Renting Out Basement
 

Mods, this might not be the correct place for this so please feel free to move it where it belongs.

I was wondering if anyone here has or is renting out their basement? Just wondering what resources you are using (where you advertised...etc). My parents are looking to rent out their basement and I'm helping them look for some tenants. I was thinking of craigslist and kijiji but I'm a little hesitant since they might draw the wrong type of people.

Anyways, I was hoping some of you can share your experiences with me.

Thanks in advance.

Make sure you visit the BC Tenancy website and do a LOT of reading.

what type of people do you want to draw?

You can get your parents to post in the chinese newspapers if you want a chinese family.
Craigslist has a lot of traffic, so that is where I would post. Make sure you post pictures and as much information as possible.

Have everyone that is interested in renting your suite fill out an application form and list out references, pets, employer, income etc etc. Afterwards you can go through the forms with your family and make your decision then.

I have an apartment unit that I rent out all the time through Craigslist, you might draw some people who no show you, and some kind of odd people looking at the place, but just use your common sense on who you can and can't rent it to.

Definitely follow up on references, with their employer and maybe even a credit check prior to renting out a place.

If this is your first time renting I'd suggest you read the BC Tenancy Act throughly, there's a lot of weird shit you can and can't do.

http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/

BC tenancy act changes quite often. know that the tenancy act is written in a way that favours the tenants. back ground checks, references, etc are all good things to do. remember to keep everything clear cut on what is yours or what you did prior to the tenant moving in and what is the tenants. they should not be doing renovations of any sort and make sure they know this. you shouldn't pay anything even if the work they did "improves" the house. if it wasn't there before they moved in, it shouldn't be there when they move out.

I know a family who rented out their house to had a few deals to lower rent in order to cover some of the renovations for the house. DO NOT DO THIS. keep things clear and what they pay is what is agreed upon on the tenancy agreement, no more, no less and the law will be on your side. anything that deviates from the tenancy act, you're screwed. I know chinese parents who think they know everything but when the law hits them in the ass, they'll be ass fucked just like that.

Fact is, being a land lord is pretty much a full time job in itself. If something doesn't work that should be working from the tenancy agreement (laundry machine) guess who's gotta replace it? Landlords.

Best Advice I can give your parents is to Document EVERYTHING that a dollar amount can be attached to and keep a paper copy of the tenancy act on hand as no one will remember everything on this act.

Also take pictures before and after the tenants move in just incase they break shit. if they break something or something is missing, the deposit money can be used to repair or replace something. Again check the tenancy act on this as last time (6 months ago) I checked this was still permissible

Thanks for the replies. I've already taken a brief look at the tenancy act but I guess I'll have to read it more in detail.

I've been renting for five years from two different land lords, both of whom I met on craigslist. In those five years I've never been late for rent, never damaged a suite and never had a complaint.

Some of the kids who work for me move every couple months and are routinely late paying their rent; I know because they ask me for payroll advances. I'm not sure who I feel worse for, their landlords for renting to them or myself for employing them.

If you are careful about who you rent to it can be hugely profitable, but if you accept a tenant just for the sake of getting rent coming in you could loose a lot of money. Generally though, if you treat your tenants well they'll reciprocate.

First of all be very very well informed by reviewing the tenancy act. ALSO make sure you have a firm lease (using the templates provided by the BC Tenancy Act is best).

I have found word of mouth is best. If you have someone there who is a friend of a friend, or a friend's child or some how connected to your community they're less likely to screw you over.

Thanks for all of the replies, I just have 1 more question (as of now anyways). How would I go about doing a credit check?

There's a lot of companies that will do this for you. You need signed consent and certain pieces of information about the person that you're checking. Try contacting Equifax Canada.

I have a standard application form that I made for our building that you can use of you are interested. It covers permission for credit checks and gains all the proper info for renting.

1) get a reference check approval form
2) get their BCDL JUST to check if they are actually who they are
3) get their banking information JUST in case you have to chase after them, you need their banking location.
4) get their work location, just in case you have to serve them a notice in person.
5) condition report
6) RTB agreements

you're done.