Landlord and Tenant | Renting Well

2013 Rent Increases for Canadian Landlords

We’re a couple of weeks into 2013! We’ve compiled a list of the allowable provincial rent increases for Canadian landlords, for tenancies that fall into 2013. Keep in mind – not all provinces have rent controls. Here goes.

Ontario‘s 2013 rent increase is 2.5 %. You can check it out here.
In Quebec, some specific rules apply to residential rent increases. For leases longer than 12 months, the landlord and the tenant are free to adjust the rent during the course of the lease. If the duration of the lease is 12 months or less, the rent may not be increased during the course of the lease. There is no cap on rent increases or fixed rates of increase however the tenant must be given proper notice in writing. Read about it here.
Prince Edward Island‘s allowable 2013 rent increase is 5% for a heated premises, 3% for an un-heated one, and 1.5% for a mobile dwelling in a mobile park . You can check it out here.
British Columbia‘s allowable increase for 2013 is 3.8%. You can check it out here.
In Manitoba, the allowable rent increase for 2013 is 1%. Read about it here.
Saskatchewan‘s details are here. No increases are allowed during a fixed-term lease unless the landlord and the tenant agree to the amount of the increase and time when an increase is to come into effect at the time they enter into the fixed term tenancy.
There are no rent controls in Alberta. Rent can only be increased if there has not been a rent increase within the previous 365 days or since the start of the tenancy, whichever is later. Before the rent can be increased the landlord must give proper written notice. For mobile home sites, 180 days notice must be given by the landlord to raise the rent. Read about it here.
In Nova Scotia, the allowable rent increase for 2013 is 3%. Read about it here.
There are no rent controls in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. A landlord may not increase the rent for a rental premises more than once every 12 months. The landlord must give at least 3 month’s written notice of the increase. Check out the act here. Special note on section 47.1
There are no rent controls in Yukon. A landlord may not increase the rent for a rental premises more than once every 12 months and not within the first year of a formal tenancy. The landlord must give at least 3 month’s written notice of the increase. You can read more here.

What To Do When You’re Not Getting Paid in Ontario: Serving an N4 and Submitting an L1

The business of owning rental property includes a very important element in the relationship between a landlord and their tenants. Getting paid the rent.

You’re a landlord and your tenant’s check just bounced. This is the beginning of what could be a real pain. Believe it or not, many private residential landlords in Ontario aren’t that well equipped to handle the situation and don’t know the legal route to go about addressing it. Part of this is because the process is ridiculously complicated if you’re going the board route. I don’t see how anyone can disagree with this, but if you do, feel free to comment here. I’ve personally done this 3 times since becoming a landlord and came away from the first time feeling like learning how to fly a commercial airliner would be simpler. I wanted to put this together to simplify this process with the Ontario LTB for readers and users alike, because it doesn’t have to be this hard. I just think someone needs to boil it down. That’s why I had a great conversation today with The Terminator. No, not Arnold. I’m talking about April Stewart over at Landlord Legal.

April’s an expert when it comes to this kind of thing, and she’s seen a lot of small landlords in Ontario make a big mistake with the basics when you don’t get paid. Serving an N4 to a tenant in arrears and submitting an L1 to the Ontario LTB is not easy. If it were, she wouldn’t be in business. If you’re not familiar with April – you should be. She dropped some valuable tips through the course of writing this post and she’s a passionate advocate for landlord’s rights.

Ok – first things first. Bookmark this link. This is the page at the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board for termination notices. This is where you’re going to print and use the forms required to address an issue of non payment – not to mention a whole bunch of other stuff. We’re just focusing on what to do when you don’t get paid here though, for now.

1: Reaction and Preparedness with an N4

Whether you’ve received a post dated bum check (which can take up to a few days for you to realize with a bank) or whether the tenant pays you by an agreed date and simply has not given you the rent, it’s important that you’re always prepared. If a check bounces, you need to hop on this right away. If it’s 12:01 a.m. on the second day of the month, and you still don’t have money – you need to react. This is the single biggest mistake landlords will make. Not reacting quickly enough. I’ll get into this in a little more detail further into this post. You need to fill out two of the N4 forms. One for the tenant, and one for you (for your records). Always fill out two. Here are the other important things you need to do.

