Posts Tagged ‘new landlords’

We Want Win-Win Business Relationships With Tenants

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019

A Landlord Reveals Her Goals To Tenants

Dear Tenant,

I am an a person who invested in an Ontario property. This makes me an Ontario “landlord”. The term “landlord” has a lot of negativity. It brings back memories of British Lords with castles and ripping off working class people. 

That’s not me.  I work two jobs and have a mortgage. My one rental property is nicer than my own house I live in. My car has over 200,000 kms on it and is 12 years old.

So please call me an Ontario “housing provider” or an Ontario “resident who wants to be a great owner of a property people rent from me.”

This open letter to you is to share information so that we can be a team.

After all, you need me, and I need you. 

Let’s be partners in this venture, working together for both sides to succeed!

1. I am not getting rich on this venture.

In fact, for the first 12-18 months of me buying this property, I am going to lose money. Even then, this duplex/triplex that you are living in will net me approx $200-$300 per month after all expenses have been paid. Doing the math, I believe that works out to $2,400-$3,600 per year.

At some point in time, I hope that this property gains value, and I can sell it for more that I bought it. It’s a great concept that you could work towards in your lifetime – if you are so inclined.

Until then, you need a place to live, and I need a tenant.

2. Please take care of our property.

It’s your home, but it’s my house.

If I know that you will keep your home in decent condition, I will be much more motivated to ask you to help me pick out a colour next time I paint the walls, or replace the carpet.

Please don’t be a don’t be a bad tenant who thinks I’m some kind of super rich predator sucking you you dry and spending your rent on Ferrari’s and caviar.

3. I promise to respect you and your personal rights.

I will give you all the notice I can before I have to enter your apartment. After all, this is your home, but it’s my house. If I need to replace a toilet, or fix something, I will give you advanced notice.

I hope the respect will be mutual. After all, it’s the little things that count. If we can all get along, we will both enjoy working with each other. I am not here to mess with your life.

4. I was you once, perhaps you will be me one day.

I know what it’s like to rent. I know what it’s like to be a tenant. It’s actually a decent way to live.

I never worried about the roof, the plumbing, needing a new stove, or fridge, or even if the carpet was getting worn down and needed replacing.

I never worried if the city increased utilities, or taxes – I paid a flat rent, which can only increase by a very small amount each year. I let my landlord worry and take care of all of that.

You need me, and I need you. If neither one of us are jerks, this will work out just fine.

Sincerely,

Ms. Ontario Landlord

Discuss this at the Ontario Landlord forums

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Posted in Income Property, Landlord and Tenant News, landlord tenant relationships, Rental Property | 2 Comments »

The Ontario Landlord Guide

Friday, June 8th, 2012

June 8th, 2012

 A Step-by-Step Guide for Profits, Success and Financial Security for Ontario Landlords

I want to invest in residential properties and become a landlord.  Except I heard being a landlord in Ontario can be really challenging with all the “Tenants from Hell” out there.

Ask any landlord out there.  Being a successful Ontario landlord is extremely difficult.  Any one sugar-coating it isn’t being honest to you.

Why is it so difficult?

Many non-landlords like to say “landlords need to treat their investment properties as a business.”  In part this is true.  Some landlords decide to enter the industry without knowledge of the industry, the rules, the laws, you name it.

So with some study of the laws you can be successful?

No.  This is what the non-landlords out there don’t understand.  You not only have to learn the rules and laws, you need to realize these laws are biased against landlords and in favor of bad tenants.

So it’s not as simple as just reading the government websites?

Exactly.  Most of these ‘experts’ wouldn’t survive as year if they were actually investing their own money in investment properties.

So what is the key?

Knowledge is power.  Ontario landlords who know the rules and laws, and also know how things “really work” are prepared for success.

What does the Ontario Landlord Guide teach?

The Ontario Landlord Guide is a book that can be downloaded by Ontario Landlords Association members.

It’s a step-by-step guide for Ontario landlords to run a successful rental business.

What information does it include?

Topics include:

-Are you ready to become a landlord?  Do you know what it takes?  Are you ready to do what it takes?

