• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • We’re The Maples!
  • Get Organized
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Contact Us

Its The Maples!

Adventures of a 🇨🇦 Expat Family in Portugal 🇵🇹

How We Make Our Money Series: 5 Top Reasons To Invest In Real Estate (Even During A Pandemic!)

In today’s blog post, I decided to address one of the most frequently asked questions that my husband and I get from our readers each and every single week – they want to know how we created our income working from home.

Contents hide
1 Our Background
2 Multiple Streams of Income
3 Rental Units
4 Top 5 Reasons to Rent Houses as Part of Your Investment Portfolio
5 Final Thoughts

Many of our readers are parents, just like us. 

They are parents who are looking to create another income working from home especially now with the pandemic.  Subsequently they have many questions about how we built our information business and how we’ve been able to sustain and thrive over the better part of 15+ years with both of us working full-time from home.

Our Background

To get a little background on us, as “parent-preneurs” with 2 beautiful boys our entrepreneurial journey started over 15 years ago when we were still in University.  

The internet had just emerged a few years before and with that an entirely “new” way of creating income.  

Connecting with the world on a global scale was a new concept. 

Having access to audiences that businesses would never have had access to a short few years before has enabled people to make a full-time income selling products online.

As luck would have it, we connected with some very savvy mentors and business owners who took us under their wing and taught us about online marketing.

Yes, we jumped head on into marketing our own information products around concepts that we knew well and developed expertise in (online lead generation and marketing tactics) but we also, very early one, were very influenced by these mentors on the concept of “Multiple Streams of Income.”

Multiple Streams of Income

The main premise of multiple streams of income is that you don’t solely rely on one type of income.  In fact, it’s preferable that these other multiple streams of income be residual or passive in nature.

Personally, this idea really appealed to us.  The idea of diversifying our income into different business ventures made sense in case another area of business became slow or dried up.  As entrepreneurs, having interests in various businesses would help us to grow quickly.

That said, real estate was a natural segway; my father-in-law was a commercial real estate agent, and his wife a realtor.  My husband and I always loved real estate and looking at homes and because of it we bought our first home together when we were 21.  

We then started thinking more and more about real estate as an investment business.  We then decided it was a good and sound strategy, and made the move into buying properties, holding them, or flipping them to make a quick profit.

Rental Units

So today, as part of this multiple income series where I break down our multiple streams of income, I wanted to briefly talk about our rental properties, and this area of our investment portfolio.

We have been buying rental properties since we were 22 years old, when we bought our first rental house.  

It was a house that we eventually renovated into 2 units, one with a 2 bedroom upper floor and a 2 bedroom basement unit and shared laundry.

It was a great investment because the house was being sold by a motivated seller and they were willing to let us come in and purchase the house at a discount.  

The house itself had not been renovated in a while and it needed some major upgrades in electrical and plumbing but it was in a great neighbourhood and had all the makings of a great house to buy and hold.  

We ended up keeping that house for over a decade.  We sold it in a sellers market in Toronto that saw the house appreciate substantially in value.  

A year after buying our first house, we bought another, and then another and another…

Most of the houses we rented, with the exception of a couple of properties that we bought for very low, and sold quickly at a profit.  

Of course, we always did our due diligence.  We had several people we would turn to for advice, we used real estate professionals to help us navigate our deals and we used various tools to determine the numbers and mortgage eligibility (tools like mortgage calculators) along with other information we referred to help understand what we could afford, and amortization tables to determine if the deals we were looking at were indeed smart moves to make.  

That said, we have had a very positive experience diversifying into investment properties.   Below are my personal, top 5 reasons we continue to invest in property.

Top 5 Reasons to Rent Houses as Part of Your Investment Portfolio

The reasons rental properties appealed to us were as follows:

1. We liked the idea of someone paying our mortgage – essentially paying for an asset that we invested very little in.  We liked the idea of controlling an asset for very little down and it made sense for us as part of our wealth building strategy.  

Yes, there will be maintenance along with unforeseeable repairs and expenses, but if you do the proper research on the properties, refrain from making emotional buying decisions but rather make disciplined decision looking at whether the numbers work (again using the calculators and various tools),  at the end of the day investing in right properties made financial sense.  

