Barnhouse Take 2

[snacky]

You have seen my ad. Extreeeemely strategic photos of the parts of rooms that aren't stacks of boxes or obvious problems. Enough to not look sketchy, no more.

Granted, I have the luxury of living in the house that needs photographing.

[G-dog]

I would say 200 foot frontage or 200 foot wide lot, just to be clear. clarity is your friend.

Or say nothing, since they have to mow.  Or just say large yard.

[Le Poisson]

I replied to everyone, and one of the keeners showing great interest got back to me nearly instantly. The conversation says this will not be my tenant of choice...

im interested in seeing this house where r u located?

To which I replied with my standard response:

Hi Stacey, Thanks for your interest in our rental.

Please complete the attached Rental application and bring it with you on Saturday. The house is at <Address>. It is accessed through the <new subdivision>. Please see the map below

Landscaping is to be completed this spring and interior renos are almost complete. We are currently refacing the kitchen and putting in new floors in the upstairs bedrooms.

I look forward to seeing you on Saturday morning. If you have difficulty finding the house, please stop at Convergys and ask for directions. It can be difficult to find the laneway.

And then her keener reply:

is there anywayi can meet u to get the application i wont be able to print this one off😕

What I'd like to send: "I believe there is a library in town. There is also a Staples. I am not your mother and I won't be printing the application for you. Buh bye."

What I will send: Nothing. Nothing at all.

[Anatidae V]

Picture of the tree with the swing looks dodgy because the swing looks really faded and the little kid yellow part is really high - pull it down and take the pic again without the mudbath and with the swing "set up".

Agreed that I want to see a photo of every bedroom, and at least 1 shot of the kitchen and 1 shot of the bathroom before I (as a reliable and awesome tenant) would view it seriously. I know you aren't done in the kitchen, though, so maybe just the bathroom? I'd also be wary of a landlord who promised the kitchen would be done before I moved in, but hadn't finished before holding a viewing.

[Le Poisson]

It seems like we have a bit of a disconnect in teh viewing audience here, and I am forced to forge ahead with what I think is best. Not so very long ago it was a chorus of "Get showing it - it doesn't have to be perfect and complete!!" And now it seems to be "You can't show it half-done!" and yet here we are facing the reality that I will be away for the next couple weeks and need to get processing applications so we can get income happening. If I wanted better pics, I would be waiting forever to get a listing up. The landscaping won't happen until June at the earliest. The floors will go in over the next couple weeks. It would be a glorious thing to have the luxury of waiting a month to list it, but the competition with other units then would be intense. Spring markets here can be crazy. Also, new pics as rooms reach completion means the ad pops back to the top of the list.

I do have a number of very interested replies to the ad - although some have that tone of desperation that sets off alarm bells. like this one:

I can give you 2000.00* asap I am so in desperate need of a place for now I don't even care what it looks like..could you please call me at 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX

[/color]

*Note - first and last month's rent will be $3600, not good at math, this one is.

Reading on other forums, the whole prescreen process will take about a month, and getting the place tenanted usually takes 2. Getting the ad out now means I will have exposure as the season ramps up, and hopefully a tenant before too long. Hopefully.

I think this market does not have a lot of family homes to offer and I am in a good space to find a tenant regardless. We shall see.

[RetiredAt63]

Um, weren't you going to have a property management company for the house?  Or am I thinking of someone else?  You are heading on vacation - is your time worth more starting to screen illiterate innumerate prospective tenants, or getting stuff done at the house?  And leaving tenant screening to a company that knows how to do it?

Not snarking, just hoping you have thought your priorities through.

And feel free to keep yelling at me to get working on my own priorities.

[Anatidae V]

I think you've confused "Perfect and complete" with "functioning" :) eg it doesn't need a redesigned kitchen, but the kitchen needs cupboards/drawers :)

[deborah]

When I rented, I viewed a place that had all the bits in the bathroom in a corner. When I got in a week later, it was all connected and working. I was not upset about the bits - it was obviously a complete set of bits. I wouldn't worry about a photo of a peacock blue bathroom.

[Le Poisson]

Just had about 10 families through. Got 4 applications and a couple 'we'll email it to you's"

Only one person vocally disinterested. One asked to come back this afternoon with his wife.

One wants to run a Contracting company out of the garage.

One is a DND transfer with a homeschooling wife.

[G-dog]

Just had about 10 families through. Got 4 applications and a couple 'we'll email it to you's"

Only one person vocally disinterested. One asked to come back this afternoon with his wife.

One wants to run a Contracting company out of the garage.

One is a DND transfer with a homeschooling wife.

Sounds like a good level of interest.

The one wanting to run a business from the garage concerns me..... They should be looking to rent commercial space. Could be zoning issues. But overall sounds like a cheapskate half-assed approach to running a business. But, I don't know enough about it.

[snacky]

That is awesome and encouraging. This thing is going to work out, you know.

[Le Poisson]

I think so. There is a common air of desperation. It seems that 3 bedroom places are scarce. 4 bedroom unheard of. I was mobbed exactly at 10:00 when I said the open house would start. One family asked to move in before renos were completed (I said no) because they've been looking so long. Of course she was a single mom with 7 kids, a canso-corso and a Pitt bull.

