Get Real World “In the Trenches” Advice From Experienced and Successful Alberta Landlords & Property Managers

Experienced and successful Alberta landlords know there are a lot of great renters out there. For years Alberta has been a place hard-working people from across Canada want to come to.

Even with the recent economic downturn people see Alberta as the ideal place to find a job, start a business, put down roots, start a family, and invest in the future.

What Makes A Great Renter?

Long time landlords know the key to being a successful Alberta landlord is finding good renters. These are people who pay their rent on time, take care of the rental property, and respect their landlord and other renters (if it’s a multi-unit rental).

An Edmonton landlord wrote about her great tenants saying:

“They are a couple who moved here from Nova Scotia and found work. They keep the property clean, pay the rent with post-dated cheques and are just wonderful people.” 

A Calgary landlord who rents his basement wrote:

“There are still good renters out there if you have an attractive place at the right price. I rent to a younger guy who is working two jobs now and also studying at night! He says his goal is to land a good job and be a landlord himself one day!”

Be Careful Because Bad Renters Are Out There Too!

A recent story on the CBC news site is about a landlord named Jennifer Leeming who owns a rental property in Calgary. 

Jennifer did all the right things. She had a bright and spacious rental property on the market and had the best intentions to be a super landlord and rent out her beautiful rental property. It sounds so simple, right? A caring landlord with a wonderful rental property just waiting for good renters. It should be so simple…but it isn’t!

Tenants From Hell

Jennifer ended up with “Tenants from Hell” who played the system and ended up costing her huge financial losses.When the renters asked for a break this landlord tried to accommodate them and work something out. This was a big mistake as it only led to more damages to the rental unit, more non-paid rent, and bigger problems.

The new flooring was treated like an ashtray.  The renters didn’t even have the common courtesy to buy an ashtray at the dollar or go outside to smoke.

There were many holes in the drywall all over the property. And the stair railings were ripped out making it dangerous to go up and down the stairs.

The nicely renovated bathrooms were destroyed.

These “Tenant From Hell” caused tens of thousands of dollars in damages!

Just Follow the System, Right?

Wrong.  Look what happened.

When Jennifer started the eviction process the renters challenged her and said: “I’M NOT MOVING UNTIL YOU PROVIDE A COURT DOCUMENT! “ Unfortunately this type of rude and aggressive behaviour is common with bad tenants who are going to rip you off.

Tenants Finally Left…Then Vanished Without Paying a Cent

And when Jennifer used the RTDRS and got them out what happened? She got paid by the tenants for the amount the RTDRS ordered right? Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.

After she served the tenants, they did a midnight run and took off to Saskatchewan. They did all the damages and it will be basically impossible to ever to recover her losses from these “Tenants From Hell”.

Dealing With Alberta Tenant Challenges

When you rent to tenants you need to be aware of the system and the rules. The old saying “Knowledge is Power” really applies to being a landlord in Alberta these days.

And as Jennifer found out, just going through the system often isn’t enough and leads to huge headaches, drawn out evictions, and even bigger financial losses. 

According to landlord Jennifer:

“I feel it’s so unfair. I’ve worked my entire life to provide for my family and my child’s future and people have come along and taken that all away and that’s just so wrong”

Alberta Landlord Knowledge Vault

In order to help Alberta landlords succeed we asked experienced and successful landlords and property managers to come up with tips and strategies to help small residential landlords succeed.

Don’t Be a Victim of Bad Tenants

It’s more important than every before to learn tips and strategies to make sure your rental business is successful. The harsh reality is there are lots of bad renters out there and they can cost you thousands of dollars and months of headaches and heartaches.

Successful Alberta Landlords

There are a lot of great tenants out there. And there are also a lot of potential “Tenants From Hell”. With the Alberta Landlord Vault you can get the tips and strategies you need to succeed.

The Alberta Landlord Knowledge Vault

We asked some of the most experienced landlords and property managers to put together a vault of answers to help other landlords succeed.

And they came through big time – and we put their knowledge together in a professionally recorded audio CD that helps you through all the steps to running a successful and profitable rental business, in good economic times or bad.

Here are some of the issues answered in the Alberta Landlord Knowledge Vault to help you succeed as a landlord in Alberta.

What you get is a “start” to “finish” guide to becoming a successful Alberta landlord and how to deal with situations fast and effectively before they become like cancer and grow. No marketing hype, only real work “in the trenches” advice to help small landlords succeed.

Questions and discussion includes the following:

What really are the best ways to prepare my rental to attract the best renters out there looking for a place?

How can I convince the best tenants to rent from me over other landlords? How do successful landlords do this?

Do I need to get any type of special insurance for my rental to protect myself and my financial future?

What are good potential renters really looking for these days and how can I make my rental property special?

Is it a good idea to pay for a property manager or manage things myself?

I hear stories about some bad property managers out there! How do you choose the best property manager?

Is it a good idea to hire a real estate agent to rent out my property?

How do you set the best rental prices for your rental to advertise at attract premium tenants?

How do you do expert market research on your local rental market?

How do you ultimately decide how much the rent will be?

How do you pre-screen tenants to not waste time with bringing people you won’t don’t want to see the apartment?

How do experienced landlords really successfully screen tenants who want to rent from you?

How do you set times to show your rental property?

