Real Estate Quotes

How much you charge for rent will attract different kinds of tenants. If you're aiming for high end tenants, don't charge cheap rent. [2015] - Gary Wong

Ask your tenant to provide a work place reference. Don't just call the contact number that was provided as this can be a number to their friend's cell phone who can pretend to be the tenant's employer. Call the company's office number and ask to speak to the person noted as the tenant's employer. At this time, you can also verify the tenant's income and employment status so you know whether the tenant is a qualified tenant. [2015] - Gary Wong

You should be taking pictures of your tenants and also taking pictures of your property before the tenancy begins. Take video as well. You want proof if there ever is a dispute regarding the property's condition before the tenancy. Try to get a photocopy of your tenant's driver's license. [2015] - Gary Wong

There's a standard tenancy agreement on the Residential Tenancy Branch website but I'd recommend adding more than just the basic terms listed there, especially if you have specific custom terms you want to include. [2015] - Gary Wong

10 places you can find great real estate deals: 1. Craigslist; 2. MLS; 3. Real estate investment groups; 4. Bankers; 5. Local newspapers; 6. Real estate agents; 7. Mortgage brokers; 8. Divorce/estate lawyers; 9. Property managers; 10. Contractors/builders. [2015] - Gary Wong

Pay the few hundred dollars and get the professionals to do your videography and photography and then you'll have them to put in your ads that can be used over and over again for the long run. For about $0.10/sq ft you can have a local measuring company to provide you with a professionally drafted floor plan that is very professional looking. Just like the photography and videgrahpy, you only need to do it once and then you can reuse the floor plan for whatever you need to advertise your property again. [2015] - Gary Wong

Including the utilities in the rent provides the convenience to your tenants in many ways. One, they don't need to set up their own hydro and gas accounts when they move in. Second, tenants don't need to worry about how much gas or electricity they're going to use. Include internet and TV into the monthly rent as well. [2015] - Gary Wong

Furnishing your suite tastefully without spending a fortune on $10,000 couches and $5,000 beds. Yes, not every tenant will want your furnishings; some will pay the higher rent but want to use their own furnishings. In that case, just put it in storage. There are cheap storage places for about $50-$100/mo. You'll need to furnish your rental property based on who you plan to rent out to. The style of furniture business executives care about is different from the furniture students would want, and the same goes for families. [2015] - Gary Wong

Most people just do the 1 year lease. If you want to charge more, offer 3 months or 6 months leases. Because you're adding the flexibility, it's added value for the tenant and so it's justified if you charge more. [2015] - Gary Wong

Leasehold properties are properties located on leasehold land. Leasehold land is land that is owned by the city, First Nations lands, federal government, universities and even private institutions or individuals. This land is then leased to developers for a period of 50 to 99 years to develop residential housing. Leasehold prepaid means the developer has prepaid a sum to the owner of the land already and incorporated that into the price of the property. Leasehold non-prepaid means you have to pay an annual fixed sum to the owner of the land which is assessed periodically. [2015] - Gary Wong

There are many apartments in the Fairview area in Vancouver where the lease is expiring in about 20-30 years. Most buyers don't want to be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars just to live in the home for 20-30 years. However, many buyers such as seniors may consider these properties. [2015] - Gary Wong

According to "privacy Guidelines For Landlords and Tenants" released by the Office of the Information Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia, landlords should not require that tenants provide their Social Insurance Number on either tenancy application forms or rental agreements. A landlord should not demand a tenant's banking / credit card information as a condition of renting a property. A landlord may ask to examine a person's driver's licence in order to verify the person's identity. However, the landlord must not write down or photocopy this personal information. A potential landlord cannot ask you to pay a fee to simply apply to rent a place. [2015] - Kris Anderson

The new Residential Tenancy Act allows landlords to charge extra fees for certain services, such as direct cost of replacing keys or other access devices / additional keys you request, service fees charged by banks for NSF cheques, move-in / move-out fees charged by a strata corporation to the landlord and fees for services or facilities requested by you that aren't covered in your tenancy agreement (e.g. parking fee). As long as your tenancy agreement states, you may be charged a fee of not more than $25 for a NSF cheque or late payment of rent. [2015] - Kris Anderson

Your landlord is required to pay you interest on our security deposit. However, the amount of interest required to be paid is established yearly by the government. Some years you will not receive any interest on your deposit if the prime lending rate of the principal banker to the Province is less than 4.5 percent on the first day of the calendar year. You can go to www.gov.bc.ca/landlordtenant and use the rate calculator to find out how much you are owed. [2015] - Kris Anderson

Your landlord is responsible for repairing heating, plumbing, electricity, locks, walls/floors/ceilings (including water leaks/holes), fire doors/escapes, intercoms, elevators, fridge/stove, laundry facilities, furniture included in your rent and garages/storage sheds. [2015] - Kris Anderson

The law says that your landlord has to post the name and phone number of an emergency contact person some place in your building where you can easily see it. [2015] - Kris Anderson

Landlords can raise rents by a set amount each year and can apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch for rent increases above that amount. The percentage for allowable rent increases is the consumer price index (based on the annual rate of inflation) plus two percent. Your landlord can raise your rent once a year starting 12 months from the day you moved in and started paying rent. The landlord must give you notice in writing at least three full months before the increase starts. [2015] - Kris Anderson

Some agreements say that a guest who stays longer than two weeks is no longer a guest but an additional occupant. The landlord might then want to raise your rent because of the additional occupant or may say that you are breaching your tenancy agreement. The landlord does not have to give you a rent increase notice if your rent goes up because you have additional people move in with you. However, your landlord can only raise your rent based on additional occupants if your written tenancy agreement states how much your rent increases by the number of new occupants. [2015] - Kris Anderson

The Residential Tenancy Act allows the landlord to inspect the rental unit once a month as long as you are given the proper notice (between 24 hours and 30 days in writing, saying exactly what date/time they want to come in). If the landlord puts the notice in your mailbox or mail slot it's not considered received until after three days from the day it was delivered. It it was mailed, then it's not considered received until after five days from when it was mailed. Unless you agree to something else, your landlord can only come into your suite between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. [2015] - Kris Anderson

Your landlord can't change the locks because you haven't paid the rent. [2015] - Kris Anderson