All Forum Posts by: Theresa Harris

You are the landlord, it is not up to them to bargain with you and if they can afford a dog, they can afford $100 more in rent if that is what the market supports.  Tell them the new rent is $2550 and if they don't like it, they are free to give notice and move.

As Emily said, build in a standard rent increase to your lease and deal with the dog separately.

I know you copied the article, but how many of the workers are women?  (even more surprising given it is 2025 and the article was written by a woman that it assumes only men work in factories).

The work ethic of the younger generation is not the same anymore.  Don't get me wrong there are lots of great people, but they want to work at something where they won't get dirty, don't have to do much and often live at home a lot longer than they used to-so there is no pressure to pay the bills as their parents still pay for most of their expenses.  I work at a university and while there are some really good students, the proportion of those who want to work and think for themselves has gone down over the last 10 years.

I'd also move to another person.  Contracts are binding, they just want the option to move at a moment's notice and I doubt any government employee would be expected to move that quickly.  Do you want to do weekly billing and how does the rate compare to what you'd get if you rented it normally? 

What type of property was it that you had two sets of tenants trash it in 4 years of renting?  The problem as Drew mentioned isn't the long term rental part, but either the property or tenant vetting.  Also walking away with $47K after paying for renos, fees, etc after 6 years isn't too bad.

I'd find some local STR operators and talk to them about their properties (good and bad).

I think the others have covered most of it.  

Location and quality-if the $100K home is in a bad area and in poor condition, avoid it.  On paper it may look great, but it will cost you more with lower quality tenants, more in damages and higher turnover and vacancy.  This also assumed the $400K place is in an average area, not a super high end part of the city.  

Appreciation is also important though harder to gauge. I know when I was looking at places, I got a less expensive place that was more of a student type rental given its location and the other option I was thinking of what maybe 75% more ($130K vs $225K), fast forward almost 10 years and the $225K is now selling at $325K while the $130K at $150K.

Diversifying-if you can get two good homes instead of one fancy home, get two.  It balances the risks better.

Property taxes and insurance are both important.  I'm in Canada, but the difference in rates between provinces is significant for both.  In AB a larger, but less expensive home than in BC has higher property taxes and insurance rates.

Probably.  The costs will get passed on to the consumers.

Why are you not able to get a loan to buy your next property rather than refinancing a home that is paid for to buy a new home with cash?  also what would the rates be on the new loan and what are the current rates on your mortgage?

If the only debt you have is your current mortgage and it is low interest rate, I'd get another mortgage for the new home.  As Alicia said, pay off any consumer debt that is higher interest first.

Tell him he can pay the higher rent or give notice. If he knows of other units in the area that are renting for less, then he's welcome to move there.

I'd find someone who can buy you out or ask her if she wants to buy your half.  While it wasn't signed, what did the agreement say would happen in this situation?