Canada Housing/Debt: Trust me, I'm a landlord.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Canada Housing/Debt: Trust me, I'm a landlord.

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

cowofwar posted:

Regulations protecting renters should be even more onerous so that it destroys the non-purpose rental markets. Ideally it would crush the demand for non-primary residences, put a damper on property speculation and get rid of the slum lords.

That actually seems like a pretty good idea. I wonder if it would have only those effects though.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 03:15

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# ? May 26, 2024 18:37

blah_blah: Apr 15, 2006

Furnaceface posted:

And this mentality is exactly why we have one of the worst renter systems in the loving world. Property owners have all the rights and tenants have squat.

I don't know how anyone could read e.g. the BC RTA and conclude from it that the system doesn't substantially favor tenants. Becoming a landlord in BC (given how out of sync rental rates are with property 'values') has to be one of the dumbest things imaginable unless you're a slumlord.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 03:16

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

JawKnee posted:

That actually seems like a pretty good idea. I wonder if it would have only those effects though.

It's another reason why the German system works so well, renters have lots of extra protection such as max rate increase cap over a certain time period which tied to local rent prices and mainly cities also have size requirements for rentals.

quote:

German rent regulation is found in the Civil Code (the B�rgerliches Gesetzbuch) in �� 535 to 580a, and particular rights for tenants on termination are in ��568 ff. Rental price increases are required to follow a "rental mirror" (Mietspiegel), which is a database of local reference rents. This collects all rents for the past four years, and landlords may only increase prices on their property in line with rents in the same locality. "Usury" rents are prohibited altogether, so that any price rises above 20 per cent over three years are unlawful.

Tenants may be evicted only with a minimum of three months' notice. Tenants receive unlimited duration of their rental agreement unless the duration is explicitly halted. In practice, landlords have little incentive to change tenants as rental price increases beyond inflation are constrained. During the period of the tenancy, a person's tenancy may only be terminated for very good reasons. A system of rights for the rental property to be maintained by the landlord is designed to ensure quality of housing. Many states, such as Berlin, have a constitutional right to adequate housing, and require buildings to make dwelling spaces of a certain size and ceiling height.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 03:18

Sassafras: Dec 24, 2004; by Athanatos

Sassafras fucked around with this message at 09:09 on Mar 14, 2015

# ? Feb 26, 2015 04:23

namaste friends: Sep 18, 2004; by Smythe

Seattle had terrible rental rules which are completely skewed to the property owner. That said, the professional rental management companies are extremely good in my experience. Something completely absent in vancouver. gently caress this city

# ? Feb 26, 2015 04:46

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Cultural Imperial posted:

Seattle had terrible rental rules which are completely skewed to the property owner. That said, the professional rental management companies are extremely good in my experience. Something completely absent in vancouver. gently caress this city

My building is definitely managed by a corp that, as far as I know, only handles rental properties

# ? Feb 26, 2015 05:27

Jan: Feb 27, 2008; The disruptive powers of excessive national fecundity may have played a greater part in bursting the bonds of convention than either the power of ideas or the errors of autocracy.

Quebec's rental board is heavily in favour of the tenant, but it's so mired down in bureaucracy that it's basically pointless to complain about anything but the most serious offenses. Living in a moldy, cockroack-infested slumlord haven isn't serious.

:bravo:

# ? Feb 26, 2015 05:30

Terebus: Feb 17, 2007; Pillbug

Cultural Imperial posted:

Seattle had terrible rental rules which are completely skewed to the property owner. That said, the professional rental management companies are extremely good in my experience. Something completely absent in vancouver. gently caress this city

I'm actually with a professionally managed building in Vancouver. They're pretty great in general. We got pretty lucky though.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 05:38

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Your experience with renting pretty much depends on finding the dream building that also has a good management company.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 05:41

MiddleOne: Feb 17, 2011

etalian posted:

Your experience with renting pretty much depends on finding the dream building that also has a good management company.