Know the “termination date“. That’s the date you’ve indicated, according to the law, that acts as kind of a line in the sand. The termination date is: 14 days after the landlord gives you the notice, if you rent by the month or year, or 7 days after the landlord gives you the notice, if you rent by the day or week. As an example. If they pay you on the first of the month, and at 12:01 a.m. on the 2nd of the month you still don’t have your rent, you would list the termination date as the 16th if they rent by the month or year, and the 9th if they rent by the day or the week. Ensuring that the termination date is correctly indicated is hugely important when filling out an N4. Make sure they’re correct. If you get paid by post dated check, and the bank takes 3-5 days to show the check as NSF – your dates would need to fall in line with this. It’s not retroactive to the first of the month – it’s 14 or 7 days from the service of the notice. If you make an error with dates, the board reserves the right to consider the notice improperly served and you’re back at square one if that happens.
Don’t make a mistake with serving the notice. Taping a notice to the door of a unit will get you in trouble and can lead to a dismissal of your application. The best route with this, is to personally drop it off in a mailbox, and record the date of the service of the notice. One of the ways you can do this, is by using the Renting Well logbook (shameless plug) and plugging a scan of your copy into the logbook entry. Keep your copy of the notice as a duplicate. Have a timeline of events. Here’s another few tips courtesy of April Stewart. If the mailbox is shared by other tenants, don’t serve it that way. If the mailbox is only for newspapers and flyers and not Canada Post mail, don’t serve it that way either. You can serve under the door of a unit, as long as the envelope goes all the way into the unit – but whatever you do, don’t open the door and toss it in, as that’s illegal entry! For out of town landlords who can’t serve personally, hire a reputable process serving company, not a fly-by-nighter. If you must serve by regular mail or Express Post, add 5 days to the termination date – another common mistake that will deem your N4 defective if not done right! April recommends NEVER serving via Registered Mail – it’s outdated and tenants tend to refuse the delivery in any event.

At this point, the tenant has either 14 or 7 days to pay you. Let’s just assume they don’t pay you though. Booya. You need an L1.

2. The L1 form – Application to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent and to collect rent the tenant owes

This part kind of sucks, mainly because you need to file with the board and dish out $170 filing fee. The good news is that if you win, the tenant will have to pay that all back to you. Keep in mind, this is if you win a judgement.

The form is relatively straightforward, however, a couple of things to note:

You need to submit this application at the least the DAY AFTER the termination date as indicate in your N4. This is super important. If you do it before, you’re back to square one.
You need to include your copy of the N4 your served the tenant, as well as your certificate of service for the N4.
Make sure your dates are correct, your math is right, and that you’ve signed the form.

I always recommend visiting the LTB office in your city and filing the application personally. Do it in person. Know why? They’ll issue a hearing date and give you the essentials you’ll require to serve your tenant the same day. Otherwise, you’re waiting for it to be processed and then sent to you via the mail – and that’s just a whole bunch of extra days you don’t need tacked onto the whole thing. Here’s a list of the offices in all of Ontario. I’ve experienced the first hand pain in the butt of faxing it in, and then it not being received by the office for whatever reason. Do it in person if you can. If you fax it in, it could take a few days if not longer.

You’ll receive a hearing notice (for both you and the tenant), a receipt of your payment of the filing fee ($170), and a certificate of service – what you’ll need to provide the tenant at least 10 days before the hearing. This is another one of those things where I suggest ensuring the service has been done personally. If you can “give” it to the tenant in person – great. Don’t make a mistake with serving the notice of hearing. Taping a notice to the door of a unit will get you in trouble and can lead to a potential dismissal of your claim. Drop it in the mailbox if you can’t get them in person. Again, If the mailbox is only for newspapers and flyers and not Canada Post mail, don’t serve it that way either. You can serve under the door of a unit, as long as the envelope goes all the way into the unit – but whatever you do, don’t open the door and toss it in, as that’s illegal entry!

