Posts Tagged ‘BC Landlord Forum’

Thinking of Becoming a Landlord? Secondary Suites May Be The Answer

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

May 1st, 2013

BC landlord secondary suite

Living on the North Shore may be desirable, but it is incredibly expensive. For this very reason, many people are looking into becoming a landlord by incorporating a secondary suite into their home in order to cover a little bit of mortgage, while also providing a small bit of profit.

Being a landlord can be challenging and there are potential challenges ahead, the rules and laws in British Columbia are very fair for landlords compared to other provinces such as Ontario, as this Barrie, Ontario landlord story shows.

The definition of a secondary suite in a building is a dwelling which is completely separate from the main dwelling. For example, this could mean a basement suite, which is perhaps the most popular on the North Shore.

If you are planning to incorporate a secondary suite into your home then it is important that you follow a few rules and regulations to ensure that you are not only acting legally, but also to ensure that you will not be putting anybodys life in danger. Follow these rules, and you should be fairly fine, and may be able to even turn a profit if you have a bit of space to rent out.

1.     It doesn’t matter how much space you have in your property, the law currently states that you can only have one secondary suite in a single-family building. You are also unable to divide this and sell it out. You can only rent it.

2.     The owner of the property must live in the property. They are either allowed to occupy the primary dwelling or the secondary suite.

3.     The secondary suite cannot cover an area more than 40 per cent of the entire area of the property. However, it can only be a maximum of 969 square feet.

4.     The secondary suite must have its own exit to the exterior of the property. You cannot exit through the primary dwelling.

5.     There must be an off-street space to park a car for those that will be residing in the secondary suite.

6.     All of the floors and walls within the suites and any corridors need to be fire rated to ensure they are not a hazard to the residents in the event of a fire.

7.     There must be an electrical sub-panel especially for the use of those that live within the secondary suite.

8.    The minimum height of the ceiling has to be six feet and eight inches. This needs to be everywhere within the secondary unit.

9.     Both the primary and the secondary suite should have their own separate heating and ventilation system.

If you want to get the most value out of your property then it does make sense financially to add a secondary suite to the building, even if you do have to carry out a couple of modifications. You may want to get in touch with the local building inspectors to check if you are doing it right, after all, this will help avoid fines and any other penalties in the future.

To discuss this and other landlord issues and opportunities for people in British Columbia go to the free BC Landlord Forum , the #1 landlord forum in BC.

Tags:
Posted in Secondary Suites | Comments Off on Thinking of Becoming a Landlord? Secondary Suites May Be The Answer

BC LANDLORD PROTECTION Membership Is Now Available!

Thursday, March 5th, 0201

BC Landlord Protection Header

In These Challenging Times We Have Created A New Level Of Membership To Help BC Landlords Succeed

PROTECTION MEMBERSHIP Provides You With Tools & Services To Succeed For A ONE-TIME FEE

Landlords across the province know there are a lot of great renters out there. These are people who pay the rent on time and respect you and your rental property. They follow the rules and treat the rental like it’s their own home.

When you rent to these types of tenants being a landlord is a nice and often profitable experience. Being a BC landlord can be an exciting and profitable business.

Sure there are always stories of landlords facing problems in British Columbia.  But long term veterans know that if you have a professional tenant screening system and a strong network to assist you if any problems with tenants arise being a landlord can be fulfilling business investment. However, these same experienced landlords know we face new challenges.

BC Landlords Face A Lot of New Challenges

New landlords already know that one of the biggest challenges is the price just to buy your investment property.  We have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a nice and attractive rental that good tenants are looking for.

With these types of prices we need to make sure we rent to tenants who pay on time and don’t make any damages. And while there are lots of great tenants out there, if you aren’t careful you ca get burned.

A Vancouver landlord was forced to set up a ‘Go Fund Me’ page after a tenant turned his rental condo into “brothel/ prostitute ring” and trashed his property.

BC landlords also face a lot of new rules such as the “vacancy tax” and more. What’s troubling is things that hard working landlords know are important for our success, such as allowing for fixed term leases, are being changed and it’s unfair.

We also have a new rent guideline formula.  For years we were allowed to raise the rent on existing tenants by the rate of inflation, plus an extra 2%.  So the rent increase guideline for 2019 was originally announce at 4.5%.

However, now the guideline has been changed and it’s only 2.5%.  Experienced landlords know our costs are going up and 2.5% is too low.

The list goes on and on (including legal marijuana) with one common theme: more rights for bad tenants and less rights for good landlords.

It’s why BC landlords need to network and help each other like never before.

A New Level Of Membership: BC LANDLORD PROTECTION MEMBERSHIP

With all these new challenges our BC team of landlords has come up with PROTECTION Membership to help landlords succeed. 

LANDLORD PROTECTION BUTTON LARGE

We’re landlords too and have “skin in the game” and are not bureaucrats getting a salary to ineffectively “defend landlord interests” with many false facts.  We know how important it is for landlords to protect ourselves and our rental properties!

For only an affordable one-time registration fee (no yearly fee) BC landlords get access to a ton of amazing tools and services that can’t be beat. Here are some of the benefits of membership:

BC Landlord Rental Kit

Get access to applications, notices and everything you need in our online library available to you 24/7.

Access To The Forums, Including the Private Members Forum Not Seen By The General Public

Network with other BC landlords and property managers as well as experienced landlords from across Canada to help you and your rental business succeed. In our Private Members Forum posts are not available to the general public and everyone is a verified landlord

Discounts on Premium Credit Checks

Get huge discounts on premium credit checks. We have partnered with Rent Check. They have over 40 years of experience in the industry and their checks PROTECT YOU FROM POTENTIAL COMPLAINTS TO THE PRIVACY COMMISSIONER AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS BUREAU. Rent Check is no intrusive and for only $9.99 you protect yourself.

Criminal Checks To Add To Your Tenant Screening System

We now offer low cost criminal checks to make sure you protect your rental property.

Insurance Discounts

Get access to great insurance products for a big discount

Property Management Software

Manage your rentals the right way with discounts on terrific property management software.

Become a BC Landlord PROTECTION Member and Get Amazing Tools and Services To Help Your Rental Business Succeed and Make Profits!

All for a one-time registration fee!  We help landlords because we’re landlords too!

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in BC landlords, BC landlords forums, Credit checks, Landlord Tenant Dispute, Membership | Comments Off on BC LANDLORD PROTECTION Membership Is Now Available!