Eighty-seven new affordable housing units are in the works, but it’s not nearly enough to shelter the number of St. Catharines residents on the verge of being evicted, local officials say.

New subsidized apartments are being built in four areas of the city, including nine supportive-living units on Ontario Street for people with mental illnesses.

But Niagara’s waiting list for nonprofit housing sits at 4,275 households, or about 7,900 people, said Lora Beckwith, general manager of Niagara Regional Housing. About one-third of those are seniors.

“Many of them are probably on the verge of eviction,” Beckwith said. “In these cases, you get decisions at the end of the month like, ‘Do I pay the rent or feed my kids?’ ”

Twenty-three new subsidized housing units — where tenants pay rent equal to 30 per cent of their income — are being built at 290 Oakdale Ave. Another 21 are in the works at 21 King St., located over commercial space. Thirty-four units are being built at 54 Oakdale.

From the Standard: Continue Reading Article

If you own rental income property, rent should pay the mortgage and the expenses of that property, even if you lease a single-family house. If you are an investor, a monthly positive cash flow is critical to owing investment property. Therefore, collecting the rent is a major part of your property’s success.

Collecting rent is a business, because it is what pays for your mortgage and the long-term maintenance of your building. It should be your priority. You may believe that you have your current collection efforts under control. Still, as long as you rent apartments, at some point in time, you will have a rent collection problem.

Today, there are strong state laws that govern, restrict, and outline how, why, and when you can collect your rent. For example, many rent control laws dictate how much rent you can charge, and the methods by which you can collect your rent. Evictions for non-payment of rent can be avoided if an owner develops and follows a few basic policies and procedures. The more consistent you are in maintaining your policies, the better your rent collections will be paid monthly and on time.

My advice is to review your expectations about how and when the rent is paid before you give your tenant the keys. Even if you use a lease, there is no substitute for an eye-to-eye discussion about how you want your property to be treated, and when the rent should be paid. It is important to have a meeting of the minds before you commit your apartment to a person or family that may intend to violate your rules.

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Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, you need to know what rights a tenant gains by entering into a lease and paying rent. Below are some of the things a tenant can and cannot do:

1. A tenant can exclude everyone else from the rental property, including the landlord. Most leases, however, modify this right by specifying that the landlord has the right to enter for certain purposes (i) at any time (she smells smoke coming from the premises, for example) or (ii) upon advance notice (a 24-hour advance notice for a routine inspection of her property, for example). Applicable law also requires the tenant to allow entry to certain third parties such as a fire code inspector or a policeman with a warrant. If Ted Tenant signs a lease and Laura Landlord fails to move out the previous tenant on time (or lives there herself), then Ted can sue to have the previous tenant or even Laura forcibly ejected.

A word of warning, however - if the previous tenant refused to leave and produces a valid lease whose term hasn’t ended by the time Ted’s term began, then Ted cannot evict the old tenant - he’ll have to terminate his lease and sue Laura for damages. The amount of the damages will probably be equal to the expenses of seeking new premises plus any amount by which Ted’s new rent exceeds the rent he would have paid to Laura (assuming roughly equal accommodations).

2. Suppose the previous tenant’s lease expired but he refuses to move out - what can Ted do? Well, that depends on whether the old tenant is still willing to pay rent. If he isn’t, then Ted will have to sue to eject the old tenant, but will still have to pay rent to Laura even before the old tenant is ejected - and he’ll have to sue the old tenant to get back the rent he paid to Laura, because he cannot sue Laura for it (Laura can also sue the old tenant for ejectment and rent, but she cannot collect rent from both Ted and the old tenant for the same month).

On the other hand, if the old tenant IS willing to continue paying Laura rent even though his lease has expired, then what Ted can do depends on how Laura responds to the old tenant’s offer to continue paying rent. If she refuses the offer, then refer to the last paragraph for Ted’s options. But if she accepts the rent from the old tenant, then she is violating Ted’s lease by refusing to hand over possession of the premises. Ted can either (i) terminate the lease and sue Laura for whatever damages he has sustained(as in paragraph 2 of item 1 above), or (ii) sue the old tenant for ejectment and damages (but he will not owe Laura any rent for the time the old tenant overstays). If he chooses option (ii) he can also sue Laura for any damages he may have sustained for the inconvenience, but will still have to pay rent from the time the old tenant moves out until the end of the lease term.

Keep in mind that US landlord-tenant law varies from state to state, and is subject to interpretation (which is why lawyers make so much money!)

DISCLAIMER: The above is intended for reference purposes only and not as legal advice.