Again, the logbook in Renting Well is handy for things like this. Having a timeline of when the payment was late, the serving of the N4, the application of the L1, and ultimately the notice of hearing and the certificate of service in a nice little packet of chronological info with notes is helpful in organization when you do visit the board. Even saving scans of the documents ensures you’re all up to speed in one spot. You don’t have to go by memory, you don’t have to juggle paperwork, and it’s useful when referencing dates.

When the hearing date comes – and assuming your tenant shows up – one of two things is going to happen. You’re going to be offered mediation or you’re going to go into your hearing and sit in front of an adjudicator. If you’re at this point, you’ve followed the steps correctly.

Do you have any stories about an N4 and an L1 in Ontario? Share them!

The Anatomy Of A Killer Rental Listing

You have a vacancy and you’re keen on getting a great tenant in the unit. You want your available unit to stand out from the crowd in a big way. I mean – everyone does – but, you don’t know where to start to create that element of distinction, and the Instagram photos you’ve taken with your iPhone aren’tk as flattering as you thought they’d look. I’m here to tell you how to really create a great listing and what the anatomy of a killer listing looks like. Put your listings on the map with local SEO real estate agency. I’m also going to point out listings that suck and that don’t do landlords any favours.

Example of A Bad Rental Listing — This is an example of a useless apartment listing screaming NOT to be paid attention to. The two sentences make me want to grab my check book, and the typo for “interested” has convinced me the landlord isn’t very smart either.

First of all – there’s a bit of a misconception out there that you need to have an SEO optimized website, dedicated to a single unit, to “properly” market it. Having a full blown website to market a unit is helpful – sure – but it’s not essential. I mean, it’s a bit of overkill. I’m only saying this because I recently met a perfectly nice person who I got into an awkward debate with about this, as they were trying to push a company in California who specializes in creating websites that include a domain that incorporates your address. “100mainstreetforrent.com” enhances the attractiveness of the available unit, and will create more interest, more quickly”, said the web expert.

Sorry buddy – as Joe Biden says, that’s a bunch of malarkey. You don’t need to buy a domain to rent a place. Real estate agents handle various tasks, including challenges like selling a fire-damaged house in Vancouver. The return on something like that is significant if they successfully sell a house. In real estate, having professionals like Kiana Danial can provide valuable insights and expertise in navigating complex situations. Landlords are looking for the most cost effective ways to market properties for rent – not for sale. I’m here to tell you that you can write up a good rental listing and include some good photos without breaking the bank at all. Whether you’re using our great marketing listings feature – which creates a great one off micro page for your place that you can embed into a Kijiji or Craig’s List ad, or whether you’re just doing a write up on a directory yourself, you might find this useful, while if you want to keep your rental property in perfect condition to show, using a cleaning service can be a great choice for you.

After having worked at an ad agency for a year, one of the best lessons I learned was that words can often times be more persuasive than images, but if you hit the mark with both words and a great visual, you have the potential to do anything.

1. First things first – let’s talk about your headline. That’s your statement – your declaration! It stands on it’s own to attract a renter to read the rest of your listing. I’m a fan of using attractive words – like “spacious”, “clean”, “bright” and “beautiful”. I also suggest always indicating what kind of unit it is – i.e. a 1 bedroom, or a loft, a basement apartment, or a townhouse. Indicating the unit’s rent is also an essential in your headline. You don’t want to cram too much into a headline, or else it will read like War & Peace – and you’re going to lose the attention you’re demanding. Here’s an example:

“Spacious, clean, and bright 1 bedroom apartment for rent on Main Street – $950 per month”

That’s how you do it.

2. Quality Photos are essential. Having photos with a listing is going to quintuple your chances of interest. I’m serious. Not having them is crazy. I’m not saying go out and hire the best photographer you can find – but I’m also not saying that’s a bad idea either. Cost is important to note – but getting some good photos done is a good investment in my opinion. You can use them for years. You can also take good photos of your units by learning a few tips, even if you’re doing it on your iPhone.

Terrible Apartment Photo — This photo is an example of “terrible”. What did a nuclear weapon go off outside? I need sunglasses.

