Do your due dilegence, it could get very messy if u end up picking the wrong tenant. I 100% would ask for proof of income, employment, and pay slip. Resume, reference check and see if it all adds up. If they refuse then show them the door. Ive only rented out to 4 tenants before and ive so far been super lucky with my picks thus far.

I used to just ask my tenants to fill out an information form. It includes stuff like:

- name of employer
- monthly salary
- supervisor / manager
- contact number

It's all based on the honour system, and I supposed most people are not going to lie about that. I'd also call up the supervisor / manager, but again, it is all a matter of the person volunteering that information. It could all be false. But that's where your spidey sense will need to kick in, and you'd have to gauge for yourself how truthful / trustworthy this potential tenant is.

We always ask for proof of employment and income and we do reference checks with the employer and past landlords. My wife is more strict than me so she retains the option to do a criminal record check and credit check - I think it's a bit much but this ain't no fight I want a part of and she's never done it anyways. Rather than a credit check I'd rather just go over how long they've stayed at past places and why they moved (if they're jumping around a lot).

Keep in mind you're letting them into your home on a semi-permanent basis (getting them out can be pretty hard) so get to know them at least a bit.

^ I’ve found that even saying you may check those things is enough to deter a lot of bad tenants.

Even asking for monthly cheques seems to eliminate a lot of lazy/potentially bad tenants. We’ve always taken e-transfer but just asking for cheques seems to trip people out who don’t have their banking/finances in order lol

Yeah, 100% true about even suggesting a credit check/criminal record check - the application my wife gives out includes them giving us authorization to conduct both and I'd say it definitely makes the shady/sketchy ones go away.

re: Cheques - man, I don't even know how to get cheques anymore. The only physical cheques I have left are from 4 addresses ago.

so very helpful, thanks RS

which websites or services do you guys use for criminal record and credit checks?

If you're lucky the applicant will use a bank that offers free credit checks and they could show you their score using their bank app (or send a screenshot from their computer). They could also sign up for services like Credit Karma (I use them) and share a report with you. This is the lowest cost, lowest friction way to do it IMO.

If that's not possible then I believe you can go directly to Equifax or Transunion to submit a request - you'd need written consent from the applicant to do this though. Bit of a PITA I think and one that we never went through.

Edit: Here's a writeup on how to do a tenant credit check: https://www.tiltgroup.ca/3-credible-...checks-canada/

Edit2: I also Google all my applicants - I check out their social media etc. I do it to see that the story they tell is consistent with what I can find and I don't care about their lifestyle choices unless it would personally affect me (like if you are anti-vax or you're a Nazi or something).

I hear ya, but you can usually order cheques online directly from online banking, and can even request that the address is removed so it is just the name.

My daughter's preschool requires individual posted dated checks for deposits, tuition, after-school, supplemental fees etc which drives me crazy.

It's a way to weed any bad parents out :troll:

i just hired a management company to take care of my rental property. saves me the hassle of having to check each applicant and rental agreement. anything that comes up, the management company will take care of.

I know everyone has their preferences, but my FAVOURITE tenants are the ones in trades.

They wake up early and go to sleep early, they're out of the house most of the day, and they're usually always working. They're always chill, come home have a couple beer, and just relax. They don't ever complain either and they always have money on them.

In our experiences, they are always open to help with anything as well.

Health sector workers can be like that as well - long hours, reliable work, usually exhausted from work so quiet when at home.

FWIW, my tenant is looking for a new place due to the sale of my house. She's really, really awesome - clean, polite, quiet, cooks food that smells great. Her side hustle is cleaning people's homes in West Van so she's away a lot. If you've got a place for under $1500 that's convenient to UBC and you're looking let me know - she'll be the best tenant you'll ever have.

I’m really close to Langara College, and realistically ~40 mins from UBC via transit, so my tenants have always been students. Best part is that usually their parents pay their rent so that’s not an issue. Even better if they go home to their parents’ homes for the weekend!

How much are the fees?

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Personally, this is a waste of money
If you want to sit back, then all to ya

Rentals chew up 10 hours a year on avarage for me

Managements usually charge 5-10%

5% on a 2000/mo rental is 1200 a year. 2400 if 10%.

Id happily deal with tenants for 10hrs a year, so that i dont need to pay 120-240$/hr to management

Unless your property is in another city, or you have multiple properties, I don’t think it’s worth hiring a property management company. You pay them monthly whether they do any actual work or not.

Did you offer to take her with you to your new place?

I have 2 rental suites downstairs. One side had been with us since we moved in. The other side turned over 3 times in the last 6 years.

First tenant - Chinese couple in their 40s-50s. I was able to Google their employment profile. Turned out great. They had to move due to wanting more space.

Second tenant - single Chinese guy who works at a car dealership. Again verified employment. He even volunteered his clean criminal record which I thought was interesting.

Third tenant - single Japanese guy who works as a car mechanic. He was good too.

1 bedroom is easy to find the ideal tenant. Weird arrangements tend to appear when it comes to 2 bedrooms. I had the option to close 1 door to make the 2 bd become 1 bd instead. I felt like that was the best solution.

Also, don’t rush renting out your suite. Waiting for 1-2 more months for the right tenant is better than having to kick them out later. Always do proper forms to protect yourself.

Yeah but my new place is too far from UBC for her - I'd otherwise be willing to rent to her for below market.

100%. Don't rush to rent out - sometimes the timing isn't right. My place became available right when COVID started so there was very little interest and the applicants weren't appealing to us so we left it empty for 3 months. Don't depend on 12 months of rental income a year - plan for 9-10 months so you have some flexibility (banks only take into account 50% of it).

So true for the 2 bedrooms. I listed my 2 bedroom basement and I get all sorts of whack living arrangements (family of 5, 4 roomates, multiple people asking for pets). I have that option to close one bedroom to keep for myself but we already have all the room we need and want to avoid hoarding.

Question for you all: how often do you go on gut instinct? I do all those checks that everyone mentions but sometimes I just can't get pass myself to choose a particular person just based on gut feeling and their vibe with us. I know this isnt a job interview but I feel its really important for our family especially with a toddler upstairs that we need someone that would be a right fit not just with the rental but with us. Mind you I probably wont be this stringent with gut feeling if it was one of our rental apartments as we wont technically be "living with them".

First couple we had in our suite was a gut feeling over others who seemed more “qualified” on paper. Ended up being some of the nicest people I’ve ever met and the perfect tenants. They were a couple from the states and we would even have dinner with them occasionally etc. Was very sad when they moved out for more space

I know you guys say only use management companies if you're lazy, but does that provide you with any additional protection if the renter's trash the place? Do you get any compensation from the company for giving you bad renter's? Or you charge them for the damages?:pokerface:

Any referrals for companies that can tell you which walls you can take down / which aren't load bearing when renovating a kitchen?

Hired a structural engineering company but their advice seems to be a bit overkill (installing steel beams, ripping the flooring to add more foundation, keeping a few pillars etc), want to get a second opinion as I've seen similar homes that have done renos without doing all that stuff.

If you don't mind waiting one or two months, then just lower your rent. If you're just under market rent you'll have so many people to choose from.

It's crazy how many of my friends don't talk to the potential renters when they come by. Every single renter of mine I talk to them for at least 10-15mins if I think they'll be a good candidate.

Ask them about their job, what they like to do on the weekend, where they're from, family, etc. It gives you a good feel when they answer.

If you wait a month or two that = same cost as property management

For me the waiting or downtime to clean, paint, etc. And find the right tenant is a long term investment as opposed to hastily finding a tenant you regret for that loss in a months rent