-How can you prepare your property to gain an edge over your competitors to attract the most highly qualified renters?

-How do you set a profitable yet still competitive rent price?

-What is the most effective way to manage your property?  Should you hire a property manager or hire yourself?

-What is the most cost effective yet successful ways to advertise and reach the tenants you want to reach?

-What is the most effective way to deal with prospective tenants?

-How can you ‘market’ your rental property?

-How do you choose a tenant?

-How do you begin the landlord – tenant relationship to make sure it’s a success?

-How do you keep good tenants satisfied and in your property?

-What happens if you get bad tenants?  How do you evict them?

-How do you deal with maintenance issues?

-What are the secrets to finding and working with contractors?

-How do successful landlords keep their files and databases?

…and more!

It’s a truly comprehensive guide for landlords

It is.  It’s also loaded with ‘tips and tricks‘ that will help new landlords jump the learning curve and learn what experienced veteran landlords already know.

Whether you are a new landlord or already own some properties, education is the key and the Ontario Landlord Guide will help you learn more and more for your success.

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Posted in How to become a successful landlord | 7 Comments »

Potential Mississauga Landlords

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

March 2nd, 2012

 

Mississauga Councillor Calls Meeting over Basement Apartments a “Success”

A recent report out of Mississauga, Ontario stated that over thirty people attended a meeting for the public last week at the Community Centre located in Malton.

The meeting was set for residents to offer their views to the government of Mississauga, as it attempts to create polices on how to government basement apartments.

The Councillor for Ward 5, Bonnie Crombie, said:

“The legitimization, regulation and enforcement of second units is long overdue, but before we proceed we must ensure we strike the right balance and develop a made-in-Mississauga solution. There are a lot of elements to consider, including the impact on City services, safety and building code, and parking, to name just a few. However, the benefits of second units in terms of additional income and increased affordable housing options are very attractive.”

Secondary apartment are not legal in Mississauga under current legislation.  However, the McGuinty Liberal government recently passed legislation require every municipality in Ontario to allow second units.

Wait a minute!

Where is the Mississauga government’s attempt to educate small business landlords on the perils of renting out their newly “legal” basement units?

The Ontario Landlords Association has many members who have “horror stories” about renting out their basements.  Has the Mississauga government made sure to tell potential landlords of what they will face under the current laws of Dalton McGuinty’s Ontario Liberal goverment.

The Ontario Landlords Association has a message to all potential landlords in Mississauga, Ontario.

The message is:

Research, study, and get to know the current Liberal legislation on rental properties.

Network with other landlords who have experience in the industry.

Contact other landlords directly without the filter of the real estate agents and legal reps who will encourage to fail.

Join the discussion on the most popular landlord forums in Canada

http://ontariolandlord.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=6823&sid=e6e2e976352477e9c9826f1b3c9f1e36

 

 

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Posted in Mississauga landlords | 1 Comment »

OLA Member in the Toronto Star: Credit checks critical in vetting tenants

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

“A bad tenant cost me $28,000 over 9 months!”

October 18th, 2011

Landlord says she was too trusting and ended up with a bad tenant

“The person I spoke to said she made $62,000 a year,” says [Stoymenoff], who acknowledges she should have done a credit check.

“My questions always have been, ‘Do they have a secure job and what is their income?’ She came through with flying colours and both her references said she was a very trustworthy, good person.”

Stoymenoff also didn’t realize until the tenant was evicted that she had been renting out rooms in the house to other people and the property had fallen into disrepair.

She gouged out the doors and frames to install hinge locks with padlocks in the dining room and all three bedrooms.

Finally, in March the tenant was ordered by the Landlord Tenant Board to pay $3,400 and to start paying monthly rent.

She paid the $3,400 and one month’s rent of $1,750. In June, an order was issued to pay the full amount and Stoymenoff received $5,000.

[Shirley] was finally evicted in August, nine months after the first application was filed, owing $13,820 in unpaid rent and more than $3,000 in unpaid utility bills. Add on legal fees and the repairs required for the house and she is out more than $28,000.

