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The niche architect: Alex Wilson’s systematic rise in real estate

Andrew Fogliato — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 05:03:09 +0000

Dive into the remarkable journey of Alex Wilson, the visionary architect behind a niche-focused real estate team. This article unfolds the strategic blueprint that propelled Wilson from a serendipitous elevator conversation to dominating pre-construction investment properties.

As part of our ongoing Backstage Pass features into the people who run some of the top real estate businesses in Canada, we’re turning to Alex Wilson of Re/Max Wealth Builders.

Alex Wilson’s path during his career in real estate unfolds like a masterclass in adapting and innovation. Starting his career amid the 2008 financial crisis, Wilson’s foray into real estate was less about chasing a passion and more about seizing an unexpected opportunity. He was planning to take a corporate job after moving back to Toronto from Vancouver. Real estate wasn’t a passion.

Skepticism turned to appreciation and slow progress

His initial skepticism about a career in real estate sales gradually transformed into a profound appreciation for the value and respect the profession commands. The turning point came in 2009, with his first significant breakthrough. That February he made his first deal, but in April 2009 alone he made five deals.

Wilson recalls asking himself, “Why am I wasting my time trying to get a steady paycheque when I could apply that work to running a successful business in real estate?” He wanted to invest his energy and time into making himself successful, not someone else.

By the end of his first year, he was already #4 in his brokerage for production. He credits the idea of giving up his pursuit of going for a corporate job and putting 100 per cent of his energy towards being successful as a realtor. His advice for new agents is you can’t be desperate for money in the first six months because you aren’t going to be making any — you need a stockpile until you start getting income.

In years two and three, he didn’t see a meteoric rise. He increased his overall business by about five deals a year and made approximately 30 deals in his third year.

The elevator moment

Wilson has always been a people person, talking about everyone he could. He hosts fun events for friends and maintains a large social network. He loves talking to people. Conversations create opportunities you never knew existed and he focuses on having lots of them.

In December 2012, living in his first condominium, he was in the elevator and chatted with a woman in it, too. As it turned out, she specialized in pre-construction and had units coming up in the building across the street. Wilson asked if he could be involved.

He wrote up an analysis of the project for his database after buying a unit for himself and made a business case for his clients. Over the next two weeks, he sold 12 units. That was the moment he knew where he wanted to focus his attention.

Over the years that followed, Wilson started getting a reputation with builders and their sales & marketing departments as an agent who could deliver. More and more deals started coming his way.

Niching down

Wilson says that when you’re dealing with people and the roof over their heads, it carries a lot of emotion. He would even tell his clients, “Put those emotions on me and I’ll carry them on my back.”

When it comes to investment properties, it’s purely a math-based decision. It also allows a scale you normally don’t have in resale. Most agents on their own will start to burn out doing 50 resale transactions a year without help. The time involved in showings plus the emotional fatigue can add up quickly.

According to Wilson, you can double that by doing pre-construction deals. One of the big factors was how much time he was spending on the road in his resale business. He thought, “How can I condense my market area since I only have so much time each week to do business? If I’m on the road, how can I be focused on growing the business?”

It became clear that for Wilson to scale, pre-construction investment properties were his future. The decision to niche down paid off: in 2022 Wilson and his team did 650 transactions. Even in 2023 when the market was slow, especially in pre-construction, his team still did over 350 transactions.

The other big benefit Wilson has found in pre-construction that most see as a downside is you usually don’t get fully paid until a building is completed. Typically, you’ll get some commission within 6-12 months of the transaction and then another when it closes. That means for Wilson, he already knows his baseline revenue for the next 4-5 years. He recounts talking to realtors who say “It’s January 1, we’re back to 0, let’s hit the grind again.” Wilson never feels he’s back to 0 anymore.

The approach

Wilson has a very simple model with his database. Once he finds a project he likes, he buys at least one unit himself. He does the due diligence, invests and then reaches out to his database with the simple premise of “follow my money.”

