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Posted

I am single dad and pay child support for 3 boys. They are well worth it and it is my responsibility, but I will be renting for most of my life.

 

I love my trips up north and have been seriously considering buying a place up there and renting it out. Its the only place I can afford property. Just wondering if anyone has done this? Pros? Cons? I would be about 4 hrs drive away from the property.

Posted

A friend of mine had a place and spent all of time in court trying to evict. And the repairs, well another story.

You have to find the right people and who will actually pay after the first month. If they don't pay it's hard to get rid of them.

Posted

Glad to see that even in tough times your chin is still up. Sorry I don't have any info on what your really after. Best of luck and I wish you nothing but success.

Posted

This is taking a while for me to type - only got one hand I can use right now and I'm spending extra time correcting to make sure to be clear...

Speaking as a former administrator for a major landlord I can honestly say that IF you have a LARGE warchest (read $$$) to cover repairs, maintenance, legal and other expenses along with suffering not being able to collect large sums of unpaid rent and can stomach the grief professional tenants (ya they exist) can give you then by all means go for it. I'm sure you recognize this as planning for the worst and hoping for the best - because IF you get good responsible tenants (ya they do exist) it can be rewarding as well.

Never invest more than you are prepared to lose, if you get a mortgage to buy a rental depending on the rent to cover all the costs and maybe a dollar or two extra, consider what would happen in a worst case scenario of a bad tenant and your ability to survive the very high costs and lost income that occur when the worst happens. It can take months to just get a ruling in your favour, with more time after that for the tenants to be evicted legally by the sheriff, then repairs etc while no money is coming in, and a huge outstanding unpaid rental account to try and collect, again with associated costs. Meanwhile the bank/mortgagee, utilities and taxes all wanna be paid regardless of what you might have coming in.

Suggest you might wanna review some case histories on CANLII and/or the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board sites before you spend dollar number one. Might even wanna google for professional tenants and see what horror stories are out there.

Sorry to be such a downer but I've spent enough time in the past appearing before the various boards, tribunals and small claims courts to have been on a first name basis with many of the members and judges. Every single item I've outlined I've had hands on experience with. Probably why I ain't doing it now - took a toll on me!

 

Michael

Posted (edited)

I say just save money and go and explore the world! :D

 

Thank god everything in my family is going well, but living in gta, I may never buy a house either. In the end, as long as there is a roof over our heads,food to survive, and I do my best to keep my family happy, I feel I should be fine without ever having to own a house. In the end, the children probably hardly ever live in the same place their parents worked hard to make their home. They usually sell it first thing, and use the money to buy their own home elsewhere.

 

best of luck!

Edited by huzzsaba
Posted

This is taking a while for me to type - only got one hand I can use right now and I'm spending extra time correcting to make sure to be clear...

Speaking as a former administrator for a major landlord I can honestly say that IF you have a LARGE warchest (read $$$) to cover repairs, maintenance, legal and other expenses along with suffering not being able to collect large sums of unpaid rent and can stomach the grief professional tenants (ya they exist) can give you then by all means go for it. I'm sure you recognize this as planning for the worst and hoping for the best - because IF you get good responsible tenants (ya they do exist) it can be rewarding as well.

Never invest more than you are prepared to lose, if you get a mortgage to buy a rental depending on the rent to cover all the costs and maybe a dollar or two extra, consider what would happen in a worst case scenario of a bad tenant and your ability to survive the very high costs and lost income that occur when the worst happens. It can take months to just get a ruling in your favour, with more time after that for the tenants to be evicted legally by the sheriff, then repairs etc while no money is coming in, and a huge outstanding unpaid rental account to try and collect, again with associated costs. Meanwhile the bank/mortgagee, utilities and taxes all wanna be paid regardless of what you might have coming in.

Suggest you might wanna review some case histories on CANLII and/or the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board sites before you spend dollar number one. Might even wanna google for professional tenants and see what horror stories are out there.

Sorry to be such a downer but I've spent enough time in the past appearing before the various boards, tribunals and small claims courts to have been on a first name basis with many of the members and judges. Every single item I've outlined I've had hands on experience with. Probably why I ain't doing it now - took a toll on me!

 

Michael

 

Thank you for the honest feedback and for taking the time to write that with one hand! Lol. I didnt think it could be that hard to deal with bad renters

Posted

Are you talking short term seasonal rentals or full time Pete? There's a big difference. If it full time and you are 4 hours away from the property it may ruin you unless you can afford a local property manager to maintain it for you and that is not free. I have gone with my heart and gut and I have listened to my brain, the brain is usually right like it or not.

Posted

Pete look at properties in my area. Lotsa cheap places up for grabs and we are about to have a big gold rush.

 

In fact my friend just bought a new house in rainy river, 2 stories, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full basement, nice deck and yard, garage etc at $45,000

 

And rainy river(township) is right at the mouth of LOTWs

Posted

I'm in the same boat and I would never do it.

 

The only way I would do it is if my kids were renting the place.

 

Being a tenant sucks. I've never rented in my life either, until now. It sucks, but whaddya gonna do?

 

S.

Posted

I rent right now and I like it. I mean i prefer to own but we havent found the right place yet.

