First Rental Property

The most important thing that you can do while you are dealing with an eviction, is to actually  know the process.

Not only do you need to know the eviction process well, you need to know it better than anyone else.

I can’t stress these words enough.

Know the Process!

You need to know the process better than your tenants and better than your property manager if you are working with one.

If you do not know the process better than everyone else, you are going to be in for trouble.

You are going to be in for trouble because this means that someone else, other than you knows the eviction process better.  This could be your tenant, or this could be your property manager.

So what if they know the eviction process better?

You better be concerned if you do not know the process better than others.  Having a misunderstanding of or having a lack of knowledge concerning the eviction process is what causes a lot of pain and suffering.

This pain and suffering is felt by you, the real estate investor.

The pain and suffering manifests itself in the form of missed deadlines and misinterpretations of the eviction process.

Missed Deadlines

As we have covered in previous posts, the ruling body responsible for overseeing your hearing requires you to submit documentation at different times throughout the eviction process.  Paperwork needs to be submitted either to the tenants directly, or straight to the ruling body itself.  Keeping in mind that rules and regulations concerning evictions vary between jurisdictions.

You have to have an in depth understanding of when all of the deadlines are.    This is important as failing to submit documentation by a certain date can delay the eviction process and in some cases void the eviction process altogether.

If you do not have a good understanding of these deadlines, plain and simple, it is going to be very easy to miss them.

If you lack knowledge with regards to these deadlines, you may depend on information provided to you by other people as to when these deadlines are.  For instance, you may ask a friend or your property manager when a certain deadline is.  Your property manager or your friend give you the information and you do not question it whatsoever.

Now consider this…

What happens if the information that someone gave you  is wrong regarding the eviction process?   For instance, someone can give you the wrong time frame in which you are supposed to submit paperwork to your tenant.

Here is what happens as a result…

What happens in most cases is that people will take the information at face value and not question the information at all.

This is dangerous as this can result in a delayed eviction process.

For example, there are certain time lines imposed by the ruling body in your jurisdiction.

You may get a certain amount of days in which you have to serve your tenants with specific paperwork.  If you fail to serve the required paperwork to your tenants during the necessary timeline, this can cause the eviction process to be delayed.

Time is of the essence during the eviction process.

If your tenants are not paying, as a real estate investor and landlord, it is in your best interest to get non-paying tenants out of there as quickly as you possibly can.

In the next installment of How to Evict a Tenant, I am going to talk about a secret weapon that every landlord should have with them, as they battle their way through the eviction process.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

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pps: Don’t be afraid of the eviction process.  Keep positive and you will get through it!

How to Evict a Tenant Part One

How to Evict a Tenant Part Two

How to Evict a Tenant Part Three

How to Evict a Tenant Part Four

How to Evict a Tenant Part Five

How to Evict a Tenant Part Six

Forming alliances is an important thing to do when you are evicting tenants.  In How to Evict a Tenant Part Five, I spoke of the importance of forming an alliance with your tenant.  By doing this, you are demonstrating to the ruling body overseeing the hearing that you are willing to work cooperatively.

During my recent court hearing, I made an attempt at forming 3 alliances in total.  One of the alliances I attempted to form was with my tenant.  The second alliance was an attempted alliance with a mediator and the third alliance was with a fellow landlord.

The Mediator

As I patiently waited in the court room for my hearing to begin, I would glance back on occasion and peer through the frosted windows.  You can read about the frosted windows in How to Evict a Tenant Part Three.

As I looked through the windows, I saw a group of tenants waiting outside. Standing with the tenants was a lady holding a clip board.  I deducted that she was a representative of the government body overseeing the hearings.

A few minutes later, this official entered into the court room with clip board in hand and made a few announcements to those of us sitting in the room.

This confirmed my initial thought. She was indeed a representative of the ruling body.

I had been keeping an eye out for my tenant, and up until this point I had noticed that they had not arrived yet.

While I waited in my chair in the court room, I realized that in the event that my tenant showed up, I would have to form an alliance with the mediator.

I knew that this was an important thing to do because, being cooperative with others as well as being respectful, is the easiest way to influence someone.  Being confrontation and condescending is the fastest way to get their back up, thus putting them on the defensive.

I wanted to align myself with the mediator, not against them.

At this point, time had elapsed and my tenants had still not arrived.  It became clear at this point that they were probably not showing up.  As a result, I did not get an opportunity to solidify any type of alliance with the mediator, however, I was prepared and more than willing to.

