All Forum Posts by: Roy N.

Joshua Dorkin,

And here I thought this was in response to ribbing Brandon for having the notification "eyecon" disappear and suggesting a "little yellow envelope"

James Vermillion I'm with you on that one. Though I spent a fair amount of time researching on the use of "earcons" back in my {under} graduate days {when they were not common at all} I personally find most devices and interfaces too chatty these days ;-)

Ann: I presume that is Mass's term for month-to-month (or period to period)?

@Lynn M.

Precisely. Though I may add that in some jurisdictions (here being one of them) you are not allowed to request/collect a security deposit in excess of one months rent.

Furthermore, security deposits are deposited in trust with the Rentalsman's Office. When you do file claim against the deposit, it can take 45-days (or more) before you see any money.

Adrian Mata

While I agree with you skipping your last month's rent is not a stand-up way to go about things, it is, unfortunately, not uncommon.

At their new rental, your tenant has has to provide both a security deposit and first month's rent. If they are living hand-to-mouth, then the extra cash had to come from somewhere <- This is where you come in ;-)

When this happens to us (usually once or twice a year), we make a claim against the security deposit. We also assess a late payment fee and report a non-payment of rent to the credit bureau {all our tenants consent to reporting when the sign the lease}.

We still endeavour to collect the rent during the course of the month, so we are not left holding the bag, if they leave the place filthy or damaged - given their security deposit has already been consumed.

I wouldn't bother starting the eviction process at this point it will only add costs. I would jump on the PM and ask what they are doing to ensure you are not going to be out of pocket with cleaning and/or damages now that the security deposit has been used to cover rent.

Brandon Turner

I see the notification "eyecon" has returned ... thank-you!

Note, this does not necessarily mean I'll become a "Pro" ;-)

Shuai Zeng

Lots of good advice here.

One thing I would add:

When we acquire a property with appliances we always record the make / model / date of manufacture of each appliance in our file on the property.

As a general rule of thumb, whenever an appliance such as a refrigerator, dishwasher or washing machine, that is more than 8-10yrs old, or whose design is more than 10-12 years old, breaks, and the repair estimate is >15-20% of the cost to replace {with one of our standard models}, we replace the appliance.

In most cases, the energy efficiency of the newer appliance, combined with our experience that once you under take the first "major" repair on an appliance of that age, the time to the next one is measured in months, not years, makes purchasing a new appliance the better solution.

Peter Halley

Welcome to BP from a fellow Maritimer (& displaced Bluenoser).

Were you planning to wholesale at home or in the USA? I have not encountered many wholesalers in Canada - outside of MTL and TO - but Hfx may be a large enough market. I'd be interested to hear how it goes.

Now, flipping, there is plenty of opportunity for that in your area. I have a couple of acquaintances whose niche is finding old saltbox and farm homes in the smaller communities along the south shore - mostly between the City and St. Margarets Bay, but a few on the north side towards Musquodoboit. - giving them an efficiency update and then placing them as get-away home to wealthy folks from away. They started doing this on a contract basis and progressed to finding and rehabbing on spec.

Brandon Turner

You pretty much hit the "society is bigger than me" points I was using to sell myself on becoming a "Pro" of some degree.

Some of the calculators would be applicable - but I have already developed my own {monte carlo} simulation system for modelling properties under a variety of what-if scenarios. Most of the forms and documents would not ... but I may be able to help with that in the future when/if I find more time {likely when the toddler grows up}.

As for the combined inbox - I did notice that, but the little yellow number that use to appear on the menubar was a good "eyecon" that prompted me to check notifications and messages - much like your "star" got me on the elevator.

Having the number of messages/notifications as the indicator is not as important has having a contrasting colour "eyecon" on the menu bar which is normally not present ... a little yellow envelope would also work.

I'll keep turning the "Pro" idea over in my head and once my renovations are completed next month and all my units once again full .... I'll look a little harder.

Aaron Yates

My caution to your advice would be by {knowingly} allowing your tenants to make capital improvements to your property, you open yourself to a claim of equitable interest in the property.

In the individual case of your example tenants, this probably will not occur, but as a general practice one should walk into this with eyes open to the possible negative consequences.

Sometimes penny-wise can be pound-foolish.

Eve W.

As a general rule, I do not allow Tenants to have anything installed, nor to pay for upgrades to systems.

If you think a security system and a smart thermostat would be beneficial to your ability to rent (or sell) the property over the longer term, the you should install them and increase the tenants rent.

A word of caution on security systems ... if they are monitored, then there is a good chance the monitoring agency will not contract with your tenant - which means you will hold the contract anyway. Also, the contract may outlast the tenancy, in which case, you need to be prepared to pay for service when the unit is empty {which is generally when I would want a monitored security service}.

If you decided to put it in, I would just make it a "feature" of your rental offering and price accordingly.