Affordable Housing: Natasha Feghali’s No-Vacancy Strategy

Natasha E. Feghali (00:00)
Yeah, they refer their family and friends. So I have somebody leaving now in May, they’re moving to another province. And he had this is his second colleague that he has referred to me who will move into our one of our properties. Yeah, we will take his unit. And so to me, that’s the number one blessing that that’s the blessing right there is that people trust me enough, and they want to refer their family and friends or associates they know that are looking.

And I already, I don’t even have to go and, you know, ⁓ solicit my property online and so forth. Because I’ve already got people looking to come in, which is amazing because I never have vacancies.

Quentin (02:15)
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I am your host Q Edmonds and I am delighted and happy to be here today. I am excited about my guest. ⁓ I appreciate her patience. I just appreciate everything that she’s doing and you’re going to hear her in her own words, just talk about her business, her journey in real estate, which I think is absolutely fantastic. I think she’s growing at a pace.

that is scalable, but also a pace that she can fully take full ownership of. And I just believe the sky’s the limit. And I’m just so happy that we get to peek through her lens. You guys know how I am. We are all at different parts of our journey. But even if we were doing the exact same thing, it’s still going to be slightly different because we are different. We are made from different cloths. We have different personalities. So everything that we do is going to be slightly different.

So I’m just so happy we get to peek through the lens today of Miss Natasha Feghali Miss Natasha, how are you doing today, ma’am?

Natasha E. Feghali (03:18)
fine. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. How are you?

Quentin (03:23)
Oh, I am doing great. I appreciate you. I appreciate your time. I appreciate your, one of my favorite words is stick to it in this, you know, you have stuck with us, you know, you and I, both know behind the scenes. is, we, we, we are being intentional about putting this episode out, right? And so I appreciate you and your intentionality, you know? Yes, ma’am. Yes, ma’am. So listen, Mr. Tasha, this is what I want to do. I want to dive right in. I want you to tell the people.

Natasha E. Feghali (03:42)
Absolutely.

Quentin (03:50)
what your main focus is these days. Also we love you, give them a little bit of an origin story, kind of how you got to where you are now. And then tell them where you are in the world geographically, because people love to know that because they like, hey, this person may be right around the corner from me and I can connect with her. So tell them what you’re doing, your origin story and where you are. Ms. Natasha, you have the floor, ma’am.

Natasha E. Feghali (04:13)
Thank you so much. So I am a small to medium sized ⁓ investor. And I provide housing, affordable housing for people in my community. And I actually should say in Canada, because we operate out of three provinces. So Ontario, New Brunswick and Alberta. And we have a new built closing coming up in May, actually.

Quentin (04:15)
Yes, ma’am.

Natasha E. Feghali (04:41)
So we’ve always historically done ⁓ multifamily properties. I say we because I started alone and then I learned how to get joint venture partners and I invited them into what I was doing. It makes your money go further and their money go further and everybody sort of has a role or a task or some are just angel investors and they just want to see numbers at the end of the month.

I started in I would say 2015 actually 2015 and I have been going ever since Continuously buying property selling property ⁓ renovating flipping House hacking rent for the birth strategy So I’ve done pretty much everything except for student rentals

I’ve never done student rentals. don’t know why, because I live in a university city. I just never really got into that just yet. And I am really grateful that we were able to scale around the country. It got to a point where in Ontario, my money was not going far enough. And I watched a podcast where they were talking about New Brunswick. So I took my money there.

And then I watched another podcast where they were talking about Calgary, Alberta, as I took my money there. And now we are really looking at and myself specifically looking at going either to the American market or to markets abroad, just depending. I feel that right now we’re in a time where the markets

could be in our favor and there could be a lot of ⁓ supply on the market and there we will see more people coming back home if they were living abroad so repatriating as well as immigrants or ⁓ refugees unfortunately coming to our countries Canada and the US and that opens up a large pool of people that will need housing.

And so I think that the market will be in our favor and that gives me something to dive deeper into and see how we can enter that sphere.

