Landlord Stories | Renting Well

The Continuing Saga Of A Basement Apartment Renovation

So the continuing saga of my basement apartment renovation moves forth. I say continuing saga because it feels like a journey to Mordor. Since my last post about this, I’ve managed to get a lot done. The walls were all covered up, mudded, sanded, and painted with what I think is a wonderful eggshell colour I picked up at Benjamin Moore paints (2026-70 for all the paint nerds). I fell in love with this colour after having Simon Says Painting pros use it in my kitchen at home, and since I feel a bright but neutral colour is essential for a basement apartment, I figured this was a logical choice. I think it looks good, but it also plays off the natural light in the unit.

Another recent element of this renovation was insulation. This was something important that I wanted to address, as prior to the work being done and when the old tenant was in there, I noticed a significant transmission of sound between the main floor and the basement unit. I took a cue from Scott McGillvray on this one and used Roxul Safe’n’Sound insulation. After putting the drywall up, and packing the ceilings with the stuff (hence the necessity to use insulated pot lights), it’s as quiet as a library. For more great house renovation ideas to beautify your living space, you can visit a site Archute for more helpful info! If you want to use the basement as a bedroom for a family member who has a medical condition, one of the first things you need to consider is a comfortable bed. You may shop here to find the a suitable bed for them.

The big main thing that was finished in the last couple of days was the completion of the wiring and the installation of some high efficiency electric convection heater systems by Dimplex and coupled wall mounted thermostats (3 to be exact). I didn’t want to go the regular route with electric baseboard heaters and am big on efficiency, especially if it’s electric, and especially if tenants are shouldering the hydro cost (which they are in this case). There’s a total of 4500 watts of heat in the unit, which is more than comfortable. A furnace maintenance service can be availed when repair is needed. The insulated pot lights were finished and all 18 of them use LED bulbs which are meant to last for 20 years. Considering the unit was also completely rewired, I’m curious to see how energy efficient the apartment is going to be.

What’s on Deck:

Property Management Software — Another shot of said bedroom

I’m doing a black and white tile kitchen and entrance, coupled with a contrasting darker colour for the bedroom carpet. Both the tile and the carpet have been ordered. I also have to buy some appliances, and get some kitchen cupboards and a counter top. I’m thinking of hitting up Restore from Habitat for Humanity for some of the last essentials. Beyond that, it’s taps, a bathroom basin and vanity, shower heads and handles, and a low flow toilet. I’m figuring I’ll have the place finished in the next two weeks.

Have you renovated a basement apartment? Challenges? Hurdles? What were some of your experiences? Share your story with us!

Landlords, Tenants, and Floods. This Is For You Alberta.

Came across this great piece at Law Now, that touches on the mess that Alberta’s floods have wreaked on both landlords and tenants in the province. The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta has developed an info sheet to help people – both landlords and tenants-to understand their rights and responsibilities after the terrible flood.

There are a lot of great “pro tips” here, but one thing in particular jumped out at me when reading the fact sheet. The definition of a “frustrated tenancy”. According to the CPLEA, it’s as follows:

A rental agreement can be frustrated, which occurs when something happens that is out of the control of both parties, and makes continuing with the agreement impossible. There are many reasons why a tenancy can be frustrated including if the property is destroyed, if there is an order under the Public Health Act that says the property is unfit for human habitation, if the property is so damaged that a reasonable landlord would not fix the damage, or if it is so damaged that a reasonable tenant would not be willing to remain living there.

Check out the fact sheet here. It’s great.

Basement Unit Renovation 2: This Time We Mean Business

Construction on the basement apartment is continuing. In my first post on the project, I discussed some of the obstacles I was facing as I transformed a dank and crappy basement unit into something someone will be proud to live in. Well, since then, there’s been a significant amount of progress. Insulated pot lights are in. Framing is complete. Sound proof insulation is in. Only High-Quality Insulation Materials Used for this renovation. The entire unit was re-wired, and I brought it up to code. Part of bringing the electrical up to code included replacing the breaker panel with a new one, and completely eliminating all of the knob and tube electrical that was in the place. Then with this kind of construction, an important aspect to consider is the method of material procurement. By using https://cartersconcrete.co.uk/mix-on-site-concrete-delivery-how-it-works/, builders can significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with transporting concrete. This method cuts down on the emissions from multiple trips to and from a concrete plant, showcasing a more eco-friendly approach to construction.

