Do It Yourself Property Improvements

A Globe and Mail story this week illustrated how instead of hiring expensive contractors, more and more landlords are doing repairs on their own.

Doing your own repairs, or “DIYing” is more popular than ever.

Why are People DIYing?

Cost is always the number one factor.  Good contractors are expensive.

We are also living in very volatile economic times.  Many economics are predicting a recession that is a “double-dip”.  These means cutting costs is important.

Competition for finding great tenants or buyers for your properties is as heated as ever before.  Lost rent or damages can eat up your annual cash-flow fast!

No one wants to put up with unreasonable tenants or being taken to the Landlord and Tenant Board and face a “trial by ambush”

Even worse, Bad tenants aka “tenants from Hell” can destroy your rental business fast.

In 2013, Ontario landlords will only be allowed to raise rents by a maximum of 2.5% (no matter what inflation is) if a new law gets enacted. 

This is a far cry from Landlords in B.C. who can raise their rents by 4.3% in 2012 or landlords in Alberta, who have a lot of freedom in how they raise their rents.

OLA Members Explain Their Strategies

Several OLA members were invited to give their comments on how to do successful DIY projects.

OLA members gave people important tips, such as ” “Doing your own repairs and renovations is really a key point of landlords these days; the days of slumlords are over if you want to get good, qualified tenants.”

Other OLA member tips included:

“When you are renovating a rental, your goal is to maximize return on investment and to attract quality tenants. Your personal tastes are not as important; the goals are different.”

Other commentators included Scott McGillivray of HGTV’s “Income Property”.

To read the original story go to Canada’s National Newspaper, the Globe and Mail

To discuss this in Ontario Landlords Advice forums click here.

Tenant Nina Willis, 48, faces two fraud and two forgery charges in relation to her tenancy at a Toronto landlord’s house.

The Story about the latest “Tenant From Hell” begins

It seem like the beginning of a mystery novel.  Unfortunately it isn’t fiction.  It isn’t a novel.  And it isn’t a mystery.

“Nina Willis seemed like the ideal tenant” says the Toronto Star investigation.

The investigation goes on.

“She was well-spoken and tidy, posing as an employee for a cellphone company with offices in Toronto and Montreal. She came with glowing references.”

Here comes the surprise.

“What landlord Darius Vakili, 63, didn’t know was that the 48-year-old Willis was a tenant from hell, with a track record of bounced cheques and eviction notices.”

The Story Continues, Implicating the System Landlords Face in Ontario

“A Star investigation reveals that the rules governing the provincial Landlord and Tenant Board have allowed people like Willis to flourish. Privacy legislation means her dodgy past as a tenant is kept secret from prospective landlords.”

Thank you Toronto Star

The Ontario Landlords Association would like to thank the Toronto Star for their story on the latest “Tenant From Hell.”

We are an association of small private residential landlords, and while many of us have faced terrible tenant problems due to an unfair Residential Tenancy Act and an unfair Landlord and Tenant Board, facing tenants such as the one in the Toronto Star article is a wake-up call for all of us.

The OLA Speaks Up for Landlords

This story is especially important for the OLA because one of the landlords in the article is a new reader of the OLA.

Furthermore, when we first heard about what was going on, OLA editors worked hard to get the story in the news and get the ball rolling for justice.

The OLA began the push to get her story into the media, resulting in a Toronto Star story on October 18th, 2011.  The Star story was headlined

“A bad tenant cost me $28,000 over 9 months!” and can be found here.

So What Can We Learn From This?

There are lessons we can learn from the Toronto Star story about Nina Willis.  Lessons that landlords can learn, unfiltered by lawyers or paralegals or others who make money representing landlords in need.  If there is no “need” there is no money paid.  Paying out huge legal fees means only more losses for landlords already suffering.

Lesson #1:  The Residential Tenancies Act and the Landlord and Tenant Board Need To Change

We call on the government to have summit of stake holders to re-examine the RTA and take a close look at how the Landlord and Tenant Board  operates and how we must change the RTA and reform the LTB.