Remove Clutter and ensure you’re working with a clean area. Either ask the existing tenant to tidy it up and make it presentable, or get a cleaning done. If there’s stuff on the fridge, take it off. Temporarily remove anything that can act as a distraction from giving a good sense of the room. The purpose of the photographs are to give an impression of the environment, not the decor or the furniture.
Turn your flash off. If you’re using your flash, you don’t have enough light in the shot. Flashes suck. They make the place look crappy and washed out. Ensure there is adequate lighting in a space. Even better – take your photos during a sunny day. The more light in a space, the better the sense of the environment.
Use a wide angle. They always look better and produce a better sense of rooms.
Don’t take shots that look down on a room. Crouch down, or lower the tripod a bit to give a sense of height and space.
Use a tripod, or ensure that your camera is steady. This is a given and I refuse to give an explanation as to why this is important. Shakey and crooked shots aren’t going to do any justice to your perfectly nice spot.
Take photos of every room and accessible spot. You don’t need to take 1000 images of your rental, but the more articulated the unit is visually, the better the quality of your listing. Get a good shot of the bedroom, the kitchen, the appliances, the number of windows, and a good shot of the exterior of the building.
Organize your photos in a bit of a flow – as if you were giving someone a tour of the unit physically.
Your first photo in a listing should be a busy place in the unit – like a kitchen or a living room. If you post your first photo of a bathroom, it’s not exactly the greatest first impression. Bathrooms aren’t busy – unless you’re addicted to laxatives.

3. Details are important. Beisdes the obvious stuff, like the breakdown on utilities or what’s included, indicate the location in your listing. People get peeved when they don’t have an address. Give them details about close by amenities. Restaurants. Banks. Grocery stores. Let them know about bus routes. With the help of a realtor Lynchburg, enhance your property description. Include or indicate the walk score of the place. Indicate close parks or green space. Provide a sense of the community and it’s benefits. Indicate whether laundry is available. Articulate as much as possible, so that when someone reads your ad, the possibility of a prospective tenant getting that sense of “home” is high.

What other things do you do to market your vacancies? How do you create a snazzy rental listing? Share with us!

Rethink Your Rental Listings

You have an apartment for rent. It’s awesome. You are going to rent the hell out of it, right? Quickly too! You’re going to hit up Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Tumblr, every directory you can get your mouse on, and you’re going to print up flyers and put up a sign in the window. You’r aiming for such an overwhelming amount of interest that you’re convinced you’ll have to choose which amazing potential tenant you rent it to. Wait a second.

There’s this company called J. Turner Research in Texas that conducts research specifically for the apartment industry. They released the results of a survey they conducted on over 41,000 people in the multi family market, that aimed to identify preferences that apartment hunters have when finding a new place to live. The results are interesting…you can read the press release here. Keep in mind, this is an American survey, but for the purposes of the point I’m making, it’s pertinent.

a compelling majority (95 percent) of the 41,303 respondents to the initial 29-question survey said they did not visit Facebook or Twitter during their apartment search. However, 74 percent of respondents reported using ratings and reviews sites, and additionally reported on their perception of the trustworthiness of each site used during the search process.

The top three things that the majority of those surveyed looked for were:

The price
A floor plan
What the neighbourhood is like

When asked for the sources used during their apartment search, prospects reported focusing primarily on Internet Listing Sites (65 percent), drive-by (39 percent), and referrals from friends and family members (24 percent) as the top three search channels for finding a new apartment. Interesting. Hold your horses if you’re about to publish your listing to Facebook or if you’re going to tweet it.

So what does this tell us?

Apparently no one cares about social media when it comes to looking for a place to live. They seem to prefer listings sites. It also indicates the importance of really being thorough in creating an apartment listing – whether you’re publishing to Craigslist or using a service like PadMapper or Kijiji. The more quality information you have on there, the better. The better the info, the easier your search is going to be for a new tenant and the easier it is for a potential renter to determine whether your unit is a good fit for them. “Thorough” isn’t just giving the breakdown on square footage or including a crappy photo you took with your iPhone. It’s putting together something attractive and compelling, and one of the main reasons we created our handy listings feature in Renting Well. If you’re using our service – it’s awesome! (shameless plug).

