Listings Search Favorite Listings Showing Schedule Inbox
Sign In

Landlord's Guide.


YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEASING A HOME OR INVESTMENT PROPERTY

If you are in a position where you want to lease your home or investment property, you may have already been through the buying process. You might have been surprised by the complexity of the buying process. Leasing your home or investment property will allow you to view the process from a different perspective. It’s still important to have an understanding of all the process requires. Knowing how the process works from beginning to end will increase your potential of maximizing your profit.

STEP 1: FIND AN EXPERIENCED REAL ESTATE AGENT TO HELP.



Sure, you can try to lease your home on your own. It’s not likely to be a successful endeavor, even if you know where to start. When you work with a real estate agent, you will benefit from their expertise and experience. They will have resources from completing background checks on incoming tenants, ensuring initial deposits are received, marketing know-how, and a plethora of strategies to ensure maximum exposure towards finding the right tenant(s). Finding the right agent is key to a smooth, successful transaction. Interview three to five agents before deciding which one to use. Ask questions like:


  • What does the listing agreement include?
  • How long will the home be listed?
  • How much is the agent’s commission on the lease?
  • Do you pay the commission for the tenant's agent?
  • Do you complete additional due-diligence on the incoming tenants?

STEP 2: FIND OUT HOW MUCH THE HOME IS WORTH.



One of the biggest mistakes landlord's make is asking too much for your home or investment property. It’s important to set a reasonable price. This is an area where having an agent helps. They can provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis report. This report provides the price range of homes similar to yours and in the same region. Your agent can help ensure you set a fair price for your home or investment property so it will be more likely to lease.

STEP 3: PREPARE YOUR PROPERTY FOR THE LEASE.



There is a lot that goes into preparing your property and making it presentable for tenants. Again, your real estate agent can help you in this area. They can walk through your house or investment property and provide suggestions on things that need to be replaced, repaired, or cleaned up. These are just suggestions; you don’t have to replace or repair every single thing suggested. Use some common sense when choosing projects that will help you lease your house or investment property. This doesn’t mean totally remodeling the kitchen and bathroom. It does include making the house presentable and addressing anything that could detract someone from seeing its true value. Some things you will want to address include:


  • Apply fresh paint where needed.
  • Repair doors, windows, or things that stand out.
  • Repair cabinets or cabinet doors.
  • Replace the carpet if needed.
  • Make sure all light fixtures and switches work properly.

STEP 4: STAGING YOUR HOME OR INVESTMENT PROPERTY.



Part of preparing your home or investment property to show is a process called staging. This includes decluttering and removing items. Remove personal items from the rooms like family photos and memorabilia. Each room needs to have an uncluttered appearance. Think of it like a model home. You want to allow a potential buyer to envision what the house will look like with their things in it. Here are a few tips for staging your home:


  • Clean every part of the house. That includes the floors, the ceilings, and everything in between.

  • Declutter all areas of the home. Cluttered areas make it seem like there is less space. It also detracts buyers from the home’s features.

  • Remove personal items like photos and keepsakes.
  • Get rid of pet odors.
  • Define each room so potential tenants can quickly determine its purpose.
  • Clean or replace carpet.
  • Open curtains and blinds to take advantage of natural light.

STEP 5: LIST YOUR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY FOR LEASE.



Your real estate agent will take photos of your residential house, apartment or condominium property and compile all the pertinent information needed for a listing. Your agent will handle all of the marketing and listing your house for sale online.

STEP 6: SHOWING YOUR HOME.



When you work with an agent, they will schedule the showings with yourself or your tenant if they are currently occupying the space. Try to be flexible if you are making appointments for a home showing. Tenants will be juggling their own schedules and may need to see the home or investment property after work at night or on weekends. It’s a good idea to provide a lockbox or keypad for entry so agents can accommodate potential tenant’s schedules.

STEP 7: RECEIVE OFFERS AND NEGOTIATE.



When your home or investment property is priced right, you should receive numerous offers. All offers are worth negotiating even if someone sends in a very low offer depending on the market conditions. You can always negotiate by providing a counteroffer. If your price is competitive and based on comparable rentals, don’t be afraid to provide a full-price counteroffer. You always have the option of declining an offer.

STEP 8: COMPLETE DUE DILIGENCE AND RECIEVE DEPOSIT FUNDS.



Once the offer has been reviewed, and you choose to select the tenant, the agent will complete due diligence such as reviewing credit reports, verifying employment details, reviewing authenticity of documents submitted by the proposed tenant(s).


The due-diligence package will be provided to the landlord prior to executing the agreement to lease, should they accept the offer.


Once you accept the offer, the tenant sends an initial deposit as outlined in the agreement to lease to your listing broker or deposits it into a trust fund as stated in your leasing agreement or offer. This shows they have a genuine interest in leasing your property.  Should the transaction not proceed, the landlord(s) and tenant(s) will need to complete a mutual release to determine the disposition of the deposit funds held in trust.