[okits]

Are DND jobs in that town longer-term (i.e. they won't be likely to move after a year or need to break the lease suddenly due to a transfer)?  At least you know paycheques from the federal government will always clear (as long as he hasn't been screwed by the bungled Phoenix pay system).

What's your criteria for picking?  Do you think this means you priced the rent too low?

[paddedhat]

I think so. There is a common air of desperation. It seems that 3 bedroom places are scarce. 4 bedroom unheard of. I was mobbed exactly at 10:00 when I said the open house would start. One family asked to move in before renos were completed (I said no) because they've been looking so long. Of course she was a single mom with 7 kids, a canso-corso and a Pitt bull.

Gee, what could go wrong? LOL

[G-dog]

I think so. There is a common air of desperation. It seems that 3 bedroom places are scarce. 4 bedroom unheard of. I was mobbed exactly at 10:00 when I said the open house would start. One family asked to move in before renos were completed (I said no) because they've been looking so long. Of course she was a single mom with 7 kids, a canso-corso and a Pitt bull.

Is a canso-Corsica an Italian Mastiff?
With two big dogs and 7 kids - plan on replacing the flooring when a family like that moves out!

[Cannot Wait!]

No No No!  Just say No.

[TrMama]

Are DND jobs in that town longer-term (i.e. they won't be likely to move after a year or need to break the lease suddenly due to a transfer)?  At least you know paycheques from the federal government will always clear (as long as he hasn't been screwed by the bungled Phoenix pay system).

What's your criteria for picking?  Do you think this means you priced the rent too low?

If the DND family gets transferred before the end of the lease, DND will cover lease breaking costs.

When we rented our suite, we preferred DND tenants for their steady paycheck, ability to cover lease breaking costs (aka unlikely to disappear in the night) and the fact that DH is also DND and likely outranked them.

[Le Poisson]

No No No!  Just say No.

But her odsp gets deposited straight into my bank! And she had a deal with her last LL where if she overpaid the rent, they'd split the extra so she could get a little spending money. So you know, if I raised the rent by, like, $500 on the application, she'd kick me back an extra $250.

I can't see why you'd say no to this.

[Le Poisson]

Are DND jobs in that town longer-term (i.e. they won't be likely to move after a year or need to break the lease suddenly due to a transfer)?  At least you know paycheques from the federal government will always clear (as long as he hasn't been screwed by the bungled Phoenix pay system).

What's your criteria for picking?  Do you think this means you priced the rent too low?

If the DND family gets transferred before the end of the lease, DND will cover lease breaking costs.

When we rented our suite, we preferred DND tenants for their steady paycheck, ability to cover lease breaking costs (aka unlikely to disappear in the night) and the fact that DH is also DND and likely outranked them.

Yes. I was hoping for a DND family. He was an airframe mechanic. I don't know how often those guys move around.

The challenge with them is that they want a very quick move in date.

[Dollar Slice]

It seems like we have a bit of a disconnect in teh viewing audience here, and I am forced to forge ahead with what I think is best.

I'm kind of amazed at how picky people are being in re: the listing; I've been renting since 1999 and have never toured - let alone rented - an apartment that I'd seen pictures of beforehand. In high-demand markets, people are desperate to find anything that ticks off most of their boxes for a reasonable price. By the time you saw a nice-looking listing with pretty photos, and called to see the place, it had been taken off the market.

[Le Poisson]

A town employee just ran over my house number sign. He is now standing at the end of the driveway with it clamped in the vise on the back of his truck trying to bend it straight. I feel for the guy.

[TrMama]

Are DND jobs in that town longer-term (i.e. they won't be likely to move after a year or need to break the lease suddenly due to a transfer)?  At least you know paycheques from the federal government will always clear (as long as he hasn't been screwed by the bungled Phoenix pay system).

What's your criteria for picking?  Do you think this means you priced the rent too low?

If the DND family gets transferred before the end of the lease, DND will cover lease breaking costs.

When we rented our suite, we preferred DND tenants for their steady paycheck, ability to cover lease breaking costs (aka unlikely to disappear in the night) and the fact that DH is also DND and likely outranked them.

Yes. I was hoping for a DND family. He was an airframe mechanic. I don't know how often those guys move around.

The challenge with them is that they want a very quick move in date.

As short as every 18-24 months, or as long as 10 years.

[RetiredAt63]

With this level of interest you can be picky.  4 bedrooms, and easy for DND personnel means you are perfect for DND people.  Plus you can always complain to their commanding officer if issues.   ;-) 

How is DND doing with the Phoenix mess? (thank you Stephen Harper for that mess, even thought the Liberals are having to deal with it now).  Sorry, didn't mean to get political but it is a big deal in Ottawa.   And you want your tenants to be getting paid properly.

[Cannot Wait!]

https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/remuneration-compensation/paye-centre-pay/tableau-phenix-phoenix-dashboard-eng.html

[okits]

https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/remuneration-compensation/paye-centre-pay/tableau-phenix-phoenix-dashboard-eng.html

That looks, um, not good.