The Landlord

The other landlord that I spoke of was the only other person in the courtroom with me, other than a property manager.  The alliance that I formed with this landlord was out of necessity.  It was out of necessity because I was nervous.

Since I had no entourage with me, I felt that it was necessary to form an entourage, right there and then to help me get over my nerves. By forming this mini-entourage, I felt much more confident, as I felt that I had an ally with me.

I sat down next to this landlord and we started to share stories.  Here are some of the interesting things I took away from our conversation:

• He had been investing for 40 years
• He was originally from Cyprus
• He was now in his mid 60s.
• During the first 5 years of his investing career, he bought 2 houses, valued at approximately $40,000 each.  In these 5 years, he paid off both of the mortgages.
• He was a very unhappy real estate investor.
• He owned 4 houses, that were all free and clear
• He was a very unhappy real estate investor.
• He had attended court hearings many times in the past
• He often argued with his tenants over non-payment of rent
• Did I mention that he was a very unhappy real estate investor???
• His tenants did not like him.  One of them out of spite, left all of the taps running in the house for one week straight, so that he would have en enormous utility bill.
• He did have an enormous bill.  He described to me that when he got the bill, he did a calculation of how much water was used.  It was enough to fill up a small house he told me, from top to bottom!
• When he found out about his tenant leaving the taps on for one week straight, he called the Police.
• He and his tenant are now in court fighting over who is going to pay the massive utility bill.

In my next installment of How to Evict a Tenant, I am going to talk about the most important thing you need to do when you are evicting a tenant.  Stay tuned.  The next post is going to be a good one!

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: Are you scared out of your mind about buying your first rental property?  Don’t be!  Shatter all of your fears by following my blog.  Gain knowledge and confidence so you can buy your first rental property.  Subscribe today!

pps: Here is “The Landlord with Will Ferrell”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pedpJ6PdkCE[/youtube]

The eviction process sometimes feels like it is never ending.  Depending on where you live, the eviction process can be short and sweet, or it can be long and painful.  If you are in Ontario, it is the later.

Just because it is a long and painful process, it does not give you an excuse to let this experience defeat you.  The process of evicting a tenant is a true test of every real estate investor.  It is an experience that you must endure.

As my friend Erwin Szeto (a.k.a Mr Hamilton) says, it is inevitable that every real estate investor will experience eviting a tenant at some point in their investing career.

In part one, two, three and four I spoke about the importance of over preparing for your hearing, the advantage of taking an entourage with you, as well as the importance of presenting a transaction summary at your hearing.

In this post, I am going to talk to you about the importance of forming alliances at your court hearing.

When I arrived at the Government building the day of my hearing, I came in with the mindset that I had to form one alliance.  However, when I got into the building and assessed the situation, I quickly realized that I needed to form three alliances, not just one.

Alliance Number One

Prior to attending my court hearing, I spoke with several experienced real estate investors, who had all been through the eviction process before.

One common piece of advice that I got from these investors was the importance of working with my tenant in order to work out a mutually beneficial deal at the hearing.

This was a valuable piece of advice that I received.  It was valuable because it gave me a winning mindset heading into the court hearing.

Naturally, many landlords who attend court hearings are adversarial towards their tenants.  Landlords take on this adversarial approach due to the fact that their tenants owe them money.  I can completely understand the frustration that landlords feel towards their tenants, especially on the day of the court hearing.

I quickly discovered that although I myself was feeling adversarial, I could not let this emotion influence me.

Rather, what I did discover by speaking to experienced investors prior to my hearing was that I needed to  to maintain a calm demeanour throughout my hearing and not demonstrate any frustration or anger, as this would be looked upon in a negative manner by the judge and the ruling body overseeing the hearing.

Therefore, I realized that in order to succeed and eventually ‘win’ my hearing, I had to form an alliance with my tenant.  By doing this, I would be demonstrating to the tenant and the the ruling body at the hearing that I was willing to work cocooperatively in order to work out an agreement of re-payment of rent.

Many of my experienced fellow real estate investors advised me that this was the only way to go.  Further, they told me that based on their experience, in most cases their agreements of re-payment were not honoured by their tenants.  Further, at the time of forming these ‘agreements of re-payment’ with their tenants, the investors knew that the agreements were probably not going to be honoured.  However, the investors knew that this was just part of the process, and that they had to show ‘good faith’ at their court hearing by accepting the agreement.