Quentin (07:52)
Yeah, I love it. I love it. Thank you for walking us through where you are, walking us to how the transitions you did, putting your money in different spaces after you watched different podcasts. I absolutely love it. You and I, we’ve talked quite a bit, you know, behind, you know, backstage. And so, of course, you I know a lot more about you probably than our audience do. But so, Ms. Natasha, I have a saying that I say probably every podcast.

I say destiny has no wasted moments, right? Meaning no matter what we go through in life, these moments build the person that we are now. And we have been living moments in real estate, outside of real estate, just doing life, right? Just things that, you know, our parents taught us, know, reframing our lens as we grow all these different things, right? It kind of build the person who we are now. So I would love to know.

throughout these moments built into your success now, what have these moments taught you about yourself? Have they taught you discipline, resilience, humility? Like what is these moments taught you about yourself, Ms. Natasha?

Natasha E. Feghali (09:02)
⁓ lot of sacrifice sacrifice is The the biggest thing that I have had to do for the last ten years is just Sacrifice my time my efforts my money as You know, you’re in the business not every single month is a good month But problems arise every single day, you know the toilet goes

That has to get done regardless or not if it’s gonna be a good month with a strong ROI. So that sometimes has to come out of pocket because fees and just the current climate, it’s very, very expensive for both you and I right now, prices are very, very high. So that sacrifice, I have had to learn.

how to sacrifice. I could be out at a dinner and attendant calls. I also manage my own properties. I should add that. The properties that are around me in my province, I manage those. The ones that are out of my province, those are with a property manager. But they call me all the time too. They always call me. And you have to take those calls.

Quentin (10:01)
Yeah.

Natasha E. Feghali (10:22)
It’s hard and you’re busy or you’re out or you have an event. And sometimes you have to take those calls. Of course, it’s easier now with text message. You can just tell them simply text me what’s going on. However, you’re still distracted from what you’re doing because you have to focus on your business. And I’ve made it very clear that, you know, there is no balance. It’s sort of a harmony.

That’s why I never liked that slogan for Women’s Day about balance. There is no balance. Something else is out of balance. It’s like a wave, a wave. It’s a harmony. Everything sort of works in harmony with each other, you know? And I’ve been clear to tenants and clear to my loved ones that there are times where I just can’t.

Quentin (10:48)
Yeah.

All right, come on. Yes.

Natasha E. Feghali (11:11)
be there for you because I have to be there for someone else. And so that sacrifice has been a really big challenge to learn for me.

Quentin (11:20)
Whew, Mr. Sausage, you just said so many powerful things. And I loved how you explained this notion of balance. And I’m with you. I did a study, because you know, just what you’re trying to do life, you’re just trying to make sure you’re doing everything. Like you feel the weight of responsibility. You’re trying to make sure you’re there and being intentional about everything. Right. And so I learned that multitasking is a myth.

Natasha E. Feghali (11:43)
Yeah.

Quentin (11:47)
They say multitasking is a study. They say multitasking is actually, it’s compared to being driving impaired, driving under the influence because you really can’t focus on one thing at a time. And so you’re really impaired with your decision making. So you really have to prioritize. And when you prioritize one thing, sometimes something else is kind of put on hold.

Natasha E. Feghali (11:49)
That’s right.

Right.

Quentin (12:13)
because your priority and your intention is in one spot. And so I think we have to each other, give ourselves grace because there are times, and you said it so eloquently, listen, I got to focus on one tenant. I can’t really focus on you right now. That’s prioritizing. That’s giving something your full attention. And then once you complete that, then I can give you my full attention. And so I hear you, I hear the sacrifice.

I hear when you talk about, you know, that word balance because it’s, and what I’ve learned again and what have helped me is that that balancing and multitasking for me is a myth. I have to prioritize and I have to tell people, hey, give me a second. I’ll get with you in a second. I got to focus here. And so I love, I love how you brought up sacrifice, Ms. Natasha. I really do. Yeah. Yeah.

