OT- Small business/home/real estate opinions required.

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I have the ability to buy a house in Montreal Quebec where I am moving to, the house sits on a busy street that has many quaint antique shops, cafes, restaurants and such, it is a few blocks away from the river in a mainly residential area called (Laval) in case anyone knows it.

It sits on a piece of land that is 10 000 square feet.

The house itself is a Large Bungalow with a large fenced in back yard.

The house has a 1000 square foot office right beside it, separate from the house (as I said, there are tons of business on this street). This office is currently being rented as a bachelor pad for 600$ a month, however, the tenant will leave if the house is sold, or he will stay on if the new owner wants it.

The house also has a bachelor pad underneath it in the basement, which rents for between 500$ and 700$ a month.

My idea is to buy the house, rent out the basement bachelor for between 500$ and 700$, and use the 1000 square foot office, (the one that is currently being rented for 600$) as a dog kennel. I would only keep up to 6 dogs at a time (maximum), and I would charge 25$ per dog per day if overnight, and 15$ if day only. The dogs would be free to roam the fenced in land (my backyard) during the day, and at night would be in the kennel (office) beside the house. There would be a sign in the front yard advertising the service and I bet I would get more than enough business with just that, of course I could go yellow pages or whatever else to advertise. There are TONS of dogs in montreal, it seems everyone owns one.

If I am sold out, i could make 100$ a day, or 3000$ a month. But even if I only make 1/3 of that I would do well.

I could offer dog walking service, or a special service where the dog stays in the house with us instead of the kennel and charge 50$ a day for that service.

I could offer to wash their dogs and clip their nails for an extra fee as well.

I could offer to pick people up at the airport with their dogs, and drive them home to their house service when their flights come home.

I could offer to pick up dogs as well for stays and drop off when done.

Even if the business makes nothing, I can still afford the mortgage as long as I have the bachelor pad rented, but I'm sure I would make something. I also have the option of forgetting the dog business and keeping the office rented for 600$ as a bachelor pad.

I could sit out on the patio all day on the wireless laptop (RX MOD) and babysit the dogs.

Here is a link to the house with pictures of the backyard:
http://passerelle.centris.ca/redirect2.aspx?CodeDest=SUTTON&NoMls=MT1295993&Source=WWW.MLS.CA&Lang=

When you look at the listing, also look at the map in the bottom right hand corner which shows the busy street that the house is located on. Ste Rose.

Laval is a city with 350 000 people but ill bet i could fill up most of the dogs from the St Rose District.

Here is a map of laval: (click the word "Laval" alone to see map.
http://www.mls.ca/communityResults.aspx?keyword=Laval

ALSO NOTE: Another option is to install the kennels or cages in the bachelor pad in the basement (which is not currently rented) and keep the outside office (which is currently being rented as a bachelor) with the current tenant who is paying 600$ a month. But the drawback here is if the dogs bark at night, I would hear them.
 

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What would you like advice on ? I don't see a question in there ?

well, I guess from you I would like advice on the property, coz I kno you are a property expert...... (I was really hoping you would chime in), although I realize you probably aren't familiar with Montreal real estate.

But I guess I am also curious if anyone has done this kind of business, or things this can work, based on this property. Any problems I might have.

Things like that.
 

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who is gonna clean up all the dog shit?

u have a drain for the shit itself? u gonna hose it down?
 

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who is gonna clean up all the dog shit?

u have a drain for the shit itself? u gonna hose it down?

obviously that is one of the down falls, but the dogs will shit in the yard, not the kennel, I will let them out often, yard is completely fenced.

There is actually a Dog Shit Composter u can buy, and put all the shit in there, or simply bag it..... The composter thing is kind of kool..... it works by digging a big round hole in the ground, and then there is a garbage lid on top, apparently rocks at the bottom of hole, you throw the shit in there with some solution, and sawdust for the smell, and it composts away. But most likely it is just bagged and thrown out like all owners have to do.....

This is (imo) worst part about the small business/project.

I will have to invest in concrete floors and drains and such to make sure everything can be hozed down....

I already have 2 dogs, so I know what its about
 

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$398 K ?

Will you offer that much ? How much do similar properties, with that sq footage go for in this area ? How much will you put down ? How much do you currently pay for rent/mortgage ? Are you prepared to pick up the negative cashflow between you and your wife/roomates if the apartments end up being vacant or the business doesn't do as well as you thought/hoped (less than 1/3 of your full capacity) ?

These are nuggets of info I'd need before offering any real estate help/advice.

As far the grooming/kennel business goes I can tell you that you better call a month in advance if you want an appointment with my local groomer, he is booked solid, constantly.

You just better hope PETCO doesnt come to town anytime soon.
 

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if ur gonna get a drain built..better check with the city to make sure they allow dogshit to be washed into the sewer system

try cleaning up whale shit at sea world daily...

shit aint no joke ss...gl
 

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$398 K ?

Will you offer that much ? How much do similar properties, with that sq footage go for in this area ? How much will you put down ? How much do you currently pay for rent/mortgage ? Are you prepared to pick up the negative cashflow between you and your wife/roomates if the apartments end up being vacant or the business doesn't do as well as you thought/hoped (less than 1/3 of your full capacity)?

It is rare to find a property with 10 000 square feet of land in Montreal

These are nuggets of info I'd need before offering any help/advice.

