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Show Summary
In this episode, Michelle Kesil chats with Stacey Vair, a mortgage broker and real estate investor based in BC, Canada. Stacey shares her journey from starting as a financial advisor to investing in high-quality rental properties, managing projects, and creatively maximizing spaces. She discusses her strategies for buying, financing, and managing rental properties while balancing family life and a full-time career. Stacey also shares her goals for 2026, lessons learned, and tips for aspiring investors.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Stacey Vair (00:00)
again, buy right, you know, if the numbers don’t work, you can’t make them work, right? If the math isn’t mathin, don’t go for it, right? Like it’s, there’s potential and speculation, and then there’s the truth, right? So if the numbers aren’t going to work, then you just got to move on to the next one. Also too, make sure that you’re always flexing your deal muscle.Michelle Kesil (01:54)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil, and today I’m joined by someone I’m looking forward to chatting with, Stacey Vair, who is a licensed mortgage broker as well as a real estate investor. So excited to have you here today, Stacey.Stacey Vair (02:11)
Thank you, Michelle. Thanks for having me today.Michelle Kesil (02:14)
I think our listeners are going to take something away from how you’re thinking outside of the box and using your creativity to create new projects. So, excited to dive in.Stacey Vair (02:28)
ThankMichelle Kesil (02:30)
First off, for those not familiar with you and your work yet, can you share what your main focus is?Stacey Vair (02:36)
Yeah, I’m a mortgage broker and I focus on value add rental properties. I help my clients buy their first or their fifth rental property. It gets harder as you buy more because banks are a little less likely to lend. So that’s when we have to get creative with our financing. But I focus on that aspect and how to get the most out of your dollar and make a good product.Michelle Kesil (03:05)
Awesome. And what markets are you operating in?Stacey Vair (03:09)
⁓ I do ⁓ residential and it’s in the interior of BC in Canada and we ⁓ focus, like I said, on high quality rental for high quality tenants.Michelle Kesil (03:25)
Awesome. How did you get started as an investor?Stacey Vair (03:31)
Well, years ago, I’m also a financial advisor and I could see that my more affluent clients had bricks and mortar real estate within their portfolio as well. And I wanted to, you know, to be a part of that. And, you know, as a mortgage broker too, you’re seeing people buy and sell. And so I just saw the opportunity of a condo near our university in town. And I thought, well, that would be a great investment to buy now. And it would be paid off by the time my kids are going to go to school. So we…bought that condo and got it rented and then the real estate bug just bit me.
Michelle Kesil (04:10)
Yeah, amazing. And what do you feel are some of the main keys that have made the biggest difference in allowing your business to be able to grow and to run smoothly?Stacey Vair (04:23)
Yeah, on the investing perspective, I think it’s having a good team around you. ⁓ We employed the Burr method. And of course, I wasn’t swinging a hammer because I work full time and have young children. So we made sure that we hired quality people to do the project management. And then my job was just to manage the managers, really. So that was a key piece.Also too, making sure that you’re on site always to ensure that the project is moving forward and that things are getting done the way you want to get them done. Because quite often I’ll take a project and I don’t go for the cookie cutter like, oh yeah, that’s the simple way to do it. I want to use every inch of space as efficiently as possible to ensure that the tenant gets the most out of their space and we’re getting the most out of our investment. And sometimes it’s not the easier way to do things, right?
It’s always helped that I’m on site when the major ⁓ moments of the project are happening. So that way can ensure that it’s getting done the way it should get done.
Michelle Kesil (06:20)
Yeah, absolutely. And you mentioned that’s not always the easier way. Can you expand on why it’s more complicated?Stacey Vair (06:28)
Yeah, well, on a building perspective, right? Like it’s, you know, you’re taking, say, a single family house and you’re putting a suite into it. And, you know, depending on the year that the house was built, you know, for an example, 70s homes in our area, they’ve got their HVAC just smack dab in the middle of the, of the basement. Right. So lots of times builders just go, well, we’ll just, you know, build a wall around this and this and, and, but it’s not efficiently using the space. Right. So, ⁓keen on moving kitchens to other sides of the house or taking down walls or moving the HVAC. And again, it’s not the easiest thing to do. So lots of times builders are like, well, maybe we don’t have to do it like that. And I’m like, yeah, we do. We do. So I stick to my guns and we get it done.
