We had a lot of interest in the assignment, but no one with AFS experience, so we JV'd with one of the interested parties so we could oversee the investment to its successful conclusion.

Yes, why give them the break? Tenants should be expected to fulfill the contract or pay the lost revenue (in the case of vacancy or a rent reduction). It's all in the approach. I politely inform them they are free to break the lease at any time, but they are responsible for rent and...

Yes and no. It depends whether your goal is to replace your job income or to fund a comfortable retirement. Strong cashflow is necessary to maintain the investment, including enduring downturns as well as upgrading the property. But most investors don't bank on pocketing cashflow for quite...

This is completely untrue. Yes, if you buy in a hot market you likely won't get cashflow and could see the property value decline below your purchase price when the market cools. But why buy in a hot market? There are many cities in Canada where properties are affordable and yet they...

I agree with not having a car loan. If you plan to buy more properties, you may find the extra debt payments interfere with your ability to get more mortgages. Many investors find the 4th property the most difficult because the banks still expect your personal income to service the debt. They...

You don't pay capital gains when you refinance - only when you sell. All you are doing is pulling out equity. Equity - whether from mortgage paydown or appreciation - is not considered profit.

Even most single tenants would prefer bedrooms so they can have some private space and not have to be a neat freak to allow visitors. Open space is great, but not at the expense of the bedroom.

Regardless of whether the regulations say you don't need outside ventilation, it is always better - especially in a suited house. Suited houses normally require interconnected smoke alarms, meaning the cooking fumes in one suite will set off the smoke alarms throughout the property. Yes...

All of our suited properties have 100 amp panels, (even in our brand new, purpose-built suited houses). If the garage is detached we like it to have a sub-panel as we often rent garages separately. The only time we have ever had an issue with breakers tripping is when we had 2 beauty college...

Agreed. Specifically, the property management expertise in RTO deals more-so with tenant and investment management, meaning one must groom the tenant to be a buyer and also manage the RTO deal through its completion. We have done several long-distance RTO's, and thankfully every one of them...

Joint ventures are like partnerships on a specific venture or investment or transaction. Yes, it is a way to invest without your own money, providing you have something of equal value to offer the JV. Normally, there is one operational partner (who is somewhat of an expert in real estate...

TVS (Tenant Verification) has a tenant database, but the tenant must sign an authorization to allow any information to be posted. This form would be great to add to the pile when the tenant is signing the lease, and could in fact discourage problem tenants from renting from you. However I...

It seems you answered your own questions, save the last one. Ideally, your AFS term is at least 2 years with renewal at the buyer's option. (Four years is a good number.) Ideally the mortgage will have been paid down and possibly the value will increase enough so there is no need for a cash...

I messaged you. :)

For our suited properties we supply 1 or 2 oil column heaters. It's a small expense to maintain tenants' happiness. Be sure to add this item to your move-in/move-out inspection because you don't want to buy new heaters every time you get a new tenant.

To add to that last bit: if any area cannot be completely drywalled, sprinklers must be installed.

Could you not simply buy the property with GST included and let the builder remit, so the amount would be included in your mortgage rather than out of pocket? The bulk of our business income isn't subject to GST, so registration is optional for us. When we had 3 duplexes built, we decided...

I hear you about wanting to deal locally. I PM'd you.

In some provinces, it is extremely difficult to terminate a periodic (month to month) tenancy. In Alberta, unless there are substantial breaches to the lease, a landlord may only terminate a periodic tenancy if he or his family wants to occupy the property or if the property is being sold...

This event was on Halloween weekend. (Austin Powers was on the Focus Team. Yeah, baby!) There will likely be another one sometime in 2017, but in the meantime you could check out the home study package. Event audio is included, I believe.