This is no different with condos, if you're board isn't filled with at least 1 person experienced with managing real-estate you're up for a disaster in just a couple of years when the mis-management starts to pile up.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 08:11

jet sanchEz: Oct 24, 2001; Lousy Manipulative Dog

I've been paying $600 a month for the last 9 years, my landlord likes me and just says that if I ever move out, he'll raise the rent then.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 09:13

Professor Shark: May 22, 2012

_{Tomoko Vishnu and her son worry construction on a school for their neighbourhood will be delayed because of the drop in oil prices.}

"CBC Article posted:

Alberta's oil woes spread beyond the energy industry
Provincial government plans to slash spending and could raise taxes

It's no secret the steep decline in oil prices are having a significant impact on Canada's energy industry.

But the drop in the commodity price is affecting those outside the sector, who rely on resource revenues to help fund new schools, transit and other projects and services.

Tomoko Vishnu wakes before 6 a.m. each weekday to make a lunch and pack a school bag for her 10-year-old son, before he catches the bus for a 40-minute ride to school. A trip she had hoped her kids would never have to make.

"We bought this house because it said a school was going to be built in this neighbourhood. That's why we bought this house here," she says.

That school was supposed to be built just a five-minute walk from Vishnu's house in southeast Calgary. It is supposed to open next year, although she says there is still no sign of it.

Adding to her concerns, the provincial government is reviewing all capital projects, including hospitals, schools and highways.
Alberta's finance Minister Robin Campbell in Edmonton

"Nothing is happening right now and I am just hoping that it's not going to affect anything like a budget cut for the school because it has already been a lot of stuff cut," she says.

The price of oil has plummeted from highs of more than $100 less than a year ago to around $50 today. That has had a huge impact on Alberta's energy industry, which has seen companies slash spending and shed employees. But it also hurts the provincial government, which counts on energy royalties for about 20 per cent of its revenue.

"The fact of the matter is, when you have a $7-billion hole in your budget some decisions are going to have to be made and it's going to affect decisions across the board," says Alberta's Finance Minister Robin Campbell, who has put all capital projects in the province under scrutiny.

That includes a proposed cancer treatment centre in Calgary. The facility was approved by former premier Alison Redford to be built by 2020. That timeline no longer seems plausible.

"Why in a matter of months do we go from the 'have' province that everyone admires to a province that has these incredible budget challenges that means we can't be a modern, progressive province that can look after its citizens," says cancer survivor John Osler, who is part of a group pushing to have the centre built.

The answer is simple, according to University of Calgary political scientist David Stewart, Albertans have chosen a government that relies too heavily on energy royalties and too little on tax revenue.

"If Alberta taxed at the level of the next lowest province, not the provincial average, it would bring in $11.6 billion in additional revenue and that would make all of this go away," he says.

Of course that is easier said than done.

Many Albertans cringe at the possibility of higher taxes, proud to be the only province without a sales tax. But some people would be open to the idea.

"I have got no problem with a sales tax, but I understand that is a hard sell for Albertans," says Adam Johnson, who spends 90 minutes a day taking a crowded bus between a Calgary suburb and his downtown oil and gas job.

"Calgarians are demanding a train, now we are demanding someone to pay for it," he says.

Johnson would like to see a proposed light rail line project become a reality. The city would need significant provincial funding before ever breaking ground.

When the province could be in a position to pay for that train, or any other infrastructure, will become a little clearer next month when Alberta's budget is released.

But in Canada's energy capital, the fate of many projects will likely continue to hinge on the price of a barrel of oil.

