What is the cost of hiring a property Manager?
As a property manager I am often asked why would I hire you when I can do this myself.
It’s a good question. You could argue there are many things in today’s society that have become easier for everyone due to technology. I would argue in the past we did more things ourselves before utilising a paid service.
Growing up my parents’ idea of detailing their car was making me wash and clean the car. Kids would buy old cars and fix them up. Repair the body, change the oil, spark plugs and many other car repairs. Now that is a lost art, due to technology and the cars being more complicated. In today’s world of technology all services are being marketed as easy to perform.
When you are hiring anyone performing a service for you, you are hiring them for the expertise they provide, not just the tasks they perform. When hiring a property manager you are asking them to perform tasks which when done correctly are very time consuming. Renting your property and selecting a tenant can be a very exhaustive process, and if you are working full time and trying to manage your property on the side, are you performing the required tasks with the full attention it needs?.
When I hear and read stories of a negative tenancy experience, there are often telling signs of missing basic tasks or efforts to properly screen or search for a tenant. Common traits of poor tenant selection include, “they appeared to be very nice people”, “I thought the number they provided was the landlords”, “ the information they provided was fake”.
All of the above are things that are easily missed if you don’t read between the lines, and some basic ideas can help you understand these issues better. When I hear someone say that they appeared to be nice, I cringe. Remember that saying “never judge a book by it’s cover” It works both ways, people may look good on first impressions, but don't let that cloud your judgement on the information they provide. You still must check out all the details.
How do you confirm the number provided belongs to the landlord?. This is a bit easier than you think in today’s world due to technology. What is that phrase, “don’t believe everything you read”. Before making the phone call, do some research online to verify the address of the property, try to look up the phone number. The internet gives you a look at the neighbourhood of the house and things around it. When speaking to the landlord, ask them to confirm the address by purposely giving them the wrong street number of the address, or describe things in the area. This will sometimes trip up a person who was asked to lie for someone as they might not remember the correct address. A real landlord of the property will know the correct address.
I have heard some landlords have allowed tenants to provide a credit check they provide with their application. You must assume any and all information a prospect provided may be inaccurate or fake. Even if they provide a credit check, perform your own credit check to verify the information.
Performing all the above tasks can be very time consuming and take many different calls to the numbers provided in the application. By hiring a property manager you are hiring an expert who can perform these tasks in a timely and effective manner. Property management is still a business which is people oriented. Relying entirely on technology to perform your due diligence will almost always result in a negative tenancy for the landlord. The cost of a negative tenancy often turns into a very expensive result for a Landlord, with unpaid rent, damage to the property and eviction costs. If you want a positive tenancy hire a property manager to help you through all the stages of managing a rental property. The cost of a property manager will be less than the negative tenancy.
If you need assistance managing your rental property, Cartref Properties can assist you, call today to discuss your needs. You can find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com
Can I charge for new fobs and move-in fees?
In BC most of the rental housing in today’s market is located within Strata Corporations. There are some fees associated within a Strata Corporation that affect a landlord can pass to the tenant. Every Strata Corporation will have a move-in fee for when a new person occupies the unit. Some buildings have a move in and move out fee to be charged each time a person comes or goes. Another common charge in Strata Corporations are the fob or access devices. Almost all buildings have a keyless system and use a fob to access the building. The fobs have a cost to purchase which is much more than a standard key for the building.
Landlords often ask who pays for these costs. Section 7 of The Residential Tenancy Regulations outlines allowable non-refundable fees that a Landlord may charge a tenant. The cost of the move-in fees and the costs to replace or purchase additional access devices are costs a landlord may have the tenant pay for. A key part of section 7 often miss understood is that the allowable costs are the “direct cost” for the new fob or the move-in fee. What this means is if the Strata Corporation charges the landlords a move-in fee of $100 that is the amount you charge the tenant. When Cartref Properties rents a property we often have the tenant pay directly to the Strata Corporation the move-in fee. This shows the tenant we are not overcharging the fee, and the strata are able to collect the funds directly upon move-in. With regards to the access devices, often landlords try to make money by selling the fob for a price higher than they paid for the item. The strata charge to the owner is $80 for a new fob and the Landlord charges the tenant $100. This is not allowed as the $100 is not the direct cost for the fob. If the tenant finds out they overpaid they may have a valid case to file with RTB to be refunded the overpayment. If your building doesn’t have a fob system and uses keys the direct cost factor also applies. Cutting a key is very minimal compared to a key fob, yet the direct cost factor still applies.
