Real Estate

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Buying and managing residential real estate (detached house, semi-detached, condo or apartment, townhouse, etc.) consists of many, many different moving pieces.

Renting out and being a landlord in Ontario is not for the faint or heart and requires many important skills if you want to be successful at it. There are many rules governing this business relationship and they must all be taken seriously and you must know about them if you are planning to be a successful landlord in Ontario.

Here are some of the items you have to consider when considering buying a new residential piece in Ontario:

  • are you pre-approproved for a mortgage and is it variable or is it fixed-term?
  • property maintenance (gardening, shoveling, general grounds tending, etc.)
  • are you renting it out? What kind of tenant are you looking for? Know ALL the ins and the outs/rules of the Landlord and Tenant Board and know them all well
  • how is the quality of your roof?
  • are all your appliances working?
  • flooring, countertops, etc.
  • have you checked out the land survey?
  • are there big trees on the property?
  • nearby amenities
  • transit accessibility
  • much more

With home real estate prices being what they are in Ontario and around the world, you must carefully consider all of these things. The ticket acquisition (asking and offering) price is not the end of it. In fact, it’s just the beginning.

Here are some of the items you have to consider when considering renting a residential piece in Ontario:

  • are you going to list the property on MLS? Kijiji? A rental magazine?
  • are you going to list the property yourself or with a real estate agent?
  • are you prepared to pay the real estate agent’s fee and the cooperating agent’s fee?
  • what are some things that are included in standard Ontario residential leases (and therefore, you cannot get around those items)?
  • what are some things that are not included in standard Ontario residential leases (and therefore, you have some wiggle room with those)?
  • what are the fixed chattels and amenities you are providing in the space and that will stay there for your tenants?
  • in Ontario, tenants do not have to leave after the first year of tenancy, even if the lease is originally only for one year. Tenants in Ontario can stay for many years so are you prepared to not have your space back for some time?

All of these things are very important considerations to take into account because they are things you are going to have to deal with (whether you liek it or not) should you decide to go down this path of being a residential real estate landlord in Ontario.