In addition to the rent your tenants pay, you expect their rent to pay off the interest payable on your loans. Positive cashflow is something that all real estate investors strive for and when your profits are greater than the interest you owe, you are winning.  Oftentimes, your profits will exceed other types of investments. 

2. Diversification – Investing in different markets is smart.  We like the idea of investing in the stock market, and other less traditional assets like Bitcoin, and even peer-to-peer loans.

3.  Real estate investing is a great investment even in the pandemic. According to Canadian Real Estate Investing Magazine, more and more people are looking to move to Canada and real estate investing is still one of the safest and risk free investments people can make.  

In fact, the market in Canada is so hot that properties are seeing appreciation on a month-to-month basis.  I recently spoke to a realtor friend of mine that mentioned that lakefront vacation homes (which we own) are now selling in as little as 3-18 days, often with multiple offers.  This, of course, is great for someone who has invested in property and is now looking to pull out their profits.  

On the flip side, even as the pandemic is still ongoing, with interest rates extremely low, people are buying up single family homes as an investment.  

For those of you who are looking to enter into the world of real estate investing or to add to your portfolio, if you are in a position to buy more property, it would be an excellent time to start looking.  This article in MoneySense explains why, even in Covid, this may be the right time to invest in real estate.  You may find something to add to your portfolio suitable to your needs.  

4. Investing in Short-Term Rentals

Two of our rental properties are short term rentals.   We have been using companies like AirBnb.com and Booking.com to act as the broker, and we offer short term vacation rentals to people looking for a cottage on the lake or on the ocean.

Especially now with Covid, since people are not going far to vacation, our rental properties have been doing very well with locals looking for a nice getaway; people are staying for weekends, long weekends and week or more long stays in the summer.  

Other times that the properties are not in use, we can use it personally for ourselves.  Owning these investment properties have provided our family not only an additional income, but a place to relax and unwind, which has become more important now since there is little traveling happening due to travel restrictions.

At the end of the year, the income we made from these vacation rentals is more than we owe in mortgage, taxes, maintenance and repairs for the year.  These 2 vacation rental properties have been an excellent investment for us.

5. Tax Benefits

Lastly, income-property can be a great tax-benefit.  As the owner, you are allowed to claim deductions, sometimes on purchases you would have to make anyhow.

Be sure to keep receipts from your trips (to and from your rental) or stores anytime purchases are being made for your rentals.  Many of these expenses can be claimed and  even these small expenses can be added up and deducted from your income.

Quick note: Tax laws vary, so be sure to know what you can and cannot claim – real estate deductions can be quite substantial.  Here is a link to a list of tax deductions you can claim for your Canadian real estate business.  As good practice, consult your accountant for information specific to you and your rental investment situation.  

Final Thoughts

All of the houses we bought as investments have been a learning experience.  

Hopefully this article gives you some ideas on how you can start seeing real estate as not just a place to live, but an intriguing investment.

Of course, that’s not to say being a DIY landlord is perfectly effortless but we believe that it is worth the work, which is why it is part of “how” we create income.

The potential to retire on rental income is very real. For us, part of the retirement strategy using real estate is this: Own a property (or several) for a couple of decades, create a high net worth, use the cash flow to supplement a retirement fund, pay off mortgages using rental income, and sell for a cash intake when you want to.

and get no FX fees!

