There was a lot of enthusiasm throughout the day as people took in various seminars, but without a doubt the highlight of the day was Al Kemp of R.O.M.A. BC who was our keynote speaker. Al joined the Rental Owners and Managers Association of BC as its CEO in 1997. Since then, R.O.M.A. BC has doubled its membership, broadened its services and expanded from a local organization to a provincial one, with four affiliate associations also joining R.O.M.A. BC.
His career experience includes Vice President of Operations for BC Buildings Corporation, Suncor in the Alberta Oil Sands, Dominion Bridge in Regina and the RCMP in Ontario and BC.
Al is a Director and Past Board Chair of the United Way of Greater Victoria and one of the founding members of Leadership Victoria. He is also the current National Chair of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations.
Al talked about a number of topics ranging from the CFAA and its national endeavours, his role with R.O.M.A. BC and the CFAA. Then he talked about how to identify illegal activities, especially grow operations in your rental properties and the damage they can inflict on a building in a relatively short period of time. He brought all of his remarks together when he discussed how to "Evict Bad Tenants Before They Move In", with tips and strategies that everyone involved in the application process can use to hopefully get the best residents into and have them remain in their buildings.
Throughout his presentation Al kept the atmosphere light, yet informative and as a result had the entire audience captivated and eager to learn more.
The PPMA would like to thank Al for coming all the way from sunny BC to share his knowledge, experience and insight with our members.
Here are some highlights of Al's presentation...
SIGNS OF A DRUG OPERATION
GETTING THE MOST FROM THE APPLICATION PROCESS
It is easy to evict bad tenants - provided you do so before they move in!
How do you separate the really good tenants (the majority) from the really bad tenants (very few, but very expensive) without a crystal ball? The key is to be as professional and thorough as possible in your application process.
AD
Forget about 2 bedrooms, how about "backs onto park," "spectacular sunsets," or "bus stops at front door"
PHONE CALL
Purpose: you begin to interview prospective tenants:
It is important to make notes after the phone call. This brings you to your first "Go-no go point" - "I have your name and number; if I want to proceed further, I will call you."
Two good answers to give to all prospective residents; any others can get you in trouble:
No one has the "right" to be chosen to rent your property!
SHOWING SUITE
Studies indicate curb appeal and common areas represent 50% of attractiveness - or not - of your property. The suite is only 18%! (Amenities, security and parking make up rest). So your suite will generally sell itself if the overall appeal is positive. Things to do:
Arrive first - walk up to prospect's car to introduce yourself - look in the back seat (this may give you information about how they keep their suite)
Continue to interview during showing - Answer questions, but ask lots as well, including the ones you asked during the phone call. Do you get the same answers? This brings you to your next "Go-no go point" - give the same answers (number 1 or 2 above) to prospects as phone calls.
APPLICATION
NOW THE WORK BEGINS!
Confirm every bit of information. When you phone current/previous landlords (which is most important?), first ask some landlord questions: e.g. "Do you take one month security deposit? Do you use the government tenancy agreement? What do you find best way to attract good applicants?"
If the answers you get seem suspicious, get devious in your questions, e.g. Prospect told you he lived there for 4 years; ask "landlord" if he lived there for 2 years. Or, you have a no pets policy; she said she has none; you ask landlord how her dog behaved. If answers don't jive with application information, this is not a landlord!
A great resource to check and confirm all addresses is www.reverseaddress.com. If possible, drive by the addresses of both current and previous property - do they exist? What do properties look like? Talk to manager, neighbours, etc.
Talk to supervisor at work - "It is my policy to talk to the current employer before selecting tenants; you can help John by answering a few questions." A reliable, respected employee will usually be a reliable, respected tenant. Confirm salary by saying something like, "John says he can afford $750 rent; do you agree, given his salary and lifestyle?"
Follow up with prospect ANY apparent conflicts or soft spots in information. (Or if major variances, "no-go" is easy decision!)
HUMAN RIGHTS CAUTION
Some applicants' objective is to set you up for a Human Rights complaint. If you have any sense that an applicant(s) might have an ulterior motive, give them an application to fill out. Make notes on all applications such as "Not selected - poor credit record"; "Selected - best previous landlord references"; "This candidate and Jones both excellent - selected Jones because she called first."
As long as you have a good business or logical reasons for selecting or not selecting applicants, you should be able to withstand any Human Rights complaints.
Keep all prospects' applications on file for at least 6 months (time limit for filing a complaint). Keep those who become tenants on file for maximum complaint/appeal period following tenancy conclusion.
At the end of the day, follow your instincts. You will have a great deal of information, but it has to "feel right." If it doesn't, the only correct decision is "no-go." Remember that $600 in lost rent from a vacant suite hurts today. But $6,000 spent to get rid of a bad tenant will hurt a lot more tomorrow.
Al Kemp can be contacted at alkemp@suites-bc.com.