October 15th, 2012
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Living in Duncan, BC, With a Rental Property In Barrie, Ontario, a Landlord Says Be Careful When Hiring a Property Management company!
If She Is In BC, Why the Warning for Barrie, Ontario?
You see, while she now lives in BC her rental property is in Barrie. It was her home before she and her family moved to British Columbia for a new job.
Rather than sell the house, she decided to rent it out.
Sounds Like a Good Investment Strategy
She has a very serious warning for landlords.
Here is Her Story
A New Job and a New Start
After living in Barrie for more than 18 years, her family went to British Columbia for new jobs. She hired a a large property management company to handle the renting out of her Barrie, Ontario house. Since she and her family would be in British Columbia, it was important to have a reputable company take care of the property and make sure it was safe and legal.
Becoming a New Landlord and the Problems with the Property Management Company
She decided to hire this PM company because they said they offered full service care to create a worry free feeling for the landlord. The landlords experience was very different than what was advertised. She knew how dangerous it was to become a landlord and not be ready for bad tenants.
The property management company rented to tenants with a very bad credit check, lots of evictions in the past, and who were even known by the police there!
After complaining to the property management company, they gave the landlord 30 days notice and washed their hands from putting a bad tenant into the rental unit.
Dealing with Bad Tenants From the Other Side of the Country
Working from the other side of the country the landlords finally got an eviction notice, without any help from the former property management company. Then, right before the eviction the government stepped in and paid the rent for the bad tenants.
This mean… still no eviction.
The Tenants Were on Ontario Works, aka “Welfare”
That landlord says that her tenants are funded by Ontario Works. They were known to the police. They don’t pay any rent or utilities. She says they won’t even cut the lawn. And the eviction process starts again. Unfortunately, the landlord couldn’t find the help she really needed.
The Landlord and Her Family Are Now In An Extremely Difficult Situation
With now over $8,000 in legal fees the landlord asks who will help her family pay the bill? Her family is near bankruptcy.
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Landlords, this is an excellent warning if you have rentals in other provinces., especially anti-landlord, pro-bad tenant provinces such as Ontario.
Tags: Barrie, Ontario, Property Management
