The Andrew Hines Real Estate Investing Podcast · Andrew M. Hines

Mastering Real Estate with Project Management Skills with Michael Emanuele

·1 hr 14 min·5 clips

Adding one basement unit can still cost about $100,000 before upstairs cosmetic work.

Andrew Heinz opens the conversation by welcoming Michael Emanuel to episode 278. Michael is described as an entrepreneur who left his job shortly after getting into real estate investing. He now works in construction management. He is also investing in the U.S. The discussion starts with personal development. Andrew frames Michael as someone who has read widely and is trying to put those ideas to work. That gives the episode an idea-heavy, reflective tone early on. The conversation stays casual, but it keeps coming back to investor math and build logistics. One thread looks at CMHC programs and the value of long amortizations. A 40-year amortization comes up as a way to improve cash flow. The discussion then shifts into a development example. Andrew and Michael talk through an investor who may tear down a property, sever the lot, and build two semis. A local bylaw change could allow up to four units in each semi. That would effectively create eight units in one building. The pair work through what that means for financing and execution. They compare older examples from Edmonton with newer possibilities in Kitchener. The conversation also touches on how builders can combine multiple smaller properties to get beyond CMHC limits. That opens the door to commercial financing and better leverage. From there, they dig into the cost of adding units. A second unit in a garden suite is not treated as simple free value. It can require a finished basement. That means more excavation, more material to remove from site, more concrete, and more disruption. Andrew pushes on practical questions about whether units can sit side by side or above ground. The answer comes back to height caps and footprint limits. The episode keeps circling back to cash flow, leverage, and what it actually takes to build well. There are detours into planning feedback, lawn damage, grading, and the reality of construction sites. Those details are treated as part of the work behind profitable projects. Michael's bookish, well-studied style comes through as well. Andrew says the ideas were a refresher for him and made him want to reread some of the books and listen to the audio versions again. The closing stretch points listeners toward Michael's Instagram and his book, but the real value of the episode is the investor thinking throughout the discussion.

As heard by us

A grounded real estate conversation that moves from mindset to CMHC, zoning, and the mechanics of building.

Episode 278 keeps one foot in personal development and the other in real estate operator talk. Michael Emanuel comes across as practical: he left his job soon after getting into real estate investing, now works in construction management, and is also investing in the U.S.

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Why you'd press play

Want the real math behind turning one lot into more units?

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