In summary, you must be wiling to form and alliance with your tenant.  By doing this, you are demonstrating to them as well as the Governmental ruling body overseeing the hearing that that you are willing to co-operate and work out an agreement of repayment.

In the next part of this series, I am going to talk about the other 2 alliances that I formed at my hearing.

These alliances were with the Governmental Ruling Body and with another landlord.

Until next time…

Being aggressive and confrontational is not going to help you win your court hearing.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: If you are a new real estate investor and you want to learn more about the eviction process, subscribe to my blog today!

I won my court hearing thanks to the advice of a friend.  My friend told me to bring a transaction summary with me on the day of my hearing.  Preparing this document provided me with a boost of confidence that helped me to keep my composure during the hearing.

I know that I would not have been able to achieve my level of success as a real estate investor if it were not for great people like Jeff Varcoe.  Jeff is a rising star in real estate investing circles in Ontario, Canada.

Jeff is a successful real estate investor, Rock Star Inner Circle Member, property manager and owner of Cornerstone Properties

As a real estate investor, sometimes all it takes is a few words of wisdom from a trusted and fellow real estate investor to give you the inspiration to keep on plugging away.

This was the case for me, when Jeff gave me the advice to take a…Transaction Summary with me to my court hearing.

A transaction summary is a very simple document, and takes less than a few minutes to put together.  However, it is an extremely important and powerful document.  Here is why…

The Eviction Process can be Intimidating

No matter what anyone tells you, the first time that you are in court evicting a tenant, you will be nervous.  Although I was very composed on the outside at my court hearing, I was nervous on the inside.

As I had mentioned in How to Evict a Tenant Part One, it pays off to be over prepared at your court hearing.  Part of being over prepared involves having a Transaction Summary with you.

What is a Transaction Summary?

A Transaction Summary is a simple document that outlines:

• Money that is owed to you
• Money that the tenant has paid

Sounds pretty simple, right?  Well it is.  Here is an example of a mock transaction summary:

123 Cash Flow Crescent, Anytown, Anycity.  M4X 1F5

(owed) January Rent ——————->    $1,000

(owed) February Rent ——————>   $1,000

(owed) March Rent ———————->  $1,000

(owned) January Admin Fee ———->        $20

(owed) February Admin Fee ———–>        $20

(owed) March Administration Fee —>        $20

(owed) Filing Fee to the Board ——–>       $170

(minus) Partial Rent Payment (Dec.) –>   $100

—————————————————————-

Total Amount Owned  ————————>$3,130

Why a Transaction Summary is so important

This document was the most important document I brought with me to my court hearing.  It was the most important document because it provided me a with a quick snapshot of the total money that was owed to me by the tenant.

Depending upon where you live, and depending upon the Government Organization that overseas the eviction process, you will be faced with a tremendous amount of paperwork throughout the eviction process.

My friend and fellow real estate investor Ed Renkema of CFI Properties recently called the eviction process a ‘War on Paperwork’.  He is absolutely correct.  Especially in Ontario, there is a tremendous assortment of paperwork that you have to file with the local authority.

Due to the fact that the paperwork can be overwhelming, especially if it is your first time evicting a tenant, a Transaction Summary helps to minimize the chaos.

Not only did I find the transaction summary beneficial for me, he judge at my hearing also found it beneficial.

When my court hearing was being ‘heard’ by the judge, she had my file of paperwork in front of her. In total, there were probably 30 different sheets of paper, consisting of required forms as well as additional evidence that I had submitted at the hearing.

One of the few questions that she asked me was:

How much money are you owed?

As soon as she asked me this, I pointed out the Transaction Summary that I had included in my paperwork.  She took a quick look at the document and could easily see for herself how much money I was owed.

If she did not have the transaction summary, I would have told her verbally how much money was owed to me, and then she would have had to sift through the mounds of paperwork in order to verify the figure that I just gave her.

Once I pointed out the transaction summary to her, she simply took a quick glance of it.

I know that I definitely  saved her time sorting through my paperwork.  Further, by providing this document, I clearly  demonstrated to her that I was organized and prepared.

In my next installment of How to Evict a Tenant, I am going to share with you some war stories that a veteran real estate investor and landlord shared with me, as I waited in the court room for my hearing to begin.

If you are a new real estate investor, you cannot be afraid of the eviction process.  These experiences make you stronger.  You have to endure them so that you can reap the rewards of holding real estate for the long term.