There are two comparables above, that are similar in size.... this property is around 100K more than other comparables, but the reason is becoz it is on the business street, and has the 1000 square foot business/bachelor pad on the side. Also, it has a large lot of 10000 square feet. If this house was alone, without the office, and not a business potential street, with a lot 1/2 the size, it would likely be around 275K or so, maybe 300K.

If both apartments were empty, and there was no business, we could afford the house, but it would be tight.....

I am taking the equity to buy this place out of the house I currently live in, the house I live in now is worth 250K, but has 100K left on mortgage, I will re-mortgage it up to 200K, so I have 100K to put down on that house. I am then going to rent my current house for enough to cover the new mortgage at 200K and Taxes...... (hopefully it rents), I may take a slight loss on it.

The mortgage on the new place will then be 300K.

I will likely offer 350 or 375K, but I will need about 20K or so to buy the stuff I need to get started. so that will bring me back up to the 400K price anyway.

The wife has stable job as Bank Manager and makes 80K.....

I wouldn't be working other than the dog kennel and/or landlord from the 2 bachelor pads on the property
 

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if ur gonna get a drain built..better check with the city to make sure they allow dogshit to be washed into the sewer system

try cleaning up whale shit at sea world daily...

shit aint no joke ss...gl

whale, some people own 5 dogs as pets!!!!! I would only sit 5 at a time, I don't think the shit is as big a deal as you make it, I simply shovel it into plastic bags and throw it out with garbage, thats what most dog owners do isn't it? I wouldn't wash it down the drain..... Maybe the toilet, but not the drain.
 

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sounds like a really well thought out plan, aside from the fact that you're considered a Habs fan now ;)

In all seriousness, best of luck ... don't think you'll need it.
 

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sounds like a really well thought out plan, aside from the fact that you're considered a Habs fan now ;)

In all seriousness, best of luck ... don't think you'll need it.

lander, what did you make of the muckler firing? who do you thing will now coach the sens with Murray as GM?

pat Burns? or the old toronto coach, lol, whats his name again?
 

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with the dog kennel your biggest expense will be advertising. Check the prices on a half decent sized yellow page ad in Montreal.
 

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There are two comparables above, that are similar in size.... this property is around 100K more than other comparables, but the reason is becoz it is on the business street, and has the 1000 square foot business/bachelor pad on the side. Also, it has a large lot of 10000 square feet. If this house was alone, without the office, and not a business potential street, with a lot 1/2 the size, it would likely be around 275K or so, maybe 300K.

If both apartments were empty, and there was no business, we could afford the house, but it would be tight.....

I am taking the equity to buy this place out of the house I currently live in, the house I live in now is worth 250K, but has 100K left on mortgage, I will re-mortgage it up to 200K, so I have 100K to put down on that house. I am then going to rent my current house for enough to cover the new mortgage at 200K and Taxes...... (hopefully it rents), I may take a slight loss on it.

The mortgage on the new place will then be 300K.

I will likely offer 350 or 375K, but I will need about 20K or so to buy the stuff I need to get started. so that will bring me back up to the 400K price anyway.

The wife has stable job as Bank Manager and makes 80K.....

I wouldn't be working other than the dog kennel and/or landlord from the 2 bachelor pads on the property


Sounds like you have a pretty solid plan in place. One thought for you....

In the states you can sell your primary residence, tax free, once every two years. The only problem with not selling your current home and using the proceeds, instead of the HELOC you are getting is that if end up not liking this price down the road and would look to sell it, you won't be able to sell it tax free until two years after you end up selling your current one.
 

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with the dog kennel your biggest expense will be advertising. Check the prices on a half decent sized yellow page ad in Montreal.

maybe im crazy, but St Rose is such a busy street with so much traffic on it, as well as other businesses including some pet stores, that I think a large sign in my front lawn will get me enough business to fill up, remember, I only plan on keeping 5 dogs at a time, Im not trying to make millions....

but that is excellent advise, and I may need to turn to that, so it is surely something to think about..... I would likely start out with one of the smallest ads they have and visit pet food stores and such and ask them if I could put up a sign....

maybe also a classified ad in the newspaper in the pet section, also there are many sites like craigslist as well as many others I could advertise on....
 

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Sounds like you have a pretty solid plan in place. One thought for you....

In the states you can sell your primary residence, tax free, once every two years. The only problem with not selling your current home and using the proceeds, instead of the HELOC you are getting is that if end up not liking this price down the road and would look to sell it, you won't be able to sell it tax free until two years after you end up selling your current one.

Quebec is one of the most heavily taxes areas in all of America, the taxes on this new house are 5K per year. There will also be some kind of "welcome tax" of a couple of thousand. The bank is paying all the lawyer fees. Im not sure if they have that same benefit, but my wife is very attached to this house now, its on a golf course and she absolutely doesn't want to sell it.... I also think my current house that I will be leaving, will continue to appreciate as it is one of the lowest price areas in canada, so I think its another good idea to keep it.
 

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If you are going into the dog business you should definitely look into going to dog grooming school. I think the courses take about two months.
A friend of mine has a kennel and dog grooming business he runs from home. It is amazingly successful and his biggest problem is too much business. He takes 6 weeks vacation a year and stays in the best hotels and resorts. He has also stashed away enough cash to retire whenever.
On a less positive note, the U.S. may well be in the beginning of a long real estate downturn. Typically, the Northeastern states will be the last to fall. I do not know what effect this will have on property values in Montreal, but you should look before you leap.
 

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