For one condo, I had a really awful crook of a tenant who did not pay any rent nor utilities for five months (last time he paid anything was in October) so of course I filed for LTB hearing to have him evicted with a L1 application. Since the Ontario system is so backlogged, my hearing is...

Does anyone know what is the current top ten cities list in Ontario to invest in for rental properties (not for principle residence ownership). I would imagine that such places would have to have relatively low vacancy rates plus high rental market demand.

Jeepers, what have I learned so far? Here are some things that come into mind; - solid real estate investing is NOT brain surgery, just a lot of common sense and careful planning - I should have doubled the allowance for initial and first year renovations/maintenance - be prepared for...

Has anyone ever done this before, i.e., install a separate meter just for the HVAC? If so, what is the approximate cost of doing this? Clint

I have a duplex in Hamilton where there are two separate meters for hydro and one for gas. The basement was recently combined with the first floor as a new apartment to comply with zoning and the basement tenant actually took over the entire combined unit. He is now paying market rent plus the...

One of my condo townhouse tenants brought up the idea of duct cleaning. Is this expense necessary or a waste of money? I've never had any of my properties, including my own home, go through duct cleaning since I haven't seen evidence out there to warrant it yet. What do you think?

I recall that during the last REIN meeting in Toronto, it was mentioned that it will likely take Calgary and surrounding areas affected by the flood a long time to rebuild. One of the factors behind this is the lack of enough manpower. So I told this to a contractor friend who is located...

I guess a basement apartment in there would not qualify since all of it is below grade ... right?

I've since chatted online with a few others who got into similar situations with the city of Hamilton and looks like it takes awhile for things to get to court and the fine will be about $1000. I've discussed this with my mortgage broker to see what the future possible consequences are from a...

Well, this is interesting (and unfortunate). Just a few days after I closed on a fourplex in Hamilton, one of the tenants told me that a city zoning inspector came around snooping, took photos and tried to get tenants to sign some sort of document. I haven't received any official notices from...

Anybody with Hamilton stories with zoning inspections from the city? What happened and what were the end results? Did they allow you to build to compliance or did they order you to remove units along with fines?

Just wondering, is a current insurance policy already existing for a rental property assumable by the new owner if such property was sold?

Thanks everyone! I like the suggestions here better than my original plan.

I inherited a couple as tenants in a Hamilton triplex back in September - they have already been there for 4 years and apparently have always paid rent on time via post dated cheques. However, the previous landlord never bothered to raise rents and therefore these tenants enjoyed $800 rent per...

Great comments everyone - thanks! I may have to amend my lease agreements since I have a $25 admin charge for NSFs and bring it down to $20 - but make it clear that this does not include the actual bank charge levied. One tenant thought that L&T board allows rent to be paid reasonably late...