And reference them and say hey look like this is how nice this stuff is not only that damn but you also said you know let's build for the you know supply and demand let's build for what the market is demanding and the supply that we don't have.

[00:41:18] Well guess what you have the opportunity to do with a lot of these multiplexes is provide stuff that really.

[00:41:25] And so the really exist at least in a large way in the condo space which is three bedroom apartments right so designing something where you can have a family live.

[00:41:36] Is huge and you know I think there's going to be a huge issue with all of the one bedroom, the tiny one bedroom and studio apartments that we've seen.

[00:41:46] Human behavior and a desire for space and I think multiplexing can really bridge that gap now that takes us to the final piece of getting the first one done however.

[00:41:57] You probably don't want to just stop a one because one multiplex is likely just ahead of you can not a real estate portfolio which is what you want to be doing.

[00:42:05] And you need to leverage that existing asset and your experience and the cash flow that you make off of that project in order to do your next project.

[00:42:16] So should you still that sell that stabilize asset to move on to another one and you can take the equity out or refinance it in some possible way.

[00:42:24] That is going to be the last piece that we discuss how to use that first multiplex to leap frog to the next one.

[00:42:32] I think all of these things all these factors in combination are crucial in making sure that you're successful actually if you want to be a real estate investor who wants to build a portfolio multiplexes from zero doors to however many one you really got to consider the entire thing and that's why again.

[00:42:53] This is like a new asset class. This is really like being trailblazing we have people it's crazy like I have people coming from I own 20 single family houses and I want to sell them all and build multiplexes or I own 20 single family rentals in the city of Toronto and I want to add units to all of them.

[00:43:09] And then we have people like literally you and I have mutual clients who are like I own or I'm a developer where I own many hundred plus unit buildings and I want to and I'm so bullish on this asset class that's what I where I know I'm a I'm a CEO of a REIT who who does that right and not with my personal capital I want to only do like you know zero and all multiplexes and it's just incredible to me the interest that's been brought under the category.

[00:43:37] I think that there's so much attention and capital focused on it right now and that's why we wanted to put this event on and so.

[00:43:44] We we would love to see you there that's the pitch that the whole episode was kind of a pitch but it was also kind of us trying to bring value and to to explain to people what's necessary if you want to go deeper than what we just did and here from people who are more qualified than us to talk about it.

[00:44:00] That's what the event is for and if again if we have enough interest if you can't make it if we have enough interest we will figure out a way to do it to host it online because I know it's summer or whatever.

[00:44:10] Yeah love it not well said and not much to add there other than get your tickets there is a link in the show notes and if you follow down on myself on this program will be posting links probably on a weekly or bi weekly basis until the event will also be emceing the event and doing

[00:44:28] I think opening and closing remarks so be sure to come and either support us or heckle's from the back whatever it is you want to go check out realist.ca and head to a meet up there the second Tuesday of every month.

[00:44:40] Thank you so much for listening as always we'll see you soon. The Canadian real estate investor podcast is for entertainment purposes only and it is not financial advice. Nick Hill is a mortgage agent with premier mortgage center and a partner in the G and H mortgage group.

[00:44:57] Licent number one zero three one seven agent license M two one zero zero four zero three seven. Dino photos are real estate broker licensed with rare real estate a member of the Canadian real estate association the Toronto real estate board and the Ontario real estate association.