Natalie Cloutier is an Ottawa-based real estate investor who has been using a very unique strategy to build properties and grow their portfolio. She and her husband started their real estate investing journey through house-hacking with the help of the Ottawa Construction Loan and that’s how they realized that they can make a business out of it. 

 

Listen now to learn more about the benefits of house hacking for newer investors and how it can help you gain traction in your real estate investing career!  

 

Key Talking Points of the Episode

 

00:00 Introduction

01:03 What is Natalie’s background?

04:05 How did Natalie learn about the Ottawa Construction Loan program?

08:36 Why is Natalie’s strategy not commonly used by real estate investors?

10:16 What is the Ottawa Construction Loan for?

15:41 How can a consultation with the municipality help you plan new builds better?

19:30 Why is it important to build relationships that can help you with your projects?

22:09 How can you determine the size of the units you can build on a vacant lot?

27:43 How do unit sizes determine the quality of tenants you’re going to attract?

31:08 Why does Natalie build a max of 3 bedrooms per unit?

34:56 How can you build properties cheaper?

39:05 What is the importance of being transparent with your designer?

44:20 Why is it important to learn how to build cheaper in today’s market?

46:33 What is Natalie’s best deal like?

53:17 What lessons did Natalie learn from their best deal?

56:40 What was Natalie’s worst deal ever?

01:01:23 What has changed with Natalie’s approach to real estate today?

01:04:20 What is Natalie’s advice for her younger self?

01:05:12 What is the most overlooked or overhyped strategy today?

 

Quotables

 

“New construction has such a higher value than older homes, so we don’t need as many properties to reach a higher net worth or a higher portfolio value.”

“Building can be very overwhelming, so you have to have someone who is willing to kinda teach you and guide you through it.”

 

“When someone says that it can’t be done, keep trying to get that approval or keep thinking and working the system. There are ways to do it, so don’t give up if someone says you can’t do it right away.”

 

Links

 

Website: The New Build Couple

https://www.thenewbuildcouple.com/

 

Instagram: The New Build Couple

https://www.instagram.com/thenewbuildcouple/