Also, in Alberta, isn't it true that if for some reason a bank foreclosed on your property, if held personally, your liability is limited to the proceeds of the sale of the property. Even if those proceeds were less than the amount owed? Understanding that your credit rating would also take a hit.

"I intend to help him regardless of how stupid some people may think this idea is." From what i read, the banks see your brother as too high a risk, so you want to be the banker for your brother. If he pays his share, on time, all is well. But what if he can't pay? The debt is on your back. Are...

He may be right. However our research indicted that you might collect if the expenses are documented and reasonable. We do everything we can to work with a tenant who wants to leave early, however we're all bound by the lease and we remind them of the agreement they signed with us, and the...

Sherilyns approach is exactly right. Tenants will often want to break a lease early. If you don't develop a strategy early on you'll be the one who loses every time. That's why you signed a lease. We had an identical situation last month and were also able to place a new tenant right away. The...

I'm assuming they want to use the damage deposit as last months rent? Not allowed, but if you let them do that, you may want to do a walk thru right away so you don't get left with damages. Or you begin the eviction process on may 1 if rent is unpaid.

Correction "Letting them know"

What does your lease say? Is it a fixed term or month to month? In the case of a fixed term, you have some options. They can move out and break the lease. The tenants are still responsible to pay the rent until you find another tenant or the lease terminates. You're required to put forth your...

What province are you in?

For me, it depends. One of our most rentable suites is a 600 sq ft one room bachelor suite with no stove, just a hot plate and countertop oven, fridge and dishwasher. Renovated, great location, affordable. Always rented, single female. Pet friendly.

Any way to shut down this spammer?

Agree with the above posters. A fixed term lease, in Ab gives you more control. Try a 6 mos trial lease if uncertain, then extend to one year. If you do your homework in the tenant selection process, you should be ok. I think tenants are also looking for certainty when they ask for a one year...

Hello Rein members. Can someone give me an idea as to the process to legalize a secondary suite in Edmonton? The home is about 6 years old, has a suite in it which was sold by the Realtor as being legal, but is not. The community is one which does allow secondary suites. I'm in Calgary and have...

We prefer the fixed term as well. My understanding is that in Ab, a month to month is much harder to terminate if the tenant is a poor fit for us or doesn't play well with others. We have up/down, and duplexes. The fixed term at least gives us the opportunity to end the lease without too much...

We use etransfer and sometimes post dated checks, but the etransfer is faster.

I suppose that's possible. We let them know when we set the viewing that we'll confirm the viewing. Seems fine to most reasonable people. If the prospective tenant were upset by this approach, it's likely not a good fit for us.

To avoid that, we used to ask the prospective tenant to call us one hour before the viewing to confirm. We tell them if we don't hear from them, then I'll assume they're not coming and I won't be there. Now, with a slower market, we call them an hour or so before the meeting, or text them to...

Similar to the above. In Calgary, our gross rents are down by about 15% from 2 years ago. Having properties which are nice enough to stick out from the crowd, and, are priced accordingly will get you tenants. Tenants feel very much in control and you have to know they are looking at a number of...

I've found the same issue in Calgary. Buying thru a realtor, off the MLS gave me very very few buying opportunities. What we did was focus on several neighbourhoods that fit our profile, and identify all the duplex or legal R2 homes. We then sent out 100 letters each week to the homeowners. We...

That's a good question. Manulife does have variable and fixed term mortgages, but their rates are usually a bit higher than the banks. A lot depends on how strong your cash flow is, as lots of cash in your account, even for 2 out of 4 weeks per month will reduce the interest charges quite a bit...

I have had a Manulife One account for several years. As the name implies, I use it as my one account, for personal income and borrowing. What I think makes it unique is the way that interest is charged, or not charged. With the ManuOne account, if you had a home worth, say 1,000,000 dollars...