For those embarking on similar endeavors, it’s crucial to consider the method of material procurement, emphasizing quality over cost-cutting measures. Exploring options for custom home builds and home renovation services near me proved beneficial, allowing me to access a diverse range of materials tailored to meet specific project requirements. This strategic approach not only elevated the overall quality of the renovation but also served as a testament to the commitment to excellence in every aspect of the construction process.

Are you wondering how to transform your basement from a cluttered mess into a functional and appealing space? Ground Scapes does basement waterproofing Greensboro, NC.

So – all this to say, this past couple of weeks was about the bathroom.

Bathrooms are important. Seriously.

The old bathroom sucked. It was like a bathroom in a plane. After literally taking the entire place down to the beams, I framed a proper stand up shower stall that was a perfect square, versus the angled and uncomfortable one that was there before. I opened up the bathroom significantly by having a plumber pin some elaborate pipe work against an interior wall, creating a bigger space to have a bathroom. Check out the picture to the right here. This is a glimpse of what it used to look like. I didn’t even want to take a full photos of the catastrophe.

What’s up next? Well – drywalling is continuing into this week. Tile work is being done by Limitless Renovations in the bathroom next week, and I’m going to be purchasing some appliances in the next couple of weeks for the kitchen. All in all, on schedule. I’m planning on having the place available for rent for September 1st.

Absolutely Insane Landlords from California Get Jail Time

Came across this compelling story from the ole’ Sunshine state of California.

Kip Macy and his wife, Nicole Macy, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of residential burglary, one felony count of stalking and one felony count of attempted grand theft. These two geniuses owned an apartment building in the gentrifying South of Market area of San Francisco. Their plan was to evict the tenants they had to renovate the apartments and then to sell them as individual units.

Nicole Macy sent fraudulent emails to the attorney of one of their tenants with whom they were involved in a civil case. In the emails, she pretended to be the victim and fired the victim’s lawyer. In another incident, she sent fraudulent emails to her own civil attorney in which she pretended to be the same victim. Then…wait for it…she threatened to “kidnap and dismember” the attorney’s children.

Together – Kip and Macy also cut the floor joists of an existing tenant’s unit in an attempt to make the floor cave in. Guess they really wanted to get rid of him or her.

Other crimes included purchasing a semi-automatic handgun and threatening to shoot the building manager, changing locks, cutting phone lines, shutting off utilities, removing a victims’ belongings from their apartment and destroying them, multiple burglaries and threatening letters to victims. All of these events took place between September 2005 to December 2007.

Here’s where it gets interesting. The couple were charged with felonies in 2008, but posted bail and escaped to Italy. They were taken into custody in Italy in May of 2012 and extradited back to the U.S. on May 17, 2013. Bail was set at $2 million for each of them. After pleading guilty to four felony counts on Tuesday, the couple are scheduled to be sentenced to four years and four months in state prison on Aug. 22.

Nuts. They need to be in jail.

10 Traits Of A Great Landlord

There are a variety of characteristics that make a leader great, or a manager great, or even a husband or a wife great. We thought we’d look at the important job of being a landlord through that same lens. Here’s a few items to chew on…

