When most people think of real estate investing, they picture someone buying a few rental properties on the side. That’s how it starts for many, but for me, the journey looked a little different. I began not as an investor, but as a mortgage broker — helping others finance their deals, understand their numbers, and close transactions. It was in those early years that I built the foundation for everything that came after. It wasn’t glamorous, but it gave me something most people overlook: clarity.
Working on the financing side of the business allowed me to see hundreds of deals from the inside out. I learned to underwrite deals with precision, spot weak structures, and identify lenders’ blind spots before money ever changed hands. I saw what made deals fall apart and, more importantly, what made them succeed. But over time, something shifted. I realized I wasn’t building equity. I was helping others build theirs.
So I made a change!
I moved from structuring mortgages to structuring investments. My first deal wasn’t a shiny development or a massive buyout. It was a building I acquired through a creative structure with minimal cash down. It took grit, negotiation, and a lot of late nights — but I made it work. That first deal became the stepping stone to what is now a portfolio of over 800 units across the Greater Montreal area.
The transition wasn’t just about owning property — it was about building a system. I brought the same attention to detail from brokering into investing. I treated every property like a puzzle: zoning, financing, optimization, management, and long-term viability. Over time, I built out a property management team, onboarded contractors, and created scalable systems that now power the growth of our portfolio.
One of the key lessons I’ve learned through this journey is that experience in one part of the real estate cycle can be your biggest edge. Brokers, realtors, and builders often overlook this. If you understand deals even from the sidelines, you’re closer to being an investor than you think. The missing piece is often the right structure and the right partner.
According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), multi-unit housing remains one of the most stable asset classes in the country, particularly in urban centers like Montreal where vacancy rates have remained below 3% for years. That kind of long-term stability is what drew me to this space and what continues to fuel my focus on core urban markets.
My message to anyone in the industry — whether you’re writing loans, selling homes, or laying foundations — is simple: you don’t need to reinvent yourself to become an investor. You just need to build on what you already know, layer in discipline, and take the first smart step forward.
If you’re looking for clarity on how to make that transition, I’ve been there. And I’m happy to share what I’ve learned along the way.
