How a Cleaning Lady Helped Me Buy a 15-Unit Apartment Building
One of my favorite stories from our early real estate journey starts in the most unexpected way—with a cleaning lady.
We were just getting into commercial properties, and one of our first acquisitions was a mixed-use building in Hamilton. Several of the offices in the building had hired a cleaning lady, and I’d often see her coming in and out. She was friendly, always up for a chat, and over time we built a bit of a rapport.
One day, in passing conversation, she casually mentioned something that stopped me in my tracks.
She said, “Hey, do you know so-and-so owns that building on the corner? I think they might be open to selling.”
That corner building was one of those beautiful, heritage-style properties—the kind you assume would never hit the market. My ears perked up immediately. I asked her to stop whatever she was doing and connect me with them right away.
She did. And shortly after, we were on the phone with the property owners. Before the building ever went public, we were deep in negotiations.
Now, to be honest, we weren’t exactly ready for a deal of that size. It was a 15-unit residential property, and at the time, we didn’t have all the capital lined up. But here’s where relationships made the difference. The owners were neighbors, they trusted the referral from our cleaning lady, and they were open to working with us. We structured a VTB (vendor take-back mortgage), which gave us the flexibility to close the deal and step into an entirely new tier of real estate investing.
That deal changed our trajectory—but more importantly, it changed how I think about opportunity.
The biggest lesson I took from that experience? Relationships matter—more than we sometimes realize. The people around you—whether they’re part of your core team, a vendor, or even someone who helps keep your spaces clean—can open doors you didn’t even know existed.
Real estate is a people business. And sometimes, your next opportunity starts with a conversation in the hallway.
"Now more than ever, I realize the people and the relationships in your network are equally, if not more important, to building a team and resources and connections to get you access to different opportunities."