There are other costs included in section 7 in which landlords are allowed to charge tenants for including returned cheque fees incurred by your financial institution, late rent payment fees, and fees for services or utilities which are not included in the tenancy agreement.
When being a Landlord it is important to know your rights and obligations.
If you need assistance managing your rental property, Cartref Properties can assist you, call today to discuss your needs. You can find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com
A tenancy agreement is a Contract between two parties
I hear many landlords say my tenants are great, they pay rent on time every month, we have no issues. Later they advised the tenants obtained a dog or cat but it is a good dog so they were okay.
What many Landlords and tenants fail to understand is that a tenancy agreement is a contract between two parties. The agreement usually has multiple different terms and payment of rent is only one of many terms of the contract.
If the tenancy agreement prohibits or restricts pets for example one dog and the tenant goes and gets a cat they are now in violation of the tenancy agreement. At the time a landlord identifies the violation of the tenancy agreement, they have a choice to make. The Landlord can enforce the terms of the agreement or they can choose to not do anything and that in effect changes the terms of the agreement.
When a Landlord chooses to enforce the agreement they need take the action of communicating the issue to the tenant in writing and requesting the correct the issue within a reasonable time frame. For example if a person obtains a pet the landlord would not like the pet at the property they should send the tenant a letter advising them they have a specified time (I would suggest one month) to remove the pet. At the end of the specified period the Landlord should inspect the property to ensure the issue has been rectified. If the pet continues to reside at the property then the landlord can offer the tenant the option to sign a mutual agreement to vacate or to file a claim with the RTB to have the tenant vacated for breaching a material term of the agreement.
Failing to take these two actions at the time of identifying the issue could be perceived by the RTB that the landlord was aware of the pet at the property and elected to not evict the tenant, meaning the landlord has accepted the pet at the property. It will be more difficult to evict when you have not responded at the time you have identified the issue.
Section 47 of the Residential Tenancy Act describes the reasons for eviction by a Landlord for cause. Performing regular inspections of your property will provide the landlord the opportunity to ensure their tenants are compliant with the tenancy agreement.
If you need assistance managing your rental property, Cartref Properties can assist you, call today to discuss your needs. You can find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com
Professional Tenants
I have heard the term professional tenants from many Landlords. They describe these tenants as people who take advantage of Landlords and continue this process with each tenancy they enter. How do Professional Tenants continue to find places to rent?
Landlords suggest there should be a bad tenant list to identify these types of people preventing them from renting, or their rent should be applied to credit rating bureaus so landlords can see if they pay rent on time. These tools exist already, they just take a little bit of effort. For every tenant's rent to be included in credit reports would require landlords to engage in a process to have the information collected. Many industries like telecommunications where phone bills etc are on credit ratings are very regulated industries allowing this process to be included. This would add costs for landlords, many of whom are already complaining about the costs associated with being a landlord.
What can Landlords do to help prevent these situations?
The first step is performing due diligence during the tenant selection process. I recently saw an application a landlord received from a tenant where they identified on the application that they made $5000/ month. They then submitted backup documents, a tax return assessment which was clearly not legible if it belonged to the applicant. The tax assessment indicated the person earned $150K the prior year. That's a major red flag and a question should be asked to clarify the difference, because $5000 times 12 is only $60,000 not $150,000. In this case the landlord eventually lost about $20k in lost rent, damages and cost to evict the tenants. That is not the tenants fault, because the landlord failed to perform adequate due diligence.
