All Forum Posts by: Elliott Sulz

Hey @Robin Brown , welcome to BP! I'm currently invested in Nanaimo here on Vancouver Island, and I think it's a great up-and-coming market to be in. Much cheaper than Vancouver or really most places in the lower mainland, and also mostly cheaper than Victoria (though you can also find cash flowing deals there). I'd say though that if you're going to be living in Vancouver, I would look into investing in the states as much as I would investing here on the island. The ferry is kind of a hassle, and especially if you have to be going back and forth fairly often it's not cheap. Might be just as easy/profitable to invest in the states. 

Also if you're interested in ontario markets, I have a buddy who's currently digging into those from long-distance as well, I'm sure he'd love to chat with you about it. Shoot me a PM if you're interested and I'll send you the details :)

Hey Tom, so far so good with the city. Did a bit of a remodel to one of the small suites and it's bringing in great revenue now!

Hey question for you – I was just talking to my contractor today about eventually getting all the decks and siding replaced, and he was saying we'll probably need to get a building permit as some of the decks are attached to the main structure. Do you think getting a building permit from the city would somehow alert them to start cracking down on my suites, or do you think it wouldn't affect it?

Hey Randy Molland , it's Elliott from VSSC! I didn't realize you were in the real estate game, this is awesome! Sounds like you've been jumping in and taking action, great stuff. I'm just starting out myself as well, I bought my first 4-plex about 4 months ago up in Nanaimo. Looking to buy more multi-families over the next few years, and eventually move towards bigger apartment buildings. It's crazy, I just started doing the miracle morning "life savers" as well and I've had an insane boost in daily motivation already. Anyway we gotta chat more about this next friday! Cheers man.

Thanks for the great tips everyone! I'll be putting them to use right away.

@Dana Dunford thanks for detailing your process! That's really helpful.  I particularly like "would you rent to them again?" - that's a great general question that gets you a lot of insight. 

Newbie landlord here - just wondering if anybody has tips for questions to ask/what to say when calling up references for prospective tenants. Thanks!

I have a similar issue where one tenant tends to leave lights on 24/7 in rooms they're not using, and I'm paying the electricity bill. I think the first step for me will be to just kindly ask the tenant to be more considerate of the amount of energy they're using... Perhaps you could do the same by asking your tenant to keep the door closed as it's wasting energy? Any other suggestions?

Hi Julie, thanks I appreciate it!! 

Tom, thanks for all the info! What do you mean by multiple user rates - are you talking about utility/service rates?

Yeah my "4-plex" is actually a duplex with 2 extra unauthorized suites. I've just begun to look into the process of getting them authorized... from what I've read so far it sounds like a complete "reconstruction" is needed. 

Have you gone through the authorization process before?

Interesting... yes it'll be great to see those few streets slowly revitalized. I'm planning on holding this rental for the long term, and over the next year or so putting some work into it to make it more appealing/updated. Hopefully I'll be able to attract a bit better quality of tenant that way.

Do you have many rental properties in Nanaimo currently?

Thanks Tom! Great to meet a fellow islander!

It's on Rosehill street near downtown. Not the greatest area of Nanaimo, but I think it's starting to show some signs of turning around.