Quote:
Originally Posted by Zaz
How hard is it to get trouble-free tenants, given that we would be very far away and would prefer not to travel to Hamilton every month or so...
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Is there a friend or family member locally who could take care of situations that need immediate attention, and do things like drive by now and then to make sure the sidewalk's getting shovelled and so on?
There are no guarantees when it comes to choosing the best tenants, of course, but I would definitely do credit checks, call landlords and employers, and so on. That's all well worth the effort and cost.
(BTW, some credit check organizations -- at least one of the two major ones, I forget which -- won't let you order a check until they come to your place of "business" and verify that you have a locked filing cabinet in a locked room and a password-protected computer... All of which can be a PITA to set up, but you only have to do it once.)
If you want to research becoming a small landlord, PM me and I'll give you a list of forums/sites/books that you might want to look at. (It might take me a little while to get it together, as I've got a thesis due in two weeks.)