TIPS & TRICKS FOR YOUR
FIRST INVESTMENT PROPERTY Purchasing your first investment property can be a daunting adventure, from finding your tenant to deciding whether you are going to take on the property management of your property yourself. It’s important that you take the time to understand the process and what will work best with your business strategy, but don’t be scared to ask for a little help! Finding your Perfect Tenant The lease process is simple but can have major consequences if not done correctly. When choosing to list your unit for rent, you need to clean the unit and take photos of all the main rooms and the outside of the unit. Make sure all photos are landscape so they show better online. Once this is done, you want to establish what the details of the lease are going to be. This includes what utilities are included, the start date, the price, and what the landlord and tenant responsibilities are. After these details are laid out, you can post your unit on Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji, as well as other student rental sites if you’re looking for that demographic. You can also hire a Realtor to do all of this for you and get the added benefit of your unit being listed on the MLS and Realtor.ca!
Happy Tenant Means Happy Landlord First and foremost, it’s important to be open and communicative with your tenant no matter what. Be sure to respond to them promptly and respectfully because the happier they are with you as their landlord, the less chance there will be for issues to arise. Once you start receiving applications you need to properly analyze potential tenants to find the right fit for your unit. You will always want to obtain a full credit report— neighbourly is a great application for this—as well as proof of income and employment like paystubs or a letter of employment indicating salary. You will also want to follow up with the references your applicant provides to get a better feel for who they are and how respectful of your unit they will be.
The main reason why you will be contacted will be for maintenance issues that may arise. If you’re not a handy person yourself, consider vetting a local handyman that’s trusted in the area to be your right hand mand. Hiring a handyman on a per incident basis will save you the monthly fee a property manager will charge you because it is very rare that a tenant will have a maintenance issue every month.
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Email us at homesplus@westsidepartners.ca
