Is anyone on here a landlord?

[FastFarmer]

I have a long term plan and I have some smart business people around me to learn from.
But I am always interested in listening to other people's experiences in investing though, because there is more than one way to skin a cat!

you skin a cat by putting a monorail in it...you construct an investment portfolio by doing exactly that, having discussions with people and opening the right doors. One thing you will learn to value is a tax lawyer, send them a nice Xmas card.

 

[lilduke]

you skin a cat by putting a monorail in it...you construct an investment portfolio by doing exactly that, having discussions with people and opening the right doors. One thing you will learn to value is a tax lawyer, send them a nice Xmas card.

You got that right!

 

[teeroy]

I would kick them out in the cold.
Your too nice.

you can't. the landlord/tenant act doesn't favour the landlord. you have to pay to keep the lights heat and water on, and you can't kick anyone out in the winter months. smart deadbeat tenants know this, and use it against you.

 

[arff]

Great information here.
Maxwell is correct on the condition of the property.

We purchased a new style condo unit in Leduc. New design with just upper and lower units. About 4 years ago.
We purchased it to use as a rental.
Our duplex we purchased I gutted it out. Complete renovation and all new appliances. We have had good luck with renters and no issues over the past 4 years.

Yes some people have difficulty with renters and have damage.

And that sucks as your property is damaged and renter walks away.

 

[TDR]

Great information guys. I can honestly say I’ve lived all this crap and why I sold all my rentals a few years back. For every good renter there are 20 bad ones and they are not always easy to identify. Family and friends is a no go. The way the Landlord Tenant Act is today you have no rights without lots of documentation, time and cash. But good luck.....

 

[skegpro]

you can't. the landlord/tenant act doesn't favour the landlord. you have to pay to keep the lights heat and water on, and you can't kick anyone out in the winter months. smart deadbeat tenants know this, and use it against you.

I'd move in with them.
They would volunteer to leave.

 

[08arcticcat]

Ive been a landlord once, it did ok till real estate dropped and it was costing me money every month even with a tenant in it. Now ive come to a point where my house needs to sell or be rented and im willing to sell for a small loss to get my equity out and put into the market. Id rather make dividends on my money be in the market, where at least if i need it i can sell stock tomorrow and get money next week.

Current house, 4 bedroom 2 bath with a detached garage. Probably could get 1500 a month rent. 1150 for the mortgage, 300 for taxes, 150 for property manager, house insurance. then theres wear and tear on the house, added stress, all my appliances and hot water tank are 7 years old so all ready to crash soon.

Id rather sell, take the equity, invest in an equity funds in my tsfa, and check again in 20 years.

https://www.suredividend.com/dividends-real-estate/

 

[eclipse1966]

have you thought about commercial real-estate? I have a small building with two tenants and had zero issues for the past 9 years. But then again, I rent out two homes and all good so far as well. Not sure how the commercial space is in your part of the world but in Okanagan it has been good.

 

[thegeneral]

I rented my house in Stony Plain for 7.5 years. The first 2.5 years I had a nice couple that had their mother living with them. The mother had some health issues and basically she paid the bills and they looked after her. They moved out and literally nothing had to be done. Zero damage, they even had the place professionally cleaned. then a family of 5 moved in. Great family, very respectful and no hassle at all for 4.5 years. That's when the father pulled the pin and left. He paid the rent on time for the first 6 months then I never got another cent from the Wife. After 3 meetings with a judge and about 6 months of her giving the run around, I was finally able to hire the bailiff, a locksmith and a sheriff to accompany me to take back possession of the home. The place was trashed. Between myself and a few friends and family we put 857 hours of labor and just under $49,000.00 in materials into repairs. The only satisfaction I got was smashing the hell out of a very nice solid oak table set that they left behind.
Buy gold instead of rentals.

 

[busted2x]

Bin dar dun dar. Would never do again unless duplex/4plex. I have a buddy who does well, but he has 7 within walking distance of his own. Don’t do it unless you can do 20+ down, and I’d never do less than 3. One rental was just a money pit, the equity I earned in the 5 years was NOT worth the time spent.

 

[FastFarmer]

Think of it this way. Pick a career, then establish how high in management in that career field you are comfortable with. Now think about how many years this has your full commitment and what the wind down looks like for time. Laterally this should establish your landlord tolerance or willingness. You will need to deal with every aspect without emotion and solely base these decisions on and from a business sense. Remember...it’s just a decision. Choosing to pay someone’s bills electively as a gesture of being a good human being, as a reward or motivation is one thing, but to have to pay because you did not protect yourself or investment is simply bad practice and bad business. It was mentioned that regular inspections and property checks are pretty standard practice for a good landlord, if you set a schedule you stick to it. Remember, a proud tenant will ensure that their “rental” and possessions will display proudly to the landlord and this will establish a long term healthy relationship. This is fairly vague, however it should give and set up a perspective that this isn’t right for everyone, but a properly run and managed company which focuses on rentals can be a very good long term investment strategy which will allow for long term goal successions for each generation.

