It's always a good idea to post the province in which the property is located, as the rules vary. No, you cannot raise the rent for a second person because there are rules governing when and how rents can be raised. However, you may be able to increase your utility billing if your utilities...

Clothes line posts. (This is not a joke guess.)

I would argue this applies to more than those who buy with no money down. It never ceases to amaze me how many people buy a property with negative cashflow either because they are in a rush to jump on the investing bandwagon or they simply don't understand how the numbers work. I get calls...

Purchase on Agreement for Sale (AFS) with Seller financing (low money down and no mortgage qualification). Once the renovations are done, I either refinance or sell right away or rent the place to a tenant (or rent to own tenant) and wait until the end of the AFS term and then refinance or...

Agreed. Average last year's bills and round up slightly to cover cost increases. Then decide on a fair split and detail the terms in a Utilities Agreement as an addendum to the lease (if allowed in your province). Utilities Agreement should NOT mention the percentage split, but rather state...

Agreed. I think the key is to discover what your investor needs and wants and make every reasonable effort to make sure he gets it. One of my friends has a couple of 70/30 deals but a) the money partner prefers a guaranteed return over the possibility of a higher return and the operational...

It would seem you know little about the AFS strategy and the investors who regularly use it. (I have a two-part article in the next two REIN Life magazines in case anyone is interested in reading a bit more on AFS and other strategies.) AFS purchasers are - more often than not - solution...

When I can buy a cashflowing property at or below market value, with little to no money down and $8k or more in annual mortgage paydown on a 4 year term, why wouldn't I want to do that? At the end of 4 years, I would have $32k in equity even if the property value stayed flat. So the worst case...

Buying through Agreements for Sale (AFS) with little to no money down and no bank qualification is a viable purchase strategy. However, as I've said many times, it is an advanced strategy and I do not recommend it be used by new investors. It works for me because I have a fairly substantial...

There are potential JV partners who may invest with you even if you have no experience. Those would normally be family members if they have 100% confidence you will protect their investment and do your absolute best to make some money for them. There is also the possibility of buying with zero...

Always a good idea to post the province where the property is located because rules vary greatly. You may want to check out the member back office for my presentation on advanced tenant screening. It was in Alberta last May (I think), but there are some points that apply everywhere. In...

Yes, it is income if the initial intention is to sell the house via a lease option within a relatively short time-frame (as far as real estate goes). So you can think of it as a long flip. The property is considered to be an "inventory item" rather than being an investment property. However...

Thanks, everyone.

Definitely worth trying the RTDRS. The only way the option comes in to play is if the tenant attends the hearing and makes a fuss about it, but there's a good chance the tenant won't show up at the hearing anyway. First I would chat with the tenant and make it clear you will need to file an...

Season's Greetings, all! Wondering what everyone is using for property management software. We had been using Landlord123, but my staff is finding it incredibly slow, making it less user-friendly. I think we need to make a change. Thanks in advance.

There is no way to tell how much it will cost to legalize without seeing the property. For example, you may need to drywall crawlspaces and storage areas and replace metal railings if they don't meet current codes. These two items can add thousands of dollars to your total bill and yet add...

What province, please? (Often responses differ based on the provincial RTA {Residential Tenancies Act}.)

Banks often change their guidelines and policies, so it doesn't surprise me the product is different now. The key is you need not reapply every time you ask for the increase. You should simply need to sign for the increased limit.

If you need the credit right away, you could get a HELOC now and then when it comes time to renew you could refinance into a mortgage with a re-advanceable HELOC built in to the mortgage umbrella (and close the other HELOC). This way, as you pay down your principal on your residence, the...

You can call BS all you want. I pulled the numbers directly off my financial statements. No, that does not include appreciation. (That would add another $30k at least, even in this buyers' market.) And in regards to your comment on cyclical expenses eroding all profits, my posted income is...