 

But my landlord is fricken awesome! He lets me work or add to the house and docks it off my already rediculously cheap 4 bedrrom home(650/month everything included)

 

But our stove died last week and i let him know, bam, 2 days later new stove! The guy is awesome.

 

Or maybe he just likes us cause im a absolute clean freak lol.

Posted

I am so surpeised at all the negitive comments, I guess it's good to know what can go bad but there is also lots of good tennents out there. Sinker, I know you, I'd rent to you any time because you'd take care of it like it was your own. There are many like you, we rented for a few years until we got our feet under us, never missed a rent payment, left any place we rented as good as or better than when we moved in.

 

We have rented our basement to students for a number of years now and I can tell you with all honesty they have all become super friends and we have never been stiffed for a penny! Mind you, we do live upstairs so it's a little different than what you are talking about.

 

One thing I did learn from a friend is if you rent to someone that is on welfare or something like that, have the rent cheques sent directly to you. That way you can be sure you will always get paid, if they get the money and don't give it to you then you could be stuck and you end up having to go through the system.

 

Just do your homework before you hand someone the keys, do they have a history, do they have a job, do they both work, check referances carefully!

 

Renting out a property can be an excellent way to build for your retirement but like any investment there can be some risk but there can also be some fantastic rewards.

Posted

I rented to someone on welfare . they did not send me the rent money

and when she did not pay me the rent and I called welfare, the said they were going to subtract the amount of the rent on her next check.

I said and give me the money

they said no , they were taking the money back, 800 bucks was to pay rent if she did not pay the rent she was not entitled to the mo ney

I said how do i get my money and they said they do care it was not their concern

they wanted me to sign papers stating she did not pay

I told them I was asking "what if" that it had not happened yet

got the money from her slowly

Posted

Pete look at properties in my area. Lotsa cheap places up for grabs and we are about to have a big gold rush.

 

In fact my friend just bought a new house in rainy river, 2 stories, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full basement, nice deck and yard, garage etc at $45,000

 

And rainy river(township) is right at the mouth of LOTWs

....oh ya I've been keeping a close eye on the T bay to kenora area :)
Posted

I rented to someone on welfare . they did not send me the rent money

and when she did not pay me the rent and I called welfare, the said they were going to subtract the amount of the rent on her next check.

I said and give me the money

they said no , they were taking the money back, 800 bucks was to pay rent if she did not pay the rent she was not entitled to the mo ney

I said how do i get my money and they said they do care it was not their concern

they wanted me to sign papers stating she did not pay

I told them I was asking "what if" that it had not happened yet

got the money from her slowly

My friend rents to people on welfare all the time but always stipulates the rent money must be sent directly to him. He has never had a problem!

Posted

Well, I am going through a divorce right now. And also having to pay child support and spousal support. I WAS a home owner, for 10 years. And have now started renting.

 

My long term goal (5 years) is to buy a house that has a basement apartment and rent that out. That's what I did back when I bought my first house. And I didn't have any major issues with my tenant(s). Helped pay my mortgage, and save money to by my dream home in the country (which I no longer own...) On top of that, one of my tentant was a general contractor, and he fixed the place up nice for me, actually increased the value of my home a little bit.

 

I would shy away from buying a rental property 4 hours away. It could turn out to be an absolute nightmare! Even if you get good tenants, there could be big issues with the house, and you may have to drive back and forth several times a week! Trust me, crap happens man, and it's not worth the few hundred bucks a month you MIGHT make if everything goes well.

Posted (edited)

....oh ya I've been keeping a close eye on the T bay to kenora area :)

What do ya do for work?

 

There is gonna be a good 1400 jobs comin up(nice pay and long term to boot).

 

I was just in rainy river grabbing some groceries and decided to drive around. In a town of about 1000 I found about 15 nice places for sale, and about 20 others being remodelled

 

Beautiful area if you love to hunt and fish and enjoy a quiet lifestyle

 

In a year or two prices will probably double

Edited by manitoubass2
Posted

What do ya do for work?

 

There is gonna be a good 1400 jobs comin up(nice pay and long term to boot).

 

I was just in rainy river grabbing some groceries and decided to drive around. In a town of about 1000 I found about 15 nice places for sale, and about 20 others being remodelled

 

Beautiful area if you love to hunt and fish and enjoy a quiet lifestyle

 

In a year or two prices will probably double

...Carpenter or mechanic either or ...I've built highways up there yrs ago I know the area very well ..I usually do a lac seul trip once a year ..I love it up there
Posted

...Carpenter or mechanic either or ...I've built highways up there yrs ago I know the area very well ..I usually do a lac seul trip once a year ..I love it up there

Cool man! Should think about putting in a resume

Posted

Not on the water...in town. Cant afford waterfront. I am not looking to "make money" necessarily, just cover the mortgage and property taxes. It would be a place I live in when I retire.

 

I wouldnt include utilities cause anyone will need decent credit to get hydro and such.

 

I have read some articles that say to allow 5% of house value for maintenance and repairs....if I quit smoking and bought less beer....that would be covered.

 

If I didnt have 3 young boys I would move there now....but need to be close to them

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