All Forum Posts by: Manny K.

By the way, this is in GA... and the HOA did not capture any pictures of the dog or proof of the noise/nuisance .. and I am guessing they wont disclose their "sources". I do not know the neighbors well enough and I feel they will not get involved in this drama or help with sharing details etc.

Thanks all for the responses.  My lease was drafted by an attorney of the placement agency (but have not engaged any PM services yet, just self managing for now).  How are these violation fines typically communicated -- do we just mention it on a "cure-or-quit" notice and give 7 days to pay etc?   

Any feedback on the second part of my question -- what happens if he disputes/ignores/asks for proof etc. (which is the most likely scenario). Short of hiring a private investigator (of course not!), how is "evidence" gathered.   Is this serious enough to pursue a dispossessory notice/filing if tenant outright denies?     

Rented out a condo 3 months ago. Tenant turns out to be a chronic liar/rule breaker. Second month's rent was late (eventually paid with late fee only AFTER I served a notice). A pet dog was found while I was there to serve pay-or-quit notice. Lease says NO Pets - and I can fine $150 per pet violation incident. I served another "cure-or-quit" notice -- BUT let him away with a warning (instead of fine) and promise to remove dog within 7 days. He claimed dog is gone and I didnt see it when I visited again. NOW, last week HOA sent a letter saying tenant is walking dog without leash and neighbor complained of late night noise/nuisance. Lease allows for $50 "fine" each time landlord has to be involved in resolving HOA violations and also allows for pass-through of any HOA fines. So, the question is -- what is the best strategy to enforce and resolve such issues? Send a notice and actually enforce the $150 pet violation and $50 HOA violation fines? I feel soft "warnings" do not mean much with this tenant. What happens if tenant denies any wrong-doing... or ignores/refuses to pay (asking for proof etc)?

@Roy N. 

Thanks Roy.  Where can we look up or get referrals for property managers in the area?  

Thanks for your insights Gary.  Whether some other investment will work harder for her or not - is speculation only. If condo prices keep rising 5+% YoY on average over say, next 5 years - then, landlord-ing might return more and will be worth the trouble.

The rent is in the 1800-2000 range with utilities included (condo fees include utils). 

I guess she might have to pay taxes at both places anyways - if she has other income producing local, Canadian assets?  Not sure. 

With a realtor, I heard transaction fees (for seller) can reach up to 7% of sale price in GTA - all said and done?  Is that a fair % #? 

Also, any idea about possibility of making it a fully furnished or "corporate" rental?  

Thanks.  

Dear BP Gurus, 

I am a newbie here. My aunt (single, widow, retired) owns a 2 bed 2 bath condo in North York worth ~$300k CAD. She wants to move to US permanently and is trying to decide if it makes ANY sense to hold on to the condo as a rental after she moves. Due to the unusually high monthly HOA dues and other expenses (taxes, property mgmt, insurance, vacancy allowance, misc repairs reserve etc), she can only expect a net cash flow of $500/mo realistically - which is just 2% on the $300K capital. I have no idea if we can expect any meaningful capital appreciation over the next 5 years - to justify holding it.

What are your thoughts?  A couple of other points:

1) The condo is nicely furnished. I was wondering if leasing it as a fully furnished unit can increase the cash flow significantly?

2) If she sells the condo, the equity will mostly be invested in some diversified, (almost) risk-free fixed-income investments yielding ~5% annually. 

3) Are there any other options (other than traditional renting or outright selling) that can benefit her more? Like - rent-to-own, or owner-financing etc?  

4) How easy is it to either do a FSBO or direct sale to some RE investor (outside MLS?) - to save on selling transaction costs?

Thank you! 

- Manny