Primary Sidebar

The Maples Trailer

https://youtu.be/StAQsxV7HR0

instagram

itsthemaples

I lied. I said I would be posting more pictures so I lied. I said I would be posting more pictures soon after my last post and now it's literally been another month and a half! 🤦🏻‍♀️
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I still really underestimate the time it continues to take us to get settled in a new country and all the stuff we need to do (yup, we are still in our car 🚗 dilemma but hoping to get it resolved tomorrow - after today's holiday!) 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
As I mentioned in my last post, which contained the only family picture we took from our first beach day ☀️🌊🇵🇹 in Portugal in November 2021, it has taken me almost 5 months to recover from all the "newness" to start posting on a regular basis. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
So here you go, some more of our "other" pictures from this beautiful day that found us discovering this gorgeous beach but also getting stranded there at nightfall. ✨🌘
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Thank goodness, the owner of the beach restaurant drove us home after taking pity on us, but that's a story for the blog and another day! 😅😅😅
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Thanks to you all for following our adventures (mainly on FB right now) and if you feel inclined, I'd love to know what "oops" type situations you've found yourselves in when travelling! ✈️🧳
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#portugal #portugaltravelers #portugaltravels #portugal🇵🇹 #familytravelblog #portugalguide #familytravelbloggers #portugaltravel #familytravel #familytraveltips #movingtoportugal #learnportuguesewords #travelingfamily #portugal_lovers #familytravelblogger #portugal #portugaltravelling #portugalfoodandtravel #portugaltravelpt #travelfamily #travelfamilyblog #familytravelling #learnportuguese #movingtoportugalsoon #learnportugueseportugal
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Sent via @planIoly #planoly
Hello from Portugal!! 🇵🇹
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
If you've been following "It's The Maples" you know that we are a Canadian family who up until recently lived in our beloved Nova Scotia after making a spontaneous move from downtown Toronto almost 13 years ago!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Well, new news...Back in late September/early October of 2022 we made another BIG decision to move our family to Portugal.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Since my husband and I have worked full-time from home since University, with our online marketing and content creation company, the move was easy enough to make - at least from a work standpoint because all we need are our phones, laptops and internet connection- but more on the many other unforeseeable hiccups we encounter later!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
That said, the minute I stepped off the plane I, of course, thought that I would start sharing our experiences right away...but with the excitement, the ups and downs and the complete culture shock, it has taken me over 4 months to even begin to write my first post here on Instagram and my blog post. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
So today, writing from a different lens, one that isn't quite as emotional and now has some distance between when we first arrived, I am thrilled to share our journey and this sweet and beautiful life we have built here over the last few months.  So stay tuned as I share more pics! 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Sent via @planoly #planoly #portugal #portugal #portugaltravel #portugalguide #portugal_lovers #portugal🇵🇹 #portugal #portugaltravelers #portugaltravels #portugaltravelpt #portugalfoodandtravel #portugaltravelling #movingtoportugal #movingtoportugalsoon #familytravel #travelfamily #travelingfamily #familytravelblog #familytravelblogger #travelfamilyblog #familytraveltips #familytravelbloggers #familytravelling #learnportugueseportugal #learnportuguese #futebol #thebeautifulgame #canadianstravel #canadianfamilytravels
These boys make my heart sparkle like champagne! 💗 Happy National Sons Day! 
.
.
#nationalsonsday #nationalsonsday💙 #happynationalsonsday #happynationalsonsday💙 #boymama #boymamalife #lovemyboys #lovemyboys💙 #myheart #myboysmyworld #sonsandmothers #grateful #blessed #blessedandhighlyfavored #myloves
Monstera friends, is this a new baby leaf? . . #m Monstera friends, is this a new baby leaf? 
.
.
#monsteracare #monsteracareguide #monsteralovers #monsteralove #monsteraleaf #monsteraplant #monsteradeliciosa #monsteramonday #monsteraplants #monsteraplantsofinstagram #monsterainstagram #indoorplants #indoorplantsdecor #indoorplantsofinstagram #plantmama #plantmamas #monsterapropagation #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantsmakemehappy🍃 #plantenergy #plantlover
Monstera love 💗 . . Share your Monstera pics wi Monstera love 💗
.
.
Share your Monstera pics with me pleeeeaaase! 😊🪴🪴🪴!
.
.
#monsteradeliciosa #monsteralove #monstera #monsteramonday #plantmama #plantmom #plantlove #plantloversofinstagram #swisscheeseplant #swisscheesemonsteraplant🌱 #plantsofinstagram #plantlover #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantsmakemehappy #plantsmakemesmile
Peach picking. . . #summer #fruitpicking #peaches Peach picking.
.
.
#summer #fruitpicking #peaches #peaches🍑 #summerdays #novascotiasummersaremagic #novascotiasummers #peachtrees #peachfestival #farmsofns #dempseyscornerorchard #peachpicking
My 12 year old wrote this on the kitchen board las My 12 year old wrote this on the kitchen board last night. I just found it this morning since I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and went straight to bed. He’s such a light in my life.
.
.
#hopeandfaith #hopeandfaithandlove #blessedandgrateful #blessedbeyondmeasure #howdidigetsolucky❤️ #ourkidsteachus #ourkidsteachusaboutlife #ourkidsteachussomuch #ourkidsteachusmanylessons #joy #thursdaythoughts #thursdaymorning