 

[pete gads]

I have a rental by UofA. Brings in 5900.00 gross each month. willing to sell. Have had it for ten yrs. Ready to retire.

 

[Cyle]

I have 3 rentals, two houses and one duplex. Just had first renter move out of duplex after 4.5 years. Got the headache many are talking about here, I wouldn't consider it trashed but quite a bit of damage. Have to replaced every single appliance in kitchen due to damage, virtually all doors and just generally lots of wear from people not giving a chit. Out 2 months rent of fixing it up and finding new tenants. Utilities agree in their name, gas was cut off and power was about to be due to non payment. Only amount you must pay is re-connection fee, anything else is between them and tenant. My cost including lost rent after factoring in damage deposit will be about $4500, $3500 is the two months rent. Thankfully he has a good oilfield job in fort mac I don't think he is stupid enough to leave, when they ignore the court papers (know they are that dumb) it won't take long to garnish wages, and hopefully recover everything in short order.

The duplex is the best one, they rent pretty much the same as a single family house but are worth a fair bit less. The best value are starter houses. The values are respectively about $320k, $375k, and $550k, and the rents I get are $1750, $1800, and $2000. The nicer houses that are bigger just don't fetch the extra rent.

Instead of selling when I upgraded I just rented the places out. When the market eventually skyrockets I will either dump them all, or pull out the equity to invest, haven't decided yet. The way I see it just the amount they pay off of the mortgages each year is $25,000 so without any value increase i'm making that much a year, as long as I don't get stuck with any damages in the end. The longer renters stay the better. 4.5 years and even if i'm out the damages it's basically $100/month and still did good as the rental was at least that much cash positive after paying all the bills. The one lasted 4.5 years, other has been 3.5 years, and last one 3 years so i'm pretty happy with that. One is absolutely perfect rent is always on time and very rarely an issue. House is immaculate. One comment that means a LOT was when they asked to move in a few days early and they would clean place themselves (this was after me moving out) because either way they would clean entire place before moving in. Someone this particular about cleaning a place means it will be spotless. The last renter takes good care of place, but isn't good with paying. First few months were good, going on about 2.5 years now of a missed payment and they've only made up half of it. The most important part is looking after the place, rent a few days late here and there is whatever as long as you get it.

As far as renters rights my opinion is I will be fair with renters who are fair with me. Don't pay rent or try to screw me over? I would rather have a renter sue me over wrongful eviction then me suing them for unpaid rent or to get them out, that's my opinion. You have to be careful but if you know the laws you can actually evict very easily that is technically legal.

I wouldn't dream of buying a rental in cash, there is much better returns investing elsewhere. But I bought 2 of mine with 5% down, and one with 10% down so I didn't invest all that much, I have about $100k invested in all three. So i'm making about 25% return a year, not going to complain about that. And that's without any increase to prices. If you're in it for the long term property will only increase in value and a mere even 1% increase a year makes a huge return when you think long term.

 

[Zrock]

Good luck with wage garnishment... the courts make it such a pia that we finally have up.. they make it extremely hard for people to get what is owed to them and easy for the offender to get away with it

 

[skegpro]

I have a rental by UofA. Brings in 5900.00 gross each month. willing to sell. Have had it for ten yrs. Ready to retire.

Rental? Or rentals?
That must be quite the place to fetch $5900 a month in Edmonton.

 

[Stompin Tom]

Rental? Or rentals?
That must be quite the place to fetch $5900 a month in Edmonton.

The rent is $800 a month, the other $5100 is income from the crack shack.

 

[skegpro]

The rent is $800 a month, the other $5100 is income from the crack shack.

Oh yeah we had one of those in town. Just burnt down.

 

[pete gads]

No Crack. Built house in 2008. Basement fully finished. 4 br down there with full bath and kitchen. 6 br up stairs with 3 FB and laundry rm Large kitchen 2 fridges. Students pay for full yr by the room. Heated by hotwater in basement and furnace up stairs. I pay all utilities keeps things simple.

Willing to sell as want to retire.

 

[linktel]

Moved to Edmonton just about 2 years ago
We still own our house in Lloydminster haven't been able to sell, and have it rented though a rental agency, hasn't been a good experience, last tenate skipped out on 2 months rent, didn't pay the water bill so we are on the hook for that
We have another rental house in Edmonton, it's an up down rental, legal suite in the basement, it on the other hand has been great, great tenates

 

[hondalrd]

There seems to be some terrible renters out there apparently. What’s everyone’s thoughts on a 45 plus condo? Positives would be more then likely good renters but would be a lot smaller market