What's That Noise

Not a lot surprises us here at the ROMS BC office. We get countless questions about some incredibly bizarre situations, however they are our everyday norm. Though from time to time, we hear something so strange, we just can’t help but share it. 

In early November, June, a manager who never ceases to astound us with her sensational stories and ability to cope, called to ask for advice. This time, her story started out with a simple noise complaint. Edie and Gerald, tenants in the basement suite of the fourplex June manages, wrote a very polite complaint about the noise coming from the unit above them (Susan and her two young children occupy the suite above). Because Susan had always been a wonderful tenant, we recommended that June speak with her about the issue. When Susan got home that day, June went up to her unit and asked if she could come in. June entered the unit and before she even had the chance to say why she was there, she saw the culprit. Susan had set up a trampoline in the living room for her children to play on. June could not help but laugh; she explained the complaint to Susan, who had figured the mat under the trampoline would absorb all of the noise. June resolved the issue with Susan very easily, but this was definitely one for the book every landlord should write.

-- Hunter Boucher

Landscaping Smaller Properties Attracts Tenants

Reprinted and adapted with kind permission from LPMAnews, news magazine of the London Property Management Association.

Curb appeal isn’t limited to multi-residential complexes. The same principles can be applied to smaller complexes and houses.
 
Ann Pavlic, who owns three rental houses in Old North London, pays extra attention to her landscaping in spring and fall to ensure her properties are in top shape when students are shopping for accommodations in mid- to late-summer. The grass is kept short and bushes are neatly trimmed. Chipped paint, tired porches and windows are also repaired during the summer.
 
“I do it for the business component and curb appeal, but I also do it for my own sense of pride and satisfaction,” she says. “I live in the neighbourhood and I want my properties to mirror the neighbourhood’s level of living. I’ m conscious that there are residents mingling with the rentals and I want to bring that quality up.”
 
When Pavlic bought her houses 10 years ago, she landscaped in a similar way to other homeowners. She planted ground covers that turn colour from spring to fall, as well as ivies that change from green to burgundy.
 
“It looks wonderful. It frames the house beautifully and it kind of puts it in an Old English kind of setting,” she says.
Pavlic advises small landlords to choose low-maintenance plants that require less care. That practice is particularly important in high-traffic areas, such as along walkways.
 
“Choosing carefully, yet attractively is the key. You want to have enough to be appealing, but not too much to have high maintenance and costs,” she adds.

Fill Your Vacancies

Vacancy rates have gone up in many communities across the province, and landlords have had to deal with this in interesting ways. The easiest way to fill your empty units - with little effort - is to have your existing tenants refer their friends and colleagues. If you have a great building in a fantastic location, your vacancy should rent itself and your tenants should want to refer people they know.

But no matter how amazing your building is, in this market a little incentive can certainly help. Some landlords have incentive referral programs where the person who makes the referral receives something small like a gift card to a nearby coffee shop. Most buildings that have this kind of program have simple rules about what qualifies as a referral; for example, the referred applicant has to actually be accepted and move into the building.

A referral incentive program is not just a great way to fill your vacancies; it is a way to make your apartment building a community that people want to live in and stay in - further reducing your vacancies. Remember to make it fun!

 -- Carly Ludwar and Hunter Boucher

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog – information for and dialogue among BC’s residential landlords. What question do you have? What’s your pet peeve as a landlord? How do you find – and keep – good renters?

LandlordMentor and AdviserToTheAdvisers have many answers and – like any good mentors or advisors – are always learning more.

Who is LandlordMentor? He is CEO of the Rental Owners and Managers Society of BC for 11 years, previously corporate real estate executive, labour negotiator, human resources professional and – in the dark ages – RCMP Officer.

Who is AdviserToTheAdvisers? She is the Member Service Manager, in the service industry for nearly 10 years, who is in charge of all advice and service that leaves the ROMS BC office.

"Can I pay you on the 23rd? I just bought a new laptop and it cost a little more than I thought. Sorry."

"Man, is it a new month already? Wow."

Do you have to put up with these excuses – and the more creative ones? In a word, NO! Rent is due on the first of the month; that doesn’t mean the second! You can issue a Notice to End Tenancy on the second and your renter then has five calendar days to pay the full rent, or move out!

Want to learn more? Go to www.romsbc.com or post here.
Happy Day!

-- LandlordMentor