In doing so, he educates them on the entire process. He doesn’t want anyone buying a property without knowing all the implications. Especially in a down market, people seek out experts’ advice. They are scared to make the wrong move. With a focus on being an expert, even in a down market, you can attract clients. For Wilson, it’s his recession-proof business plan.

You have to be knowledgeable, not just about your niche, but about world events. When you’re with clients only about 5 per cent of the time, you’re generally talking about real estate. But, you want to be able to hold an interesting conversation the other 95 per cent of the time, and staying up to date on world events is part of the business. Try to be as well-rounded a person as possible, Wilson says.

The educational approach regularly brings him clients. For example, in early COVID when the Ontario government made it impossible to evict tenants, he launched a webinar for landlords on what their options were. He brought on a paralegal for it and years later, that webinar replay still brings him leads. He’s also brought in an accountant to talk about how to build a tax-efficient portfolio.

When you educate people, you increase their certainty in their decision-making and reduce their anxiety. This makes those who are transaction-ready reach out to him. Wilson lets people come to him.

The big pivot

Wilson says he doesn’t sell anything he doesn’t believe in. That’s why he buys and does due diligence for himself first before bringing anything to clients. And that’s what caused the next big pivot in his business.

Running the numbers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), with 20 per cent down you can’t have a cash flow-positive property anymore. Wilson doesn’t believe that you should put yourself in a situation where you can lose money, and you only lose money when you sell. So, he says, don’t put yourself in situations where you have to sell. He believes that appreciation shouldn’t be the only way to make money on an investment property — that’s a recipe for losing hundreds of thousands.

Wilson’s personal philosophy was that he didn’t want active investments — the more passive the better. Rehabilitating old properties, the “BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) method” many advocate for, was too active. This is why he likes pre-construction. Newer buildings require less involvement from owners and maintenance is covered by the condominium or strata corporation.

Wilson had to look outside of Ontario to find investments that fit his philosophy, and his due diligence brought him to Calgary. So, he did what he did in Toronto and started buying units for himself. Then, he went back to his database with his “follow my money” messaging.

In 2019, Wilson and his team started focusing a lot of their attention on the Calgary market. It was a market they believed had great fundamentals with cash flow-positive units when you put 20 per cent down: appreciation upside, better tax situation for investors and landlord-friendly regulations that don’t exist in Ontario.

He launched webinars for his database on “Why Buy Calgary” where he would open by showing his own portfolio, and walk through market fundamentals from his due diligence. Wilson would bring up factors like the population being set to grow by 48 per cent over 20 years (double the rate in Ontario), the fast-growing economy and the city having the second-most corporate head offices in Canada.

His clients followed him. From December 2019 to the end of 2023, Wilson and his team sold over 1,000 units in Calgary to investors.

Building a replicable foundation

Wilson spent 2023 building systems and processes for his team — he wasn’t as focused on growing their sales the same way he had in the past. As a father of three young children, he wanted to build systems that allowed him to spend time with his family, his most important piece, while still consistently growing the business.

Wilson built a replicable system for his team members, helping a couple of them reach over a million in GCI on their own. A lot of his focus is on how to simplify that process as much as possible.

He has his team members follow the same approach that built his business. They invest in a unit on a particular project, invite their database to a webinar on why they did so and then call each attendee after the webinar. The rest of their time is about adding people to the database so the next webinar is bigger. Online leads are a large part of this. If his team members do that and consistently make 30 touchpoints a day, Wilson sees averages of 5-10 sales per month per team member.

He found this easiest to do initially with new agents that didn’t already have businesses. It was more difficult to make that jump for people who didn’t specialize in investments and still focused a lot of time on their “legacy business”, as Wilson puts it.

The next big leap

With that foundation built, Wilson is turning his eyes to another period of growth in 2024. He believes the next big leap is solving the challenge for those with a legacy business.

