Real Estate Quotes
We e-mail all our tenants and friends and family that live near the unit that is for rent and let them know about it. If someone refers a good tenant to you, it's a good idea to thank them in some way. Depending on the effort that went into the referral, we may just send a thank you card with a small gift certificate (say $25 for a restaurant or bookstore), or we'll send a nice gift basket that costs somewhere between $50 and $100. If you're near a large facility like a university or hospital, check around and see if they have a housing board. [2013] - Julie Broad
We generally try to schedule all our showings for the same time. You could show your unit to one tenant at a time. This is a great way to get to know the applicant a bit more, but it is also very time-consuming and inefficient, especially if you don't live nearby. Also, an open house-like environment creates an air of demand, which helps get applications completed much quicker. Encourage the prospective tenants to complete the application before they leave. [2013] - Julie Broad
Most provinces and states have services where you can do credit checks. There is also a company called TVS (Tenant Verification Services) that run credit checks (tenantverification.com). There's always a fee for credit checks, and we typically pay somewhere between $7 and $15 per applicant. If you go through a one-time service like TVS you'll pay twice that. If you have two people moving in make sure you check the credit of both. It will be twice the price, but knowing the credit and history of both tenants is crucial. [2013] - Julie Broad
We generally don't call current landlords for reference checks - we call the one before the current one. A current landlord might be anxious to get rid of a not-so-great tenant and therefore might not tell you the entire truth. If the tenants did not live together previously, call references for both tenants. When you have selected a candidate, call them immediately and ask them to sign the lease and provide their security deposit. Don't allow them more than 48 hours to get this to you, and don't call the other interested candidates to tell them it's rented until this is done. [2013] - Julie Broad
The Sauder School of Business is a great source of up-to-date information on population and demographic trends across Canada. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation also regularly updates its website with current information on population and demographic information for would-be buyers. In large cities, such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, population appears to grow very slowly if one only looks at percentages, but the actual numbers are in fact consistently high. In these cities, this means that population growth typically exceeds the total building capacity that can be delivered, thus causing prices to appreciate significantly as demand far outpaces supply. [2012] - Brian Persaud
Walkable neighbourhoods are safer. Crime rates are much lower on busy city streets because there are more eyes preventing crime. Emergency vehicles take longer to travel to neighbourhoods with suburban cul-de-sacs than to those streets in a traditional urban grid. If health-care facilities are within walking distance of people's homes, they are more likely to be used for preventive care. Walkable cities also bring in more high-paying technology-based jobs. [2012] - Brian Persaud
The vacancy rates published by CMHC are a useful barometer for an area, however, they only measure a sample of units, and then only for buildings with three or more units. This means that large condominiums, even if they have a huge number of units available for rent, typically aren't counted in the official CMHC numbers. [2012] - Brian Persaud
Facebook offers a free marketplace where you can list properties for rent. You can also promote your listings by sharing them on your wall or by purchasing ads within Facebook. MLS has the ability to list properties for rent, but it's not used in every area. [2012] - Brian Persaud
A rental application must be completed in its entirety: a. Get prospective tenant's SIN, to pull a credit bureau report and to populate a lease agreement, including legal names, as verified by a driver's license. b. Get income and employment information along with references. Usually if this cannot be obtained, or is incomplete, there is a bad story behind the tenant. c. Have the prospective tenant provide a copy of their Equifax credit bureau, or use a service like www.rentcheckcorp.ca, which can also search landlord and tenant board past judgements on "professional tenants" that may have skipped out on previous landlords. [2012] - Brian Persaud
