All Forum Posts by: Shane Hale

Hi Jack,

I live in the area and have a couple investment properties. Feel free to send me a DM if you want to touch base over a coffee.

The original question here is "best software" but the thread seems to be focused primarily on expenses / bookkeeping. For Expenses I do currently use Expensify. On the bookkeeping side I use Xero which works fine, however most bookkeepers and accountants I've spoken to seem to prefer QuickBooks (I lean towards the online version). I'm always on the hunt for better apps and solution so hope to migrate to QBO eventually for existing corps.

Broadening the original question a bit to "Software" in general I recently attended a very good presentation in which a Real Estate Investor went over their favourite software applications. Following are the notes I took. I intend to look into many of these over the coming weeks.

Presenter's Tech List
Buildium (PMS)
RentSync (listing)
RentCheck (credit check). Has database of landlord reports
ZipSure (Insurance)
QBO, ReceiptBank, HubDoc
MileIQ
Adobe Sign
Happy Inspector (Buildium) - iAuditor is a cheaper alternative
Ubiquiti Cameras
Leviton WiFi or Lutron Smart Switches
Leviton Smart Plugs
Schlage Encode WiFi Smart Locks
Butterfly Mx (cloud) or AIPhone - Entry Intercom
Honeywell or Mysa electric thermostats, Sensibo for mini-splits
Sensors - Flowie, Floodie, Shuttie, Sumpie

Hi. Greetings from Ottawa

Hi Nito,

I'm also based in Ottawa. House hacking might be a very good option for your situation. If I could start over I would most likely have done that. Feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance locally. 

I'm happy to chat with you on the phone. Send me a PM.

One customer wanted to record audio. I researched that and you can't do so without prior consent (at least in Ontario). I don't think there is any problem recording video of common areas and the outdoors but if course check your local regulations. YMMV.

Hi Sheldon.

I've installed Hikvision PoE dome cameras and NVRs at a few buildings that I own or look after. They work quite well for the most part. If you have an Internet connection you can monitor them remotely. The advantage of PoE is that you only need to run the one Cat5e cable to the camera location. I don't deploy wireless cameras as I don't want to troubleshoot weak connectivity issues plus you still need to have power at the camera location so often have to pull some kind of wire for that. 

I've recently wanted to look more closely at Ubiquiti Unifi's camera / NVR offerings as a possible alternative to Hikvision since I often deploy their routers, switches and WiFi access points but I haven't had time to investigate these. The idea of having it all from one vendor is tempting. 

I'll second the comment that searching their name on Google and Social media often tells a very interesting story about the type of person you're dealing with. 

I'm curious about this was well. 

Paying a tenant to leave can be considered an investment. It's an investment in your mental health and the health of your building as a whole. If there are other tenants that are affected by your bad tenant's behaviour they will thank you for getting rid of them. If there are criminal activities going on in your building that will give it a bad reputation that will linger long after this tenant is gone. These kinds of tenants are likely to cause physical damage as well.

I had a similar issue with a new tenant who immediately fell behind in rent then hosted parties with their friends and damaged the building (our cost was around $500). I told them if they were gone in 3 days I'd eat the cost of the repair and the back rent. Likely never would have seen either of these paid anyway. Had the place rented to a far better tenant within a few weeks and have had steady rent coming in from them ever since.

Motivate them to leave voluntarily.