Quick Spruce-Up Between Tenants

Time to do a quick spruce-up between tenants at one of your rental properties. The walls have lots of holes in them from previous tenants hanging pictures and things on the walls over the years.

You could just cover the walls with wallpaper. The drawback is that it is difficult to clean between tenants. One a corner or a seam starts to peel and gets ripped you need to re-do the whole room, which is expensive and time consuming.

You could replace all of the drywall, another costly option. Depending on how bad the walls are, replacing the drywall might be your only real option.

You want to paint with something that is easy to clean and that usually means a semi-gloss. You don’t want to use white because it shows any dirt really quickly and always seems to look dirty.

A textured paint, like Ralph Lauren Suede, will do a decent job camouflaging the imperfections but it’s expensive. You can make your own a lot cheaper. Go to your local pool supply store and pick up some filter sand. This sand is very fine.

In a separate 2 gallon pail, put in one gallon of paint. Start adding the sand to the paint while stirring it. Be sure to keep track of how much sand you are adding because one gallon of paint will not do the whole room. When you get the right consistency for the coverage you want start painting. Remember to stir the paint often because the sand will sink to the bottom.

You can also put a clause in the lease specifying that nothing can be hung on the walls or that only small finishing nails can be used to hang things.

Buying a Rental Property

If you are thinking of buying a rental property there are somethings you need to consider, somethings you need to ask the seller, and somethings you need to put in your offer to purchase.
Questions to ask the seller.
1. Are any tenants in arrears? If so, how much?
2. Do tenants pay their own utilities?
3. When was the last time the rent was increased?
4. Do the tenants have signed lease agreements?
5. If owner pays utilities, copes of utility bills.
6. Ask for a copy of the financial statement showing income and expenses.
7. Does the building meet all the codes?
8. Are the rents always paid on time? Or are they a few days late?
9. How much are the property taxes?

Things to put in your purchase offer.
1. If there are deadbeat tenants that the current owner evict them before closer and that you get vacant possession of the building.
2. That the current owner be responsible for all eviction costs relateing to an inherited deadbeat tenant. You don't want to find out after you take possession that the previous owner lied about any arrears.
3. That the building meets all current codes. That the seller is responsible for bringing the building up to code.
4. All documents or copies of documents relating to the rental property be turned over to you. You will want copies of leases and any notices served on tenants.

You will also want to hire a certified building/home inspector who will provide you with a detailed written report. Make the offer conditional upon a positive inspection report. You might also want to get the advice of an accountant to find out if the property you are considering will turn a profit for you. If the rents aren't high enough to cover the operating costs it is obviously not a good investment. Make sure you have your lawyer look over all paperwork including leases. If he finds something lacking in the leases make it a condition of sale that new leases be signed.
Go to the library or book store and read as much as you can on purchasing and running rental properties. You'll want to go into this venture with as much knowledge as possible.

How to Collect Utility Bills

You’ve got a couple or houses that you’ve rented out. The tenants pay their own utilities, and the utility bills are in their names. If the tenant skips out without paying the utility bills you figure you’re covered, it’s not your debt.

If your tenant skips out without paying their hydro the hydro company can and will go after you, the property owner.

Because of privacy laws the utility company cannot give tell you if your tenant is behind or by how much.

In some jurisdictions you can collect a hydro security deposit and in other jurisdictions you can’t. If you can collect a deposit you must pay the interest on the money deposited.

You could leave the hydro in your name and give the tenant a copy of the bill when it comes in, giving them 14 days to pay it. You might still get stuck with a hydro bill if they don’t pay it. The only way you can have the hydro service disconnected is if you don’t pay the bill. This option will have a negative effect on your credit rating. Also the tenants can take you to court for not paying the bill and having a vital service disconnected. They could end up with a large cash settlement in court.

The best thing to do in this case is to have a clause in the lease that the hydro or other utility is in their name and that they must provide you with proof of payment by a certain date. This date will depend on the billing cycle of the utility. You can also get the tenant to sign a form giving the utility provider permission to give you information regarding their account.

Breaking a clause in the lease is grounds for eviction and you should be able to get rid of the deadbeats before they owe too much. A good lease with all the right clauses is a good insurance policy against the professional tenant.