Browsing through my memories and this pic came up. Browsing through my memories and this pic came up. 
.
.
It doesn’t seem so long ago, but this beautiful boy will be a teenager in just a few short months. How quickly the time goes.
.
.
Lately, I find myself staring at his face, realizing how much he’s changed. It’s so bittersweet because no matter how amazing it is to watch him grow, I also miss him being little enough that I could scoop him up in my arms, as I still do with his little brother.
.
.
#lovethiskid #timegoesbysoquickly #watchhimgrowingup #boymama #throwbackpic #mybabyboy💙 #couldnotloveanythingmore #solongagobutfeelslikeyesterday #theygrowuosofast #feelinghappyandsadatthesametime #blessedandgrateful #blessedbeyondmeasure #myboy❤️ #myboy #mamabear #specialtimes #pumpkinpants
Choose to be kind. . . #kindnessmatters #kindnessc Choose to be kind.
.
.
#kindnessmatters #kindnesscounts #kindnessiscontagious #bekindtoeverykind #kindnesscounts #itsimportanttobekind #lovingkindness #compassion #compassionandkindness #compassionandlove #bekindalways #bekindtooneanother #quotestoliveby #dalailama #dalailamaquotes #dalailamaquote #wordstoliveby #wordstolivebyalways
Love this photo of J! . . #footy #adidas #adidasc Love this photo of J! 
.
.
#footy #adidas #adidascanada #soccerkids #soccertraining #soccerislife #soccerplayer⚽️ #onthepitch💚💚💚 #shootingdrills⚽️ #lovethiskid #myboy #boymomlife #soccermom #soccermoms #soccermoms⚽️ #soccermoments #sportpictures
Low key Easter with my 3 beautiful boys! . . Have Low key Easter with my 3 beautiful boys!
.
.
Have to say, I’m loving the Amish Butterprint Pyrex on the table.  It’s a happy day when we use it!  How was your Easter weekend? 
.
.
#easter2021 #easterweekend #easterwithkids #amishbutterprint #amishbutterprintpyrex #amishbutterprintpattern #amishbutterprintmixingbowls #amishbutterprints #vintagepyrex #vintagepyrexlove #vintagepyrexlovers #vintagepyrexcollection #vintagepyrexcollector #vintagepyrexbowls #pyrexcinderellabowls #pyrexcinderella #pyrexcinderellas #easterdinner #easterdinnertable #easterdinnertabledecor #easterdinner2021
Happy Easter! 🐣 . . This is my favourite Easte Happy Easter! 🐣 
.
.
This is my favourite Easter centrepiece.  Used many, many Peeps and pink tulips.  Love the way it turned out!
.
.
#happyeaster #happyeaster🐰 #happyeaster🐰 #peeps #peepsmarshmallows #peepscenterpiece #peepscenterpieces #eastertable #easterdecor #easterdecoration #easterdecorating #peepsmarshmallowbunnies #peepsmarshmello #peepsmarshmallowbunny #easterweekend #easterpictures #eastermood
Our orchid is in full bloom! 🌸🌸🌸 . . #suc Our orchid is in full bloom! 🌸🌸🌸
.
.
#suchabeauty #orchid #orchidsofinstagram #orchids #orchidlover #orchidflower #bloomingorchid #bloomingorchids #orchidbloom #orchidblooms #orchidbloomsofinstagram #newtoorchids #flowers🌸 #flowersofinstagram #flowerdays #takingcareoforchids #orchidcare #orchid101 #orchidmom #orchidmoments #orchidmomma #orchidshare #orchidlove #orchidlovers
This past year during lockdown, we started using t This past year during lockdown, we started using the meal kit service, Chef’s Plate.
.
.
We love to cook in our house but despite our love to cook, getting the meal kit was more of an “event”. Sort of like eating at a restaurant; eating something you wouldn’t normally cook but with all the convenience of eating at home. 
.
.
Check out the blog, because on it I wrote an article on the “ Top 10 Reasons We Use Chef’s Plate” and it’s been a lot of fun, especially for the kids!
.
.
So if you’re looking to break the monotony of weeknight dinners, let me know.  I’ve got $40 off coupons to share and occasionally a FREE box, too!
.
.
Read the blog post and watch the video when the kids get involved and cook the Bavarian Pork Chop meal - such a great experience for the little ones and so delicious!
.
.
#chefsplate #chefsplatemeals #chefsplaterecipe #chefsplaterecipes #chefsplatemenu #mealkitservice #mealkitservicecanada #mealkits #mealkitdeliveryservice #mealkitdeliveryservices #mealkitdeliveryservicediscountcode #mealkitdeliveryservicevouchercodes
My Majesty Palm. 💗💗💗 . . I’m all about My Majesty Palm. 💗💗💗
.
.
I’m all about my plants recently, so you’ll have to excuse the obsession!
.
.
I can’t stop taking pictures!  It must be spring in the air! 🪴🌱🪴🌱
.
.
#majestypalm #majestypalmsofinstagram #beautifulpalms #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplantsofinsta #majestypalmplant #majestypalmtree #indoormajestypalm #tropicalplantsofinstagram #tropicalplants #iloveplants #kidsandplants #plantsofinstagram #indoorplantsdecor
I’ve become the mother of houseplants. I just l I’ve become the mother of houseplants.  I just love my plant babies so much!  What are your favourites? 
.
.
#houseplants #housepanthersofinstagram #motherofhouseplants #houseplantbabies #plantbabies🌱 #plantbabies #bostonferns #bostonfernlover #inamemyplants #inamemyplantsokay #thisisgeorgia #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantsmakemesmile #plantsmakemesmile🌿
Boys went tobogganing today! . . #outdoorfun #out Boys went tobogganing today! 
.
.
#outdoorfun #outdooradventures  #winterfun #wintersports #getoutsideandplay #getoutsidemore #getoutsidemoreoften #toboganning #toboganningfun #toboganningtime #sledding #sleddingfun #letssled #canadianwinters #canadianwinter #canadianwinters🇨🇦 #winterinnovascotia #winterinnovascotia2021 #wintersunshine☀️
As he was getting dressed to play outside, Henry w As he was getting dressed to play outside, Henry was struggling to put on a glove and he said to me, “Mommy, I don’t think I have enough fingers for this.” 😂
.
.
#snowdays #playinthesnow #thisis5 #5yearolds #lovethisboy💙 #lovethisboysomuch #outdoortime #novascotialife #christmassnow #whitechristmas❄️ #mybabyboyforever #thingskidssay #funnythingskidssay #funnykidstuff #kidssaythefunniestthings #kidssaythefunnieststuff #lovewhathesays #lovewhathesaid
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Follow Our Lives!