Great landlords are responsive. They respect the fact that someone is calling one of their units home, and take the job of addressing issues, concerns, and questions in a timely way, treating their tenants like customers.
Great landlords aren’t doormats. While treating their tenants like customers, they also stand firm with their expectations with respect to fundamental things – like paying the rent, being respectful of other tenants (if there are other tenants), following the rules, and taking care of a unit that a tenant is renting. When this doesn’t happen, they react appropriately and decisively and aren’t afraid of an awkward exchange or confrontation.
Great landlords know the law in their province or state with respect to residential tenancy. Knowing the law doesn’t only include being aware of rent increases. It also includes being familiar with legal dispute resolution, knowing how to do things like serve notices, and being aware of the rules for things like sublets, interest rates on security deposits or last month’s rent, and what you can and can’t do for things like pets. Know the whole law.
Great landlords are diplomatic. Resolving disputes with tenants shouldn’t be an emotionally charged exchange. They listen as much as they talk, and they know that you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.
Great landlords know that rent increases are important, when applicable. Not increasing the rent for years has an adverse affect on the property you’re managing. Expenses increase often at more than the rate of inflation. On the other side of that note – there are provinces and states that have an absence of rent control. Being a great landlord also includes not being a jerk and increasing someone’s rent by 400%, even if you technically can.
Great landlords understand the importance of always doing a good job. Even with a low vacancy rate, it’s important.
Great landlords take pride in the property they have. Being a slumlord is so 80s.
Great landlords are fair and flexible and expect the same of their tenants.
Great landlords don’t subscribe to doing things in the cheapest possible way. They approach everything from repairs and renovations to snow removal in a practical but correct and accountable way.
Great landlords aren’t evil. They manage to be effective at managing and operating an income property, while applying common sense to situations like keeping them in good condition and pest free, for this we recommend this company as they make a great work at this. They respect people’s privacy and rights even though they have the ability to enter into a tenant’s unit. They don’t dangle the ole’ “I own this place” statement above people’s heads. They even act politely and ethically when things go south.

Thoughts? Comments? Share what you think makes a good landlord great with us!

Lions…Tigers…and Renovating A Basement Unit. Oh My…

I’m going to share a progressing story with all of you. I’m renovating a basement apartment that desperately needed some attention.

3 weeks ago, I had a tenant move out of said basement apartment. He’d been there almost 12 years. The place was in pretty rough shape to say the least. The drywall was peeling, the lighting was dim and uninviting, and logistically, the layout of the place really didn’t make a lot of sense. It was dank, dark, and the rent that I was getting in the unit wasn’t reflective of the market norm. I was less concerned with that though. I just hated the way this place was laid out, and it looked and felt like an isolation cell on Riker’s island. When I got the tenant’s notice, I felt like this was an opportunity to give the unit the TLC it deserved. I decided to put together a budget to have this basement development company in Okotoks make my basement unit awesome. There are a few challenges with this though…which I thought I’d share with all of you.

Basement apartments are often thought of as problematic. They typically see a high turnover. Many are dimly lit. They often don’t show well because of the lack of natural light. They have a tendency to be colder and less inviting. There’s a reason for that. They’re below ground. I like to look at basement apartments, if done properly, as a place where you can have some of your best tenants. You just have to appreciate that basement units need a bit of a different approach. I am also planning to get expert advice from Foundation Waterproofing by Moe to fix everything needed in the area to avoid damage. This is going to be a first in a series of posts dedicated to the renovation. Read on…

First order of business: Height!

This unit had more drywall boxes and creative ceiling and wall shapes than a modern art exhibit. Once I took the drywall down, it revealed a series of entombed obstacles in creating a spacious and well laid out space. To further improve the space, consider incorporating Enhanced Acoustic Comfort Panels, which not only enhance the aesthetics but also contribute to a more comfortable and sound-friendly environment.

Back in the day they used to run humungous pipes made out of iron as supply and returns for water. Basements had all sorts of insane arteries and veins for heating, drinking water, etc. In old radiator systems, these pipes would run through a boiler. Pretty typical, except for the fact that any height that you might have is severely cramped with these massive pipes. One of the old owners of the building decided that just boxing all of these pipes up would do the trick. Well…this is 2013, and most people don’t want to live in a cubby hole. These pipes and their associated boxes did nothing but diminish the natural light out of the two windows, and decreased the height of the unit.

Allowing as much natural light into the unit as possible, is essential. One of the first orders of business was to ditch these pipes, and replace them with updated copper pipe, which was both significantly less stacked, shorter in height, and allowed a whack load more natural light into the unit. Even after putting drywall back up, I’ll have added about a half a foot of height and opened up one of the three windows in the space. At 7 feet and 2 inches of ceiling now, I was still beyond the minmum of 6 feet 5 inches for height, but it’s made a huge spatial difference so far.

In the coming week, we start on the bathroom and begin re-framing. Stay tuned.