Most owners when renting their unit will go the easy route and rent it unfurnished and ask for a minimum one-year lease. But there can be many advantages to renting the unit furnished. Furnishing your unit requires a large capital outlay that can be $10,000 or more, depending on the furnishings and size of the condo. Not only would you be bring furniture, but also the accessories, art, lighting, kitchenware, etc. The benefits of doing so can translate into higher rents. Corporate clients, travellers and individuals in between homes are willing to pay the premium for a furnished condo. The downside of a furnished condo can be the short lease terms. While the rent may be higher during months of occupancy, you may also have many months of vacancy where you have to carry your mortgage costs. It's important to evaluate your market and the demand for furnished condos to determine if this would be the right route for you. [2012] - Brian Persaud
The ideal renovation job for a real estate investor is paint, a thorough cleaning and a flooring job. When doing these simple renovations you're in and out quickly, which allows you to start earning an income or a profit on the property quickly. The small interior stuff can add the most value. [2012] - Ian Szabo
An RRSP loan placed as a second mortgage on one of our properties with lots of equity has been the biggest source of renovation funds for us. Usually we can double our money on a renovation-so a $10,000 investment becomes $15,000 to $20,000 in value fairly easily. In other words, even if we pay $1,200 to borrow that $10,000, we usually make at least $100 per month more in rent and add between $5,000 and $10,000 in value from that money, making it a huge return on our investment. [2012] - Ian Szabo
Historically speaking, real estate price bubbles have occurred when countries have deregulated their finance industry in conjunction with having a favourable tax environment for real estate investment. The bubble ends when a significant correction in real estate values occurs. [2011] - Don R. Campbell
While the duration of a complete real estate cycle has not proved to be consistent, it has typically lasted anywhere from seven to eighteen years. The longevity of each real estate cycle obviously varies depending on the state of the key drivers for each country. Smaller economies can experience faster cycles. [2011] - Don R. Campbell
To obtain more accurate information on real estate value trends, we suggest using one of two methods. 1. Indexes: the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices used in the United States are considered by many economists to be the most accurate way to represent a market's overall real estate value. Teranet, in alliance with the National Bank of Canada, created an index that dates back to 1999 for the metropolitan areas of Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. 2. Moving Average: Using the average Multiple Listing Service (MLS) prices reported monthly, economists calculate and trend the 12-month moving average. [2011] - Don R. Campbell
Real Estate Key Drivers - Demographic Drivers (net migration, employment levels, the number of first-time homebuyers, vacancy rates of rental real estate and the scale of housing construction), Financial Drivers (rental levels, return on investment, income levels, rental affordability, real estate affordability, financing availability and real estate values), Emotional Drivers (the average days it takes to sell real estate, the number of listings of real estate for sale, sales levels and revitalization - upgrading of amenities, facilities and/or real estate). These three categories of key drivers collectively create momentum that affects the progression of the real estate cycle as it passes through one phase and on to the next. [2011] - Don R. Campbell
Regardless of where you begin, the real estate cycle always progresses in the same way. That is, a slump always follows a boom, a boom always follows a recovery, and a recovery is always sandwiched between the slump that comes before it and the boom that follows. Each of these phases include a beginning, middle and end stage. [2011] - Don R. Campbell
The classic market influencers are: interest rates (the cost of financing a purchase), ease of borrowing (the availability of financing), confidence in real estate as an investment vehicle, inflation, legislative amendments (taxation and/or local authority), foreign investors in local real estate, investment alternatives [2011] - Don R. Campbell
If interest rates increase during the boom phase of the real estate cycle, it is likely that the boom phase is nearing its end. Alternatively, if interest rates decrease during the boom phase of the real estate cycle, the common perception is that the boom will most likely last for quite some time. Strategic investors will be more interested in watching the key drivers when interest rates change. Interest rates alone do not impact housing prices in isolation. An increase or decrease in interest rates would impact value only if other key drivers that impact supply and demand were also in play. [2011] - Don R. Campbell
The boom phase is the most exciting phase of the real estate cycle for inexperienced real estate investors. It is less exciting for strategic investors, who will capitalize on the momentum of the boom, with its higher values and rents, but who also know that the late slump and early recovery phase offer better opportunities in terms of new investment purchases. The longer and stronger the boom, the greater the likelihood of a more severe downturn during the inevitable slump. [2011] - Don R. Campbell