STEP 9: FINALIZING THE LEASE.



Once all the paperwork has been completed and the Tenant(s) provide a closing date to the Landlord(s), the lease can be finalized, along with completing the Ontario Government Standard Form of Lease. Your agent will give you the closing date. You will give keys and other items to the agent who will make sure the tenant(s) gets them. Be sure to bring things like:


  • Door keys
  • Garage door openers
  • Access fobs
  • Mailbox keys
  • Storage area keys


Congratulations! You successfully leased your property. The funds will be transferred or wired to your bank account, or you’ll be given a check for the final amount out of the brokerage trust account minus renumeration fees as indicated in the listing agreement.

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR HOME IS WORTH.

Michael Stasiuk

Michael Stasiuk

Sales Representative, RPA, FMA, SMA, SRES, RENE, CBW

Queensway Real Estate Brokerage Inc.

Providing a Holistic Approach to Real Estate!

8 Hornell Street, Toronto, Ontario, M8Z 1X2

mike@mikestasiuk.com

1 (416) 779-6250

1 (416) 259-4000

1 (877) 211-8746
Web4Realty
Real Estate Websites by Web4Realty | Agent Login

Terms of Use & Privacy

General Terms of Use

Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern this site’s owner’s relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, please do not use our website.

Listing Data were last updated: 2024-12-22 02:56:06

Listing Objects were last updated: 2024-12-22T03:13:00.635643Z

Terms of Use & Privacy

  • The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.
  • Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
  • Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
  • This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions.
  • All trademarks reproduced in this website, which are not the property of, or licensed to the operator, are acknowledged on the website.
  • Unauthorized use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offence.
  • From time to time, this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s).
  • Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of Canada.

Terms of Use

  • This representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by the Real Estate Board/Website Administrator which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy. The information provided herein must only be used by consumers that have a bona fide interest in the purchase, sale or lease of real estate and may not be used for any commercial purpose or any other purpose.
  • All MLS® data obtained from this Virtual Office Website ('VOW') is intended only for your personal, non-commercial use.
  • You have a bona fide interest in the purchase, sale, or lease of real estate of the type being offered through this VOW.
  • You will not copy, redistribute, retransmit, or otherwise use any of the data or Listing Information provided, except in connection with your consideration of the purchase, sale, or lease of an individual property.
  • Real Estate Board/Website Administrator ownership of and the validity of Real Estate Board’s proprietary rights and copyright in the MLS® database, MLS® data, Real Estate Board's MLS® System, and Listing Information.
  • You will not, directly or indirectly, display, post, disseminate, distribute, publish, broadcast, transfer, sell or sublicense any Listing Information to another individual or entity. The prohibited uses expressly include ‘scraping’ (including ‘screen scraping’ and ‘database scraping’), ‘data mining’ or any other activity intended to collect, store, re-organize, summarize or manipulate any Listing Information or any related data.
  • The Terms of Use agreement also expressly authorizes Real Estate Board, and other Real Estate Board Members or their duly authorized representatives, to access the VOW for the purposes of verifying compliance with MLS® Rules and Policies (including the VOW Rules) and monitoring the display of Members’ Listings by the VOW.
  • Consent to the fact that your Personal Information, including first and last name, email address, and phone number may be collected, used or disclosed. The personal information may be shared with Real Estate Board for auditing and/or legal purposes.

Privacy

  • My website automatically gathers certain usage information like the numbers and frequency of visitors. This data helps me determine how many visitors use parts of the website, so I can improve my website to assure that it is as appealing as I can make it for as many of you as possible.
  • We use a technology called "cookies" that tells us how and when pages in our website are visited, and by how many people. These cookies do not collect personally identifiable information and we do not combine information collected through these cookies with other personally identifiable information to tell us who you are or even what your email address is.
  • We may provide statistical "ratings" information, never information about you personally, to our partners about how our clients and visitors, collectively. We do this so they too can understand how much people use their areas and our website in order for them to provide you with the best possible Web experience.
  • We will only transmit or ask for personal information over secure Internet connections, using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption, the currently accepted standard for online security, and security keys.
  • We may use your information to let you know of additional products and services which you might be interested. We may ask you for information about your interests so that both you and we can take advantage of the interactivity of the online medium, but you may always choose to respond or not, or opt out of future mailings.
  • We will not share your personal information to any third party, unless requested in response to legal processes, such as a court order or subpoena.
  • Whenever personal information about you is stored on our computers, that information is password-protected from unauthorized access or use. In addition, this information is kept on servers that are located behind a firewall.
  • This website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.
  • If we elect to change our privacy policy, you will be notified, and we will post those changes here so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information and whether we will disclose it to anyone.

Web4Realty

Real Estate Websites by Web4Realty

https://web4realty.com/