I was wondering what is the job of a real estate agent for a rental property?...are they suppose to check on references,credit history of the potential tenant?..if there is issues with the tenant do they assist the owner?...
The buyer agent is responsible for bringing the seller agent a client. Both agents ensure that both parties are happy with any reference checks or whatever. The value added is just a series of very minor paperwork and gathering of documentation like credit report and drafting the agreement etc. Surely advice is thrown around somewhere.
Do they assist owner? Probably not. After they collect their commission, they'll probably never want to talk to you again. This is why most people prefer to have a friend or relative as their agent.
What a real estate agent does will be highly variable. The minimum level of service is very minimum: they'll put an ad on MLS, and help you find a tenant if they've got nothing better to do.
Good agents may also take pictures of the property, put ads up on other sites and/or in the newspaper, show the property to tenants (or let a buyer's agent bring tenants by), and if you're really lucky, they may help you do a credit check or swing by staples to pick up a lease document for you.
Bad agents (and I've seen many) will put the ad up on MLS and then not even return phone calls from prospective tenants -- and if they do, they may just try to sell the tenant on buying, not owning, so they can get a buyer's agent commission, and not a month's rent from your rental ad.
I don't think any will help you out with the ongoing stuff like collecting cheques or dealing with issues down the line. For that you want a rental agent or property manager, not a real estate agent (though sometimes a rental agent who will help with that also happens to be a real estate agent).
If you're in Toronto, some people I can recommend 2nd or 3rd hand (don't own a rental myself):
http://landlordrescue.ca/service/
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Rogers wireless phone plan cancellation penalty...
Hi there,
Just wondering if you anyone had experience with cancelling their wireless phone contract with Rogers...
I still have 2 years left with my 3 year contract with Rogers, and they are charging me $400 for the maximum monthly penalty and on top of that $100 for the data plan cancellation. They said the only way to avoid the penalty is to transfer the plan to someone else.
Does anyone know other ways around this hefty cancellation penalty?
Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks.
- If it's for the sake of iPhone 4, you will need to wait another year before you can get another subsidize phone from Rogers (and extend the contract by 3 more years).
- If it's for affordability, call retention and negotiate an affordable plan.
If you really need to get rid of it.
1. Get Rogers retention plan.. to make it attractive.
2. Post your plan in kijiji, craiglist or RFD - FS section.
2 years contract will be a hard sell. You might need to add some cash incentive... Better than paying $500 to cancel it.
if your plan is good, u can convince someone to take over your contract, and that way u'll not need to pay anything (assuming that the person is not asking for money to take over your plan).
Just wondering if you anyone had experience with cancelling their wireless phone contract with Rogers...
I still have 2 years left with my 3 year contract with Rogers, and they are charging me $400 for the maximum monthly penalty and on top of that $100 for the data plan cancellation. They said the only way to avoid the penalty is to transfer the plan to someone else.
Does anyone know other ways around this hefty cancellation penalty?
Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks.
- If it's for the sake of iPhone 4, you will need to wait another year before you can get another subsidize phone from Rogers (and extend the contract by 3 more years).
- If it's for affordability, call retention and negotiate an affordable plan.
If you really need to get rid of it.
1. Get Rogers retention plan.. to make it attractive.
2. Post your plan in kijiji, craiglist or RFD - FS section.
2 years contract will be a hard sell. You might need to add some cash incentive... Better than paying $500 to cancel it.
if your plan is good, u can convince someone to take over your contract, and that way u'll not need to pay anything (assuming that the person is not asking for money to take over your plan).
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Hi guys Collection agency terrorizes me please someone give me an advice I need your help so desperately.