Stay tuned for my next installment.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: follow my blog if you are a new real estate investor or if you are looking to buy your first rental property.

The more I am learning about the eviction process in Ontario, the more I am coming to realize how much risk real estate investors truly take on.

In How to Evict a Tenant Part One, I spoke of the importance of being over prepared when you are in the process of evicting a tenant.  Over preparation can help you win your court hearing.  Again, ‘winning’ is a relative term.  You don’t really ‘win’ the hearing, rather you have judgement granted in your favour…if you are fortunate.

In How to Evict a Tenant Part Two, I spoke about the importance of having an Entourage at your court hearing.  Here is what I mean:

When I attended my court hearing, I made an interesting observation.  The landlords that were in attendance had come by themselves.  They had no friends or peers with them.  They were just there by themselves.

The tenants on the other hand came in groups.  The groups ranged in size from 2 to 4 people.

Before the hearing started, all of the groups of tenants gathered together and began to socialize, just outside of the ‘courtroom’.  I don’t know what the official name of the room was that the hearings were conducted in, however, it did in fact REALLY feel like a courtroom.

There were frosted windows around the perimeter of the door to the courtroom.  Therefore, the groups of tenants waiting outside in the hallway could peer into the courtroom.  Also, the people sitting in the court room could peer back through the windows and look at the tenants who were all gathered outside.

It did not take me long to figure out that a good number of the tenants at this hearing had been there before, probably on a number of occasions.  I have a gut feeling when it comes to these sorts of things, and I could tell immediately, that they had been here before and that they were very familiar with the process.

The People Inside the Courtroom

Prior to attending the hearing, I had considered brining one of my real estate investing peers with me for some moral support.  However, I opted against that as I felt that I was prepared enough to tackle any obstacle or challenge that presented itself during the hearing.

When I had located the room in which my hearing was taking place, there was a sign in sheet on a table which was just in front of the door.  There was a large gentleman guarding the door.  I assumed that he was a baliff, as he was dressed like one.

When I approached him, he asked me to put my name on the sign in sheet.  I did.

I entered into the courtroom 30 minutes before my court hearing was scheduled to begin.  I was the first one in there.

Over the course of the next 20 minutes, only 2 other people entered into the room.  It was a small room, with seating for about 40.  Picture a really, really small court room, similar to the one in the OJ Simpson trial.  That is what this room looked like.

The 2 other individulas that joined me consisted of one property manager, and one other landlord.

I could tell that they had both been here many times before.  I could tell this based on their body language, how they were dressed, and where they sat in the room.  Like I said, I have a sixth sense when it come to noticing these things…

In the next installment of How to Evict a Tenant, I am going to talk about the other landlord that was in the courtroom with me.  He had some really interesting stories that he shared with me.  He was a landlord with 40 years of experience, and I learned a great deal from him.

In closing, I am going to leave you with another tip on what you should take with you to your court hearing.  This item is a:

Transaction Summary.

In my next post, I am going to explain what a Transaction Summary is, and how it can help you ‘win’ your court hearing.

Until Next Time…

Don’t be afraid of non-paying tenants,

-Neil Uttamsingh

ps: If you want to buy your first rental property, but you are too afraid to…  Follow my blog so that you can gain the necessary knowledge and confidence.  Don’t delay.  Follow today!  🙂

I don’t even know where to begin…

The experience I gained from my court hearing this past Thursday was incredible.

It was probably the most insightful day I have had as a real estate investor during my 6 years of investing.

To let you know how it went, I technically ‘won’ my case.  ‘Won’ is a relative term here, so don’t get too excited.  There is a lot more that still needs to play out, so stay tuned!

Before I jump into Part Two of this series, I would like to review the key learning point I shared with you from How to Evict a Tenant – Part One.

In Part One, I mentioned the following:

If the time ever comes where you are in the process of evicting a tenant, and you are attending a court hearing, you must over prepare. Do your homework, and take with you to the hearing all of the documents and evidence that you feel will help you to prove your point in court and help you to win your case.

Here is an example of how my over preparation helped me to ‘win’ my case on Thursday.

By nature, I am a very diligent person.  I am organized and I keep records.  As a real estate investor, these skills are paramount.  You need to keep information in order.  I am specifically referring to paperwork.

