All Forum Posts by: Minna Hu

Agree with Thomas. Set up the process and system for you to self-manage the properties, as the first and one Thing. It is important no matter you are local or remote. You need to fill the spots for people who can deliver notice, keep an eye on the property, small repairs. When we started to self-manage the properties, most of the tasks are challenging. We soon realize we don't have a good network of contractors, paralegal and superintendent. After we realize it, we didn't take action and thought we inherited this since we managed remotely. Until it got really stressful for me and I put setting up the network, finding good superintendent, leasing agnet, paralegal and contractors as my one thing for the business. Actually it was much easier than I imagined, with internet, phone, Kijiji and reference, I can reach lots of good resources and competent people.

Originally posted by @Thomas Lorini:

I own several properties in Ontario. Moved to the US three years ago and still self manage them. No issues. Just need to assemble a good team of contractors including tenant finding agent.

2 Votes

Saw a post of old news, Ontario minister of housing looks at strengthening protections for landlords, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/landlord-tenant-board-rental-kingston-animals-1.3876870, I am not always in Ontario, so cannot tell. Folks, did you see any change made to protect landlords?

1 Vote

Yeah, it would work, some landlords that I know are already doing it. It would be a great journey to find the subcontractors that you like and work for you.

At beginning, you may not want to handover to the subcontractors without any supervision. I would still receive calls and emails from tenants regarding the maintenance requests, and forward to the subcontractor after I screen out unreasonable requests. For working with other contractors for more complex jobs, if the subcontractors are going to find quotes for you, you may require several quotes and decide which one to go.

Anyway, no one cares about your property and your income vs expense better than you, delegate is a good way to develop your business, but supervision keeps it under control. Supervise, but not micro-manage, haha, that is another topic regarding how to delegate.

1 Vote

Did you call those companies and ask why do they support lifetime warranty?

0 Votes

For painting, it would be easy to judge or prove that the tenant didn't do it. What about regular maintenance, such as cleaning, lawn cutting, unless you give feedback or fire the tenant to do the jobs right after you caught it, otherwise how can you recover the cost for paying for things that were not done? Thank you!

Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

Personal opinion: don't go after the higher rent. Go after the cost of repairs/improvements.

In other words, if you have a written agreement that said she was going to paint the house, hire someone else to paint the house and then charge her for failing to do it.

0 Votes

I agree. We hire leasing agent/property management for advertising, finding potential tenants, doing applications and initial screening, for the top 1-2 applicants, our leasing agent will send application for us to review, and we decide whether to proceed, or clarify questions further. It's been working out for us well.

But about how to select good tenant, for the tenants we evicted, we were never asked to give landlord reference, either their new landlord does not do landlord reference (which I feel sorry for them), or tenants only give landlord names that they think would give them good reference (which make sense, haha). But doing tenant screening is better than accepting whoever you have.

Also several people mentioned, good tenant become bad tenant after losing job, ending a relationship, or going through change in their life. If they become so bad that they just don't cooperate, then file for eviction to cut your loss. I have a tenant that went through changes in life and a lot of stress, she was going to move out and find apt that is less costly, she is been always good to us, so I said I would help her to go through the transition, and assisting her for finding new apt, just for less than a month, her situation improved and she decided to stay. Sometimes hardship is temporary, if you help them go through it, situations become good again, just make sure you don't backfire and make their situation worse. Though this won't be every case, but worth a try, but please know to cut the loss if it doesn't work out.

Originally posted by @John T.:

Take the task of tenant screening away from the property manager. Let the PM find potential tenants, fill out the application and do all the paperwork, but you do the actual tenant screening. Use a form of "extreme vetting" on the potential tenants.

0 Votes

Tenants that are picky on every single thing, and use f** words when they call you and email you? For the first months when we took over our properties from property manager and started to manage ourselves. There are 3 or 4 tenants like this, I felt stressed and nervous about seeing tenant emails. Later we found that we don't need to suffer when we see their emails, we give their cease and decease notice for harassment, and said it will go into their file, then they stopped.

Tenants who are picky on every small repairs, and called city for inspection, city came in and picked out 20 items for you to repair, and costed you money for non-sense? one tenant said she has bed bugs, we sent pest control for 3 times, and didn't find any bed bug, he called city, and city said even he caught bed bugs some place else and placed into a jar, and showed to the inspector in the apt, we have to do a bed bug treatment?

Property manager put tenants into your apartment without background check, and we had to evict most of them for non-payment, harassing us, etc.? Property manager did repair for your apt for 10k, and when we took over and saw nothing being done?

Oh, misery likes company, looking forward to all replies.

0 Votes

I had few tenants abandoned their furniture and garbage in the apt, cost few hundred to clean up. The latest one, there has been domestic abuse and drugs in the apt, so there are needles, damaged wall, broken window, etc. Maybe this topic will make me feel I am not treated badly.

0 Votes

You don't mean 1 week old infant, isn't it?

Originally posted by @Geoffrey Schnake:
1 week old dead body on the couch that her dogs had been snacking on. almost made me quit the biz.

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Minna Hu

Minna Hu has started 10 posts and replied 56 times.

Post: ONTARIO: NEW EVICTION RULES (..SIGH)

Post: Trying to care for a rental while living in another province

Post: Bill 144, Real Rent Control

Post: Subcontract out maintenance

Post: Why Foundation Repair are able to provide lifetime warranty

Post: Tenant didn't live up to her part of discounted rental agreement

Post: how to select good tenant when using property management

Post: LANDLORDS NATIONWIDE! Most frustrating thing about it?

Post: Grossest thing you've found after a tenant has moved out?

Post: Grossest thing you've found after a tenant has moved out?