In March, 2008 I lost my job and couldn’t been able to pay my lease every month. During one of my telephone conversation with company representative that I leased the car from, I was advised to return the car back. So I did. I returned the car with mint condition. A month later I received the letter from the same company informing that they lost all my personal information in the way of transporting to the credit burro. They also worried about as it is against the code of confidentiality and if my personal information goes to bad people they can do an Identity fraud. Another month passed I received invoice notifying that I have to pay to the company $16000 CAD as they sold the car with $14000. When I started my own research in OMVIC regulation I found out that before selling the car company should contact with me and ask my opinion about an offer that they have for the car. (Of course if I knew about the $16000 gap I would take my car back) So now collection agency is terrorizing me always motioning that they will take me to the Court. What should I do please help me with your advice. Thank you very much.
If I understand you correctly, you were going to default on your lease so you returned the car back to them. And now you are being faced with a charge you do not understand.
Allow me to explain, I may be wrong so I would advise to go over your original contract. When terminating your lease early you are responsible for any fees and penalties. This includes a very important factor called the residual value. When you obtained your lease they estimated the residual value of the car, the higher the value the lower your lease payments would have been. However there's a downside to that after voluntarily surrendering your leased vehicle, the bank or leasing company sells it. Usually, the vehicle is sent to a dealer-auto auction. Once the vehicle is sold, the net proceeds are applied to your balance at the time of surrender. This balance is not the same as your lease-end residual balance; it equals the lease-end residual plus the remaining payments on your lease contract.
In short, don't default on a car lease. Especially when car prices have dropped which means your car depreciated much faster over the years.
What you should do now depends on your current financial situation. Your credit score is probably very poor so trying to finance out of it will be difficult and it's ill advised unless you want to make 15-20% interest payments. If you have little assets i would declare bankruptcy, but please do check the rules in your province and know how you would be affected before doing so.
http://www.canadian-money-advisor.ca/threadview/4007.html
If I understand you correctly, you were going to default on your lease so you returned the car back to them. And now you are being faced with a charge you do not understand.
Allow me to explain, I may be wrong so I would advise to go over your original contract. When terminating your lease early you are responsible for any fees and penalties. This includes a very important factor called the residual value. When you obtained your lease they estimated the residual value of the car, the higher the value the lower your lease payments would have been. However there's a downside to that after voluntarily surrendering your leased vehicle, the bank or leasing company sells it. Usually, the vehicle is sent to a dealer-auto auction. Once the vehicle is sold, the net proceeds are applied to your balance at the time of surrender. This balance is not the same as your lease-end residual balance; it equals the lease-end residual plus the remaining payments on your lease contract.
In short, don't default on a car lease. Especially when car prices have dropped which means your car depreciated much faster over the years.
What you should do now depends on your current financial situation. Your credit score is probably very poor so trying to finance out of it will be difficult and it's ill advised unless you want to make 15-20% interest payments. If you have little assets i would declare bankruptcy, but please do check the rules in your province and know how you would be affected before doing so.
http://www.canadian-money-advisor.ca/threadview/4007.html
Thinking about investing in a second house for investment purposes. Have some Q's
What are the investor rules for purchasing an investment single family dwelling?
Does my existing house's rental income count as part of my income qualifications? What about the potential income from the investment house?Does that count to qualify for the mortgage? I know you can't do this for your principal dwelling, but is it different for investment/rental housing?
I know I need a min. 20% down, but if I go only the min 20%, do I still need CMHC mortgage insurance as it is below the 25% level?
I know that all expenses can be written off against rental income, but if I have more expenses than rental income, can I write it off against my employment income? If so, how far (ie how long, how many years) can I do this before CRA deems it an investment not having a reasonable expectation of making a profit, or does that even come into play with real estate?
Yes, existing rental income does count, but only a percentage.
Yes, potential rental income does count, but only a percentage.
20% is the minimum that may waive you from CMHC. However, there are other consideration too. Bank may insist that you need CMHC regardless. One of my friend needs 35% down to waive the CMHC requirement.
Yes, you can write against employment income.
You can claim a loss indefinitely under certain circumstances (far too many variables to answer that the same for everyone) but of course you would not be able to use any portion as principle residence at any time.
i.e. if this is a duplex and you rent out both units and take a loss, then you can claim a loss indefinitely . If you were to live in one unit, then no.