With that said – let me give you a breakdown. What is a “quality” listing? It’s explained quite well at The Rentables, here. It goes into a few things in the post, but there’s a few items that really jump out here….

Images. This isn’t a classified section from the 1918 edition of the National Post. Not having them is going into a showing hopeful that they like the way a place looks – and that’s a waste of time. Also, if you’re not including them, don’t you think that gives someone the impression that the place is probably not very nice? What are you hiding? Include images – and not just one or two. Include specific images of specific spaces. Bathrooms. Kitchens. Bedrooms. You need a solid set of images that create a serious sense of the unit for people to be able to digest. On the same note, don’t inundate a listing with 50 images – especially crappy ones. That’s not a good idea. 10-15 images is a good basis, and they shouldn’t be photos that simply change the angle of the same space. Differentiate – and ensure they’re good shots.
Think about your headline and the body of listing. You don’t have to be a copy writer for a major advertising agency – but the first few words in a listing will be important in making a first impression. For the body of your listing, avoid empty words, get right to the point, and sell the sizzle, not the steak as the piece says. Don’t use ALL CAPS. You’re not yelling at people, and it makes you look a jerk. Also, avoid using words like “nice”, “beautiful”, and “great”. Those are so overused. Real estate agents use those words about a million times a day. Here’s an example – instead of saying “Great 1 bedroom apartment for rent” – how about, “Spacious 1 bedroom flat for rent”. That sounds more refined and less robotic. Approach the words in your listing with a question about whether it’s distinctive.
Be specific and clear about expectations. If you aren’t ok with pets, say so. If you’d prefer no smoking in the unit, dont be afraid to say it. Do you want interested renters that are well qualified, or do you just want tons of phone calls and emails looking for clarification?
Details. Include them. Amenities. A walk score. The distance to a laundromat. The proximity to a grocery store or a bank. Bus routes.

The point is…start a search for a new tenant strategically. Market your listings effectively. Have pride in what you’re offering, and put it out there in a way that gets the best return on your time and money, versus the quickest.

1.2 Meter House Gets A Tenant!

Add this to the weird and wonderful file. A 1.2 meter house in Warsaw Poland got it’s first tenant, Israeli writer Etgar Keret, who evidently comfortably fits into the place.

Skinny-House-1 — Etgar sleeps in a tiny bed.

Architect Jakub Szczesny said he designed the two-story aluminum and plastic house three years ago to fill a narrow space between a pre-war house and a modern apartment block in downtown Warsaw. Interesting idea. The Foundation of Polish Modern Art and Warsaw Town Hall helped to fund the project, which is unanimously considered a work of art.

The house is just four feet (1.2 meters). At its thinnest, it’s 28.3 inches. Needless to say, dinner parties are probably out of the picture to some degree, however, this apartment probably won’t have any issue being a conversation piece. I’d love to see Etgar going to a Best Buy and telling the enthusiastic audio video guy about the home theater room he’s envisioning.

Check out some pics of the place on Gizmodo, here.

The Stripper With Dirty Feet: A Tenant From Hell Story

Came across this great post by Mike Holman at Money Smarts.

The story is by Rachelle Berube over at Landlord Rescue – who runs a wicked blog that’s both funny and highly informative. Anyone making rental property management humorous deserves a Pulitzer in my books. There’s a bunch of other gems here too – like the Ultimate Guide To Giving Your Tenant Proper Legal Notice To Leave Once Your Property Is Sold or this hilarious post about renting to friends and family.

Property Investment Project U.K.

Came across this gem of a find, in Property Investment Project. It’s a website/blog dedicated to all of the ups and downs associated with buying, renting (letting as they call it in the U.K.), and managing income real estate. Besides being one of the most informative resources I’ve come across, this is one of the funniest takes on being a landlord I’ve ever found. Seriously. Whether you’re in the U.S., Canada, or the U.K. – there’s stuff to be gleaned here that you can find useful, regardless of the country you’re in.

