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Is it worth the risk

Z

zorant

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Apr 12, 2010
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I`m thinking of buying a single family house in hamilton and renting it as a duplex or triplex. The catch is that the property is only zoned for a single family residence. Now I understand that this is not the best situation, however it`s something that is happening all over the city. Has anybody had experience with this or have been caught by the city. What are the penalties for being caught

THANKS
 
People do get caught, usually when a neighbour complains because of noise or overcrowding etc, and the city will come in a shut down your property.

O income results and then sale or foreclosure.

It`s fairly straight forward and not much more risk than playing Russian Roulette.
 
QUOTE (invst4profit @ May 20 2010, 04:51 PM) People do get caught, usually when a neighbour complains because of noise or overcrowding etc, and the city will come in a shut down your property.

O income results and then sale or foreclosure.

It`s fairly straight forward and not much more risk than playing Russian Roulette.

Oh what would our forum be like without our daily dose of fear from the Kingston clown. One can only imagine.
 
QUOTE (zorant @ May 20 2010, 12:54 AM) I`m thinking of buying a single family house in hamilton and renting it as a duplex or triplex. The catch is that the property is only zoned for a single family residence. Now I understand that this is not the best situation, however it`s something that is happening all over the city. Has anybody had experience with this or have been caught by the city. What are the penalties for being caught

THANKS
Yes that risk exists .. but it can be mitigated if tenants behave and don`t crowd the streets with cars .. although fire, insurance and liability risks remain!

Usually the city does nothing until someone complains .. and people complain if
a) it is noisy
b) it smells weird (aka drugs)
c) there is a mess
d) there are 4 cars when there usually are only 1 or 2 for a house .. especially if old junkers !

Use common sense and you`ll be OK .. be greedy and careless and you`ll get caught eventually .. but the worst case from a by-law infraction point-of-view is you lose 2 suites (assuming 3 units) plus a minor fee .. so run the business case with one income .. then decide !
 
QUOTE (RedlineBrett @ May 20 2010, 07:02 PM) Oh what would our forum be like without our daily dose of fear from the Kingston clown. One can only imagine.


Thankfully as a LL I have developed extreamly thick skin and learned to leave my feelings at home.
 
QUOTE (RedlineBrett @ May 20 2010, 05:02 PM) Oh what would our forum be like without our daily dose of fear from the Kingston clown. One can only imagine.

Very funny Brett
but seriously, isn`t even scaring him to death better than letting him lose $100,000 by not saying anything?

Thomas approach is very good! "run the business case with one income .. then decide !"
 
QUOTE (zorant @ May 20 2010, 02:54 AM) I`m thinking of buying a single family house in hamilton and renting it as a duplex or triplex. The catch is that the property is only zoned for a single family residence. Now I understand that this is not the best situation, however it`s something that is happening all over the city. Has anybody had experience with this or have been caught by the city. What are the penalties for being caught


Seems to me that as REIN members, we pledged to do things honestly. Is that just something we pay lip service to?

Al Verwey
Penta V Holdings
Newmarket, ON
 
QUOTE (AlVerwey @ May 21 2010, 01:54 AM) Seems to me that as REIN members, we pledged to do things honestly. Is that just something we pay lip service to?

Al Verwey
Penta V Holdings
Newmarket, ON


There`s levels to it. How many people actualy obey the 100 km/h speed limit on the 401 everyday?

Illegal basement suites have an inherent risk, but when managed properly and proactively are typically ok. In Calgary, if they were to shut down the 80,000 basement suites in the City, we would have a cripling housing crisis here.
 
QUOTE (AlVerwey @ May 21 2010, 02:54 AM) Seems to me that as REIN members, we pledged to do things honestly. Is that just something we pay lip service to?

Al Verwey
Penta V Holdings
Newmarket, ON

There is a Pledge? I thought doing everything honestly was just the REIN system, how closely you follow that system is up to you, but you`ve been warned.
 
Clowns and Criminals aside, I think the two most important factors in assessing the risk are the zoning & parking and the safety of the suite.

Since you`re in a SFH-only zone, you need to make sure you have adequate parking onsite and you educate your tenants on living in co-operation with each other and the community.

On the safety side, you really want to ensure you`re not on the wrong side of the fire code. Your goal is to provide clean safe housing, whether your suite is licensed/permitted or not. Renting an unsafe suite could have far more severe consequences than if you`re simply lacking permits.
 
I`ll play the devil`s advocate. Single family home. 2 illegal apts.How do you insure it? A fire happens & someone dies. Do you really want to play that game? As my mother told me If Johnny jumped off the bridge ........... well, you know.

Doug
 
Go legal
financing concerns
insurance concerns
life safety concerns
liability concerns
by-law fine concerns
stability of revenue source concerns
devaulation of asset when illegal triplex gets shut down and requires $$ to convert back to SFH
ESA compliance concerns
fire compliance concerns
 
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