Natasha E. Feghali (13:37)
It’s.

really underestimated how much we work as housing providers. And as we spoke earlier, as you know, the current climate is has a very negative lens our way. Although we’re investors, we’re housing providers, I’m putting more markets more units on the market, possibly then maybe my own municipality. I know a lot of landlords that are

buying, renovating, putting out very decent units. If you were to go into government housing, ⁓ the conditions you might be living in might not be as good as what, you know, small landlords who typically have three to five doors are able to provide. And we’re hands-on. You’re not filling out a form online. You’re just sending us a message or an email, whatever the platform is, and we come out and we fix it. And that’s why

There’s also that sacrifice as well that people look at you that you have money, you know, you have all this property, you have equity, blah, blah, blah. But they do not see how hard and that sacrifice that you put into that those long sleepless nights, you know, those when you’ve had to come out of pocket to

buy supplies or you know even a lot of times help a tenant. People don’t like this. Friends I know in the industry, associates, but if I know a tenant is struggling I will of course I’ll put it in writing but I will give them a break here and there because I know that they’re struggling they’ve been my tenant. People don’t leave me usually typically people don’t move out for better or for worse.

I know Mr. Quentin , their strategies that you want them out every year, but people don’t leave me. they’ve been some, I’ve had some tenants that have been with me since the inception of when I started my business. Their home, that’s their home. For me, of course it’s an investment, but it’s not just a box on land. That’s their home.

Quentin (15:45)
nuts.

Natasha E. Feghali (15:50)
and they’ve been there 10 years, you know, and they expect a certain level of professionalism from me as well. So I think there is some beauty in what we do. There’s a lot of sacrifice, but there is a lot of beauty in what we do. And although the lens and the connotation right now is very negative, at the end of the day,

We are still going to be here. We’re always going to be here and we’re always going to be affordable and small housing providers. And that’s simply because the law and I imagine for you as well, the law dictates how much we can raise our rent. But if you’re a builder and you’re putting a hundred units on the market, there’s nobody telling you what you can rent them at. Right. So I think that.

we’re doing a fine job for the most part. There are some rotten apples, of course, but I think for the most part, we’re doing a fine job. Yeah. And I think that the language and the connotation of investors and quote unquote landlords needs to change. It really doesn’t needs to change because it allows bad tenants to take advantage.

Quentin (17:02)
Mm-hmm. You know, I said at the top of the show, Ms. we all can be doing the same thing, but still, there’s a unique approach that each one of us bring to what we do, right? And I think you are the prime example, because I love the lens at which you’re looking at through this. And when I hear you talk, I literally hear you changing language around…

this real estate space in language that.

treats people like you said, this is just not box on land. Like just the way you phrase stuff, it gives us a different connotation of just looking at people as transactions or looking at people as dollar amounts. But no, these are human beings. You said that this is their homes. Like, yeah, of course I’m going to give them a break. Of course they stay with me because and I believe they stay with you because you treat them like they’re human. And I think that’s the missing piece sometimes.

is that we need to understand real estate is just a tool. Money is just a tool. You have to bring your whole self to the thing that you use as a tool. people use cars the wrong way. People use guns the wrong way. It’s always the people behind the tool that’s being used. And I love the way that you’re using this tool in this space in real estate.

to really help and change the culture and language around how business has been done for a long time. That’s what I’m hearing when you talk. These are the things that I’m picking up.

Natasha E. Feghali (19:18)
It’s very important. It is. It’s very important that the language evolves. It evolves and it changes. And you know what? Don’t get me wrong. There are some very rotten tenants. We just evicted one. It’s a lot, but that is not the majority. And you know, you can spot them very early on and I am not afraid to not rent to someone. I am not afraid.

If it’s my, at the end of the day, it is my property. I am the one on title. I am the one who’s responsible. So if I don’t think they’re a good fit, then they’re not coming in. And I also say that because I have multifamily properties. So I will often bring the other people that are living in the property to come and see who’s applying to rent there because they have to live with them. I don’t, I live somewhere else.