Why indeed

# ? Feb 26, 2015 12:38

Throatwarbler: Nov 17, 2008; by vyelkin

I'm from Alberta and was not aware that the province was "admired" by anyone anywhere ever.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 13:23

Professor Shark: May 22, 2012

Albertan Exceptionalism

# ? Feb 26, 2015 13:37

OhYeah: Jan 20, 2007; 1. Currently the most prevalent form of decision-making in the western world

2. While you are correct in saying that the society owns

3. You have not for a second demonstrated here why

4. I love the way that you equate "state" with "bureaucracy". Is that how you really feel about the state

Professor Shark posted:

_{Tomoko Vishnu and her son worry construction on a school for their neighbourhood will be delayed because of the drop in oil prices.}

~~russia.txt~~alberta.txt

Actually I'm not sure if I'm allowed to the take the piss out of a region of world I'm not familiar with, but the dependence on resource extraction is strikingly similar to some other, less developed and less democratic states in Eurasia.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 13:45

namaste friends: Sep 18, 2004; by Smythe

We want services but we demand the right not to have to pay for them because the government should pay for it.

:qqsay:

# ? Feb 26, 2015 16:38

triplexpac: Mar 24, 2007; Suck it
Two tears in a bucket
And then another thing
I'm not the one they'll try their luck with
Hit hard like brass knuckles
See your face through the turnbuckle dude
I got no love for you

Cultural Imperial posted:

We want services but we demand the right not to have to pay for them because the government should pay for it.

It's like in the movies where a rich family loses all their money yet the spoiled daughter wants nothing to change

# ? Feb 26, 2015 16:41

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Professor Shark posted:

_{Tomoko Vishnu and her son worry construction on a school for their neighbourhood will be delayed because of the drop in oil prices.}

Why indeed

To be fair, she could've moved to a place where a school already existed instead of some suburban piece of poo poo hellhole in East Buttfuck, which only further serves to stress our infrastructure and exacerbate our massive urban sprawl problem. Remember when the CBE was shutting down schools because there was incredibly low enrolment in a lot of areas? Obviously these people loving don't!

# ? Feb 26, 2015 16:43

Count Canuckula: Oct 22, 2014

Cultural Imperial posted:

We want services but we demand the right not to have to pay for them because the government should pay for it.

If only the province had some way of collecting a large sum of money from an abundant resource they could sell. :colbert:

Count Canuckula fucked around with this message at 17:41 on Feb 26, 2015

# ? Feb 26, 2015 17:39

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

If only was some way of providing a stable level of services through boom and bust. Perhaps spending less than you bring in during booms and more than you bring in during busts? Wait that's not like a household.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 17:42

Rime: Nov 2, 2011; by Games Forum

OhYeah posted:

~~russia.txt~~alberta.txt

Actually I'm not sure if I'm allowed to the take the piss out of a region of world I'm not familiar with, but the dependence on resource extraction is strikingly similar to some other, less developed and less democratic states in Eurasia.

The more you peel back the veneer of delusion that Canadians live inside, the more you realize that we're a pretty poo poo country across the board.

Unless your sole purpose in life is watching TV and constantly buying useless poo poo, I guess. Even that lifestyle is getting harder to afford now though.

Rime fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Feb 26, 2015

# ? Feb 26, 2015 18:02

MiddleOne: Feb 17, 2011

Rime posted:

The more you peel back the veneer of delusion that Canadians live inside, the more you realize that we're a pretty poo poo country across the board.

Unless your sole purpose in life is watching TV and constantly buying useless poo poo, I guess. Even that lifestyle is getting harder to afford now though.

Free healthcare. :colbert:

(

)

# ? Feb 26, 2015 18:32

HookShot: Dec 26, 2005

I've lived in my place for a year and a half and we've never had an inspection. Even when we went to renew the lease for another year we were kind of expecting the owners to come in and make sure we hadn't destroyed everything, but nope!

In Australia the RE agent would come in and have a look like every three months on the dot.

