By Mike McCarthy
Have you ever watched a home improvement show and thought, “They don’t even care what happens to the family?” Well, meet Todd Talbot who is the complete opposite of that thought. He and his co-host Jillian Harris of ‘Love It or List It 2’ on HGTV in Vancouver want the best for their clients, with whatever choice they make. Todd has been in the entertainment industry for over 25 years whether it be acting on television, stage or hosting a reality show. He got his big start when he was on the Nickelodeon drama show, ‘Fifteen’ with Ryan Reynolds. Todd has extensive knowledge of housing investment and home improvement. With all of the projects he does, he still looks sharp as hell and puts his phone down the second he gets in the door to spend time with his family.
Wingman Magazine: As a kid you were known to some family members as Mr. Fix it…others chose a different name for you.. which one should we talk about first?
Todd Talbot: People have called me all types of names, some were nice and some not so nice. It’s funny because when I was little, my dad’s side of the family had a t-shirt made for me that said “motormouth,” on it. I’m not sure if it was meant to be negative or positive, but I definitely talked a lot as a kid. It’s interesting how both names have grown into the career path that I chose. I like to talk, that’s how I feel most comfortable communicating, I’ll talk so much that my wife will say “we need to go to sleep.”
Wingman Magazine: And which of those two names do you think is more like you now as an adult?
Todd Talbot: I built a career out of talking. Oddly enough, my passion around real estate and renovations really grew out of a personal hobby. They have fused together in this latest chapter of my life in “Love It or List it.” I couldn’t choose one over the other, but I do find that the DIY, and home construction is really zen-like and calming for me. It is very therapeutic, and I rarely talk at all. Even if I am with someone else, it’s one of those times when I can just not talk and work with my hands. What I love about it, is that it is creative and at the end of it you can see the results of what you have done. In acting and even in reality television, the end product is not necessarily totally in your control. There are all kinds of people that have their hands on the final product.
Wingman Magazine: Do you prefer power tools or hand tools?
Todd Talbot: Power Tools, of course. My girlfriend at the time, now my wife bought me the Ryobi starter set of tools at Home Depot. I got really creative in how to do a lot with little bit. Over the years I have grown my stock of tools, and I have to be careful when I go to a home improvement store. The most dangerous aisle for me is the first one. You walk in the door and boom! there are all the sale items. For example; I have rental properties and when I go in and do a renovation you need to clean up and I would bring my big ShopVac with me. Thanks to this isle, I bought a small one because it was only $19.99. I couldn’t resist, it was like I was almost obliged to buy it. It’s a great tool, I still can’t figure out how they can make it for $20, it’s insane.
Wingman Magazine: In the early 90’s you were on Nickelodeon on the show Fifteen. What was the show about?
Todd Talbot: A teen soap opera would be the easiest way to explain it. We did five seasons, and that was my first major project that set me on the path as an actor. We shot the first season in Vancouver and the second season in Ottawa. The the other three seasons we shot at Universal Studios in Orlando. The series was shot in my last years of high school. Looking back on it now, it was a super cool experience and very formative for me. It’s an experience that very few get to have for sure! I was leaning towards a career in the arts and this really solidified that I would pursue acting. It was a drama, not a comedy by any means. I played the captain of the basketball team who was an alcoholic. After that show, I was keen to learn more about acting. I am an all or nothing kind of guy, I don’t believe in a backup plan. You can only truly evaluate if something is going to be successful if you give it 100%. I went to theater school in England for 3 years after Fifteen ended, which gave me a whole new world of exposure to the world of acting that I hadn’t experienced. After graduation I did some more television but I primarily did live theater, which turned into my main focus as an actor over the next fifteen to twenty years. That really took over my life, I met my wife doing a show. Real estate really snuck up on me about twelve years ago.
Wingman Magazine: You host Love it or List it, too with Jillian Harris. How badly do you want to beat her on every episode, and what is your record against her?
Todd Talbot: The winning and the losing is more just for fun. I think it’s a great setup for a show, it adds another level of interest to the audience. It gives it some more spice between Jill and I. If there is nothing at stake, then what’s the point. For me, the most important thing is the family we are working with. It’s high stakes for the client. They are dealing with a lot of money, big decisions, family transition. Whatever the situation is; having another child, or a kid moving out. The beauty of it is that they get to experience both options and then evaluate, hopefully from a win-win situation. They get lots of information from us and if they choose to stay, then they did so knowing with the comfort of what’s on the market. It may not be the right time to move and vice-versa. It’s a process for a lot of people that is daunting, so the homeowners go through the process with Jill and me. The winning and the losing part is just the cherry on top.
