Thanks for all replies. Mark - would you say more than 50% of your RTO investors invest properties outside of their cities/province? Thanks?

Hi, I am planning to use RTO as my vehicle for my next purchase (likely through some RTO service agents). I understand that most maintenance work is to be done by the tenants-buyers. But do investors feel comfortable for RTO properties that are outside their own town/city/province? One of my...

QUOTE (investmart @ Feb 12 2010, 05:54 PM) Thank you Greg and Housedoctor, Housedoctor, what do you mean by "time of use" billing increased? In some cities including Toronto, Hydro company has installed smart meters. The usage during peak hours will be more expensive than off peak hours. I...

QUOTE (brentdavies @ Feb 12 2010, 08:21 AM) Your property insurance should cover the loss of rent for the repair period. Tenant insurance will cover the tenant`s belongings and out of pocket expenses to relocate, if they have tenant insurance. Yes, refund the rent, and security deposit in...

QUOTE (ontariolandlord @ Feb 10 2010, 10:31 PM) Why isn`t there a Private Message feature on this forum? Thanks for your feedback. I think you need to be a REIN member to use PM feature. You can email me at ottawabestlandlord (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks.

Hi, My rental unit (condo townhouse) was on fire this afternoon. The kitchen was completely damaged, and the living room and bedrooms upstairs were smoke damaged. My insurance and the condo board insurance will work to get this fixed. The unit will need to be completely renovate in the next...

Wow - thanks Ken for the list. Is 25% a typical return for such lending? QUOTE (Ken15 @ Feb 1 2010, 01:53 PM) I`d ask and/or confirm the following: Is the property currently zoned for what they are proposing? Are services available: sewer, water, storm, gas, hydro, tel, cable, etc... Who is...

I received an opportunity for investment (1-year term). A developer in Oakville (Ontario) has secured a large plot of land. They are in the process of sub-diving two of the lots enabling them to build four semi detached houses on these lots while building a few single family residential...

I received an opportunity for investment (1-year term). A developer in Oakville (Ontario) has secured a large plot of land. They are in the process of sub-diving two of the lots enabling them to build four semi detached houses on these LOTS while building five single family residential...

A general question: how do you set the RTO rent? Should it be the market rent, or slightly lower? For example, for my $185,000 townhouse, my rent is $1300-$1350/mo (for normal rental). For a RTO, is it common (or as an incentive to the tenant-buyer) to set it a bit lower?

QUOTE (sandra @ Dec 21 2009, 01:06 PM) I have a friend who work for mortgage company specialize in private money present me a deal that he is currently working on. He`s looking for $37000 to place as 2nd mortgage with the rate of return is 22% and will be paid every 3 months. Term of loan is 1...

QUOTE (asanchez @ Dec 15 2009, 05:37 AM) They are my current brokers... any others with name/contact info There are a few under Resource Section that are recommended by REIN members.

Thanks for the great feedback Joey and Mark!

Hi,I got an inquiry about RTO from an interested tenant-buyer in Ottawa. Background about the applicant The applicant (she) works in the Fed Government since 1989. Her husband had major surgery last year and was off work with barely any income. She was alone to pay 2 mortgages, heat, hydro...

QUOTE (mmastran @ Oct 22 2009, 09:11 AM) Thanks for the reply. I`ve come across the OREIO site already and I`ll definitely try to attend the next meeting in November. I am also an OREIO member (and REIN). If you have any question, let me know. Regarding Spirepoint, they offer educational...

Hi, My tenant said that the kitchen stove is not reaching the set temperature. He found the lower heating element (for baking) is not turning red. He tried to replace the fuse at the top of the stove, but it didn`t fix the problem. Could it be that the heating element needs to be replaced...

QUOTE (GarthChapman @ Sep 28 2009, 04:50 PM) Our money is invested both in mortgages that I underwrite myself and in a MIC with a Private Banker that only funds 3rd party projects with conservatve underwriting practices. I see properties in Maritimes usually have low LTV (60% first mortgage...

QUOTE (GarthChapman @ Sep 26 2009, 04:44 PM) Careful - only do this if you really know what you are doing. Meaning you must be able to expertly evaluate the Borrower and the Asset (the property). I see many people doing this themselves and ending up with mortgages in deliquency and foreclosure...

QUOTE (C2Ventures @ Jan 19 2009, 01:37 PM) Obvious things are track record of the company, management team, examples of past lending, max LTV, current projects etc. Here`s a link to a blog with a list of MICs with comments. Why not invest in individual mortgage (1st or 2nd) instead, so you can...

QUOTE (Cargren @ Aug 14 2009, 12:36 PM) We set up "automatic withdrawals" with all our renters. Most banks have their own forms, but we used it to create our own with our logo, etc and TD Canada Trust accepts that. They call the tenant to confirm that they are in agreement, then set up. Works...