Lesson #2: If You are a Landlord In Ontario You Must Be Professional in How you Do Business

Landlords young and old, wherever you are, we advise you to do proper screening to avoid ‘pro tenants’.  The OLA offers a low-cost path to incredible screening tools.

If the landlords in the Toronto Star article were OLA members, and did a credit check costing only $10…they would have avoided their “Tenant From Hell” and the emotional and financial nightmares associated with having such a tenant.

Why is Having Proper Insurance Important for me as a Landlord?

Having proper insurance for your rental property is an important aspect of managing your business. Many insurance companies in Ontario that provide homeowners insurance do not provide insurance for rental properties. It is the landlord’s responsibility that they have disclosed to their insurance company the nature of the property and what it is being used for.

What Happens in the Event of an Insurance Claim?

In the event of a claim, having your rental property properly insured will prove to be a faster and easier process of settlement. In the event there is a claim and you do not have insurance or the incorrect policy, this will void any coverage on your property.

What Coverages and Features Do I Need?

Insurance for your building, appliances that you own, rental income and sewer backup are among the most important coverages that you as a landlord should consider when evaluating your insurance. Important features on your policy should also include the ability to add multiple properties on one policy, higher liability limits and monthly payment options.

OLA Membership Benefit

As a member of the Ontario Landlords Association, you qualify for a group home and car insurance rate through Humberview Insurance Brokers in partnership with Unica Insurance. For your rental properties, Humberview Insurance offers multiple insurers depending on the type of rental property you own.

Protect Yourself

As a landlord you should take precautions when renting to tenants. One precaution is to make it mandatory that tenants obtain tenants insurance for the duration of their tenancy. Landlords should also insist that they appear as an additional insured on the policy. This notifies you in case the policy is cancelled.

Car and Home Insurance – 10% DISCOUNT!

VARIETY OF INSURERS FOR YOUR RENTAL PROPERTIES!

Humberview Insurance Brokers in partnership with Unica Insurance is pleased to offer the members of the Ontario Landlords Association (“OLA”) exclusive rates on home and car insurance.

Members of the OLA will receive a 10 percent discount on car and home insurance and a waiver of the monthly service charge (3%). Unica Insurance also offers a range of complimentary lifestyle products including boat, snowmobile and other lifestyle products.

Humberview Insurance has been providing personal and business insurance services in Ontario for over 30 years.

Humberview is recognized as one of Ontario’s leading landlord insurance providers. This means the ability to provide insurance on different types of rental properties, including student rental insurance.

Humberview Insurance looks forward to hearing from landlords across Ontario, whether it be for a quote or insurance advice on their rental properties. 

http://ontariolandlords.org/membership/

The 2012 Ontario Budget

During his budget, Liberal Finance Minister Dwight Duncan focused on repairing the debt problem the province of Ontario faces. Minister Duncan spoke about full cost recovery from fees charged from programs.

Tenant Activists Support More Fees for Landlords

Leading influential tenant activists have commented on the budget speech and have stated that if we have an austerity budget “everybody has to do their bit…how about landlords?”

Does this Mean More Fees for Small Landlords?

We have also received word, via emails sent in, social media, and posts on the Ontario Landlords Association forums, fees for Landlords to file at the Landlord and Tenant Board may be going up.

Enough is enough

It wasn’t long ago LTB filing fees were $150. They were then raised to $170 with little protest from landlords.

Times have Changed.  We will no longer be silent.

Any increase in LTB filing fees will not go unnoticed and silent as they did before. Already many small private residential landlords are struggling to keep above water with the long and arduous LTB process. Raising filing fees is unacceptable since few landlords can ever collect the fee back, even after winning at the LTB and getting an eviction.

Does the Government Value Small Private Residential Landlords?

If they do, not raising fees is a good first step.  The current rules are  ”one size fits all legislation” which lumps small private residential landlords with large corporate landlords.

How Can the Government Promote Savings in the Landlord/Tenant Industry?

Let’s focus on making the eviction process more efficient! Rather than put more fees on Landlords, let’s have a meeting of all stake-holders and help the province save money with a more efficient and productive LTB.