Wingman Magazine: Changing lanes here… What was the first real estate investment that you made, and what made you choose that one as your first?
Todd Talbot: I bought a two bedroom condo in Vancouver and I bought it primarily because post graduation, my parents philosophy was if you are working, you pay rent. It was a great motivator, I love my parents but if I’m going to pay rent as a young guy I wanted my own place. A buddy of mine and I went looking at places and they were absolute sh*t-holes. It was really disappointing and a wake up call about what was out there. I had some money saved up and I am not sure how it came up but I proposed to my buddy Arnold that if I bought a place, he would essentially “rent” half the space from me. He was all for it. So we met at this coffee shop and I wrote up a rental contract on a napkin, very cliche. I really wanted to buy a house that was a fixer upper, but had zero experience. The properties I was looking at I realized would be over my head in terms of renovations and I ended up buying something that I would definitely not buy now. It was the display suite of a brand new development in a really trendy part of town. I thought I bought it at the peak of the market. It was 850 square feet, two bedroom, two bath and I rented out half to Arnold. We each paid $500 a month and that paid for the mortgage and the maintenance. I was given a book by my brother about investing in real estate and learned about the concept of refinancing. At that time in Vancouver the property market was really taking off and I had some equity in my property and decided I wanted to try refinancing that property and buy another one. I started to experiment and was self taught, asked a lot of questions and built a great team around me. The rest as they say, is history!
Wingman Magazine: For someone looking into real estate investing, what would be your number one piece of advice?
Todd Talbot: Don’t get emotional. Buy your principal residence from the perspective that it is an investment just as much as a rental property. Because you are dealing with so much money it’s important to pay attention to the numbers. Most of us, unless we are at the tail end of our careers and have plenty of money aren’t looking for a “forever house,” I hate that term. Life is fluid, you never what could happen or where you are going to end up. People get too emotional in a property and forget that it’s an investment first and foremost. It sounds a little anti-romantic but it’s realistic. You can make any space awesome. I lived in some pretty crappy apartments in England but it’s what you do with it. I like to look at the bigger picture, “ How much can I sell this for? When can I sell it? Is it an up and coming neighborhood?”
Wingman Magazine: You have a noted serious addiction to buying tools. Do you prefer to buy new power tools, or antique hand tools?
Todd Talbot: I have this fantasy of making furniture one day in my pseudo-retirement. I have made a couple of pieces and I think it would be fun to learn more about the craftsmanship. But I have to admit that now, time is precious, with so many things going on in my personal and professional life. It’s very hard to find the time to dedicate to it, so for me speed is of the essence. I look for efficiency over nostalgia. I love the idea of it, it’s very romantic, but right now it’s all about speed.
Wingman Magazine: Your fashion sense is top notch. What advice would you give to someone that doesn’t have the best style regarding a suit.
Todd Talbot: Get it tailored. The number one thing that makes clothes look good is that they fit. It sounds simple but even jeans. For so many years I wore jeans that basically fit but were baggy on the bottom. You are buying them off the rack and aren’t made for everyone. If you buy them and bring them to a tailor and for ten bucks have them tailored and look professional it changes the whole look of things. And to have a suit tailored to your body is everything. You can buy a $4000 suit and it can look like crap and you can buy a $200 suit and if it fits perfectly it could look like a million bucks.
Wingman Magazine: You work on multiple shows, invest in real estate and still have plenty of family time. Explain how you balance the busy lifestyle.
Todd Talbot: It’s a constant challenge. Anyone who says they have it all figured out is blowing smoke up your ‘you know what’. It’s two different worlds and you need a certain energy and mindset in your professional life, but the care and attention it takes to stay in a solid relationship with your wife and kids takes the same amount of attention. For myself, at times I get so busy that I take those relationships or granted. I have some great people in my life that remind me what is most important. At the end of the day, nothing is as important as family. I equate the metaphor of a garden to life. A garden doesn’t grow unless you tend it. It takes a level of commitment and communication to keep a relationship strong and vibrant and growing. That is what you have to do with your significant other and your kids. One of the traps I find is my phone because we are so tapped in now and it’s hard to shift gears. I make a concerted effort that when I walk in the door to put my phone down to take the time to connect with the kids. It’s constant and if you take it for granted that’s when problems seep in and that’s when the “weeds” grow in. You gotta tend that garden.