Also they were trying to sell the townhouse we were in towards the end, and the notice that they were going to show the place got "lost in the mail" one day, so the agent came to show the place to potential buyers at like 10am on a Saturday morning, and ordered us to have the place be cleaner the next time (we were waiting for the weekend to catch up on dishes, etc). I told her to gently caress off, that we could have stopped their entire walkthrough of the house if we wanted to since we didn't get notice.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 19:50

apatheticman: May 13, 2003; Wedge Regret

Cultural Imperial posted:

We want services but we demand the right not to have to pay for them because the government should pay for it.

To be fair half of this "budget shortfall" is due to the PC's stubborn notion that the budget should be balanced.

Build infrastructure when labour prices are the lowest they are going to be in decades, also that money being pumped back into the economy? Nahh got this here report from the Frasier institute saying I should suck the dick of "fiscal responsibility" at the expense of all things.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 20:33

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Whiteycar posted:

To be fair half of this "budget shortfall" is due to the PC's stubborn notion that the budget should be balanced.

Build infrastructure when labour prices are the lowest they are going to be in decades, also that money being pumped back into the economy? Nahh got this here report from the Frasier institute saying I should suck the dick of "fiscal responsibility" at the expense of all things.

Yeah, it's really goddamn stupid. Money is never going to get any cheaper than right now, labour is going to be cheap, and all the money is going to be spent in the economy anyway. I have no idea why the PCs are so afraid to run a deficit all of a sudden, but I suspect it may have something to do with Jim Prentice being an actual, literal retard (I've never seen any evidence to the contrary!).

# ? Feb 26, 2015 20:47

EvilJoven: Mar 18, 2005; NOBODY,IN THE HISTORY OF EVER, HAS ASKED OR CARED WHAT CANADA THINKS. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY. YOUR MONEY HAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ON IT. IF YOU DIG AROUND IN YOUR BACKYARD, NATIVE SKELETONS WOULD EXPLODE OUT OF YOUR LAWN LIKE THE END OF POLTERGEIST. CANADA IS SO POLITE, EH?; Fun Shoe

Its because the more our infrastructure falls apart the easier it will be to privatize it.

Enjoy paying through the nose to have a shower using your Shaw water service before getting in your car and driving down Suncor boulevard and across the RBC bridge to get to your next 6 month no benefits no pension contract job.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 21:02

Rime: Nov 2, 2011; by Games Forum

I love how you guys think these parties actually believe their own lines about a "balanced budget", and don't just parrot it an excuse to decimate public services and extract wealth from the population. :allears:

# ? Feb 26, 2015 21:02

overboard: Aug 26, 2009

REALTOR *~magic~*
About 6 months ago this place was listed for $131,000. That's a 90% increase! Get in now!
About 6 months ago the livingroom also had a fireplace, which I assume is now behind that "modern" plank wall.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 22:03

Adventure Pigeon: Nov 8, 2005; I am a master storyteller.

overboard posted:

REALTOR *~magic~*
About 6 months ago this place was listed for $131,000. That's a 90% increase! Get in now!
About 6 months ago the livingroom also had a fireplace, which I assume is now behind that "modern" plank wall.

Holy poo poo, that plank wall is hilarious.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 22:20

apatheticman: May 13, 2003; Wedge Regret

Adventure Pigeon posted:

Holy poo poo, that plank wall is hilarious.

The kitchen is hilarious.

Spend some of that tile money on some loving cabinets.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 22:26

cowboy beepboop: Feb 24, 2001

HookShot posted:

I've lived in my place for a year and a half and we've never had an inspection. Even when we went to renew the lease for another year we were kind of expecting the owners to come in and make sure we hadn't destroyed everything, but nope!

In Australia the RE agent would come in and have a look like every three months on the dot.

Also they were trying to sell the townhouse we were in towards the end, and the notice that they were going to show the place got "lost in the mail" one day, so the agent came to show the place to potential buyers at like 10am on a Saturday morning, and ordered us to have the place be cleaner the next time (we were waiting for the weekend to catch up on dishes, etc). I told her to gently caress off, that we could have stopped their entire walkthrough of the house if we wanted to since we didn't get notice.

