All Forum Posts by: Kyle Van der Zyden

Hey everyone, 

I've been following this forum for a little while and doing some research while looking at properties in hopes of starting to build my real estate portfolio. Doing this has got me thinking about how the whole process works, and how little it has changed over time (e.g. commission structure, use of technology, etc.). I was curious to get some input from people that are involved in the industry on both the investor and agent side. What would you say are the pros and cons of using agents to buy or sell? Why do you think the industry hasn't adapted/been disturbed as technology has become more widely used? If you were able to find technological tools to help you buy/sell/search for properties, would this change how you view the services that agents provide? Are there any aspects of the process that you think agents offer particular value in and could not be replaced? I'd be curious to get your opinions.

Much appreciated,

Kyle

I just found this site and find it extremely useful. I am looking at purchasing a student rental in St. Catherines, as the prices seem much more reasonable than other university areas. One big concern I had was around the lease term automatically switching to month to month after the initial 1 year term. This concern relates primarily to student rentals, as the time frame to find solid tenants is relatively narrow. In the event that a student is month to month and decides to leave in the middle of the school year, I imagine it would be difficult to find a good replacement tenant. As I understand, there is really no way to avoid the month to month scenario, unless the tenants agree to it. 

I've read that you are unable to agree to end the tenancy on a certain date as a condition of signing the lease, so you can't simply agree to terminate at the end of the 1 year before signing the lease. I've heard about landlords signing an agreement to terminate one day after the lease is signed, although the tenants could just refuse to sign the termination agreement and occupy the property based on the lease that was signed. 

Has anyone come up with a way to mitigate this risk? Additionally, if any experienced landlords have come across any other risks associated with student tenants I'm all ears!