Welcome to
A new, smarter approach to investing.
Exceptional opportunities from a trusted consortium led and managed by OakWood
Ottawa Land Bank is a response to the growing concern many investors have about stock market volatility. While land and real estate investments have appeal, few want the hassles and risks associated with being a landlord. Fewer still are knowledgeable about the ins and outs of real estate investing…but want a different investment strategy. Is that you?
Ottawa Land Bank is the answer.
“Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.”
Land banking is an essential part of a successful real estate investment portfolio. This is the process of buying land with a long-term view of future redevelopment. Ottawa Land Bank purchases land in the pathway of development and on the cusp of city development boundaries. These land purchases provide you with three primary exit strategies for realizing a return on your investment:
1. Sell appreciated land to a developer when inside the urban boundary
2. Develop our own off the grid communities
3. Sell to a third party for non-building related usages
Our target buy-in on these lands is realized at the most cost-effective price with consideration to location and future City development expansion. Lands further from the urban boundary are increasingly less expensive to purchase however, these lands will take longer to be accepted inside the urban boundary expansion areas. We will target the most desirable market price per buildable acre once the urban boundaries have been moved.
To learn more about examples of land opportunities we are pursuing and historical returns, schedule a confidential call.
“Real estate cannot be lost or stolen…Purchased with common sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world.”
Hand-Picked Expertise
Ottawa Land Bank is managed by OakWood, one of Ottawa’s most established and trusted design and build contractors. We use a hand-picked team of well-known and highly respected advisors to find, assess, and develop real estate investment opportunities in Ottawa that are not readily available through any other means. Our team has expertise in real estate, law, infrastructure development, residential and commercial construction, and accounting. Advisors are used strategically depending on the type of land purchased and the property development strategy recommended for optimal returns.
There is never a guarantee in any investment but having access to the best people in the business is a good start. The advisors involved with your investment project will depend on the type of property, the number of investors, and the development strategy. Advisors include but are not limited to the following individuals or companies:
• John Liptak, President & CEO, OakWood – John will provide overall management and continuity on all investment projects
• Mike Holmes, Canada’s most respected celebrity contractor will be involved with any off-the-grid community development
• Real Estate advisors including Marnie Bennet, Broker, CEO, Bennett Property Shop Realty, Greg Blok, Broker, Bennett Property Shop Realty
• Architects including Andrew Reeves, Principal Partner, Linebox
• Engineers including IDEA Integrated Design, Engineering, and Architecture Ryan Crowle
• Construction/development including David Hudock, PCL, Patricia Liptak, VP Operations, OakWood
• Investment strategy including Graeme Barlow, CMO Iversoft Inc.
• Legal counsel including Julius Dawn, Grant & Dawn
We will provide a complete investment prospectus including the CVs and credentials of all advisors to qualified investors.
Why Ottawa?
Ottawa is one of the hottest markets in the country. Many real estate agents are reporting that almost half their sales involve bidding wars. According to the Ottawa Real Estate Board, the benchmark price for a single detached home jumped 8.5 percent year-over-year to $409,200 in February 2018. The benchmark price for a condo rose 5.6 percent year over year to $273,200. That jump in value is one of many indicators that make real estate a smart investment here.
“Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate.”
Anchored by a rebounding hi-tech sector, a growing public sector and a new Light Rail Transit (LRT) system that will open in 2019, Ottawa is hot and primed for growth. Real Estate agents across the region are expecting higher prices and seeing bidding wars that haven’t been seen in many years.
Colliers Canada has recently reported that “transaction volume in Ottawa has increased substantially year-to-date led by the multi-family market which has seen several large transactions between regional and local owners at increasingly low capitalization rates.”
Ottawa is now attracting developers and investors from outside the region who want to rebalance their portfolios. PwC has noted that the “relative affordability of the Ottawa market is luring people to the city from other areas particularly high-priced Toronto, as millennials and young families search for a better, less expensive lifestyle. Technology companies are expanding or moving into the market as well, eager to capitalize on the influx of talent.”
PwC also comments on the LRT investments shaping the Ottawa market, with Phase 2 planned to be finished by 2023. “The new transit network is already sparking more intense development at key locations along the line.”
This summary barely scratches the surface of key drivers that put Ottawa in a positive investment light. Schedule a confidential call to learn more.
Our Strategy
Our strategy is to look for undervalued or underutilized real estate properties – like these:
• Properties just outside the current city expansion area but will be absorbed in future expansion – (long-term investments)
• Properties next to existing developments in key locations around the city – (short to long-term investments)
• Properties that are zoned and ready for immediate development or construction – (immediate to short-term investments)
“The best investment on earth, is earth.”
Investment strategies are tailored to each investor. For example, we may recommend a new company specifically for one investor who may hold 80% to 100% of a land bank. In other cases, a land bank may be held by multiple investors – giving each the opportunity to be a shareholder in a larger land bank than they would want or be able to invest in as an individual.
There are three major considerations to achieve reasonable rates of return: location, product and time. Each of these needs to be factored into an investment decision, and each product added to the portfolio needs to have a specific purpose and clear understanding of how the asset can assist in reaching long-term goals.
We use our advisors to identify, assess, and recommend land bank opportunities that take into consideration location, product and time. To illustrate, here is a sample land bank parcel that we would consider:
Franktown Road outside Richmond
98 acres
Asking $5,500,000
Offer $3,920,000
Estimated future value in 10 to 20 years – $19,600,000
To learn more about your land bank investment options, schedule a confidential call.
Learn More
Minimum investment level is $5 million dollars.
Ottawa Land Bank provides short to long-term investment opportunities for serious investors only. If that’s you, and:
You’re concerned about your current investments
Want to augment or replace existing strategies through passive real estate investments;
Then, we invite you to contact us for a confidential discussion.
SCHEDULE A PRELIMINARY, CONFIDENTIAL CALL WITH
AN OTTAWA LAND BANK INVESTMENT CONSULTANT.
Our Offer
The Ottawa Land Bank consortium believes capital preservation is a huge marketing feature for the right client and investor. The stock market is very volatile with recognized companies losing billions in value in one week – making the land a great if not preferred asset class. Most of the land we will purchase – as investment opportunities for you – will be neutral until it is redeveloped and liquidated through home building and sales.
Each property will be a separate corporation with a different pool of investors. This allows us to further segment the portfolio into ownership percentages between immediate, short to medium term and long-term properties. We can also segment investment products into different options including purpose-built rentals, new homes sales, commercial strip plazas, etc. We have 5 flexible options with Ottawa Land Bank providing a turnkey solution. Interested in learning more? Schedule a confidential consultation now.