Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Badhobz]

It’s big enough to fit a whole village or a gulag. Wow

[Traum]

Originally Posted by snowball

It's tomorrow now, what's the story?

The next tenant was a more typical story someone who is just a PITA. Initially it was a younger nurse who came to see the unit, and everything looked good on paper. She was also very presentable, and I was happy to see that. Then an older and shady-looking bf came in, claiming to need to follow up and check on a few things showed up, and I knew I should have seen that as a red flag.

The older BF turned out to be a demanding PITA, and he was always in the picture, even though my rental contract was only signed with the nurse girl.

The only good thing out of that tenant was that her rent was always paid on time.

Thank god they wanted a bigger place and moved out after our 1 year rental contract was done.

[blkgsr]

i've rented my basement suite out twice now.

first time was a childhood classmate friend (not really close anymore) of my wife. she was there 2 years, quiet as a mouse, never really home, super clean and always had money on time. we also rented it to her for below market value. win win for everyone. she unfortunately moved out and in with her boyfriend.

along comes a new young chick who claims that she just broke up with a boyfriend. comes with her mom, seems good and her references check out. then within 2-3 weeks comes the "new girlfriend". ya she switched teams but that's not the problem. this new butch bitch was loud as fuck and stayed over almost every night. we had to talk to our tenant multiple times about making noise until 11pm on week nights etc. went on and on for a bit, talked to her, got some story the gf was having troubles at her apartment (can see why being such a cow) and needed a place to stay. they never asked me if this was ok. she goes away for a while then comes back even worse. there even more and all day when our tenant is gone etc. finally give her the ultimatum and we mutually agree to end the tenancy early.

- while it was made clear that the unit was for 1 person, can this be enforced? say someone moves in then gets a bf/gf, can you restrict them fully moving in? i want to know this for when i rent it out again. i know the act says the visitors are allowed but it also notes that it has to be within reason, which is our case above was well beyond that.

[Hondaracer]

You guys all seem to invite people into your units with automatic red flags? Lol

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

You guys all seem to invite people into your units with automatic red flags? Lol

In their defence, many of these tenants appeared to be OK at the first screening. The red flags popped up later on...

[Hondaracer]

Badhobz, traum, and blkgsr all had red flags orior to renting to them which I would have automatically rejected lol

2 woman BFF’s, someone mentioning a break up, etc. lol no thanks

[SSM_DC5]

What are the traits of someone that would get a green flag based on initial screening? Or is it easier to continue the list of traits that are red flag?

[Badhobz]

Yeah we were kinda dumb. But in our defence we were greedy for money so took whoever we can.

[Great68]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

- while it was made clear that the unit was for 1 person, can this be enforced? say someone moves in then gets a bf/gf, can you restrict them fully moving in? i want to know this for when i rent it out again. i know the act says the visitors are allowed but it also notes that it has to be within reason, which is our case above was well beyond that.

This is the resource you want to read:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/h...ring-tenancies

In a nutshell, your tenancy agreement should stipulate the number of occupants in your unit (generally who you originally rented it to).

However, there's no set definition in the RTA for when a guest might be considered an additional "occupant". If you challenged them, and they decided to take it to the RTB as a dispute then you'd need to provide supporting evidence factors such as:

- Whether the guest receives mail at the tenant’s address
- Whether the guest pays for rent or utilities at the tenant’s address
- Whether the guest stays overnight regularly
- Whether the guest moves in significant personal belongings, such as furniture and pets
- Whether the guest has a key to the tenant’s unit

etc.

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Badhobz, traum, and blkgsr all had red flags orior to renting to them which I would have automatically rejected lol

2 woman BFF’s, someone mentioning a break up, etc. lol no thanks

Are 2 women BFFs supposed to be a red flag LOL~? I wouldn't normally think so? But with the nurse girl, I take full responsibility for ignoring the shady bf red flag.

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

What are the traits of someone that would get a green flag based on initial screening? Or is it easier to continue the list of traits that are red flag?

I don't think anyone can definitively identify which thing(s) are guaranteed green flags; on the other hand, picking out red flags certainly seem easier and safer. In many ways, it's kind of like dating girls -- if you see enough things that you like, you'd want to give it a try. And if you see some questionable stuff, you don't go ahead any further. Sometimes you screw up despite your best efforts, and sometimes you luck out even though you weren't trying that hard.

[donk.]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

Yeah we were kinda dumb. But in our defence we were greedy for money so took whoever we can.

I got the same problem, I list my units "at market" or "high", don't get many applications, but get it rented.

All because of my own greed.

[Alpine]

The plainest, most boring person you can find is likely the best candidate. That or an immigrant that doesn't know the rules for the slumlords out there. But not too much of an immigrant, or you may regret it when they cook.

[GLOW]

i had a great tenant that was from out of town, she was the best...eventually her bf came to stay with her that lasted a few weeks and i was shocked she chose him...eventually they moved out together but man...life decisions...

