All Forum Posts by: Sheldon Peart

@Chris Baxter I agree tenants and landlords are going to have differing views on how they interpret the dispute resolution process/decision making. 

We only communicate through email, so yes proving the combativeness would be simple once the email exchanges are reviewed by the arbitrator. The threatening of legal action would also be evident in the emails. We have always stayed professional in our replies and would not lower ourselves to their level, which would be clear in the email exchanges also. 

I have thought of offering cash for keys, but think they would accuse me of bribery or something to that effect, even though that is common and legal if it is agreed upon between parties to my knowledge. 

It seems like dispute resolution is my only option for moving forward at this point. 

Sheldon

Hello, 

I am reaching out for advice with an extremely challenging tenant. This person has been our tenant for 3 years now. We inherited the tenant when we bought a 4-plex, this person has always been combative and threatening. 

Recently, this person has gotten much more combative and demanding. They are demanding items get fixed that do not need fixing and is demanding timelines. For example, the dishwasher is older, but still works fine, I agreed we will replace it as I would rather replace now before it fails. I am getting daily emails demanding installation dates, but it is still being procured through The Brick. One more example, they are demanding a 3rd parking stall even though only 1 is in the agreement and we have provided two out of courtesy. It doesn’t help that they are a lawyer and have repeatedly threatened legal action in more than one case. 

I am going to put a punch list together and address anything that is reasonable and request they put in an application to the tenancy board for a dispute resolution for remaining items that are unreasonable. 

Has anyone gone through the dispute resolution process in BC? Are they objective in their decisions for both sides or did they seem biased in their decisions? Does anyone have a similar experience they may be able to give advice on how to navigate this situation?

Really appreciate any advice!

Sheldon

Yeah i hear ya, this has been a learning curve on setting up mortgages for sure. We have looked at the variable previously but have always avoided it because we thought it was more probable that they move upwards than downwards going forward, which was true before Covid, but its a different interest rate world at the moment. It is hard to believe they will move lower than current rates..... but i also said that 3 years ago when we signed structured the mortgages. 

Thanks for the advice

Sheldon 

Thanks for the input guys, really appreciate it. 

@Brad Hammond i agree that it seems like a good deal and look forward to going through with it. We are in British Columbia which is very rent restricted unfortunately and the legal limit at the moment (after the Covid restrictions are over with) is only 1.4% annually. 

@Bjorn Ahlblad I agree you cant be careful enough with tenants, we have been very picky with all our properties and so far have had no real issues. We will continue to screen them as we have in the past.

Thanks Again Guys,=

Sheldon
 

Hello Everyone, 

Hoping to get some feedback from people who either currently live in an expensive market or have in the past. We currently have been living in a cheap market for the past 6 years and have acquired 12 units here over the past 3 years. These properties yield about 20-25% total return (Equity + Cashflow). The new area we are moving to is 8 hours away and the housing is approx. 70+% higher for the same standard of house here. We are looking at rental properties now and are finding deals that yield about 15% total return (which is roughly made up of 5% cash and 10% equity). 

My questions revolve around the risks of an expensive market. Right now our properties cashflow strongly so we never need to worry about the operating costs being more than the cashflows. We offered on a deal last night and am just wondering if we are overlooking any kind of risks that we haven't experienced before going into an expensive market. The deal is for a duplex that cashflows about $600/mth after all expenses, which i feel is comfortable since the building is only 5 years old and is well taken care of to date. the area has extremely low vacancy (like many places) and inventory is low. It appears to be a strong area to buy and hold, just a bit weary of the expensive market.

Any feedback on if there are some unique risks that pertain to expensive markets would be really appreciated!

Thanks, 

Sheldon

Hey Guys, just heard back from the insurance brokers, i guess it is now the normal for insurance companies to request this now in Canada from what they are telling me. They implemented this when marijuana was legalized and they say growing cycles are 3-months and they want to ensure they are not happening in the properties. There is an policy option for a 'Absentee Landlord' which goes to a 6-month inspection but it is almost 50% increase in cost. So i guess i just have to decide if the 50% premium is worth skipping the 3-month inspections.

@Chris Baxter yea I didn’t mind it when we first bought the property as it gave me a good reason to be inspecting the units often to get a full handle on the deferred maintenance from the previous owners, but now we have it all up to par it seems a bit excessive, and I know the tenants would appreciate it if it wasn’t so often also, and so would I.

Hello Everyone, 

I am reaching out to see if anyone has a suggestion or Insurance provider that they have used to help solve my issue. We are located in British Columbia. 

Currently our insurance provider requires 3-month inspections on all our properties. We have written this into our leases, even though the Tenancy Act allows us to enter a unit once per month as required for maintenance issues. We have kept up with these inspections so far, but now that we have a good handle on the units, i think 6-month inspections would be more reasonable. 

I will use our 4-plex as an example for costs, currently we pay $1,871 annually. Our broker is telling us that if we went to 6-month inspections in our policy, this cost would rise to $2,400 annually. A near 30% increase, which isn't completely unreasonable. My question is, does anyone have these inspection requirements from their providers, if so, do you have a good insurance provider that is cost-effective and also allows for a 6-month inspection requirement? I do understand there are many variables that go into the underwriting of an insurance policy, i am just curious about the inspection requirements of the policy.

I look forward to any advice or insight as to what others are paying and required to do.

Thanks, 

Sheldon

Got it, thanks @Chris Baxter

Sheldon

Has anyone used Tenant Cloud? I am currently setting it up for our units and it seems easy to navigate so far. Just wondering if someone has used it and found any serious faults to look out for. I currently use excel, but i like the idea of fully operating within one program. Tenant cloud is also free up to 75 units. 

An additional question, has anyone had trouble getting their tenants to switch over to an app based program to pay rent and just communicate in general? Currently most tenants email transfer, with the exception of two older fellas that still enjoy filling out cheques every month.

Thanks, 

Sheldon