All Forum Posts by: Roy N.

I just had tenants move out at the end of April who basically ruined the finish on the hardwood floors in the foyer and living room in a unit (leaving snow covered boots directly on the floor). They also smoked in the unit, which was no permitted in the lease, {I caught them one day when I was in the unit above them painting ... balloon framed building.}

I got quotes to clean, paint, and refinish the floors ... which tallied $400 more than their security deposit. I had no issues showing them the cost of repairing the damage they caused and explaining they were getting a deal.

Kris Ned

Are the properties in Canada or the USA?

If in Canada, check out the CMHC (CMHC.ca) website as a jump-off point.

@David Beard: If these properties are in Canada, it is highly improbable in the current market that you will much north of 1% in most regions of the country.

Roy

Adam K:

It really depends on your market. In some places I've lived in Europe, Tenants bring both their own appliances and their own light fixtures.

The appliances did not strike me as terribly odd, but I never did wrap my head around the light fixtures.

Yes, Zinser covers a multitude of sins ... it is our goto stain cover :)

Hadi Komeyl

I think the situation is a little more complex that the three points you list, but the gist of your reasoning is correct. Housing prices {Single-Family, Condos and, to a lesser extend Multi-Family Apartments}, across the country, but specifically in the GTA, Vancouver, Calgary & Edmonton have increased at a rate that outstrips the growth of household income (which has been relatively stagnent for a generation). There is no way this is sustainable.

A good stiff adjustment - either a halt in the growth of housing prices or, as our neighbours to the south, a substantial decline in valuations (i.e. 30%) - is due to Canadian real estate.

The differences in service costs, by location always interests me.

Here you will pay $2.00 - $3.00/sq ft pending on how much "volume" you might do with a particular contractor and/or the flexibility of your schedule.

Mehran Kamari, Russell Gooding:

There are many credit counselling services available to Canadians. In some Provinces services may be provided or {partially} funded by government, making the direct cost to you little or nothing.

There are also companies out there claiming to be able to "fix" your credit history/score. You need to be cautious of these claims and perform your diligence - the Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) has more information that may assist you:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/oca-bc.nsf/eng/ca02178.html#b

Mike Mitchell

Sorry, I do not know what discount is common - I've stayed clear of this aspect of the business.

Will you be purchasing individual leases or will it be bundles (or strips of bundles) of smaller business leases {the latter should mitigate a bit of risk}? Personally, I don't think I'd purchase individual small business equipment leases unless I was getting 15% or better.

I do not have much experience in the note business, but I do have experience with POS systems (in the fuel, CStore, and grocer arenas).

My first word of caution would be to carry out diligence on their client list. If they are leasing to mid-sized to large companies with strong financials, then the receivables should be relatively stable. If their customer base consists of mostly independent retailers and/or restaurants, then I would be very cautious and be looking for a sizeable risk coefficient.

The good thing is that once a retailer (large or small) is invested in a POS system {most of which are very proprietary}, it takes a lot for them to change-out their equipment {I say that, but I have a customer who has changed their system three times in the last decade}.

Mike Mitchell

This should probably be in the off-topic forum.

Are you looking at buy receivables from a vendor, or distributer, of POS equipment?