All Forum Posts by: Theresa Harris

The security deposit belongs to the tenant. So if they aren't passing it to you to hold, they need to return it to the tenant.  If they return it to the tenant, then the tenant needs to give you a new deposit.

 I'm Canada (and like your family in BC would hate it if you said British Canada).  One of the problems with BC and ON is high price of housing, especially in Vancouver and Toronto.  The US dollar is at a 14 year high, but we're used to it being there and it has been like that most of my life.  NAFTA was renegotiated under the last Trump administration, but it is clear that Trump is going to do whatever he wants.

Birth rates have been declining for a long time in many countries. Immigration could offset the declining birth rate, but for housing how people live will also affect demand.  ie How many single people opt to live on their own?  and the economy-how many can afford to live on their own?

If they have footage of her taking a package and they showed it to her and she still denies it, that's a hard no.  You may want to ask to see the footage to see if the landlord is telling the truth.

I'm curious as to why you think the tariffs won't impact the US (though you did say as much, not that they would not be impacted).  The costs will be passed onto the consumer and yes some businesses in foreign countries may shut down as a result.  But as you mentioned the US is a consumer nation and reliant on foreign goods.  Also if things like oil are affected and have double tariffs, that will have a big impact. 

As Hai mentioned in BC there are a couple of extra things to factor in if your parents sell it to you-the capital gains, foreign buyer's tax AND the property transfer tax all apply in BC and the middle one is not cheap (an extra 15%).  Add to that there is currently a ban on foreign buyers in Canada (only a few exceptions and as far as I know they all involve living here).

Capital gains taxes apparently used to be higher (before my time).  The changes apparently haven't come into effect yet and as we have an election this year, who knows what will happen.  Here's a link to the article that mentions the delay. I'd talk to a tax professional in Canada.  If they sell, spring is a good time to do so in Vancouver.  You will already know the rental rules, but you will need to refund the tenant their last month's rent if you are selling the property.

Ask yourself if at 2.9% interest you paid off the mortgage are you further ahead than if you took that $50K and invested it elsewhere? With current interest rates (at least in Canada and guessing the US is similar), you'd be further ahead investing that money elsewhere and continuing to let the tenant pay down the mortgage with their rent. If you want to buy more properties in the near future, use the $50K you have right now rather than taking out a HELOC on the property (which will be at a higher rate than 2.9%).

I agree with Bill B-that also keeps it really simple.  One of the reasons I went with the PM I did was because they posted what they charged on their website, so it was transparent and everyone gets charged the same.

 If she changed only one, then yes get them all so they are keyed the same (like they were when she moved in).