www.tenantverification.com is a great service to us. make sure you get the REIN discount.

QUOTE (JessHunt @ Sep 9 2010, 11:37 PM) Whew! It`s taken a long time, but I`ve finally purchased a 4-plex, in Innisfail, AB. I plan to manage this property myself and learn the ins and outs and how to handle new situations. My first is that 2 of the tenants do not use cheques; they pay with...

Just thought I`d offer my thanks to those of you in this forum who put me on to tenantverification.com. Also my thanks to REIN for the nice discount they offer members. This service is fast, competitively priced ($15.70 CDN plus tax with discount). No setup charge and if you have your...

A couple of categories for you to add to your analysis. Municiple costs can be a big part of the overall budget. I`m in Ontario so some of this is going to be different. Here we need a development plan which adds tens of thousands. To prepare the plan you are expected to hire consultants...

I`m not an expert on this topic but from building my house I believe the building code called for "hardwired" smoke detectors if this is what you are referring to. So even if the fire code leaves interconnected open to interpretation, I think the building code calls for hardwired. As I say I`m...

I`m based in Ottawa. The city has an electronic map with many levels of overlay to see zoning, property lines, flood lines etc. I have used it many times to answer a question myself rather than wait thru the phone tag at city hall. In combination with google sat photos the two tools work almost...

FYI SUN Ottawa had an article yesterday "Drastic Changes for ING" in which a test of free chequing accounts was announced. Unlimited transactions, FREE email money transfers (think electronic rent cheques). They call them THRiVE accounts. 10,000 accounts will be set up starting Sept 14th with...

Thomas is a better guy to respond to this question. For my 2 cents - Any money you invest with someone else takes management headaches off your shoulders. But you lose control and have to pay for their management and profit. You may also not have access to all of the upside. I`m a do it myself...

Book it and go! If you know a member, they can invite you as there guest for significant savings. Read Don`s book Real Estate Investing in Canada before you go to get an overview. The ACRE program will present the material in more depth and with additional topics. LOTS of handouts. Best to...

A furher comment on tenant mix. Mortgage lenders like big name tenants: franchises, chains, and medical professionals. Stay away from mom and pop anything, one of a kind stores, gas stations, dry cleaners or laundries that process on site. Convienience stores and independent restaurants can also...

Has anyone had success renting to international tenants - particularly students? What process did you follow? Credit check? Method of payment for first and last? Guartantor? Please share your experiences good and bad to learn from.

Just a thought about something to check out. Is there any chance your workshop tenant is actively working in the shop perhaps using an arc welder? Just a thought. Grow-op has already been mentioned, but deserves investigation as well. Good luck solving your mystery.