Tenants keep cancelling appointments on me and it’s driving me nuts. How do you fix this?

Do you screen everyone who is going to move in or is that not the way to do it?

Why is asking what renters are currently paying for rent important for me?

How do you avoid applicants who are just playing games and not serious?

How can I make sure the applicants say who they say they are and not playing games?

My applicants want me to explain to them! Do you tell your potential renters how you are screening them?

What’s the best way to verify if they are working or not? I want to avoid renting to scammers!

How do you go into really “in-depth” checking of their employment information and avoiding lying tenants?

How do you screen self-employed applicants to make sure they are financially sound?

How do experienced landlords screen applicants moving to Alberta from other provinces?

How important are personal references for Alberta landlords? How do you know if a reference is fishy or valid?

What do you do if the applicants refuses to give their current landlords information?

What do you do if an applicants refuses to provide their SIN number?

How do you run a credit check on a potential renter to find out the most important information?

How do you read a credit check to determine if you should rent to them or not?

What do you do if their credit history shows late payments?

What do you do if the credit check shows a lot of debt?

What do you do if there is a collection on the renter’s credit report?

What types of credit scores do experienced Alberta landlords demand?

How do you really choose the best tenants to put into your rental?

If you have two really good applicants, what is the real criteria to choose one over the other?

What do you do if the applicants have no credit history but seem like good people?

How do you avoid renting from professional tenants who will cause me to lose thousands of dollars?

How the heck do you notify the person you want to rent to?

Are there any tips or strategies when telling your applicant you will rent to them?

How do you make sure the renters are clear on the rules from day 1 to avoid future problems?

What types of leases do you use?

What’s a period tenancy?

What’s a fixed term lease?

What’s better, a periodic tenancy or a fixed term lease…and why?

What information should I include in my lease to protect myself. I’m looking for the most protection!

Does the lease have to be in writing?

Can I require proof of insurance as a condition of the lease?

Is it okay to say no pets are allowed in the lease?

Can Alberta landlords change a pet fee or not?

What happens at the end of fixed term lease?

Can I charge a security deposit? How does that work in Alberta?

Can I charge a non-refundable pet fee and also charge a security deposit?

Can I deduct money from the security deposit for carpet cleaning, painting, and other damages?

If two tenants are renting my place and one moves out do I have to return half the security deposit?

Do you do an inspection when renters move out?

What happens if the tenant doesn’t show up for the move out inspection?

What do you do if your tenants don’t pay rent?

Can I best do an eviction if the renters don’t pay rent?  I need to get this done fast!

What do you do if the tenant breaks a rule in the lease?

What types of notices are available if your renters are breaking the rules of your lease?

What are the reasons I can use to evict a renter?

If the renters are damaging my rental what can I do?

If tenants are threatening me or other tenants in the building what can I do?

My renters are playing their music super loud so what can I do?

My renters are dealing drugs what can I do? This is a very troubling situation!

The Tenants are leaving garbage all over the place so what do expert landlords do when this happens?

If the tenants refuse to leave at the end of the lease what do you do?

Can my tenants have lots of guests over at all times?

My renters want my contact information. Should I give it to them?

I don’t want to give my personal information for safety reasons but do I have to provide it to tenants?

One group of tenants is complaining other tenants are noisy so what should I do? It becoming a nightmare!

I’m selling my property so do I have to tell my renters?

The new buyer of my rental wants to keep the tenants so how do I handle this?

I live with my tenant and she is nuts and argues with me about everything so what can I do?

How do you fix problems with tenants who live in your house with you?

Can I go to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service for problems with renters living in my house?

How to you handle renters who want to sublet?

Can I refuse a tenant who wants to sublet my rental property?

How do you reply to a renter who wants to sublet?

My tenant says he wants to assign his apartment so what can I do?

What are legal grounds to refuse a sublet or assignment as I don’t feel comfortable with it?

My tenants did some repairs and now are charging me! Do I have to pay?

The new people I rented to brought in bedbugs so what can I do?

How do you give notice if you are going into the rental to do repairs?

How do you give notice to your tenants to enter the rental property?

Can a contractor enter the rental property without the landlord being present?

My tenant said she doesn’t have to pay rent while I’m doing repairs. Is this true?

How do landlords deal with tenants who are smoking or growing marijuana?

My tenants are fighting over their shared laundry do I have to get involved?

My renters go laid off and want to break the lease so what should I do? 

How do you deal with tenant vs. tenant issues?

Do I have to give my tenants who are moving a recommendation?

My renters got laid off and want to break the lease so what can I do?

My tenants want to change the lease agreement and say I have to, is this true?

The current rent check is NSF what should I do and they didn’t move out! What can I do?

My tenants are rude and aggressive to me. I’m scared and wonder how I should deal with them?

I think I have “Tenants From Hell” and need help!  Renter trashing the unit, cops won’t help, drunk. What should I do?

Alberta Landlord Knowledge Vault – Get Help From Experienced and Successful Alberta Landlords and Property Managers

The Alberta landlord vault is designed to help landlords succeed.  Make sure you run your rental business the right way by knowing your rights and responsibilities and being ready to handle any challenges that might arise in a fast and effective manner.

Knowledge is power and by knowing how the industry works you can take control of your rental business! Get access the The Alberta Landlord Knowledge Vault in the Intermediate Services for a one time fee.