- only part of your current and potential income will be included for qualification purposes
- if you are struggling to qualify under current conditions you probably should forget this idea
- residential real estate is one of the most risky options out there today
- current real estate costs are unsubstantiated and could fall dramatically costing you a fortune
- many other investments let you sleep at night, why get into an investment that could
wake you up with gross and trivial emergencies or have you subsidizing a
deadbeat that you can't evict?
You're willing to part with 100% of your money to gain < 50% back as a deduction?
You are hedging on asset appreciation bailing you out of negative cash flow real estate holdings... good luck with that gamble.
- unless you're prepared to do some unsavory things, big profits may be hard to come by
your deductions will not be denied for failing the 'reasonable expectation of profit' test. its pretty dumb to buy a property that is not instantly cash-flow positive especially at today's extremely low interest rates.
What your lender requires as a downpayment is between you and your lender, including the requirement of CMHC insurance. 20% is the minimum without CMHC insurance at a Canadian chartered bank.
I found this to pose a very interesting question and it ends with cra being able to deny expenses which do not have the "pursuit of profit" in mind.
To go back to the OP, it would depend on what sort of expenses he's claiming. If he's actually reinvesting money into the property and the payoff is when he sells for a large profit later, then it makes sense. As stated before he is losing cash flow in the attempt to reduce taxable income.
Does my existing house's rental income count as part of my income qualifications? What about the potential income from the investment house?Does that count to qualify for the mortgage? I know you can't do this for your principal dwelling, but is it different for investment/rental housing?
I know I need a min. 20% down, but if I go only the min 20%, do I still need CMHC mortgage insurance as it is below the 25% level?
I know that all expenses can be written off against rental income, but if I have more expenses than rental income, can I write it off against my employment income? If so, how far (ie how long, how many years) can I do this before CRA deems it an investment not having a reasonable expectation of making a profit, or does that even come into play with real estate?
Yes, existing rental income does count, but only a percentage.
Yes, potential rental income does count, but only a percentage.
20% is the minimum that may waive you from CMHC. However, there are other consideration too. Bank may insist that you need CMHC regardless. One of my friend needs 35% down to waive the CMHC requirement.
Yes, you can write against employment income.
You can claim a loss indefinitely under certain circumstances (far too many variables to answer that the same for everyone) but of course you would not be able to use any portion as principle residence at any time.
i.e. if this is a duplex and you rent out both units and take a loss, then you can claim a loss indefinitely . If you were to live in one unit, then no.
- only part of your current and potential income will be included for qualification purposes
- if you are struggling to qualify under current conditions you probably should forget this idea
- residential real estate is one of the most risky options out there today
- current real estate costs are unsubstantiated and could fall dramatically costing you a fortune
- many other investments let you sleep at night, why get into an investment that could
wake you up with gross and trivial emergencies or have you subsidizing a
deadbeat that you can't evict?
You're willing to part with 100% of your money to gain < 50% back as a deduction?
You are hedging on asset appreciation bailing you out of negative cash flow real estate holdings... good luck with that gamble.
- unless you're prepared to do some unsavory things, big profits may be hard to come by
your deductions will not be denied for failing the 'reasonable expectation of profit' test. its pretty dumb to buy a property that is not instantly cash-flow positive especially at today's extremely low interest rates.
What your lender requires as a downpayment is between you and your lender, including the requirement of CMHC insurance. 20% is the minimum without CMHC insurance at a Canadian chartered bank.
I found this to pose a very interesting question and it ends with cra being able to deny expenses which do not have the "pursuit of profit" in mind.
To go back to the OP, it would depend on what sort of expenses he's claiming. If he's actually reinvesting money into the property and the payoff is when he sells for a large profit later, then it makes sense. As stated before he is losing cash flow in the attempt to reduce taxable income.
home ownership tax question...
so we are trying to sell our condo, which is our primary residence. we will be dropping the price which will eventually lead to a loss. (buying this place has not really worked out and we really want to get out after staying here for more than 3 years)
can i write off the losses from this transaction with my income? in other words, do i get any tax benefit for the losses i will incur on account of the sale of the condo?
and if i move out into another place, make this an investment property, and sell at a loss... i can probably get the tax benefit????