During the tenancy the landlord should inspect the unit regularly to ensure the tenant is meeting all the terms of the agreement, as non payment of rent is only one of many reasons a tenant may be evicted from a property. Many landlords determine a successful tenancy when the tenant pays rent on time each month, and is often unaware of the ongoings at the property. I know of a tenancy where the landlord failed to inspect the unit in the three years the tenant lived there. The tenant’s girlfriend moved in one year into the tenancy. The tenancy agreement had a clause which required the tenant to pay the landlord a fee equivalent to half a month’s rent if more tenants moved into the property. A simple inspection would have identified this issue, instead the tenant vacated without ever paying the additional fee. If there are issues relating to damages at that time, a Landlord is not required to wait until the end of the tenancy to seek costs for repairing damages. I have had multiple hearings with the RTB requesting tenants pay for a repair we completed where damage was caused by tenants, and after the hearing the tenant continued to reside at the property.
At the end of the tenancy it is important to complete the move out inspection, which is a continuation of the move in inspection. If there are any issues this is the time to dispute them. If there are major costs which exceed the damage deposit, then the Landlord should file for the right to keep the deposit and collect other expenses associated with the end of the tenancy. If a monetary order is awarded, a Landlord has the right to file the order in court and have the order applied to their credit history. Many landlords are not willing to take these actions, viewing them as time consuming or stating that the individual has no money so I will never see their funds anyway. Failing to take these actions allows the “Professional Tenants” to find another landlord they can take advantage of. If a previous landlord had followed through on these actions, you may not have rented to your current tenant.
Being a Landlord means you are operating a business. I see many landlords try to run it as though it is not a business. They try to bend or circumvent the rules to meet their needs. Ask tenants to do things they are not supposed to, including not have a proper tenancy agreement, or try to change the agreement after a tenant moves in. Being a Landlord is more complicated than it appears from the outside.
Any business has risks associated with it. Retail stores have windows broken, products stolen, Restaurants have items broken, meals not paid for ect. The best way to eliminate or minimize the risks of being a landlord is to hire a professional property manager. It helps to have professionals on your side, to prevent a professional from taking advantage of you.
If you need assistance managing your rental property, Cartref Properties can assist you, call today to discuss your needs. You can find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com
What is a Form K?
Living in a Strata Corporation can be complicated, you own the home but unlike individual houses there are additional rules and bylaws residents must abide by. All Strata Corporations have “rules and bylaws” which are created by the ownership voting and approval at General Meetings. All residents including tenants living in Strata Corporations are required to follow the rules and bylaws. How do tenants know what the rules and bylaws are to ensure they are in compliance?
Strata Corporations are governed by legislation in British Columbia called the Strata Property Act. Section 146 of the act explains the requirement for landlords to provide tenants a copy of the rules and bylaws “before the tenant rents the property”. A “Form K” also known as “Notice of Tenant Responsibilities” must be signed by the landlord and the tenant before the start of the tenancy. The Strata Property Act also requires owners to provide a copy of the signed form K to the Strata Corporation within two weeks of renting the property. Many Strata Corporations have added bylaws making it a requirement that Landlords provide the signed form k as outlined in section 146, which provides Strata Corporations the ability to take actions including applying fines if a form K is not provided.
It is important to understand that having tenants sign the form K and sending it to the Strata Corporation isn’t all that is required. A form k is an acknowledgement by the landlord that they provided a current copy of the rules and bylaws to the tenant. When tenants sign the form K Landlord’s should provide current copies of the rules and bylaws, explain to the tenant why they are signing this form, as they are required to comply with the rules and bylaws and should read the documents provided to them. Another overlooked aspect is rules and bylaws often change during a tenancy. The Strata Property regulations standard form K identifies the need for tenants to comply with the “changed” rules and bylaws. During a tenancy, tenants may not be aware of changes to rules and bylaws unless the Landlord provides them with updates. A majority of tenants are not informed of communication in the Strata Corporation as the Strata Corporation will convey information to the home owners. It is the homeowner or Landlord's responsibility to communicate information to the tenants. After each general meeting Landlords should review minutes of the meeting to review changes made to the rules and bylaws. If they are changed or new ones added, Landlords have the obligation to provide the changed rules and bylaws to their tenants. When changes have occurred Landlords should have tenants sign a document identifying they have received the new or changed rules and bylaws.
Properly completing the “Notice of Tenant's Responsibilities” protects both the landlord and the tenant by clearly explaining the expectations of both parties during the tenancy.
You can find more information about us at: www.cartrefproperties.com