All Forum Posts by: Danielle Leo

Hi Daniel, fellow MTL investor here. Would love to connect to share info and resources. Cheers!

I have a difficult tenant in my most expensive unit. She pays rent on time every month, but since the day she moved in she has been complaining about the apartment’s condition, always asks for repairs and has been really rude and ungrateful towards me and my maintenance staff. After almost a year I’m quite fed up and asked her if she wants to move out when the lease terminated. She said more mean things about the apartment but signed the notice of lease termination. A week later, she asked me if it was still possible to renew since she couldn’t find a better apartment within budget (duh!) and I said no. Since then she became very angry and hostile, started sending me texts and emails saying nasty things and threatening to Sue me at the rental board. So much that I had to block her text but the emails came coming. She also threatens to block entry if I wanna take visitors to see the apartment. 
what’s the best action, fellow landlords? I realize that it’ll be quite difficult to rent the apartment while she’s living in it (she can block entry, or make it dirty and unappealing to the potential renter) which will hurt me financially. Part of me almost wanna give in and let her renew to avoid future confrontations. But I also don’t wanna send the wrong message that she can get what she wants by being a nasty person. Thank you for your advice. 

Ever since the COVID, the price for single family houses has skyrocketed in my part of town (Montreal). Interestingly, duplexes of similar size/municipal evaluation have not risen so much in comparison. Does anyone else notice this phenomenon?

I happen to have a few plexes in this area where I know it's legal to convert a duplex or triplex to a SFH. I have one that's particularly easy to convert due to its layout; I can probably do so with a 10k-20k budget once the tenants move out this summer. My estimate is if I can sell it as a SFH instead of a plex I can get a premium of 15-25%. What does everyone think of this strategy? Am I missing something?

I'm also eyeing Ottawa since it also has a growing economy and it's only 2hrs drive from where I live. Don't know much about the market though. 

Hi Anna, curious how you invest "passively" in GTA condos? and how do you plan to invest more actively in another area, if you don't live there? To me all ownership in RE involves some degree of active management, be it renovation/tenant turnover/maintenance, which is the main reason I haven't invested in any projects outside my city of residence. Would love to hear about your experience. 

I don't know much about other markets, but in my area (Montreal) there are still good opportunities to enter the plex market. There are several reasons that I think Montreal RE still has huge up potentials: the prices are still low (although I've already seen major appreciation over the last few years), many many multi-family aka. plexes for sale on the island (vs. mostly houses&condos in Toronto), several universities drawing new students every year, economy is doing great creating jobs, and locals have generally an open mind towards renting (higher rent/own ratio than any other major cities in Canada). If you partner with a good agent you can find deals that generate positive cash flows, and if you are willing to do renos the cash flowing/appreciation potential is big. 

Happy to discuss more. 

A lot of Asian immigrants would settle in Vancouver for its proximity; but you are right, the greater Toronto area will absorb the majority of new immigrants for job prospects. There will be an overflow to other cities, though, since GTA and Vancouver are becoming less and less affordable. I could be biased, but I think Montreal would always be an attractive destination especially for Europeans and Americans (less so for Asians), and recently I heard Halifax and the maritimes are booming too. 

Overall this is great news for RE market in Canada. 

Anyone has leads for a good PM in Montreal to manage a small plex? I managed it myself for years and now looking to outsource. Thank you for your recommendation. 

 Merci bcp Philippe!

 Thanks Philippe! That's very insightful. I totally agree with you that finding a partner is the way to go; but as we all know, good partners are hard to come by. 

Is there any RE investor meetings in Montreal that's partially in English? I can get by with my French but would probably learn faster/connect better in English. Thanks!