Yeah they are obsessed with inspections here in Australia. Thankfully my current landlord hasn't popped around in about 2 years. My friends all get inspected every 3 months, for some reason. I believe you have to be given a weeks notice though.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 22:37

Lexicon: Jul 29, 2003; I had a beer with Stephen Harper once and now I like him.

my stepdads beer posted:

Yeah they are obsessed with inspections here in Australia. Thankfully my current landlord hasn't popped around in about 2 years. My friends all get inspected every 3 months, for some reason. I believe you have to be given a weeks notice though.

Figures that the two most real-estate obsessed countries on Earth would be like this.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 22:50

a_gelatinous_cube: Feb 13, 2005

Every single apartment I've ever lived in has had inspections. Usually they pop a 24 hours notice on the door, and the next day the maintenance guy comes in and checks the fire alarms, changes the furnace filter, etc. and is out in less then 5 minutes. I've never seen it as an inconvenience, and honestly I usually don't even wake up for them.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 23:23

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

"I don't wake up when strangers enter the house, it's no biggie."

That's not normal, is it? Maybe I'm just paranoid, but there's no loving way in hell I'd be okay with people in my house when I'm not there (I had a "boundaries" talk with my parents when they popped over to clean my apartment while I was on vacation), or just letting them be as they wander about.

What, y'all think only the government can violate your privacy?

# ? Feb 26, 2015 23:27

Monaghan: Dec 29, 2006

Has anyone in Alberta suggested that maybe they should get rid of that idiotic 10% provincial income tax hahahaha who the gently caress am I kidding.

Monaghan fucked around with this message at 23:32 on Feb 26, 2015

# ? Feb 26, 2015 23:30

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

I'd love to know what the inspection rules are in renters-paradise of Germany. So much of this policy stuff shold be easy to research and find factual reasons to implement them. Like do more frequent inspections actually result in less damage to the building and insurance claims? If yes then what is the optimal balance between bothering the tenant and getting the benefits of the inspection? Does warning time matter? With so many regions and countries having different policies should it not be fairly simply to compare them and find out what the best set of policies is, or at least which policies are useless bullshit?

There seems to be an awful lot of that on any sort of policy topic. Everywhere always acts like they are unique and special and no one else's experiences with various policies are of any worth to them.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 23:39

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Throatwarbler posted:

I'm from Alberta and was not aware that the province was "admired" by anyone anywhere ever.

It's the Texas of Canada

Also lolling at Albertans not realizing the basic economics behind how the commodity bubble will effect everything from private sector jobs to government spending.

But but the last time we survived just fine!

etalian fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Feb 26, 2015

# ? Feb 26, 2015 23:41

Lexicon: Jul 29, 2003; I had a beer with Stephen Harper once and now I like him.

Baronjutter posted:

There seems to be an awful lot of that on any sort of policy topic. Everywhere always acts like they are unique and special and no one else's experiences with various policies are of any worth to them.

Agreed. I would like to see a hell of a lot less 'special snowflake'-ness and a hell of a lot more of a humble 'learn from the world' attitude. In all matters.

That'll be fun to implement in Victoria especially - a place so unique and special, it needs a bakers dozen of separate municipalities for what should sensibly in fact count as a single, pleasant-if-middling, provincial town.

# ? Feb 26, 2015 23:50

tagesschau: Sep 1, 2006; D&D: HASBARA SQUAD
THE SPEECH SUPPRESSOR

Remember: it's "antisemitic" to protest genocide as long as the targets are brown.

etalian posted:

But but the last time we survived just fine!

I was under the impression that Ontario bailed them out last time too.

# ? Feb 27, 2015 00:32

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# ? May 26, 2024 18:37

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

tagesschau posted:

I was under the impression that Ontario bailed them out last time too.

The only moral equalization payments are my equalization payments.

# ? Feb 27, 2015 00:55

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