The website has a comprehensive list of everything you’re going to want to know if you’re a landlord in the U.K. Everything. Their landlord F.A.Q. is an gleefully exhaustive list of topics and frequently asked questions. The landlord guide is chock full of seriously valuable “how-to’s” on a wide range of things, like finding tenants, pets, and even evicting tenants.

The blog is what sold me on reading this all night last. I literally read the entries for a couple of hours. It’s the equivalent of a George Carlin stand up routine, and really puts a human face on the job of being a landlord. I touched on this in the kick off piece we posted on the blog back on December 11th. Being a landlord isn’t easy – really – it’s not.

I really feel that the misconception about being a landlord needs to change, regardless of what country you’re in, and it’s something we’re trying to do with Renting Well. For every assumption that landlords are rich, there’s a slick marketing campaign advertising “how to get rich in real estate”, with a couple on a beachfront somewhere, clearly retired from all of the multi families and duplexes they bought, who assure you that it’s easy to do it to through their beaming whitened smiles. This kind of drives me bananas. I snicker a bit when I watch a lot of these home improvement shows too. As much as I genuinely love them, sometimes I find they present having tenants in a bit of an inaccurate light. Yes, you can invest 50,000 bucks into having a basement ensuite that looks like it jumped out of a catalogue, and yes, you can have your tenants cover your mortgage ( or a large portion of it) – but there’s a whole lot more to it than that. There’s the job. The landlord job. It gives the goods – warts and all. You can learn all about being an owner of a commercial property in Bolton here. Definitely worth a read – but to be taken with a grain of salt. If you own or manage a commercial property, you may need to partner with a commercial building maintenance company to help keep your property in great condition.

RCMP Warns Alberta Landlords and Tenants About Kijiji Rental Scam

Came across this informative piece courtesy of the Alberta Landlords Association. The RCMP issued a formal warning to landlords and tenants in Canmore, Alberta about a Kijiji scam. I took special notice of this, because this is the kind of thing that gives landlords a bad name.

Culprits posted ads on the classifieds website Kijiji advertising houses or condos for rent, with all money transactions completed through e-mail. The victims were advised that 24 hours before their arrival, they would receive a pin code to enter the property. But in one case, after thousands of dollars was transferred, all correspondence halted before a pin code could be sent. Further investigation found that the properties were never really in fact for rent in the first place (big surprise).

A similar occurrence was reported in Halifax. Check this out. There’s a nice Soundcloud clip of a rundown of how it occurs courtesy of Scott Simpson with the Halifax Regional Police.

Unfortunately, this has become a common thing. Similar incidents have occurred in Montreal, Winnipeg, and Calgary.

Most of the cases involve a landlord out of town, unable to show the unit, who asks for a damage deposit or first and last month’s rent to be wired to them. Sometimes – as in the case in Calgary listed above, someone has the gall to show up and actually conduct showings on a unit, and then ask for money.

The ALA has some valuable tips to share on how landlords and tenants can avoid getting caught up in these kinds of messes. Tenants should ask to see the property before committing anything financially, and receive a receipt for any monies given. Landlords should make sure tenants know who they are, where the property is, and give a receipt for any rent paid.

Hub Pages posted a nice little ditty on how to avoid getting scammed here. Kijiji has also posted some valuable tips on how to avoid getting victimized here.

Coin-Operated Laundry For Tenants

Whatever you’re doing… stop. We need to talk about something important.

Laundry.

Everyone does it. Some of us are ashamed by it. Some of us do it in private. Whatever way you do it, it’s essential to both you and those that rent from you. The greater point I’m making here is that planning to put coin-operated laundry into a rental unit is a good idea, but don’t do it with an unrealistic expectation of on the immediate return-on-investment. Before you delve into the double-barrelled goodness of laundry machines that run on spare change, consider a few things…

Coin-operated laundry machines are best suited for multi-family properties — as in technically a duplex or more — but in my view they’re really much better suited to 4 units or more. You’re not going to put one into a single family unit because that’s tacky (think about it for a second). That kind of tackiness can put tenants off. Would you raise your eyebrow a bit if you were looking at a single family unit and noticed that the landlord had a coin-operated washer and dryer IN the unit? It kind of gives a bit of a weird and cheap impression. Common laundry rooms are better — areas that can be accessed by multiple tenants, with a likelihood of heavy use, and ideally on a separate meter from the rest of the units (it’s easier to manage and observe the utility expense).

