Inside This Issue :

Becoming a Landlord? Choose Tenants Wisely Written by: Jim AdairJim AdairJim AdairJim Adair

In recent years low interest rates and an active housing market prompted many Canadians to buy income properties and become landlords. It's estimated that at least one-third of new condominiums purchased in Toronto in the last year have been by bought by investors, but only about 10 to 15 per cent of condos come on the resale market within a year. The remainder are being retained by the investors and rented out. Property management companies can be hired to find and deal with tenants, but many small investors take the do-it-yourself approach and select their own tenants. Getting the right tenant, who pays his rent on time, respects his neighbours and doesn't trash the property can be a tricky business. "It is a documented fact that trusting your gut feeling, when deciding on which applicant to choose, is responsible for over 30 per cent of the quantifiable losses of rental property assets," says the Rent Check Credit Bureau. "Some technically knowledgeable tenants even know how to cover up their activities and change their personal identities." Landlord advocacy groups say that in many jurisdictions, tenancy laws are tilted too much in favour of tenants and that some are taking advantage of the situation.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Ted Matlow recently called for changes to the system in an Ontario Divisional Court ruling. "My recent experience sitting as a judge of the court to hear motions has convinced me that there is a growing practice by unscrupulous residential tenants to manipulate the law improperly and often dishonestly, to enable them to remain in their rented premises for long periods of time without having to pay rent to their landlords," he wrote. "It is a practice that imposes an unfair hardship on landlords and reflects badly on the civil justice system in Ontario. It calls for government, the Landlord and Tenant Board and this court to respond." As an example, Judge Matlow used the case of landlord Melissa D'Amico, who bought a small building with a commercial unit and an apartment. She lived in the apartment for a few years and but then moved out "into a cheap rental property as I wanted to use the unit to generate some income. This is the only investment property I own," she stated in her affidavit to the court. She rented the unit on October 11, 2011 and signed a lease with tenant Rony Hitti and Anastassia Adani and Hitti's company, Toronto Bespoke Inc. The rent was to be $3,600 per month.

Becoming a Landlord? Choose Tenants Wisely

Devoe Stacey

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The tenants never paid any rent. Twice in the ensuing months there were eviction hearings, and twice the tenants delayed eviction by giving D'Amico bad cheques. At the time of Matlow's ruling, the tenants were still in the unit and owed about $25,000 in rent. D'Amico's affidavit says that recently she discovered that the tenants "have a history of initiating frivolous appeals to obtain rent-free housing," citing court disputes about unpaid rent with Hitti's former landlord. Judge Matlow ruled that the tenants' most recent appeal "raised no bona fide question of law" and that "it was totally devoid of merit, vexatious and an abuse of process." He awarded court costs of more than $13,000 to D'Amico. Harry Fine, the lawyer representing D'Amico in the case, told The National Post: "The law is so imbalanced in favour of the tenants the small landlord doesn't have a chance. Every small landlord case is a nightmare. They get into the business because their REALTOR® says a property has income potential but they forget that it is a business - and a highly regulated business."

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) says that each province and territory has different rules, but generally as a landlord, you can ask potential tenants questions that do not infringe on their rights. You can ask where they work and how much they make. You can ask how many people will be living in the unit, and get their names. You can ask if they have pets and if they smoke. You can also request written permission for you to get a credit check and ask for references.

You may not ask about their race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, age, marital status, family status, handicap or if they are receiving public assistance, says CMHC. You may not ask them if their family will be visiting them, or for their social insurance number.

CMHC says that in many areas, information about financial data that was previously available in a credit bureau report is no longer available, and suggests using the Rent Check Credit Bureau. Perhaps most importantly, landlords should use the references that are provided, especially from former landlords. You should ask if rent payments were made on time and if there were any problems with the tenant. CMHC advises going back two or three tenancies if possible. Check with the tenant's employer to make sure the information you have been given is accurate. If you can, check court records. There are also a number of landlord advocacy organizations that can offer he lp . The Ontar io Land lords Association website includes links to provincial and local landlord groups across the country. Another site to check out is Landlord Solutions.

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CHMC suggests using www.rentcheckcorp.com

Home staging typically removes personal mementos, religious objects, and cultural items, helping prospective home buyers to feel at ease and to visualize their own belongings in the space. If you are a home seller, the good news is that there is one sure-fire, s imp le , i nexpens ive way to supercharge your home staging efforts - organize! However, organizing and decluttering aimlessly isn’t enough. It’s essential to organize with one goal in mind, and that is to create a sanctuary where potential home buyers can easily imagine themselves living, working, and playing for years to come. Here are the top five residential "trouble spots" for clutter, and what you can do to organize them. 1. The home office The problem: Big libraries with books, magazines, and files as well as big electronics like computers, printers, and shredders mean little extra, useable space. The solution: Toss magazines and newspapers first, as they are normally the easiest to part with and will give you a motivating "win" to start. Give away unwanted books to charity. Switch out a desktop computer for a laptop, opening up more room. Dust, label, and arrange the computer cables in an attractive manner. 2. The bedroom closet The problem: Closets always look too small, especially to the ladies. The solution: Remove out-of-season clothing and accessories, and place them (neatly!) elsewhere in the home or a storage unit. Relocate or purge any items that don’t belong in a clothes closet, like sports equipment, papers, and junk. Then situate the remaining in-season items as if on display in your favorite store or magazine. 3. The kitchen The problem: As the heart of the home, the kitchen sees high-traffic

volumes – and it normally looks worse for wear.

The solution: Make your kitchen into an order ly command center . Remember: you want to make sure that your kitchen has everything you need to survive a crisis, not that your kitchen has just survived a crisis. Remove any small appliances you don’t use on a daily basis. Chuck the junk mail, and use a tidy basket to hold bills and other essential paperwork. Clear the table and counters of anything "cluttery." 4. The garage The problem: The garage is a catch-all for... well, everything. The solution: Pull everything out of the garage, purge the clutter, and then separate the remaining items into categories like auto accessories, camping equipment, yard tools, recycling containers, etc. Find a home for and use tasteful storage to display each category. The key to organizing a garage is to make use of the elevated

The Easiest and Cheapest Way to Stage Your Home to Sell Written by: Carmen CokerCarmen CokerCarmen CokerCarmen Coker

space, like the walls for storage racks and ceiling for a false attic. 5. The yard The problem: It’s easy to ignore the dead patch of grass in the backyard because you have more pressing matters, but the outside of a home is reflective of the inside of a home. The solution: Have a "discovery session," where you walk around your house making a list of necessary outdoor improvements. Then schedule a daily to-do on your calendar, or outsource the tasks, until all items are crossed off. Bonus: The details The problem: If the would-be home buyer discovers you’ve skimped on the details, it takes the trust out of the buyer-seller relationship. The solution: Create a "house handbook" that includes information about the features of the home, like a list of paint colors by room, vendors for housecleaning and lawn care, maintenance records, and manuals for the appliances included with the property. Taking care of the details demonstrates to the home buyer that you have responsibly taken care of the home while it was in your possession. Prospective home buyers will be quick to judge your house, both inside and out, for any flaws. Following the above organizing tips could reduce your listing time on the market and help your house fetch more than one not properly staged.

Brain Teasers

Word Scramble:

igoindszwn

What goes up and down the stairs without moving?

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