Hello, Mpac has doubled(!) their estimate of our apartment building's value from 2012 to 2016. We found they did it based on the wrong utilities costs. Our utilities costs are unfortunately double their estimate. Therefore, the property's value is lower than MPAC thinks. Should we request...

Hello, My business partner has a 20-Plex in Ontario. He has a suggestion to switch from coin operated laundry to asking tenants to pay extra, say $20 per month, for using the laundry room. In the laundry room, he has 2 dryers and 2 washers. Unfortunately, it has been broken into twice in 2...

Hello, A friend of mine tried to refinance an apartment building mortgage he has with one of the big banks in Canada. His mortgage term ended so was time to renew or refinance without penalty. He was unable to refinance with them as their appraised value was not high enough. So he asked just to...

Hello, A friend has a dilemma - his tenants who live in a 4 bedroom apartment in a triplex, asked if they can extend the front deck. I think they want to do that mainly for additional storage as they have Lots of items in the apartment which they collect and no room to move freely or for any...

Hello, When painting an old fire escape in an apartment building, would you paint the cat walk too? Scrape and paint helps maintain it for longer or mainly done for cosmetic reasons so the building looks better? If the last, the cat walk is not part people or even tenants can see as it is...

Hello, Good evening, A friend has rude tenants in one of his apartments. They curse him loudly, often, and tell everyone they know how much they hate my friend. Most of his other tenants will say he is the best landlord they have ever had. Now the rude tenants found bedbugs in their apartment...

Hi, Do you usually need a Permit from the City to install New hot water boiler in a 10-Plex in Ontario instead of electric heaters currently being used? Thank you

Hello, Say the lawyer's legal fee when buying a single family home is around $1000. What is the fee when selling the same property? The same, also around $1000? Same question regarding an apartment buildings. What is the legal fee to Sell say a 10-plex? The same as SFH or double? Around $1000...

Hello, Rent Receipts - Can lanlords email them to the tenants instead of sending in the mail? Thank you

Hello, A tenant in our 10-plex complained his mail is missing. This happened to him 5 times already. No other tenant complained. Do most apartment buildings have a security camera where the mailboxes are near the main entrance? Do you recommend installing one per tenant's request? Is it the...

Hello, My friend has an apartment building mortgage. If I understand correctly, the bank should send his new options to choose from - different terms and their interest rates, about 2 months before renewal/before the end of the current term. If my friend wants to refinance instead of simply...

Hello, Are you including a clause in your Leases / Rental Agreements regarding bringing appliances/heaters to your apartment? My friend has an apartment building with baseboard heaters where a few tenants brought small heaters to use in a few colder rooms. The hydro bill almost doubled as a...

Hello, A friend of mine has a TD commercial mortgage on a 10-plex. His mortgage is up for renewal in September. If he plans to sell end of this year, say around December, how do banks treat that? Are the banks OK keeping the mortgage open for a few months until property is sold? If I understand...

Hi I am trying to help a friend and have a few unrelated questions, all related to RE though:) - Do you recommend landlords have either a Canada Post PO Box or UPS mailbox? Costs around $200 a year. If yes, what is the main reason? Also, is UPS better than a PO box? - First home buyers plan - I...

Hi, Do you have/ have you opened an account for your handyman or contractor with any of the supplies superstores like Home Depot, Rona or Evans? Do you think it is a good idea to work with contractors this way? I understand this allows them to pick up the material needed where you pay the store...

Hi, TD used to have coin machines in different branches. They discontinued this service a few weeks ago, which was Free as long as you had a TD account. Where do you deposit your coins now? (or where will you in case you too used to do it at TD) Thanks

Hi, A horror true story I heard and wanted to share. A lady in a 20-plex moved in with a cat or 2. within a few months or years, she had 30 cats in the unit(!) The building is currently vacant, had city inspections and orders, painting did not get rid of the smell and no tenant can be found. I...

Hi, Trying to help a friend in an interesting situation. There are bedbugs in 1 unit in a triplex he owns. The tenant who apparently brought the bedbugs found only in her bedroom (she is otherwise a very good senior tenant by the way), suggested to purchase a commercial steamer, specifically...

Hi, We are not selling much but a friend who also invests. and owns much. has asked me the following question: What are some legit accounting/investing strategies to not pay tax when selling? Please distinguish between properties under a corporation and not. Thanks

Hi, Does your apartment building insurance policy include equipment breakdown? Do we really need it? I met an insurance guy in a real estate event who interestingly recommends not including it in most buildings. He explained it is more needed for different types of businesses like an accountant...