Instead of moving their license to his team or even to their brokerage, he has partnered with them. They collaborate and do the deals as referral fees. This is basically the same process he has for his team members, who buy a unit and promote a webinar to their database about why they bought it. From there, Alex and his team get on follow-up calls with the agent and the people who attended the webinar. This way, the agent can still focus on their database, the resale business and the commitment that this requires.

When you listen to Alex Wilson talk about business and his approach, he’s never deterred about a new initiative not working. He also doesn’t write something off that didn’t work the first time. Rather, he looks for why it didn’t work and what adjustments would solve that, and then tries again.

The little details, being improved consistently, have led Alex Wilson to be one of Canada’s top teams.

Photo source: ReMaxWealth.com

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Andrew Fogliato

Andrew Fogliato – The G is silent – is the owner of Real Estate Magazine and Just Sell Homes. He mostly talks about marketing but sometimes ventures into other topics in the real estate world. Sometimes he also writes bios in the 3rd person.

The post The niche architect: Alex Wilson’s systematic rise in real estate appeared first on REM.

Calgary skyscraper takes second place in global awards

REM Editorial Team — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 04:00:11 +0000

Calgary’s TELUS Sky building won second place in the annual Emporis Skyscraper Award competition as judged by an international jury of architectural experts. For more than 20 years, the competition has been held by Emporis, an international provider of building data.

Emporis says TELUS Sky “stands out because of its extraordinary structure and façade: it has a rectangular base and with rising height the floor plates gradually reduce in size, creating small terraces and balconies. The façade is illuminated at night by a public art LED lighting installation, which has been designed by Canadian artist Douglas Coupland. The installation is also accompanied by a smartphone app with live information about the ongoing light performance.

The top award went to One Barangaroo in Sydney, Australia. One Barangaroo is a 271-meter-tall skyscraper, designed by British architect WilkinsonEyre and is the tallest building in Sydney, offering spectacular views of Sydney Harbour and the city’s iconic Opera House.

According to the jury, the extravagant design of One Barangaroo’s exterior façade was the deciding factor for the building coming in at first place. It is inspired by natural shapes and resembles three petals rising slightly twisted into the sky. “The magnificent tower stands on a four-storey-high podium, the outer walls of which are decorated with a mantle of marble. In addition to a casino, apartments and restaurants, the building also houses a luxury six-star hotel owned by the Crown Resort Group, Australia’s largest entertainment conglomerate and developer of One Barangaroo,” says Emporis.

In third place is One Vanderbilt in New York City. The skyscraper, designed by Kohn Pedersen and Fox, is located near Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan and combines state-of-the-art office space with direct connections to one of the city’s largest transport hubs. “The striking features of the tower are the four visually clearly separated modules, which combined give the building an asymmetrical, distinctive shape, making it one of New York’s latest eye-catchers in the Manhattan skyline.”

Emporis says that due to the pandemic, 2020 was a turbulent and challenging year that also had a strong impact on the construction industry. The total number of skyscrapers completed in 2020 decreased by 20 per cent in comparison to the previous year.

REM Editorial Team

realestatemagazine.ca

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Stunning home design maximizes the view

REM Editorial Team — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 05:58:11 +0000

The owners of this Scarborough Bluffs home in Toronto, Jesleen and Jihad, are a young professional couple expecting their first child. They approached Taylor Smyth Architects to design a new residence, having been impressed by one of their other contemporary houses nearby. Both sites feature breathtaking views over Lake Ontario, perched 50 feet above the lake at the edge of the cliff formation known as the Scarborough Bluffs.

Large sliding doors open out to the backyard and pool, and an exterior planter reappears inside between the great room and dining room.

The architects say maximizing the views to the lake and embracing the landscape were guiding design inspirations. The house is focused on a two-storey great room, skylit along one side, and fully glazed at the back, with large sliding doors that open out to the backyard and swimming pool. An exterior planter extends inside, along with a vertical screen of oak slats, to define the separation between the great room and dining room. An open feature staircase winds through the centre of the house up to the third-floor roof terrace. This was requested by the client so they could enjoy spectacular views of the lake above the tree canopy.