[Cannot Wait!]

Yeah, hard to believe they are posting these updates - like it's a good thing or something.

I'm on the overpaid side, just waiting for them to figure that out.  It's only been a year...

[RetiredAt63]

Being around Ottawans, I hear it all - overpaid, underpaid, messed up mat leaves, messed up raises, messed up contract renewals, messed up computer authority.  Basically, if what I have heard is correct, Phoenix had never been used on this large a group of employees before, and it wasn't up to it.

[With This Herring]

Posting to follow (again)!  It was worrying to see that ARS locked the previous thread, but then I got to the posting issues.  Phew!

[Le Poisson]

So I've been installing a floor all day. The first day back after vacation is not proving to be particularly productive. Hoping to have all the bedroom floors in by this time tomorrow.

We'll see if I am up to the goal.

[Le Poisson]

Master bedroom mostly floored. As the day went on I had a headache of increasing intensity set in. By about 6:00 all I could do was stand, so I put myself to bed. I blame the saw dust off the laminate. Today I'm setting up the saw outside and wearing a respirator.

If I can get the front room done this morning, I'll be a happy guy.

[Le Poisson]

Master floor all done but for a 1" strip which shall cause much grief.

[Le Poisson]

Some interesting finds under the front bedroom floor. 

An original receipt from Eatons for the "Enamelon" floor for a total of $9.45.

And under the floor, a 1949 Toronto Star protecting the old pine plank floor.

Cool to find treasures.

[snacky]

Will you keep the newspapers?

[Le Poisson]

Will you keep the newspapers?

Probably not.

I'll stuff them into a wall cavity or something for someone else to find.

[okits]

Will you keep the newspapers?

Probably not.

I'll stuff them into a wall cavity or something for someone else to find.

LOL!  DH and I approve.  (I'm guessing old newspapers aren't worth much, if sold.)

[Le Poisson]

Sometimes along the path to mark things right, you find a lot that's wrong. The floors of this closet was a piece of panelling. Under it were a few flooring scraps and a big hole. When they ran heat ducts in this place they really buggered up the old floors.

[LifeHappens]

Renovating old houses is the adult version of a prankster Easter Egg hunt. Sometimes you find cool prizes (the newspaper) and sometimes you find dog kibble (the hole in the floor!). It's always an adventure.

[Le Poisson]

Well, I'm calling the weekend complete. Had a couple prospective tenants through and a couple no shows. The floors are in upstairs, and there are windows in the living room for installation next week.

The Chestnut canoe is on the car. I'll send it over to the in laws to return it to the cottage.

Tomorrow it's back to work at the office. I can't hardly wait.

[G-dog]

Yay! Floors are done.

Any good prospective tenants? Did any from the first showing follow through?

[Le Poisson]

Yay! Floors are done.

Any good prospective tenants? Did any from the first showing follow through?

One that came through was interesting, the other less so.

DND guy has backed out.

I’ll run the add for another week and then reevaluate.

[couponvan]

Sad how that 1" strip will probably take longer than the rest of the room - much grief is right on the last row!  Floors look really good.  I think it's hard for tenants to commit when they can't be sure of a move in date.  Most people want "ready now" for rentals.  Are you installing your windows?  We're at that point still and stalled, stalled, stalled at our FIRE house.

[Le Poisson]

The windows are stacked against a living room wall.

[Carless]

Personally, as a renter I'd be very leery of an incomplete reno.  I'm sure you're reliable, but from their point of view once you've secured a renter your motivation to finish quickly drops.  I had one place promise that they'd be done before I moved in, but predicting how long these things take is kind of tough for anyone, so I never have much faith in construction schedules.  Especially not my own.

[Le Poisson]

Personally, as a renter I'd be very leery of an incomplete reno.  I'm sure you're reliable, but from their point of view once you've secured a renter your motivation to finish quickly drops.  I had one place promise that they'd be done before I moved in, but predicting how long these things take is kind of tough for anyone, so I never have much faith in construction schedules.  Especially not my own.

Thanks carless - I appreciate the tip. Maybe I'll let the ad sink into the abyss of kijiji and bring it back to the top once the windows are all in. The floors are just about done already.

[BlueHouse]

Why do you use glossy exterior paint on indoor trim?  Is it more durable? 

[Le Poisson]

This weekend has been frustrating. I put in the front entryway floor and it took longer and more swearing than I had expected. Oh well, it's done now.

I am now wasting my afternoon waiting on people who aren't showing up to see the place. I swept and cleaned at 1:00 to have it ready for a 2:00, 2:30, and 3:00 showing. So far no one has come. What a waste of time.

[Cannot Wait!]

Have them all come at the same time.   They can start a bidding war if necessary.   😎

[Le Poisson]

Have them all come at the same time.   They can start a bidding war if necessary.   😎

I tried that the first time. One guy was very vocally negative and chased off the whole crowd.

[deborah]

Vet big mouths prior to the showing. Have two - one for all the big mouths, and one for the others.

[Freckles]

I'm sorry it was a frustrating weekend, Prosp. I hope the week is better.