Michelle Kesil (07:18)
Yeah, that’s important. What have been some obstacles or challenges that you’ve experienced as an investor that now looking back you can kind of see the lesson?Stacey Vair (07:33)
Yeah, just making sure that you buy right, of course, right? Like the first, they always say the first time they make money in real estate is when you buy, right? So making sure that you’re buying right. And then just timelines, ensuring that timelines on projects don’t get pulled too far. I mean, we were building in 2020, so of course, you know, there was shutdowns, there was supply issues, all of that, right? Which, you you couldn’t, we couldn’t have.There’s not a lot we could do on that, but being nimble and going like, okay, we can’t get this product. How can we pivot? Right. And just not being too, ⁓ too stuck to the one plan, right. Or the one material. ⁓
Michelle Kesil (08:21)
Yeah, definitely pivoting is important in this role.What are some of the goals that you have for 2026?
Stacey Vair (08:36)
Well, right now we are actively just designing a Apex and so just getting that to the development permit stage is you know and getting it built this year is going to be the main focus. It’s pretty exciting because it’s my first my first ground up project where we got raw land and we’re turning it into something.Michelle Kesil (09:01)
Yeah, that’s exciting. What has been like the biggest learning curve of starting that?Stacey Vair (09:08)
upfront costs, you know, like you hear about it, but you don’t really realize the amount of upfront costs and how much is unknown about those upfront costs, you know, what the DCCs are actually going to be or, know, where, where the utilities are going to land. ⁓ so it’s been a lot of like doing it in faith, knowing that each step that you do of the project, it just, you know, you’re outlaying X amount of money, even just for the, for the plans that you don’t even know.the city is going to go for, right? So it’s just having to have faith in what you’re doing ⁓ and just keep pushing through even though there’s no guarantees.
Michelle Kesil (09:49)
Yeah, absolutely. And as you started investing in it, like have been learning, did you learn through others or mentorship or how did you like learn what the bits and pieces are?Stacey Vair (10:38)
Honestly, I learned through podcasts. I just listened to what other investors were talking about, what they were doing, what worked in their business, what doesn’t work in their business. And I just kind of took it from that as well as, you know, being a mortgage broker. I have real world experience seeing, you know, what other people are doing in that respect too. But, but the good most piece of it was, you know, the peer to peer was listening to podcasts and just kind of.Going like, oh, okay, yeah, what I’m going through right now is normal. This is a piece of the puzzle. Or hearing some of the pitfalls and going like, okay, I gotta watch out for that. I gotta make sure that that doesn’t happen to me. There’s a real estate group in town as well that meets periodically. I recommend to anybody out there that if you’re really serious about real estate, try to find some peers that you can get together and chat with and get bounce ideas off of and deals and that sort of thing.
Absolutely, it’s invaluable.
Michelle Kesil (11:40)
Yeah, definitely. What would you share for those investors that are starting out that you wish you knew?Stacey Vair (11:48)
again, buy right, you know, if the numbers don’t work, you can’t make them work, right? If the math isn’t mathin, don’t go for it, right? Like it’s, there’s potential and speculation, and then there’s the truth, right? So if the numbers aren’t going to work, then you just got to move on to the next one. Also too, make sure that you’re always flexing your deal muscle.And what I mean by that is analyze a ton of deals all the time. Like even if you’re not even a position to buy yet.