Fees will range depending on the rules set by a particular community, but as a general rule you will find the following fees in place at most apartment communities. Be sure and keep yourself a handy copy of your lease agreement as that little packet of paper should contain information on all the fees that you may have to watch out for. We, at Apartment Home Living.com, have put together a list of the most commonly seen fees and fines to put you in the know of where your money may go.

1) Application fee- On some properties it’s low, some it’s higher. Some even waive this fee as a move-in special, so be sure to ask. This is a one-time fee when you apply for an apartment, but still a fee none the less.

2) Deposit- This isn’t technically a fee, but is still a cost to factor in when moving to a new place. In most cases deposits go up proportionally by the size of the apartment, but the amount determined for the deposit ranges from community to community. If you are looking to save some cash in this area be sure to shop around at different places and find out what the deposits are. If you are lucky, you might even find a $0 deposit special and not have to pay a dime here.

3) Pet Fee/Deposit- Chico may have only been $20 from the Wal-Mart parking lot when you picked him out of that litter of tiny barking black and brown muzzles, but he may set you back $200, $500, or even $750 for a pet fee/deposit. Sometimes you will even find that you may have to pay a monthly pet rent to keep little Chico at your apartment. A pet fee or pet rent is usually non-refundable, while if only a pet deposit is required you may have a chance of re-cooping that money as long as Chico doesn’t do any damage to the apartment. Usually the cost of cleaning the carpet will more than likely be taken out of the pet deposit however.

In terms of fees or rent pets are sometimes negotiable. There may be factors that help influence the cost related to your little mongrel. If Chico’s a cat, De-clawing may give you a lower rate. A lot of communities are more flexible on their rules regarding cats. Make sure and ask lots of questions and weigh the options.
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You’ve looked up the information on thousands of apartments in catalogs and online. You’ve located the pictures, floor plans, maps, amenities, and details of the places you’re interested in. You’ve compiled the data for 10 communities to finally narrow the field and now comes…The phone call.

The dreaded phone call to find out about specific rental rates and to address all of those “call for specials” that you’ve gathered.

The key to success is in the phone call. The amateur apartment shopper begins the call cold, unprepared, fidgety, and nervous. “Do you have a one bedroom?” or “How much is your two-bedroom?” Apartment Home Living is here to help you be successful at finding the right apartment home by knowing what to ask.

Question 1: What size and when?
Begin the questioning any way you like, but your most important question is do they have the apartment you’re interested in available at your target move-in date.

It’s a common misconception that apartments are simply sitting empty, waiting on you to show up to lease them. This is frequently untrue. To work out for you, the community must have the apartment you want in the timeframe you need to move. If it isn’t available, unless you have some move-in date flexibility, you should go on to your next call.

Question 2: Do they take Fluffy?
If you have a pet, this question is as serious as a parent asking if this community will take their child. (By the way, all apartment communities will ALWAYS take actual children. Those little balls of energy are protected under the Fair Housing Act).

Unfortunately though, Fluffy isn’t protected under any laws and it’s completely up to the community if they’ll accept your dog, cat, sugar glider, or monkey. They set the rules regarding pets.

They also set the price to pay for the opportunity to keep your child-pet. Don’t choke if it’s over $300 per pet plus monthly pet rent. That can be a starting point for some properties. So be sure to check and see if you’ll be bringing Spot, then see if someone’s going to have to “spot” you some cash to pay the fees.

Question 3: What’s the #1 reason people love to live here?
This is the best and most straight forward way to find out what makes a community special. Is it the walking trail behind the property? The social atmosphere? The famous pork roast every July?

This question can be a key in setting one apartment community apart from another. The answer may be something that really peaks your interest or may unlock hidden potential in a place you wouldn’t be able to see from a picture or driving-by.

Question 4: How much?
Initially, it’s human nature to stop listening if we hear the price is remotely out of our budget. And yet, seeing an awesome apartment in person may actually sway us that it’s worth the extra cost.

Think about this: Have you bought a car that was more than you set out to spend? Have you paid more for that purse you just had to have (but didn’t know you had to have it until you saw it)? Gone on a vacation where you blew your budget?

Was it worth it? Nine times out of 10…Absolutely. So give cost an open mind before you say no to a place for breaking the bank. You might find it’s perfect in the end and well worth it.

Question 5: Do I qualify?
Asking the price question and overshooting your budget goals won’t matter if you don’t qualify for the apartment anyway.

What is the general qualifying criteria? Making about 3x the rent, having a clean criminal record (no felonies or crimes against persons), and no prior evictions.

What do you do if you don’t meet their criteria? You could keep looking for a place with less strict qualification restrictions or take the gamble of losing your application fee and/or deposit just to see if you qualify anyway.

