When it comes to Canadian real estate, Marc Strongman knows the scene.
Strongman is a real estate investor, developer and CEO & president of the Strongman Group. His company manages more than $200 million in assets, consisting chiefly of commercial properties throughout Western Canada, Ontario, and Quebec. He also serves as on addy’s Global Real Estate Investment Committee – an independent committee that reviews properties that addy is considering for purchase.
The Strongman Group is a family-owned company, and although the group does occasionally bring in partners, Strongman says that, like addy, the company remains the largest shareholder in any investment it undertakes. Strongman knows the country from end-to-end and has vast experience in what it takes to invest successfully.
Guiding principles
He is guided by a few key principles that lead him to successful investing and he applies that same rigour to addy. Chief among those is that success requires a little risk, but that risk pays off long term.
Diversification is another principle close to his heart. The family once owned a national chain of paint stores with locations all across Canada, and that venture naturally segued into development. Now the group specializes in shopping centers, with a number of large, freestanding buildings in the mix for good measure.
The Strongman Group also prefers to invest where costs are lower, minimizing risk and maximizing return. Rather than going into expensive metropolitan areas like Toronto, Strongman looks for opportunities to invest in secondary markets like Kelowna, Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Bellville and Kingston.
Why Strongman loves addy
“Performance of Canadian real estate has been strong in recent years and costs have risen, and as a result many people find themselves priced out of the market entirely,” says Strongman. “In major Canadian cities, a starter home is near impossible and you can forget a second property for investment purposes.”
addy is turning the market on its head. The team believes that everyone should have the opportunity to be a homeowner through access to real estate investing at any amount, regardless of income, age, or other conflicts. The company is doing all it can to remove barriers to entry so that literally anyone can get access to this highly lucrative asset class.
“I’m really impressed with the team that is behind addy,” Strongman says. “The platform they’re building is impressive and it makes investing in real estate simple. There are not a lot of moving parts. You’re not improving the property or dealing with tenants, addy takes care of that. You’re collecting passive income.”
Stronger together
Investing solo means you have to purchase the property, then come up with funds to do things like repair HVAC or replace a roof. It can be costly and can require a scary amount of insider knowledge.
“With addy, all of that due diligence, all of those initial steps are being taken care of by experts who have been doing this for years and years,” Strongman says.
Some investors think that being a landlord is a straightforward process: you buy a building, you charge rent, and that’s that.
“Well, that’s not that,” he says. “There’s a lot to deal with when it comes to tenants and if you’re inexperienced, it can be daunting.”
Working with addy alleviates all those problems and gives them over to the experts.
“addy is taking a unique look at real estate,” Strongman says. “You’re investing capital together and it is almost always going to grow. I think addy is truly going to change the game in real estate investing.”