No, you can not deduct the loss from your income. Because it was your principal residence you will be denied claiming a capital loss.
If you convert to an investment property, the adjusted cost base for determining gain / loss will be the fair market value as of the day you convert it.
It will technically remain a principal residence for taxation purposes until the year end.
can i write off the losses from this transaction with my income? in other words, do i get any tax benefit for the losses i will incur on account of the sale of the condo?
and if i move out into another place, make this an investment property, and sell at a loss... i can probably get the tax benefit????
No, you can not deduct the loss from your income. Because it was your principal residence you will be denied claiming a capital loss.
If you convert to an investment property, the adjusted cost base for determining gain / loss will be the fair market value as of the day you convert it.
It will technically remain a principal residence for taxation purposes until the year end.
ebay question about taxes
hey guys
just got a quick question
so basically im letting my friend use my ebay account/paypal
to post stuff on ebay cause i have over 50+ feedback from 2 years of using ebay
and now hes doing about 12,000 in sales a month
and then he transfers it to my bank account via paypal
and i withdraw it for him
im worried about taxes? as im not claiming it nor is he
what are the possible outcomes as far as taxes goes?
i read that the cra now audit ebay sales
this has been going on for about a month and a half
any info would help
thannks
Yeah eventually you will attract the CRA, and will be asked to provide some sort of accounting between your cost of inputs, and the sales revenue you receive. If you sell >$30k in a year you also have an obligation to register for, and collect GST on the entirety of your sales.
You need to a) stop sharing your eBay account with others (this is a violation of your eBay agreement), and b) tell your friend to start keeping records that can be audited on his own account, or the CRA might just send him a tax assessment for the entirety of his reported eBay sales.
just got a quick question
so basically im letting my friend use my ebay account/paypal
to post stuff on ebay cause i have over 50+ feedback from 2 years of using ebay
and now hes doing about 12,000 in sales a month
and then he transfers it to my bank account via paypal
and i withdraw it for him
im worried about taxes? as im not claiming it nor is he
what are the possible outcomes as far as taxes goes?
i read that the cra now audit ebay sales
this has been going on for about a month and a half
any info would help
thannks
Yeah eventually you will attract the CRA, and will be asked to provide some sort of accounting between your cost of inputs, and the sales revenue you receive. If you sell >$30k in a year you also have an obligation to register for, and collect GST on the entirety of your sales.
You need to a) stop sharing your eBay account with others (this is a violation of your eBay agreement), and b) tell your friend to start keeping records that can be audited on his own account, or the CRA might just send him a tax assessment for the entirety of his reported eBay sales.
Selling Stock Shares on EI
Hi. I'm currently on EI and stocks I've purchased with my previous company is doing well right now.
They were purchased through an employee stock purchase plan. They collected a bit from our checks for a period of time. At the end of the period, they look at the market value at the start and end of the period. We buy at the lowest of those two points.
I'm thinking about selling them (about $18k right now) and wanted to know if I had to report it as earning on EI. I called EI, they didn't know and would have a specialist call me back. But I was hoping to sell today and it's up again.
Thanks in advance.
Investment income is not considered to be employment income.
If you were on welfare then obviously it would be a different story.
If they had a matching % contribution then it would have already been a factor in your income.
They were purchased through an employee stock purchase plan. They collected a bit from our checks for a period of time. At the end of the period, they look at the market value at the start and end of the period. We buy at the lowest of those two points.
I'm thinking about selling them (about $18k right now) and wanted to know if I had to report it as earning on EI. I called EI, they didn't know and would have a specialist call me back. But I was hoping to sell today and it's up again.
Thanks in advance.
Investment income is not considered to be employment income.
If you were on welfare then obviously it would be a different story.
If they had a matching % contribution then it would have already been a factor in your income.
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