You know if they’re gonna be a problem or a nuisance or they have a pet and the other tenant has a cat allergy or the other tenant You know has little kids and they’re worried about a dog I always am very mindful and cognizant of my tenants and how to make it a good fit and I frankly don’t care About what anybody has to say about that. I really don’t care. Mr. Quentin. You’re married if you were coming in you and your wife

Into a property and you’ve been there a few years and you just had a new baby and I bring in a young couple You know or you know to say young people who are looking to party all night long and you got a new baby That’s asleep. That is not a good fit I would have to bring in another young couple maybe a young family who people understand each other

Quentin (20:56)
More?

Natasha E. Feghali (21:03)
You know, and I always ask my tenants to attend. always ask them, especially let’s say it’s a duplex or a triplex. I always ask them to attend to come and see and you know, give me another pair of eyes because at the end of the day they have to live with them. And what if they had they’ve been there five, six, seven years already and now you bring in trouble their way or or let’s say you I have a lot of what are they called remote workers?

Quentin (21:31)
Yeah.

Natasha E. Feghali (21:31)
I have quite

a few single remote workers I Bring in a musician who plays the drums for a living during the day. How is this gonna work? It’s not I’m gonna get calls every hour top of the hour So it’s got to be a good fit and I tell other investors the same thing if you self-manage like I do a lot don’t But if you self-manage like I do there’s no shame

Quentin (21:40)
Yeah.

Natasha E. Feghali (21:56)
Insane, know, we’ve gone with somebody else. You don’t have to be rude You don’t have to tell them the reason but I frankly don’t care I’m gonna make sure that the tenants that I have who have been with me are comfortable and that the new person coming in will also be Comfortable and that it’s a good match and I learned that from a mentor of mine. Mr. Quentin this lady I never met somebody like this in my life

Quentin (22:09)
Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Natasha E. Feghali (22:23)
She is an older woman. Maybe she’s probably in her 70s right now. This woman was literally the goat. She taught me never to be afraid. No, you don’t have to answer to anyone. As long as you’re doing it appropriately, you’re not discriminating. You’re not, you know, abusing people. You’re not

taking advantage of them rent wise, you have nothing to be afraid of. You’re looking out for the benefit of your tenants who are already living there and let them be a, she’s the one who taught me that, let them be a part of the process. Matter of fact, you can even have them show the people around, let them talk about their experience living there so that you’re gonna get someone who wants to be there and wants to be a part of that. And I don’t have any single families.

I only have multifamilies. you know, I really have to do my due diligence, especially if you have all working people, you know, just like I know by 8pm, you’re not trying to have that music on all night long, no way. And I’ve got a lot of people who are remote workers, and who are working people, they work in construction, they don’t want to hear any sounds.

Quentin (23:17)
Yeah

Absolutely.

Yeah. Yeah. Come

on. Mm. Mm-mm. Yeah. You bring up the point, and I say this on enough podcasts, because I always talk about relationships, and you just naturally weaved in relationships with your tenants. I always talk about community. Like, community is common unity. It’s people doing things with a common goal in mind. That’s community and culture. So everything you just explained,

explain that you’re building community and culture. And when you have an ecosystem that everybody can drive in, you as the housing provider, also the people who are renting from you, if it’s an ecosystem where everybody drives, everybody wins, like everybody feel comfortable. I don’t have no problem paying you my rent. You don’t have no problem like, I know you right now may be a little hard. Let me give you a little break because we are building a community here.

Natasha E. Feghali (24:27)
Yes.

Quentin (24:37)
an ecosystem where everybody thrives, everybody wins. I often say healing happens in community and healing means to be made whole. And so when you think about it like that, what you’re building is a place where people can be made whole. They can be made whole financially. And if they’re whole financially, they’re probably whole mentally. And if they’re whole mentally, they’re probably whole physically.

Natasha E. Feghali (24:46)
Mm-hmm.

Quentin (25:03)
And if they hold physically, they’re probably hold on a social level. So community, creating an ecosystem is so important because everybody thrives, everybody heals in community.