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

What are the traits of someone that would get a green flag based on initial screening? Or is it easier to continue the list of traits that are red flag?

My wife does all the screenings and has had pretty good luck with them for the most part and she will ask questions about the person's work history, their plans, and she also checks all the references that are offered. Candidates who are evasive are crossed off even if they are qualified - after all, we're letting you into our home.

The other consideration is whether the person is not just a good tenant but a good fit for the space - are their plans for it in line with how the space is designed and the cost of it? Our current tenants are a young couple - one of whom walks to BCIT for school - and they are pretty social (but not into the downtown party scene) and they're a great fit for our studio space right now - it's a space where they can host a few friends, there's space outside for them to have plants etc.

Our previous tenant at our last house was a single middle aged lady who worked at the hospital and had a side hustle as a cleaning lady. Perfect for our basement suite - her income matched the rent, she was super clean and organized, and she wasn't the type to have people over so the awkward living room was a non-issue while the 2nd bedroom was an awesome hobby room for her.

Both of these tenants made the suite into a home for themselves b/c the respective spaces are perfect for them. All the good things about our suites are the things they appreciate, all the bad things are things they don't care about.

[Hondaracer]

Yea that’s a pretty good outline for tenants

The first tenants we ever had we went off gut feel. They were a couple originally from the states but super nice people, he had a doctorate in mathematics lol. They lived there for just over 2.5 years before needing a larger space due to a baby. We are still friends and they come to our parties etc. 3 years later

Our current tenant was a friend of a friend. Imo this is one way to ensure accountability with your tenant if you have a mutual contact. She’s been great as well.

One thing I learned early on is that if you say you require post-dated cheques that weeds out a lot of losers who either A) don’t have a chequing account, or B) can’t be bothered to get cheques if that was the case. We always just take e-transfers anyways but it’s a bit of an indicator.

We also have a fairly large list of addendums on top of the regular tenancy agreement including things like no smoking on the property etc. some of them are also worded in a way that would (hopefully but doubtful) hold up in court if it was to come to that. We always give the addendums to the tenant and have them thoroughly read through and initial each one

This is for a basement suite so as said above it’s a bit different in your own home but for a different rental property I’d probably approach it the same.

If I meet someone and show the unit and they are already going on about relationship problems, work problems, school problems, etc. it’s an automatic no.

[Badhobz]

https://www.rew.ca/properties/477354...erty_click=map

we are thinking about this one but a few things to sort out

1) if she'll die driving from whiterock to richmond/vancouver when she wants to go eat/shop/etc

2) if we rent out the bottom floor, can i restrict the tenants from utilizing the back yard? is that even enforceable? I dont wanna see these wackos in my backyard. Ive never had renters in our own home so this will be a new experience if we decide to go ahead. Ultimately i dont think ill rent it out because i really hate having strangers in my home, but will need it if i ever lose my job, or decide to take up a coke habit.

3) not sure about the neighborhood and the commute seems insane.

4) to be honest the finishing's seem cheap in the pictures. the monotone scheme shows well, but im pretty sure this is all ikea cabinets and ghetto bullshit. I dont see a wolf range or subzero fridge.

[Hondaracer]

Without knowing the builder gut feel is leaning towards buddy guy

There is a big difference in the finishings room to room it looks like

When you see just a chair rail etc. framing out squares nailed directly to the wall it looks fine, I’ve done it in my own home as I’m lazy. However if you look at the bedroom with the wainscotting on the walls, that is actually like flat stock moulding that is then trimmed out with a chair rail to give the full depth look.

The latter takes like triple the time to do, so it’s a bit of a red flag I’d say that they use the lazier/quicker way in more visible, higher traffic areas

[bcrdukes]

Just let Hondaracer make the decision for you. He'll follow his gut.

[radeonboy]

That's a nice house! A friend considered a house in the same neighborhood last year and decided against it for a few reasons including:

- Commute to Richmond is far
- Tunnel congestion during rush hour. It's more bearable if you have an EV / PHEV
- Convincing friends to hang might be harder unless they're in the area
- Restaurant options are not as diverse as Richmond / Vancouver / Burnaby

[Hondaracer]

Crescent beach is like living on the north shore, you kinda hope you live/work/eat where you live

[Badhobz]

I think it’s a bit too far. Considering that most of our lives are based Vancouver and Richmond this doesnt make too much sense. It’s just a good bang for the buck vs Richmond.

[radeonboy]

^how about Ladner / Tsawwassen? It's not as far and has a similar vibe as Crescent Beach.

[68style]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

I think it’s a bit too far. Considering that most of our lives are based Vancouver and Richmond this doesnt make too much sense. It’s just a good bang for the buck vs Richmond.

You can hire me as your driver, I'll live in the theatre/gym room and I won't even use your backyard.

[bcrdukes]

Stay in Richmond.

Edit: Or hire 68style.

[yray]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Crescent beach is like living on the north shore, you kinda hope you live/work/eat where you live

northshore is not that bad

just don't go out on weekends