Meet Claudine Pender
Connector, Vacation Home Property Investor
Born in Brazil, I immigrated to Canada in my late 20’s with my son and husband in 1995.
I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations from Brazil and a Certificate in Marketing Management from BCIT.
After many years working with communications and marketing, I was laid off from a job I really liked, in 2011. I felt frustrated, which led me to think I should plan less, and “go with the flow” more. As a result of me “letting go of control”, my business was born.
Saying YES to new opportunities led me to a path of starting my own business as a treasure-hunter, furniture painter and eventually shop owner of vintage and new decoration items. A whole new world opened up. The inspiration I got from countless entrepreneurs I met was priceless. All the pieces of information I kept gathering from the different people I met, helped me to decide to become a Real Estate Investor.
I was always very curious about the Real Estate Market in Vancouver, and I made a goal early on to buy a house in North Vancouver. In the process of buying my own house I gained lots of experience with my realtor and mortgage broker. I also kept reading about real estate and watching the market. But after I started my business repurposing and painting furniture, I started watching the renovations shows on tv and trying to understand HOW people bought investment properties. It’s true that when you want something, the Universe conspires to bring it to you! What happened next is that my fellow business owners and new friends, once I started talking about real estate, shared their experiences with me. Lots of people have properties and/or suites they rent. As I talked more about what I wanted, I got more people sharing their experiences and giving me information and ideas.
First I started hosting students. One day a friend shared her experience with AIrbnb. Then I decided to renovate a room downstairs and rent it on Airbnb instead. After a while, I noticed I made more money in that room rental than on my business. But I worked every day 7am to 10pm on my business… and I only used 10% of my time taking care of my guests and the suite downstairs.
So I decided I wanted MORE.
My journey is full of twists and turns, but to make a looong story short…
I learned as much as I could about real estate and shared with as many people as I could, and it all led to a path that I mention later in more detail in a post.
My friend Pam and I watched Scott McGillivray talk, signed up for a workshop and become members of his real estate club, Keyspire. All I learned at Keyspire (I am still a member), combined with my previous knowledge and all the information and experience I gathered through the years, helped me become a real estate investor.
I now have investment properties, that I rent mostly as vacation properties. I love furnishing the spaces with vintage and new items. I also love managing the properties and interacting with the guests.
Investing In
Vacation Home Properties
What are Vacation Home Properties?
Vacation rentals are places that people rent when they go away for holidays. Basically it’s short-term rentals. You can rent for a weekend, a week, or a month. They are more affordable in general, compared to accommodating the same number of people in hotels. They also allow for a more intimate setting, as you can all be together in one house and not have to share the space with strangers. Sometimes people use vacation homes to stay when they are relocating to a new city, and need time to find a permanent home.
Types of Properties
A Whole House
That’s a whole house standing alone. This means you are not sharing the space with anyone one else. A whole house is perfect for family and friends travelling together. It’s also the most versatile investment you can make as you can renovate, rent long or short term.
A Suite in a House
A suite in a house means part of a house. It could be a basement suite, the top floor of a house, a garden suite. Most of the time there is a private entrance and kitchen and washroom. But some people rent only a room in a house.
A Condo
A condo is a condo in a building. You will have the space for yourself, and not shared with other guests. Beware that some people live in condos and rent a room only, as mentioned above. Cities and the buildings strata regulate the type of rentals allowed in condos.
My
Portfolio
Claudine’s Vacation Home Portfolio
I started doing vacation rentals to supplement my income and I loved interacting with the guests. It is more work than having a long term tenant but I love several aspects of it: furnishing and decorating the place, interacting with guests and providing little details that make guests stay much more enjoyable.
Log House
The Log House is a beautiful log house in Roberts Creek, Sunshine Coast of BC. Roberts Creek is only 15 minutes from the Langdale ferry terminal after a 40 min ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay. The Log House is a whole house, nobody else lives on the property. The house is equipped with more than you need to make your stay comfortable and fun.
Secluded Oasis
Secluded Oasis is a private suite in a house in North Vancouver. There is a private entrance, private bathroom and a small kitchenette, with a big fridge, microwave, coffee pot and toaster. There is no stove in the suite. There is a covered patio with a BBQ and table for guests only.
Evergreen Retreat
Evergreen Retreat is the latest addition to my portfolio. This is a bachelor suite in North Vancouver. Evergreen has a kitchen, but no stove (old stove shows on photos), washroom and private entrance. This suite is rented month to month.
PARKVIEW GUEST HOUSE
Parkview Guest House is a guest house in North Vancouver. The guest house is a 2 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms space, built in two levels: living space and a full washroom on main level, and bedrooms and another full bathroom upstairs. Even though big backyard is shared with main house, Parkview has its own private patio with dining set and BBQ, as well as private parking in front.
Client Love
Blog
Are you afraid of cleaning?
If cleaning up after your guests is something you DREAD doing, there is hope!
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How I Became An Airbnb Host and Property Investor
As you can imagine if you know me, I was speaking about being an Airbnb host and also about building my real estate EMPIRE to EVERYONE! My friends, my clients, strangers… everyone that met me knew I wanted to do this.
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Why Vacation Rentals?
Why Vacation Rentals? We live in British Columbia and the market here is different than most parts of Canada. It is very hard to break even in a property investment when you rent long term. After a few years, after the mortgage is paid a little bit, it gets easier....
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The Log House Story
I remember she took us to the beach. Kika and the Gail walked ahead of me and I stayed behind, taking in the view… My God. I can feel it now. It was the most beautiful place on Earth. I just felt it. We had found our place.
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My Gardener has more properties than me
My gardener has more properties than me! Over the years, I talked to many people and one person I became friends with, was my gardener. He has a wonderful family and they all live in North Van. He told me he owned three houses, all in North Van. I was impressed. I...
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Most Important Things in a Vacation Home Rental
Here is where you need to think out of the box, if you are buying a place to rent. And if you want to transform the place you have, think on how you can make it stand out through your decor.
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