Constantly, you know see what’s out there get to know your market get to know the market around you and start analyzing those deals so that way I equate it to a play where it’s the dress rehearsal you You rehearse so many times that when the actual plays on when it’s go time You’ve done this enough times that you’re confident enough, even though it’s your first time you can pull it off because you practice so many times
Michelle Kesil (12:45)
Yeah, absolutely.Stacey Vair (12:47)
And I still do that to this day. spent like hours the other day looking at a commercial deal, like probably about four hours just trying to make the math work, trying to think about, you know, how could we add value, all of that sort of thing. ⁓ Just so that way I keep on keeping that deal muscle strong, right? So if the right thing falls in my lap, I know how much it takes. I know what I want to do with it, all of it. So I’m prepared.Michelle Kesil (13:11)
Yeah, that’s important. And you mentioned that you’re pretty creative when it comes to like the deals and the spaces. Can you expand on that process for you?Stacey Vair (13:20)
Yeah. So again, like I, you know, I want to use every square inch, ⁓ in the most efficient manner and I want it to have flow. And I’m always thinking about the end product, you know, like if I rented for 15 years before I bought my first house. I’ve, I lived in a lot of rentals and I know what a good rental is. I know what a crappy rental is. Right. and so we want to always create high quality spaces for high quality tenants. And I just think if, ⁓ this is the, also the rule of thumb for me, if all of this implodes,can I move in here? Would I move in here? Right? And that’s how I kind of base all of my deals and base all of my, ⁓ you know, designs from is would this be, could I live here? You know? And ⁓ going on off about being creative, ⁓ you know, for an example, I have a ⁓ space under my house that’s underneath like a carport kind of idea. ⁓ And
I wanted to, I could see, I could vision it. I could see the suite today, you know? And I brought it to the builders and they’re like, yeah, no, it’s much easier if you do this other space. And I’m like, no, no, no, no, we’re not doing it the easy way. We’ve got to do it the right way. We got to use the space. ⁓ And so I ended up creating the space and now it’s done and people will come down and they’ll see the suite and just be blown away. I can’t believe you did this with the space, right? Like I just, you know.
I can’t believe you envisioned this and now it’s here. So it’s kind of cool.
Michelle Kesil (14:53)
Yeah, that’s awesome. And what are you most focused on solving or scaling to next in your business?Stacey Vair (15:42)
Yeah, so the build right now is absolutely going to be my laser focus for 2026. And then we’re going to see where that takes us. I’ve always wanted to do multifamily in a commercial sense as far as apartment buildings or mixed use. So I think that’ll be the next logical step in the journey.Michelle Kesil (16:11)
Yeah, amazing. And as far as your mortgage broker business, are you working with investors through that as well?Stacey Vair (16:20)
Yeah, I do like a lot of residential, but you know, part of being a financial advisor is, you know, recommending other ways in areas that they could be making money. And so of course, rental property, if a client has got that same kind of drive and time and ambition for it, I absolutely, you know, I don’t know if council’s the right way, but advise on how they can get there. And then I help them with their mortgages and there’s a…There is a tax loop here in Canada, it’s commonly known as the Smith maneuver. And so I definitely help my clients understand what that is. educate them about it and then we put that into practice.
Michelle Kesil (17:08)
Amazing. What are some misconceptions that you help those clients with and overcome?Stacey Vair (17:15)
⁓ misconceptions? I don’t go out and find the real estate deal for them. if they bring something to me, I’m, I’m happy to analyze it though, at the same time, because I don’t want anybody to get into anything that’s over their head or, you know, not prepared for, but, they need to be, ⁓ you know, spearheading the project, so to speak, right? I don’t bring deals to them.Michelle Kesil (17:47)
Yeah, definitely. You mentioned we were chatting before that. You don’t take no for an answer. Can you expand on some examples of that?Stacey Vair (17:55)
Okay.So in that respect, if we’re talking about the mortgage brokerage side, sometimes the deals don’t, a file won’t work for the debt servicing in the A space, so traditional bricks and mortar banks. So I’m always making sure that it’s like, okay, well, what about a B side? What about this? What about that? Have we thought about these different aspects on that?
and making sure that we’re just finding creative, you know, we’re getting the deal done. We’re getting creative financing. If we have to, vendor take back mortgages, you know, I’m here to advise and to, um, and to give those ideas. And then on my personal side, you know, quite often people say, Oh, I don’t, that can’t be done. Or that’s not the easy way to do it. And I’m like, the easy way isn’t the best way. It’s, know, I don’t take no for an answer. I’m like, we can, we can get this done. This is going to take some more elbow grease. That’s all.