Natasha E. Feghali (25:14)
That’s right. If they if the tenants feel respected, if my team feels respected, if the tenants know who’s coming into their property, they feel that they’re a part of something and it’s not just, yeah, I pay this rent. They will be more respectful to the property. And if they see that you care, they will care.

And I know that could be that can be contested, but I believe it and I’ve lived it. If they know that you care and you’re on top of repairs and you’re on top of problems, they will care. They will also care in the as long as I’ve in the 10 years I’ve been doing this. I’ve only ever had two problems ever. I’ve only ever had two two tenants that I’ve had to take to the landlord and tenant board.

Quentin (25:58)
Come on.

Natasha E. Feghali (26:04)
Everybody else has been wonderful. I’ve got I’m sad to see many of them leave and you know The but even better than that is that they refer me their family and friends

Yeah, they refer their family and friends. So I have somebody leaving now in May, they’re moving to another province. And he had this is his second colleague that he has referred to me who will move into our one of our properties. Yeah, we will take his unit. And so to me, that’s the number one blessing that that’s the blessing right there is that people trust me enough, and they want to refer their family and friends or associates they know that are looking.

And I already, I don’t even have to go and, you know, ⁓ solicit my property online and so forth. Because I’ve already got people looking to come in, which is amazing because I never have vacancies.

So that’s amazing. Yeah, that’s amazing. And you already know, Mr. Quentin , that they’re coming in through a referral. So you already know they’re going to take care of that property. You’re not going to have problems with them.

Quentin (27:09)
Again, you are shown when you build community and culture, it’s an ecosystem that just keeps the loop. It keeps the loop of an environment where everybody can thrive, everybody can be successful. And so I love it. I love it. I love what you’re doing. Ms. Natasha, if someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, collaborate with you, learn more about what you’re doing, how can they get in contact with you, ma’am?

Natasha E. Feghali (27:33)
Sure.

who are my social media handles are all the same. They are at N E Feghali So F E G H A L I and they can contact me there they can get you will have access to my business email. And I it’s my pleasure to help others it really is sometimes they don’t like what I have to say. And I’ve had that happen to with a young mentor who did not like what I had to say.

I I wished him well. I wished him well very very very green. I wished him well, but I always tell it like it it is because You know, mr. Quentin We’ve been doing this a long time. You’re not gonna tell me how much a tar roof is I already been doing how many tar roofs have I had to put on you know, so

Quentin (28:25)
Yeah. Yeah.

Natasha E. Feghali (28:26)
It’s my pleasure to help people or advise people to the best of my capacity and I’ve done it for a very long time and I think that that’s an ebb and flow of humanity helping each other and helping each other along. People sometimes are between a rock and a hard place and they do not know what to do and I do not mind helping ⁓ others and if people want to reach out as well there could be a possible collaboration. That’s wonderful too.

Quentin (28:38)
Absolutely.

I love it. Let me say three things to you, Ms. Natasha, and I want to say them sincerely. One, I want to thank you for your time. It could have been anywhere in the world, but you gave us your time. And you gave me a lot of your time, so I appreciate your time. really do. Secondly, your story. Thank you for your story, your narrative. I believe stories have a way of planting seeds.

Natasha E. Feghali (29:04)
Thank you.

Thank you. It’s my pleasure.

Quentin (29:21)
or even watering seeds. And we may not see the growth, but we still put the seed there. We still water the seed. And I believe that’s what you’ve done. You’ve watered seeds today and you’ve planted some seeds. So thank you so much for your story. Lastly, thank you for your mindset, the way you think, your perspective, and bringing that mindset to this platform. I greatly appreciate you coming through.

Natasha E. Feghali (29:44)
Thank

you so much. I appreciate it. It’s my pleasure.

Quentin (29:48)
Absolutely. Well, listen, y’all heard Ms. Natasha. You can’t tell me you didn’t get the nuggets from her story, from this podcast, from her lens. So look in the show notes, get in contact with her, learn more, get connected to the community, and also definitely make sure you are subscribed here, because I promise you we’re going to continue to bring up amazing people just like Ms. Natasha. So thank you again. And listen, everyone else, y’all have a fantastic day.