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A local real estate broker that sells homes is doing his part to provide affordable living space in the Niagara region. Paul Lalama, a real estate broker with RE/MAX St. Catharines is pleased to announce that he will donate three per cent of all sales from homes he sells from June 17^th to September 17^th to the Niagara chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

“We are particularly pleased Paul Lalama is donating a percentage of his sales,” said Alastair Davis, CEO, Habitat for Humanity Niagara. “Thanks to donations like Paul’s, together we can encourage Niagara residents to become involved in a very worthy community based organization.”

Habitat for Humanity Niagara is one of 70 Habitat non-profit affiliates across Canada. The organization works in partnership with businesses, churches and members of the community from all walks of life, to build simple, decent, affordable housing for families.

“I’m really pleased to be able to assist Habitat for Humanity. One of my goals is to reach out to the community and Habitat is such a great cause,” said Paul Lalama, real estate broker with RE/MAX St. Catharines. “My hope it to sell several homes throughout the Niagara region throughout the four month period.”

You can visit Paul’s website at www.nodrama.ca

Many of you have emailed with ideas of new features you would like to see at Niagara Rents and now many of those have been implemented into the new website.

Some of the features we have added so far include a rental mapping system, more detailed search results and a link button to your property website. Each ad now has check boxes for property features and appliances that may be included with the rent. We are asking that everyone who has an ad that is published, please login and check the appropriate boxes. The current default setting has been set to “Not Applicable.”

IF YOU CAN’T LOGIN:
1) Check if your username contains periods, spaces or underscores. With new security features in place, many of the usernames had to be changed. For example, if your username was “Niagara Rents” or “Niagara_Rents”, it would now be “NiagaraRents”.

2) Check if your username is an email address. With new security features in place, many of the usernames had to be changed. For example, if your username was “exam_ple@niagararents.com” (by removing the @niagararents.com and the underscore) now it would just be “example”.

3) If you have never placed an ad on Niagara Rents and you have been registered for longer than 72 hours, your registry has been deleted. The wanted ad section can now be accessed by everyone, so we are only accepting landlords who wish to place an ad.

4) If you still can’t access the members area, try resetting your password.

If you have any questions or concerns about the great new features we have introduced, please send us an email or visit the help page (coming soon) for more info.

NOTICE:

Niagara Rents will be offline on Tuesday June 24, Wednesday June 25 and Thursday July 3rd  for maintenance. This blog will not be affected in anyway. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Here are seven tips we found at Rentals Online. They will help you get off to the right start with a home rental. Experienced landlords and beginners can benefit from these home rental practices.
1. Offer something special – Renting a home can be a challenge. As a landlord, you need to set your home rental apart from the other properties that may be available in your area. Consider some of the features that renters in your area may want such as a washer or dryer, cable, air conditioning and more. Adding special features that tenants want will help rent your home faster.

2. Research the rental market – Spend some time researching what other rentals in the area rent for. What is their location compared to your rental? What other features does that rental have? Set your rental price accordingly.

3. Find tenants early – One of the biggest mistakes landlords make is waiting too long before they put their rental home on the market. Getting results from a rental listing is a lot easier when you start early. Begin looking for tenants as soon as you know the property will be available. This could be three to four months before. Use extra time to screen tenants and prepare the home for rent.

4. Get the right tenants – Take some time to check out your tenant before you let them in. Once a tenant is in your home, it can be difficult to get them to leave. Check their references, do a credit check & collect a reasonable deposit. Also, talk with the tenant and find out as much as you can about their habits so there are no surprises later. A few subtle questions could tell you a lot about a potential tenant.

5. Sign a rental agreement – No matter how secure you are as a landlord, a written rental agreement is necessary to protect you. A simple document that states the terms of your agreement with a renter, will help save you a lot of money, aggravation, and countless hours if an issue does arise. You can find a sample rental agreement on the rental forms page.

6. Treat tenants right – Once you have good tenants, try to keep them as long as you can. Avoid having to find new tenants, bear the cost of search and preparation work if the house is vacant. Reach out to your existing tenants and find out how they feel about living in your home rental. Then try to address any concerns they may have before they become issues.

7. Inspect the rental often – Let the tenant know you care about the property and about them as tenants. If something breaks, fix it right away. If the tenant is out of line, correct them early so they don’t think their behavior is ok. Make sure the tenant knows you will checking in for routine inspections and keep them updated on whatever you find.

What starts off as a typical interview with a tenant and landlord, turns into an argument between the anchor man and the reporter doing the interview.