For one condo, I had a really awful crook of a tenant who did not pay any rent nor utilities for five months (last time he paid anything was in October) so of course I filed for LTB hearing to have him evicted with a L1 application. Since the Ontario system is so backlogged, my hearing is...

Does anyone know what is the current top ten cities list in Ontario to invest in for rental properties (not for principle residence ownership). I would imagine that such places would have to have relatively low vacancy rates plus high rental market demand.

I have a duplex in Hamilton where there are two separate meters for hydro and one for gas. The basement was recently combined with the first floor as a new apartment to comply with zoning and the basement tenant actually took over the entire combined unit. He is now paying market rent plus the...

One of my condo townhouse tenants brought up the idea of duct cleaning. Is this expense necessary or a waste of money? I've never had any of my properties, including my own home, go through duct cleaning since I haven't seen evidence out there to warrant it yet. What do you think?

I recall that during the last REIN meeting in Toronto, it was mentioned that it will likely take Calgary and surrounding areas affected by the flood a long time to rebuild. One of the factors behind this is the lack of enough manpower. So I told this to a contractor friend who is located...

Well, this is interesting (and unfortunate). Just a few days after I closed on a fourplex in Hamilton, one of the tenants told me that a city zoning inspector came around snooping, took photos and tried to get tenants to sign some sort of document. I haven't received any official notices from...

Anybody with Hamilton stories with zoning inspections from the city? What happened and what were the end results? Did they allow you to build to compliance or did they order you to remove units along with fines?

Just wondering, is a current insurance policy already existing for a rental property assumable by the new owner if such property was sold?

I inherited a couple as tenants in a Hamilton triplex back in September - they have already been there for 4 years and apparently have always paid rent on time via post dated cheques. However, the previous landlord never bothered to raise rents and therefore these tenants enjoyed $800 rent per...

For most rental agreements I've seen, there is a clause regarding an admin fee that tenants agree to pay in the event of a NSF cheque. Have any of you ever had this fee challenged by a tenant and if so, what was the outcome?

Just wondering for you folks who have basements in your rental properties but for whatever reasons have not been able to rent them out as separate apartments - what other uses of basements have you found to be successful and lucrative? I currently have a coin laundry in one of my multi-family...

I know that student rentals are usually pretty successful in areas for Mac (Hamilton), Laurier and U of W (Waterloo). I'm looking at specifically some other areas like Kitchener near the 401 for Conestoga College students and downtown Brantford for the satellite Laurier U campus there. Has...

For you folks currently renting out student housing, do you usually rent out furnished or unfurnished? If furnished, how much of a premium can you usually get compared to market?

Looks like Savannah Ross (Rich Mom) is doing teleseminars again to promote her real estate investing program. I've attended one of her free talks at an event and although she seems genuine, she doesn't really get into specifics of her real estate investing strategies. Has anyone here ever...

So I'm getting Phelps to remove the current laundry machines in a building I just took over since I no longer see their rental service making financial sense. But they offered to sell me the washer/dryer set for $300 which is a pretty darn good price. But here's the catch, they will remove the...

I'm planning to build in the unfinished basement of my Hamilton triplex soon and I know that I have to do some waterproofing before I do anything else down there. I saw a billboard for a company called RCC Waterproofing and they are in various southern Ontario cities. Has anyone here ever...

For all of you folks with multi-family properties, do you tend to rent coin laundry machines from a service or do you buy them outright? I'm taking over a rental contract from Phelp's for a Hamilton triplex but might consider buying machines instead. Opinions and experiences?

As a new landlord/owner of a property I just bought in Ontario and when getting an existing tenant to enter into a new lease agreement with me, can I set the new rental rate up to a market rent level right away? Or do I have to limit any increase to just the % stated by Landlord & Tenant Board...

I have a property in Hamilton that is a potential heritage building - one with stained glass in the front and was actually used as a set for a movie. Is there any advantage from an investment point of view to get this property officially designated as heritage?

Any recommended property managers who cover Cambridge, Ontario?