Landlord Is Sued By Tenant For Being Too Considerate

Being a landlord can be tough work, but a recent Toronto civil suit brought forth by Gerry Danforth underscores this fact with a degree of emphasis not seen before. Mr. Danforth recently sued Amanda Boileau, his landlord for the last 23 months, and cited the reason for the case as her “complete and total reliability and overwhelming personal consideration” in a suit asking for the maximum $5000 judgement allowed in Canadian small claims court.

Mr. Danforth went on to provide a few key examples of what Ms. Boileau has a tendency to do, which included but were not limited to 24/7 contact for any emergency, proactive measures to ensure that fire alarms were working and functional, as well as immediate concern to even the smallest of minor issues like a leaky faucet or broken window.

“There was an instance last year when Amanda came by my apartment and followed up on whether a creaky door was working quietly after the application of some WD-40 to the hinges. I’m not sure who she’s trying to impress, but to add insult to injury, that same day just happened to be my birthday, and she had the audacity to wish me a happy one”, said Danforth as he checked an important text message outside of the Toronto courthouse.

According to Danforth, Ms. Boileau’s other transgressions include things like 48 hour notices on dropping by or entering the apartment to repair items, a full extra day than is required by law, and being responsive to suggestions about purchasing him a new refrigerator for his unit.

“She literally listened to me, agreed with my assessment that the fridge I had was noisier than I would have liked, and proceeded to purchase me a stainless steel model with a built in purified water spout”, said Danforth. “I find Amanda’s personality and accountable nature compromises my ability to assume all landlords are jerks and to perpetuate the stereotype that they are the housing equivalent of dictators.”

The case is hearing closing arguments this week.

Saskatchewan Kyboshes Rent Controls

The provincial government in Saskatchewan says it will not implement a system of rent control for residential tenants in the province. This was in response to the plight of a group of tenants who live in a building on Regina’s Robinson Street who received notices of a 77% increase in their rent. Wow.

The province’s Justice minister, David Wyant, explained that he thinks a rent control system would discourage property owners from improving their units.

We believe that it’s a disincentive to improving properties,” says Wyant. “it’s a disincentive to the establishment and for the building of new rental accommodations and we’ve seen that across the province and we’ve seen that across the country.”

Wyant added that he believes most rent increases have been around three to four per cent. He also offered to meet with the affected tenants personally and has also set up a meeting for them with the rentalsman’s office.

Landlords who belong to the Saskatchewan Rental Housing Industry Association have to give six months notice of rent increases. Other landlords have to give 12 months notice. In this case, the property management company who looks after the units did in fact give the required notice regarding the rent increase.

Why Tenant Screening Is Wickedly Important

Mistake #1 for landlords: renting on a hunch. It’s insane.

When we built Renting Well, we made it a quick priority to include access to background checking within the app. To make this happen we were fortunate to partner with BackCheck, Canada’s leading background checking service. One of the reasons we did this was because basic credit checks are just one piece of the pie. It’s good to have access to other background checking elements like employment verifications and a criminal background check. I had the opportunity recently to sit down with Iain Murray at BackCheck to discuss some interesting stats when it comes to landlords “checking” who they’re renting to:

10% of Canadians have a criminal record. That’s over 3 million people.
28.5% of tenant applicants will have poor credit.
12.1% of tenant applicants will lie about their employment.
Almost 25% of landlords would not recommend a former tenant to another landlord.
About 45% of BackCheck’s small landlord customers will request a criminal background check.

Conducting criminal background checks is more important than landlords might realize — an individual with a criminal history, who continues living a life of lawful offense, can have a great impact on a building and even an entire community. While a check is not exclusionary, it has the potential of reducing the number of thieves and violent ex-criminals who wish to neighbour among other tenants.

With that said, a criminal check can uncover any one of a number of offenses — not just violent crimes. People get charged with minor offenses like fraud and theft — things which most landlords would want to know before making a decision to rent to a tenant or not. There is no such thing as too much information for a landlord. Any kind of criminal background is something you should be aware of. Landlords have the right to refuse to a tenant because of their criminal history and ultimately the responsibility lies with you when it comes to introducing new tenants into your property. Check out this great info sheet published by Crime Prevention Ottawa in September 2009 that discusses how landlords can avoid and overcome the challenges of crime and disorder (such as drug dealing) on their property.