An open staircase runs through the centre of the house, overlooking the great room and terminating at the third floor.

Outside, the white stucco walls and black metal accent panels are combined with warm oak-look phenolic panels (Trespa) on the garage door and soffits, chosen for their no-maintenance composition.

The material palette inside features light oak floors throughout, with accents of both white and black large-scale porcelain, the former reproducing the rich patterns of Statuario marble. The second floor contains three bedrooms. The primary bedroom features a spacious and luxurious ensuite bathroom and walk-in closet, where the white and black porcelain slabs are combined to create a dramatic contrast.

Since moving into the house, the client has welcomed their second child and the house has become a frequent destination for large extended family events. “My daughter loves it here,” Jesleen says. “Every morning she comes down to the living room and says, hello world! She likes to wave out to the birds and the trees.”

Photos by Doublespace Photography

REM Editorial Team

realestatemagazine.ca

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The Rietveld-Schroder house: Dutch modernism from 1924

Diane Slawych — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 04:00:57 +0000

Neighbours called it “that crazy house.” And its owner Truus Schroder wasn’t pleased to learn her children were sometimes ostracized – all because the home looked noticeably different from others on the street.

Today “that crazy house”, located on the edge of the Dutch city of Utrecht, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And this year the Rietveld-Schroder house, as it’s known, will receive even more attention than usual.

That’s because 2017 marks the 100^th anniversary of De Stijl – the Dutch art movement that had an international impact on modern art and architecture – and perhaps no single building epitomizes The Style more than the Rietveld-Schroder house.

Designed by Dutch Architect Gerrit Rietveld in close collaboration with his client Truus Schroder, the home was considered radical for its time and broke with many architectural standards of the day.

It was built in 1924 and even now the two-storey home with a white façade accented with primary colours, stands out from the other dwellings on the street.

Notable interior features include the flexible and changeable spaces. For example, on the top floor, instead of fixed walls, there are sliding partitions that allow the occupants to create separate rooms (as many as three bedrooms and a living room) when needed, or enjoy an open concept.

The “disappearing corner”.

Schroder also wanted lots of natural light and a seamless transition between the indoors and the outdoors. To that end, almost every door in the house leads to the exterior. A skylight in the roof above the stairs was installed and other intriguing elements were added such as windows in the dining room that, when opened, appear to make the corner of the home invisible (sometimes called a “disappearing corner.”)

That wasn’t the only optical illusion. Rietveld had planned to build the entire home using prefabricated concrete, but that turned out to be too costly. Instead he settled on reinforced concrete for the foundation and balconies only and used bricks for the rest of the home. They were then covered in a layer of stucco.

Rietveld’s famous red chair

Rietveld, who started his career a furniture maker, also designed the home’s hanging lamps and the now famous red-blue chair – in classic De Stijl colours. (Other versions of the chair can be found in various museums throughout Holland including the Rijksmuseum).

Schroder, a widow, moved into the home with her three children in 1924 and lived there until her death in 1985. She had chosen the location of the house at Prins Hendriklaan 50 for the expansive view over the polder landscape. But unfortunately, a four-lane motorway with a viaduct was later constructed nearby, obscuring the view and prompting Rietveld to complain that the home had lost is spatial meaning.

Today the home is open for guided tours, though advance reservation is required because only 12 people are admitted at any one time. Through the audio guide, visitors learn that Rietveld didn’t just design the house. He also lived in it. He had a studio on the ground floor of the home from 1925 to 1933. After his wife died, he moved in with Schroder. He died in the house in 1964, one day after his 76^th birthday.

Diane Slawych

Diane Slawych is a contributing writer for REM.

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What every sales rep should know about architectural design

Penn Javdan — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 04:00:05 +0000

Contrary to popular opinion, architecture and design are not the sole preserve of architects and designers. Other stakeholders stand to benefit from having a foundational knowledge of design. Real estate professionals can improve their service to clients and enrich their own experiences by focusing on some design issues.

