Investor Life Inc. Interview: Engineering Real Estate Deals

Transcript

[00:00]

The session opened with some banter between Tiffany and Wade about not having seen each other in person for over a decade, before Tiffany introduced herself and Wade to the live audience.

[01:30]

Tiffany introduced herself as co-founder of Investor Life, noted her 25 years of real estate investing experience, and introduced Wade as someone with even more time in the business. She described him as a transaction engineer and shared a story about a foreclosure lead she referred to Wade early in her career involving a mother of five facing eviction in Devon.

[03:00]

Wade and Tiffany recalled the deal together. Wade had either bought the property directly or walked Tiffany through how to handle it, and at a subsequent Rain (Real Estate Investment Network) meeting Tiffany called him up to the microphone and handed him a finder's fee check in front of roughly 500 people.

[05:02]

Tiffany noted Wade had been active in Rain since November 1995 and arrived in Alberta in 1997 to pursue real estate full time. She asked how he got started.

[06:01]

Wade described the sequence that led him to Alberta. He had been working for a high-rise development company in Vancouver, was transferred to Nanaimo, came back, and then had an epileptic seizure on a job site in his first week back. He lost his driver's license for 18 months and was fired three months later. He moved to Calgary, bought a bicycle, and completed his first deal within a month.

In the last nine months of the first year, I flipped seven houses starting with a cash advance off two credit cards, a cell phone, and a bicycle.

From 1997 to 2007 he flipped over 100 houses, owned 30 at once, taught a two-day real estate course more than 30 times, and ran a monthly mentoring program. After the 2008 global financial crisis he became a realtor, then started a construction business in 2017, wound it down in mid-2024, and returned to real estate investing full time in 2026.

[10:00]

Tiffany asked about his monthly mentoring format. Wade described 4-hour open-mic Q&A sessions where participants who had attended his seminar could ask questions or share experiences. The group would meet in Red Deer, drawing people from Calgary and Edmonton, and stay for the hotel Sunday buffet afterward.

[11:01]

Tiffany asked about the current market. Both she and Wade said they sense a return of motivated sellers after roughly seven to nine years where most sellers could exit through conventional channels without pressure. Wade confirmed he is already pursuing direct-to-seller outreach actively.

[12:00]

Tiffany asked Wade to walk through his most recent deal. He shifted the framing slightly from motivated sellers to his general approach to talking with any seller.

[13:04]

Wade explained that two sisters had contacted several we-buy-houses type operations online after their father became ill. None of those operators got past the email stage. One AI chatbot or representative told them it wouldn't deal with probate properties and ended the conversation. Another said to call back when probate was finished.

[14:01]

Wade received their inquiry through his own online form. Rather than emailing back, he called immediately.

I just picked up the phone and phoned her and said, "I just got your email. Tell me what's going on."

The father was still alive and being moved to a hospice. The second sister was arriving in a few days. Wade asked to meet before that, just for coffee, 20 minutes, with no real estate discussion required.

[15:00]

Wade met the first sister on Sunday. Her father had passed away Friday night. The hospice situation was now an estate situation. At that coffee meeting, Wade kept real estate talk minimal. He explained only the basic investor pricing logic: after-repaired value minus renovation costs, legal fees, carrying costs, and a reasonable profit. He noted that tax-assessed value is largely irrelevant to how investors price properties because it does not reflect condition.

[17:01]

Wade connected the sister with a lawyer at his own firm to assist with probate, framing it as doing what a knowledgeable friend would do. He noted that even on calls where he knows within two minutes he won't be buying the house, he still spends 20 minutes being helpful, offering referrals to realtors or general advice.

[18:00]

I can refer you to a realtor if you want, or here's some tips. If you want any advice, just call me again later and I'll help you out. No big deal. Maybe I get a good review out of it or something, but they're on the phone, so might as well just be helpful.

[20:01]

Tiffany summarized Wade's pricing approach as direct and transparent: ARV minus renovations minus fees equals the offer, and if that number works for the seller, the deal gets done.

[21:02]

Wade described the second meeting, at the property itself. He brought a roofer to assess the roof and walked through the house with both sisters. He had already prepared a rough expense sketch: roof at $10,000, four or five other major line items, plus legal fees in and out, realtor fees on exit, and carrying costs. Total estimated expenses came to $155,000 for a full renovation, with the sisters hiring everything out.

[22:00]

At a Tim Hortons meeting a couple of days later, Wade showed them his expense notes. He told them his offer was the expense total plus his profit margin, landing close to but below tax-assessed value. The sisters looked at the numbers, said okay, and signed.

Everything was transparent. I treated them respectfully. They had met the lawyer in my lawyer's office and decided to go with her. We're sitting there and they've been in town a week and a half and it was as easy as that.

[23:02]

The property had not yet closed at time of recording because probate was still in process, but both sisters had signed the title transfer before returning home, one to Florida and one to Vancouver Island. They left Wade a written review that he described as one of the best he had ever received.

[24:00]

Tiffany read the review aloud. It described the process as positive from start to finish, Wade as personable and thoughtful, and the overall experience as one that turned a complicated and stressful situation into something manageable. The reviewers noted his responsiveness, calm approach, attention to detail, and genuine care.

[25:01]

Tiffany asked how many deals Wade had done. He said approximately 150. She confirmed that the vast majority were direct private transactions.

[26:02]

Every one of them other than about 13 was one-on-one with a seller direct, not a realtor involved.

Tiffany indicated she wants to have Wade back for a deeper conversation specifically about how those seller conversations work.

[27:01]

Wade summarized his approach simply: it works because it is easy for him to just be himself. Tiffany closed the public session by telling viewers they are often trying to perform a role rather than just showing up as a person, and that Wade's track record is the argument for doing the latter.

[28:01]

Tiffany closed out the Tactical Tuesday public session and transitioned to the private Ignited member session where Wade continued answering questions.