When you buy your first rental property, you may be surprised to see how much paperwork is involved with the property.  The constant flow of paperwork does not stop once you have purchased the property.  Rather, you will continue to receive new paperwork concerning the property on a continual basis.  This paperwork can come in a number of different forms.  Here is a short list of some of the different types  of paperwork that you will have to collect, sort and manage on a continual basis:

• Mortgage Documents

This is your original mortgage agreement that you get when you obtain financing on your rental property.  This is very important to keep as you may have to present this document in the future.  You never know when you might need to refer to it again, so keep it in a safe place.  I personally have a filing cabinet where I keep all of my mortgage documents.  That way, if I need to access them in a hurry, I know exactly where to find them!

• Mortgage Statements

This is a a periodic statement that you recieve from your lender.  Your lender being of course the bank or mortgage company that you hold your mortgage with.  This document gives you a snapshot of all of the ‘vital signs’ of the mortgage.  Things such as mortgage balance, interest rate, and remaining amortization are just a few things listed on this statement.

• Property Tax Bill

This is a record from your local municipality pertaining to the taxes that you owe on the rental property.  If you purchase more than one rental property, you will no doubt have to present your property tax bill for each property every time you obtain financing for a subsequent property.  This document is very important.  By taking a close look at this document, the reader can tell if you have been paying your property taxes or not.  If you have not, you better pay them fast, otherwise you can be at risk of losing your rental property.

• Utility Bills

Even when a tenant pays all utilities on a rental property, there will still be some utility bills that you may need to pay yourself, and that you need to keep track of.  I have a constant flow of utility bills that come in each month that I need to keep track of and sort.  This may sound overwhelming.  It’s not.

• Property Management Bills

Do you have property management on the unit?  If so, you will need to keep track of what you owe them for the monthly property management fee.  In addition, you will also have to keep track of any repairs and maintenance that they have done on the property.  The property manager will have to issue you invoices that you will have to pay, and then file for your records.

Before I get off topic too much, let me come full circle and talk about how keeping certain documents in order can help you during the eviction process.

The documents that you will have to keep in order are the documents that are directly related to the eviction of your tenant.  These documents will of course be the ones in relation to the legal proceeding that you are in the middle of.

No matter what state, province, territory or country you live in, the process of evicting a tenant can be very different.  However, in many of these jurisdictions, the is a set process in place that you must follow.  With this process there are also prescribed documents that you need to either file with your local authorities, or that you need to have a good record of.

My success during my hearing this past Thursday was a direct result of me being organized and having all of the required documents on hand.

Despite the fact that these documents were not filed properly the first time with the authorities.  However, that is a story for another day, and a story that I am not going to blog about.  If you are interested to know, contact me offline and I will share the story with you.

I was asked by the ruling authority at the hearing to present key documents.  I was able to present these documents without hesitation, because I WAS PREPARED AND I BROUGHT THEM WITH ME…

I can’t stress this point enough.

The point is:

You need to over prepare AND have all of your necessary documents in order when you are in the process of evicting a tenant.

In closing, I am going to leave you with another key point.

I share this key point with you in the hope that it will help you one day when you yourself are going through the eviction process.

This key point is to have an Entourage with you.  Have an entourage with you either at your court hearing or have them close by.   Have them close enough to you so that you can call them or e-mail them when you need them the most!

In Part Three of this post, I will explain the importance of your Entourage and how support from this group can help calm your nerves, and ultimately help you “win” your hearing!

Keep Learning,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: If you are a new real estate investor, consider following my blog.  If you do, you will gain knowledge and confidence that will help you to purchase your first rental property.

Hi Folks,

This could very well be the shortest blog post that I have done in over a year.  In fact, it is probably the shortest post I have ever done!

However, although it is a very short post, this series of post which I have called, “How to Evict a Tenant” may provide the greatest value to you if you are a new real estate investor.

Here is what is going on:

• I have a court hearing today, as I am in the process of evicting one of my tenants.
• I am well prepared for the hearing, however, I am also prepared to expect the unexpected.
• I will elaborate on what I mean by, ‘expect the unexpected’ in Part Two of this series.

In closing, here is some extremely valuable advice for new real estate investors, who are looking to buy their first rental property.

If the time ever comes where you are in the process of evicting a tenant, and you are attending a court hearing, you must over prepare. Do your homework, and take with you to the hearing all of the documents and evidence that you feel will help you to prove your point in court and help you to win your case.

Until Next Time,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: Sign up to my blog so you can obtain the necessary knowledge and confidence to help you buy your first rental property.