Monthly Archives: May 2013

How to raise residential rents in Ontario

Part of managing residential properties is to manage rent increases. Rent increases are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act of Ontario.

 

The 4 considerations include:

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How a landlord can evict a tenant in Ontario

The above tweet links  to the Ontario Landlord  Tenant Board. It  is an excellent summary of the law. Evicting a tenant in Ontario is difficult and requires judgment, common sense and patience. If you follow the principles for how to select tenants you will rarely need to evict  one.

 

 

 

10 Principles: How to find and then select a tenant for your residential property

goodchoiceWhenever I speak  with a  prospective client the question of how to  select a tenant comes up. To be clear, tenant selection is the single most  important aspect of  property management.  Once you find a good tenant you must provide good service  to  keep that good  tenant. But, the first  step is to find that  good tenant. There are two distinct steps:

1. Locate a potential tenant

2. Screen the tenant.

You must learn how to screen a tenant.

Tenant  selection is more of an art than a science. You must be flexible and aware. You will get better at this over  time. You must recognize that finding a tenant in a small  town in Northern Ontario is different from finding a tenant in downtown Toronto. So, after  more  than 30 years of finding and selecting tenants, here are some of my thoughts about  how to select a tenant.

Remember: You will solve your problem of finding a good tenant only if you can solve the tenant’s problem of finding a good  place to  live! You can solve  your problem only by solving the tenant’s problem.

Ten Principles of Successful Tenant Selection:

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When it comes to setting rents: Your “best rent” is not your “highest rent”

apartmentforrentJust had this conversation with a client. Yes, it’s true. Your best  rent is not usually your highest rent! I recall a scene from one  of my favorite  novels. The man was deciding what to offer a contractor. He said:My offer will be  his “best offer”.  It may not be his “highest offer”, but it will be his “best  offer”.

What does this mean when it comes  to renting residential properties?

You do  NOT want to ask for the highest possible dollar amount for rents.

 

 

The reasons are:

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