  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • How to Get a Portuguese NIF
  • Should you buy a used car?
  • Hearts In Portugal
  • LYRA Swimwear
  • How I Discovered “Gentle” Video Games For Kids and What My Kids Are Learning From Them!

Categories

  • DIY
  • Food
  • Holidays
  • Homeschooling
  • Life
  • Mindset
  • Reviews
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • How I Gained 20lbs in Lockdown and 5 Things I’m Doing About It!

    How I Gained 20lbs in Lockdown and 5 Things I’m Doing About It!

    May 7, 2021
  • Top 10 Byron Katie Quotes To Live Your Best Life

    Top 10 Byron Katie Quotes To Live Your Best Life

    March 15, 2020
  • Epic Road Trip 2019

    Epic Road Trip 2019

    January 17, 2020
  • Happy 2020

    Happy 2020

    January 17, 2020
We're so glad you stopped by; we're super excited to hang out and share our adventures with you, so don't forget to subscribe and visit us often :)

Whether we're traveling, playing soccer, just being perpetually hungry, or on the hunt for another vintage find, follow along as we figure out life.



You can write a little something about yourself here, or you can customize your sidebar however you’d like! You can add, rearrange, and delete any widgets - the options are endless!

Get A FREE Book Report Worksheet

Perfect for homeschoolers!

Click here to download the PDF

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Reader Favorites

How to Get a Portuguese NIF

Its The Maples! © 2023 · Theme By Coded Creative

Copyright © 2023 · Magnolia on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in