Chris Miller at Schmidt Realty is great (realtor), as is Trenton at Baseline Management (property management).

Hi there and welcome! I am Canadian but my husband is from Perth. We live in Seoul, Korea and invest in Canada. It's a bit harder, but do-able. We just invest as individuals (co-owners) - I don't think there is any advantage in incorporating (but I'm not an accountant). Feel free to...

Hello, Can anyone recommend a handyman in Toronto who can build (replace) a small-ish backyard deck? St. Clair West area. Many thanks, Nicola

Hello, We have two properties in Medicine Hat. We have been using Angie's Best Choice for a few years and have had a good experience. Nicola

Thanks! I've read something about how you have to not use water in times of heavy rain (when the valve may close). Is this the case? If so, is it difficult/annoying? i.e. Would a tenant do it? Nicola

Generally speaking, you will have to pay a withholding tax of 25% of the rent (could be gross rent, or net rent, depending on if you file an NR6 Undertaking). When you file your annual tax return, you will likely get some (or all) of your tax back, depending on how much your expenses and...

Hello, Has anyone had a backwater valve installed in Edmonton? If so, could you recommend a good plumber and give an estimate of what it cost? (This is for an older single family home.) Also, does anyone know if the City's Backwater Valve Subsidy program is available for rented houses...

Hello, A friend's elderly mother is moving out of her home in Prince Edward Island (Stratford, near Charlottetown). The family would like to try to sell in the spring, but in the meantime they would like to hire a property manager/realtor to look after it and (presumably) then sell it. Can...

SMI (Saskatchewan Mutual Insurance) will insure properties in AB, SK & MB. We have 8 properties insured with them and no principal residence (and we are non-residents). Nicola

If you are an expat Canadian, then there is no non-resident registration - they just use your SIN. If you are not Canadian, the first time you file an NR6 Undertaking, they will issue you a Canadian tax ID#. To my knowledge, there is no registration process. The NR6 Undertaking, signed by...

Hi, We live overseas and have several property managers in different cities (including Edmonton). They don't always know about the NR tax requirements and sometimes it seems confusing at first. It really isn't anything more than filling out the Undertaking (annually), remitting the tax...

Payyourrent.com allows you to set up automatic recurring payments - does Tenantpay.com do this? If it doesn't then how does it differ from just using an email money transfer (except that the email transfer costs the transferer $1.50)? Also, what is Tenantpay's fee? (It just says there is...

Hi, I'm looking for a gardener to aerate, seed and fertilize a pretty sad backyard lawn (townhouse) in Edmonton. Any recommendations? Many thanks, Nicola

Just curious - will the investor also take care of any negative cash flow?

Hello, Can anyone recommend a good insurance broker in Montreal? It's for a divided co-ownership 3 unit property. Also, we had an approx. 11% increase in premium this year (no claims made last year). Does this seem unreasonable? Thanks, Nicola

I am a non-resident Canadian living overseas (Korea). I don't think buying property in Canada, if it is clearly for investment purposes, would be considered a sufficient tie to Canada to deem you to be resident. Talk to a good Canadian accountant. My husband and I own properties in...

QUOTE (RealtorAssist @ Dec 4 2010, 10:20 AM) This is what I did with the 16th property I`ve worked on in Winnipeg. Do you see anything else to maximize?3 Parts:1. Financial statement Before2. Financial statement After 3. How I will get all my money back1. Current Financials: (What the current...

QUOTE (kir @ Nov 18 2010, 02:25 PM) HI, I see you are from Korea. Does this mean you have a rental in canada and live in Korea? One has to wonder if you are occassionally overcharged. It`s almost 100% certain that you will be overcharged periodically for all the little contracts you provide to...

Thanks for all your comments. The PM just goes ahead with small jobs (e.g. under $500) - I don`t have an opportunity to get quotes. The invoice was from the handyman/contractor company - the PM doesn`t take a cut. The materials were about $90 (I don`t know what they were). I don`t have a...

QUOTE (housingrental @ Nov 12 2010, 01:07 PM) For Toronto contractor yes it is normal You should be able to find someone cheaper for simple jobs For smaller jobs though, especially if you don't have regular work / relation with trade, it can be harder to find. A worker can easily waste two...