Site approval

Perhaps the most important component of design is site approval. Bill Hicks, an international architect from Hicks Design Studio in Oakville, Ont. reminds us that design always goes hand in hand with what is permitted to be built on site via the building code and environmental guidelines.

This may seem obvious, but many clients overlook just how intricate the limitations and restrictions can be. They only learn about them after they’ve purchased a lot. Hicks says that “whether potential clients desire a renovation or a new build, they often don’t realize they can’t design their homes the way they want to until it’s too late.”

Clients would be wise to solicit the advice of experienced architects in assessing the design potentials of the lot or home they are considering before they actually purchase it. By doing this, they will have a realistic picture of all the possibilities and the likelihood that their design visions can be brought to life. This is a strategic step that is pro-active in nature – it goes beyond the mere surveying of a lot once the property is purchased.

Architectural style: details, details, details

While many clients know what they like when they see a property, they aren’t able to articulate fully what they are actually looking at or how a space will affect them in light of their lifestyles. Because real estate professionals are often one of the first lines of defence in a transaction, they can assist in the viewing and explaining of architectural features and styles when they are listing, selling or seeking to generate new leads. It is not enough merely to visit the property or memorize the brands a client might want. It is crucial for salespeople to take one step further and educate themselves on the history and types of architecture in the areas in which they work. Whether it is classical, medieval, modern, transitional or contemporary, salespeople and brokers will strengthen their conceptual arsenal and design vocabulary and in turn communicate better with their clients if they have a more comprehensive understanding of the way style and detail interacts with the particular markets of concern.

Green building and energy efficiency

Salespeople who familiarize themselves with emerging technologies and listen to what their clients need, and are then able to make specific recommendations, will put them in an elite group when it comes to customer service. Unfortunately, too many salespeople have only a cursory knowledge and understanding of just how effective green building can be for their clients. From a single item such as a heat recover ventilator to an entire system in a house that addresses electrical, plumbing, HVAC and insulation, recommendations are crucial for the comfort, health and safety of a client.

Green building is becoming ever more affordable. What was once considerably more costly, Hicks says, “is now only nominally more.” But the advantages far outweigh the costs. By 2030, new homes will have net-zero energy use. The sooner sales reps verse themselves in this emerging reality, the better off they’ll be.

Form and function

No matter how pleasing a design is to the eye, it must please all the senses. The relationship between how well appointed and arranged a space is must be a direct result of how comfortable and functional that space is to live and work in. There is no such thing as a beautiful but impractical home.

When working with clients, sales reps must help them understand the interplay of this relationship. No matter how wild or mundane a design vision, it is possible to design a home or find an existing one that addresses this fundamental fact.

Longevity and maintenance

Coffee machines and cars come with maintenance schedules and standards – why not homes? Getting clients to understand the importance of routine maintenance, whether performed by the homeowner or a hired hand, will help improve the performance of the home and achieve its desired function. A well-designed home must allow for the proper maintenance of all systems. Before or after a client purchases a home, salespeople can help them formulate a maintenance schedule in conjunction with the requirements of the property.

Subjectivity

People disagree over what is beautiful, what is ugly and what goes unnoticed. While sales reps can educate and strategize with their clients, it is always helpful to remember that while there may be timeless principles of design, taste is in the eye of the beholder. Salespeople must at the end of the day balance their client’s desires with insights that will help fulfill their client’s wishes.

The bigger picture: holism and collaboration

Clients want to feel that they are in good hands. The best way for a sales rep to approach a commitment to them is to guide their clients toward their intended choices by instilling in them an understanding for design on one hand, and by setting reasonable expectations on the other.

Design is a collaborative effort. It involves the knowledge and effort of various stakeholders: the architect, designer, builder, client and real estate professional. As Hicks reminds us, “Everyone should do their part so that each of us can perform optimally.”

When that is done, everyone can appreciate what design is finally meant to do: serve the mind, body, and the soul.

Penn Javdan

Penn Javdan is a contributing writer for REM.

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