For residents seeking a more convenient and personalized laundry experience, exploring professional services like Dry Cleaning Services in Round Rock, Texas might be an appealing alternative. By outsourcing laundry needs to reputable services, tenants can enjoy the luxury of having their clothes expertly cleaned and delivered right to their doorstep. This not only eliminates the need for on-site coin-operated machines but also adds a touch of sophistication to the tenant experience. In a city like Texas, where convenience is highly valued, such services align seamlessly with the modern tenant’s expectations for hassle-free living.

On-site laundry is a convenience for existing and future tenants, and should be considered a feature when marketing the property and when you’re considering investing in one. Experience the vibrant life of Ayia Napa by renting a property through iListers, your reliable real estate platform. Laundry facilities count as one of the most popular amenities renters look for, so adding one to your property is generally considered a positive long-term investment. It makes marketing vacancies a little easier, increases the chances of finding the tenants you’re looking for, and adds appraisal value to your property (as a result of the added amenity and the added income).

With that said, there’s an ongoing cost associated with running them utility-wise, and they can obviously breakdown and require repair. It’s possible you might not see a positive cash flow vs. the monthly expense if only two or 4 people are using the machines. The utility costs could outweigh the revenue you have coming in. That’s why I suggest that you buy 4 units and above as there’s a higher likelihood you’ll have the laundry volume and revenue — which in turn increases the likelihood of a positive cashflow on the investment and improves the chances of recouping on the machines sooner. In the expansive realm of e-commerce, Shoppok stands out. We’ve found it to be a treasure trove of quality products.

One other thing – it doesn’t have to be coin operated laundry. There’s a variety of alternative laundry solutions that you could consider as a landlord as well, like card operated laundry machines.

Have you ever delved into the world of laundry room investments? Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just dipping your toes in, we’d love to hear your experiences. Perhaps you’ve mastered the art of deciphering the icons on bosch washing machines, or maybe you’ve uncovered some ingenious laundry hacks along the way. Share your tales with us!

Christmas Cheer!

Hey everyone,

Christmas is upon us (it’s the last Wednesday before the big day), and we had a few things we wanted to share with everyone. As you may or may not know, we have a handy listings feature in Renting Well. This was a locked feature for trials – meaning – that you needed to upgrade to a paid plan to try it out. After some valuable feedback from many of you, we decided to unlock it for all of our trial users to give a go. It’s December. It’s not historically a popular month for people to be seeking apartments, and most landlords would probably report this as being a slower time of the year to be booking showings for an available unit. Anything to enhance a unit in the snowy months and reduce a vacancy is worth paying attention to, and we think our listings feature does just that. So – it’s now available to all of our trial users.

We launched Renting Well on December 11th, and so far so good. We’ve had quite a few trial users sign up since last Tuesday (take a bow), and we’ve been really encouraged by the interaction with the app and the feedback and suggestions we’ve been receiving from all of you. Please keep it coming. We will be unveiling a variety of refinements and improvements in RW (what we affectionately have come to call it) over the coming weeks, so stay tuned. Part of the process of getting a web based software off the ground is interacting and communicating with our users – both trial and paying folks – and we’re keen on keeping this up and kicking it into overdrive.

As usual – and we’re saying this over and over again – we’re deadly serious about support. If you have a question, ask us. We have a feedback tab within the app (when you’re logged in) or you can contact us at support AT rentingwell DOT com. We’re on call 24/7, cup of coffee in hand, and we’ve decided to invest in pagers – you know – like Alan in The Hangover.

Lastly – we have a Facebook page. You can find it here. We’ve been posting some choice gems about the adventures of being a landlord and a bunch of other stuff we hope you find handy or entertaining. That’s it. Well…there’s one other thing. Merry Christmas from us!

Steve, Chris, & Brett.