Tenant screening is the first step in good property management. We thought this recent article was worth repeating.
It seems a building water leak caused a contactor to need to get into several strata lots to mop up the leak. When he went to one unit, the door wasn’t answered, so a locksmith was called. When the contractor stepped inside, he found that the unit had been converted to a fully equipped meth lab!
Police and fire departments arrived, the building had to be evacuated, the HAZMAT team dismantled the lab, and the city advised that the entire strata lot had to be deconstructed and rebuilt. The lot could no longer be occupied, and the owner would be facing a cost est. of $100,000 for a rebuild. Not to mention fines from the strata corporation and other legal consequences. The non-resident owner was shocked. He knew little about his tenant, other than that he paid cash for rent and security deposit.
This cautionary tale reinforces the reality that non-resident owners need to do more than simply collect monthly rent.
At Downtown Suites we handle all aspects of non-resident rental and keep informed on all regulations and updates. For example, there was a very significant court case (Supreme Court of BC) involving insurance claims, which was summarized as follows; “If an occupant of a strata lot is responsible for the cause of an incident and the insurance of the strata corporation has a deductible, the owner is responsible for paying the deductible.” This would mean the non-resident owner, if the tenant is responsible.
Our services involve the screening of tenants, including background credit checks, and we have many balances in place to ensure the good maintenance of your investment.