Yeah. So I don’t shy away from my work, that’s for sure.
Michelle Kesil (18:56)
Yeah.Do you have a specific story where you were not going towards the no and you made something happen?
Stacey Vair (19:09)
Yeah, last year I was ⁓ purchasing a fourplex and traditional lenders didn’t love my deal and it was coming down to the wire and I just I would not take no for an answer. So like I was on the phone for hours with lenders just seeing you know what can they offer? How can they how can they make this work? How can we make this work? What more do they need? What else do we want to do?And then of course, you know dealing with the seller as well and just finding that that perfect mix to getting it done and you know at the last minute at the 12th hour the final hour I got her done so
It was definitely a success.
Michelle Kesil (19:57)
Yeah, amazing. As far as finding deals, ⁓ is there something like a specific strategy that you have to look for? What would be the best fit for you?Stacey Vair (20:08)
I think it’s really important for if you’re starting out to know what your criteria is. ⁓ You know, I used to at the very beginning, I used to shotgun spray. So I was like anything that for sale, was like, Ooh, let’s let’s analyze that. Let’s look at that. ⁓ Now for myself, it’s multifamily. I’m not interested in single family or condos. I want to get the bigger bang for my dollar on that. And just moving up into, you know, into managing more.is my focus, sorry. I don’t know if answered that question.
Michelle Kesil (20:45)
Yeah, awesome. And what are you like, hoping to accomplish as a real estate investor?Stacey Vair (20:58)
⁓ I would like to continue to give high quality housing to good people in my community. Yeah, that’s it. It feels good to know that, you know, we take care of almost 50 people in total, right, with the houses that we offer. And, you know, it just like I said, it feels good to be a part of the community and to offer something more and better than, you know, the traditional landlord.type thing and if we can continue to do that I’ll feel super blessed.
Michelle Kesil (21:35)
Yeah, amazing. And are you planning to expand outside of the region that you’re in?Stacey Vair (21:41)
That’s a good question, Michelle. That’s a tough one because I know that there’s, you know, you see lots of people who talk about it, that there’s, you know, usually better, more deals or more opportunity outside of your immediate area. And it’s true. I have a hard time not being in control. I love being able to drive by to know that my property is being well-kept ⁓ and that the people are happy, you know, and I love being able to.If something’s up, whippin’ and helpin’ them out because I’m self-managing. So, you know, will I buy something outside of my region? It’s, I’m never gonna say no, but right now it’s, like I said, I have too much of a control freak and I want to just know that it’s there when I want to see it.
Michelle Kesil (22:30)
Yeah, absolutely, that makes sense. Awesome. So before we wrap up here, if somebody wants to reach out, connect, learn more, where can people find you and connect with you?Stacey Vair (22:41)
Yup, Stacey Vair on LinkedIn. And or ⁓ I also, you my business is Vaira Mortgage Group, Vaira Financial Mortgage Group, so they could find me, you know, there. ⁓ Yeah, that’s about it.Michelle Kesil (23:00)
Perfect, well, appreciate your time, your story, your perspective. Thank you for being here.Stacey Vair (23:06)
Thank you, Michelle. really appreciate you having me on today.Michelle Kesil (23:08)
Yeah, absolutely. And for the listeners tuning in to the show, if you got value, make sure that you have subscribed. We’ve got more conversations with operators like Stacey who are building real businesses and we’ll see you on the next episode.