Canadian Real Estate Needs An Innovative Kick In The Ass

Small landlords are a component of arguably one of the least innovative markets on the web in Canada: real estate. When it comes to using services in the cloud, it’s a bit behind the pack. Strange, because in many ways, it’s a perfect example of a market that can most benefit from using the convenience and utility of web based tools and services.

In an age where we see startups taking hard transformative glances at some of the most everyday things people do (couponing, group discounts, betting, customer relationship management, even organizing recipes), it’s difficult to understand why the Canadian real estate market in general has seemed to suffer from being left out in the cold – a frozen winter that is dated designs, unfriendly user interfaces, and a general sense of being stuck in the era of the internet pre-iPhone – when Internet Explorer 6 and Hotmail were standards.

A perfect example of this is Canada’s leading residential real estate listing service – Realtor.ca (formerly MLS.ca). Sure – it’s useful. It does the job – but it could really be a lot better. Canada’s number 1 visited real estate website hasn’t changed that much in over 10 years – and 2009’s mobile version of the application was met with as much enthusiasm as Microsoft’s Zune. Great idea – bad execution. It’s particularly embarrassing when you see what’s going on south of the border with great sites like Trulia and Zillow.com

So why is this? Is it possible that this market is controlled by a select group of barons – an old boys club so to speak – that just refuses to embrace the revolution that is Web 2.0? The internet’s already in the throes of discussing what Web 3.0 is going to look like. We’re not sure. Is it too boring? It’s not a black and white situation. CREA has been fighting with the Competition Bureau about opening up the MLS database so that other sites and services can use it too. It’s been a real bone of contention. I’m not interested in making a comment on the spat between them. I’m simply pointing out that innovation on the web in Canadian real estate is perhaps being compromised because of it, and it doesn’t have to be. I’d love CREA to revamp the hell out of Realtor.ca and give some of these U.S. sites a run for their money. It feels like a bit of the Blackberry vs. iPhone/Android scenario. Come on! Canada’s real estate market is among some of the best in the world.

Back in 2008 – a little Canadian startup called Zoocasa entered the scene, hell bent on changing what a real estate listing looked like and how you found and searched for a home. It was “Home Search With Smarts”. It was developed as a slicker, more efficient alternative to the Multi Listing Service, and aimed at using the web to browse the housing market intelligently. These guys are a Rogers Ventures business – an impressive fact on it’s own. While the execution was great, realtors are required to post their listings proactively to the service, and there’s been issues with Realtor.ca in the past with “scouring” listings. Zoocasa was also successfully sued recently by Century 21 in Canada, and lost cases with individual realtors who took issue with the company “scraping” listings to populate it’s service.

The landlord market is no different. Most of the products for professional property managers and self managing owners seem like they’re geared more for corporations than landlords who have a secondary suite. Television shows like Income Property promote the benefits of having a subsidized mortgage, which has spurned increasing numbers of people to invest in duplexes and triplexes in the climbing Canadian real estate market of the last 10 years. It’s been a good ride and a lot of people have made a lot of money – but when it comes to “managing” a rental, it seems like you’re better off to keep that old manual ledger you picked up at Staples 10 years ago. Dust it off buddy – you’re a landlord now.

That’s changed in the last few years, and there’s been a series of new startups focusing on the small time landlord that have received a significant amount of attention, and in some cases, a significant amount of capital investment. Cozy – a San Francisco based startup – is an example of that. Raising 1.5 million dollars of funding from the likes of Google Ventures and business guru and internet sensation Gary Vaynerchuk. Their aim of focusing on the two biggest pains in the butt for landlords – rental applications and tracking payments – takes a radically simplified look at the job of owning and managing rental property.

There are even cooler examples within the greater real estate realm. Lovely – another San Francisco based startup – has elegantly innovated the common apartment search for renters. One of the more interesting examples I recently came across which is real estate related, is The Dirt, a cool startup out of Toronto – that aims to populate it’s own property database “socially”. Cool idea. Their idea is about the sharing of information vs. Zoocasa’s aim to enhance what existed with MLS.

So what’s going on real estate? Share your thoughts with us.