“The registrar told me ‘we know her’ and the sheriff’s office knew her, too. The police have also told me they’re investigating her for fraud,” Stoymenoff says.

For an update please see:

http://www.torontonews24.com/toronto-crime-news-releases/1736-woman-faces-four-charges-in-fraud-investigation-nina-willis-47-photograph-of-woman-released

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Posted in Landlord rights | 2 Comments »

Stacking the deck against Ontario landlords

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Stacking the deck against Ontario landlords

Remember the early-’90’s thriller Pacific Heights? A young San Francisco couple buy their dream house and rent out a portion to help pay the mortgage. When slick Carter Hayes — played by an oddly menacing Michael Keaton — rolls up in a Porsche and fancy suit, he seems like the perfect tenant. Twenty minutes later, Hayes becomes a slippery cockroach-breeding con artist who changes the locks on his door and quickly becomes a domestic bête noire.

It’s a made-up Hollywood tale — yet an instructive one. Consider that if Carter Hayes took up residence in an Ontario apartment building, the province’s 2007 Residential Tenancies Act would make it very difficult for his landlord to kick him out. Who knows: He might even be able to claim his cockroaches as protected “pets.”

The law appears to have been drafted on the assumption that all landlords are rich and greedy. Under the Act, a tenant can allow anyone to move into his or her unit indefinitely. So after you sign a lease for, say, a one-bedroom apartment, you can invite your unemployed buddies to come stay with you — forever. The Act does not require you to give names, addresses or references to the landlord. Even if you decide to move out, the scrubs can stay behind until they are formally evicted, which requires a court order … which, in some cases, the landlord cannot obtain because he doesn’t even know what name to put on the eviction notice.

Oh, and if your tenants feel like trashing the apartment à la Charlie Sheen while they live there — or just before they leave — they can. Tenants in Ontario are not required to pay a damage deposit, so if a tenant damages the property and the landlord discovers this when (or just after) the lease is up, the landlord has to spend his own time and money taking them to Small Claims Court. However, since tenants don’t have to give a forwarding address, the landlord can’t serve them court papers. As a result, either new tenants pay for the damage through increased rents, or (as is more likely) the landlord pays out of his own pocket.

Unlike normal contracts, Ontario residential leases are fairly meaningless unless they mirror the specifications set out in the Residential Tenancies Act exactly. For example, many landlords understandably do not want tenants with pets. Even if this restriction is expressly written into the lease, the Act allows tenants to bring in as many pets as municipal regulations allow. Which is lot: The City of Toronto Municipal Code states that a person can keep up to six of any combination of dogs, cats, ferrets and rabbits at any given time in their home.

The only thing worse than the Act is the Landlord and Tenant Board, which appears to be a body set up specifically to help tenants exploit their landlords. For example, even if a tenant just flatly refuses to pay rent, he/she is guaranteed a hearing under the Act. Further, if a tenant contacts the board and says he/she can’t make it to the hearing on the scheduled date, the hearing is postponed. This can happen repeatedly, and in the meantime the tenant continues to live rent-free in the property.

If the hearing ever happens, the tenant can completely blindside the landlord by bringing up random maintenance-deficiency claims. The claim does not have to be true or even make sense, and the tenant does not have to inform the landlord of the “deficiency” prior to the hearing. Nevertheless, on this basis, the board can award money to the tenant at the hearing — which often happens when landlords are trying to evict deadbeats.

Throughout all of this Kafkaesque ordeal, the landlord must play nice and be extra careful not to cause any offence. Repeatedly asking for the rent may be construed as “harassment” or “interference with reasonable enjoyment” of the property.

Roger Ebert called Pacific Heights “a horror film for yuppies.” But most Ontario landlords aren’t rich folks. They’re just small business people trying to get by. But thanks to the Residential Tenancies Act, they spend a lot of their time feeling as though they’re this close to …

Well, I’ll let you watch the movie.
Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/12/07/iman-sheikh-stacking-the-deck-against-ontario-landlords/#ixzz1813fKmLz


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Posted in Landlord and Tenant News | Comments Off on Stacking the deck against Ontario landlords