All Forum Posts by: Steve S.

With a 120 yr old house I would see this as an opportunity. Take it down to the studs. Update and/or add any electrical as you would see fit. If any of the walls are exterior, change the insulation and upgrade the Rvalue. 

Take pictures of the process. This is a selling feature to the unit. It shows clients you want to create a great home environment and that you're using quality products. You can validate the rent your charging and as you increase the quality of the unit you also will increase the demand from prospective clients.

Higher up front costs but much better quality look and feel of the unit.

Use fabric softner and rent clothing steamer, I have found those to be best for wall paper. The big issue is depending on the adhesive of some wall paper applications you may end up ripping the paper layer off the drywall and then you've got a boat load of patch work to do

Lower costs but just as messy as a demo and takes almost the same amount of time.

3rd option is to cover the walls.

You can get wall panels from 3/16 thick and just put them up over top and hide all that's underneath. 

Can be done VERY fast and is also the CHEAPEST but it will also be done cheap.

I know which option I would go for, but you have to make the best decision based on the needs of your unit and clientele.  

Wish you luck

I can count on one hand the number of cuts I've ever made with my table saw. Conversely a friend of mine can no longer count using either of his hands because of a stupid mistake he made with a table saw.

If you're pretty handy, I say you're far better off building a base table for your mitre saw. The right work table and using some clamps and a straight edge, you can make almost every cut you can with a skill saw with greater versatility and it's usually a lot safer.

I also NEVER take my table saw to any project I'm working on... in fact it's in my garage and there's a tonne of crap piled around it. Conversely I take my work table and skill saw to every job, even the small ones, it's just too handy and useful.

I have my tenants give me 12 post dated cheques. So far I have not had an issue and I take a photo to deposit the cheque right at the 1st of every month.

I have it arranged that the tenants are responsible for their own water usage.  I simply called the utility and told them that the address is a rental property and that the tenants will be getting the bill in their name. They were great over there! They also will notify me if the bill is late or hasn't been paid in awhile or if they ever need a meter reading. I have had fantastic tenants, and only one time they were behind on the water, a simple text message and I forwarded the email I received from the city and I have never had any issues.

Ohh in that property one toilet is "flapper-less" as I had renovated and build another bathroom in the basement, the second toilet had a flapper but my tenants had replaced the entire internal "mechs" as the toilet tank took a long time to fill for a 2nd flush.

I have a toilet that doesn't have a flapper.... it's fantastic! Have not had an issue with a leaky toilet since!

One question I have is why not have your tenants pay the water bill. When they pay the bill they're a lot more cognizant of water waste. 

The two key points that you need to take away are:

#1 you and your family are alive and safe

#2 you bought your dream home

The rest of these details are so much less significant... 

I only have one property and have exclusively rented it out to one family, so my "vetting" of tenants isn't as experienced as many on here I would imagine. But there is something to be said for looking at the prospective tenant in the eyes when they answer some of your questions and you show them around.

Personally, I was attracted to rent my property to people who were pleased with the place but also took in the details. Personally I want a tenant that will let me know if there's any issue. That way my place doesn't get run down. If there's an issue I resolve it immediately.

A tenant - landlord agreement is a business relationship, both parties should be pleased. If you can't meet with your prospective tenants to show them the place, perhaps a management company may be more suitable to your needs. There's many out there that work for around 10% of the monthly rent. They will find and fill the place with tenants, collect rent etc. etc. That may be a better route than listing on MLS with your realtor.

The house is on land that I think the owners want to either sell to a developer or develop themselves.... All beside them condos have gone up and it's river front property in a nice area.

Occasionally in my area some people want to sell the homes just not the land... 2-3 years ago there was a free house offered on kijiji (perhaps the U.S. equivalent to craigslist) the only condition was that you had to move it off the property.

Another individual I know bought a "house only" for 5K had some land elsewhere, poured a basement and had it moved for under 30K.

This move would literally be just down the street so I have already opened up discussions with some local building movers in the area, but I haven't been given definitive figures yet. I would imagine the move would cost around 10-30K, with another 20-50K in applications and zoning fees from the city. All said and done I think the whole project would cost approx 80-100K and I would have a 200K house and a second property to rent.

So my real estate agent put me onto this site a little while ago and I've been trying to read up on this site at least 3 nights a week. So far I like what I've seen.

Here's my current situation. I own one rental property. It's a single family residence approx 850 sq feet. However it's on a rather large lot. I think the city has the frontage listed between 90 and 110 feet. The house in one one side and there's a triple car garage next to it.

So my question to you.. What's my next move?

Should I:

A) look into rezoning the property creating two titles move the garage to the back of the property (with back lane access) and put another house onto the now 2nd parcel of land.  (There's one house just for sale down the block that is being sold , w/o the property and I could hire movers to move the whole house)

B) forget that project as there's too many costs and look into just picking up a BURRR through an auction or real estate listing this summer.

Earnestly awaiting your feedback...  if you need more details to make your decision please let me know