Preventing Winter Water Damage to Your Home

Water damage is the top claim item that insurance companies see, and in the winter, its root cause is usually pipes that burst from freezing. Make protecting your plumbing and appliances one of the maintenance items on your fall “tucking away for winter” list to avoid water damage in your home.

Check That Pipes are Properly Insulated

Some plumbing pipes are located in areas of the home that are prone to cooling down quickly if the heat goes off, such as a basement or close to an outside wall. Cover these pipes with inexpensive pipe insulation that you can get from the local hardware store. Even if you are in an urban area with reliable power, you need to prepare for a situation where your heat may be off for a day or two. If you can manage it, consider insulating all of your plumbing pipes for an added layer of security.

Although there is nothing really attractive about insulating pipes, it can save you money... and saving money is attractive!  

If some of your plumbing is located under the house or in an unheated location, they’re probably already insulated. Check that the insulation hasn’t worn away or has been damaged by wildlife before winter, and consider installing self-regulated heat cable or heat tracing on outdoor piping for better protection.

Keep Your Home Heated

If you’re going away on vacation, don’t turn off the heat, and don’t turn it down lower than 10 or 12 degrees Celsius. Unless you have a very fancy thermostat, the temperature may get lower in outlying areas of your house not in the vicinity of the thermostat. It’s worth it to pay a bit more on your heating bill than deal with burst pipes.

You may also want to consider purchasing an alarm system that alerts you to temperature variances in your home, or the NEST thermostat which has the added bonus of being extremely cool. You can check up on most alarm systems or the NEST remotely from your smartphone, and even turn the heat up or down remotely. If you’re concerned about specific areas of your home, the alarm system may be a better choice as you can purchase temperature sensors that are installed directly in areas you choose, such as a poorly heated crawlspace or beside your furnace.

Check Pipes From Appliances

Make sure connections are tight on the water pipes leading to and from your washing machine, dishwasher, and any other appliances that use large volumes of water. Both appliances can vibrate when in use, which can easily shake loose seals and connections. Also be sure to check your hot water heater and dehumidifier if you have one and perform any maintenance items that the manufacturer recommends.

Check The Roof and Skylights

Have a look at the shingles on your roof to see if any are in need of replacement or repair. If they’re curling up at the edges, or you can easily see a bad patch in the roof, you may want to get a professional roofer in or, if you’re handy, replace them yourself. Make sure skylights and windows that may be covered in snow are sealed tight so water from melting snow can’t drip into your home.

If you’re too busy to perform any of these maintenance checks, consider hiring a reputable handyman or contractor to do it for you...

Fixing problems in the winter is much harder than preventing them in the fall!

10 worst home upgrades for resale

Find out which home upgrades are least likely to return their full investment when you sell your home.

Some renovation upgrades, such as kitchens and bathrooms, are usually fairly reliable for adding to a home’s resale value. But there are others (and if you’ve gone househunting in the last few years, perhaps you’ve seen a few) that are just plain bone-headed. What’s worth the cost and what isn’t? Some of her answers might surprise you.

Wall-to-wall broadloom

Once considered a selling feature, this is now a liability in many buyers’ eyes. Broadloom is incompatible with pets and people with allergies, and is perceived as hard to clean. If you have hardwood floors, have them refinished or consider installing them if you don’t.

Whirlpool baths, saunas and indoor hot tubs

Once considered chic, these are now often seen as just expensive, energy-guzzling extras. Kathy says she once saw a home with a hot tub installed in the living room! 

Expensive built-in sound systems and home theatres

Some buyers will be attracted to this, but not everyone is an audio/cinephile, nor will they pay a premium for a house with this feature.

Colourful bath fixtures

These went out with poodle skirts. Chances are the buyer will just see them as a renovation to-do and will plan to get rid of them after the purchase.

Ornate chandeliers, wallpaper and paint treatments

Taste is very individual and idiosyncratic decorating can turn buyers off; stick with neutral, simple decor.

Odd rooms and walls

A wall bisecting a large bedroom into two unusably small ones or a cramped powder room under the stairs or in a closet … many buyers will see these as merely a future renovation expense. (Same goes for inexplicably missing walls, such as a bathroom that is open to the adjacent bedroom.)

Overly fancy appliances

Stainless steel-finish appliances are worth paying a few more dollars for (compared to equivalent white or colour models), but six-burner professional stoves, double dishwashers and a fridge big enough for a restaurant rarely recoup their initial cost.

Cheap laminate or vinyl tile flooring

Some types of laminate are attractive and practical; others just look cheap and fake. Especially avoid peel-and-stick vinyl tiles or be prepared to replace them when you put the house on the market. For not much more money, choose hardwood, stone, bamboo or cork.

Swimming pool

There is some debate about this among realtors; to some buyers, a swimming pool is a selling feature. But a pool rarely recoups its entire cost, and it will reduce the number of potential buyers interested in your home.

Finally, number-one renovation no-no:

Turning a three-bedroom into a two-bedroom home

Even if that third bedroom is miniscule, it’s still a bedroom. No matter how spacious your newly enlarged master bedroom or how luxurious that new spa bath, the demand for two-bedroom homes is significantly smaller than for three-bedrooms, and they command considerably lower prices.

By Martha Uniacke Breen (http://www.styleathome.com) 

What if your tenant is late paying rent?

As much as every landlord tries to screen their tenants, every so often renters might be late in payments. Here some useful tips I came across in one of the Property Manager's blogs on what to do if this happens:

1. Issue Form N4. You might not want to do this, but you simply MUST. Even if a tenant asks you to hold a check or pay later in the week, you should still issue the N4. This simply protects you if the tenant doesn't live up to their commitment.

When serving N4 make sure it is not posted on the door, but delivered in person, to the mail box or slipped under the door. Do not enter the property without 24 hour notice!

Read instructions on how to complete Form N4

2. File Form L1. If the tenant doesn't pay their rent by the date stated on the N4, file an L1 (see instructions) with the landlord tenant board the next day to start the eviction process. 

3. Schedule a tribunal hearing as soon as possible.

4. Attend the tribunal hearing. Be prepared with proof if the tenant has been habitually late, the lease and bring any written correspondence. It is important to note that the tenant may try to claim repairs are required, illegal entry or attempt to make a partial payment. You need to be prepared for how you would handle this.

5. At the tribunal, mediation might be a way to simplify a lengthy process. This might be a good option if you think both parties are willing to co-operate.

6. Follow the next steps for eviction as outlined by the tribunal.

At all times, remember this is a business and sensitivity must prevail. We’ve heard of people saying some pretty nasty things to tenants or landlords and it coming back to haunt them later. If you want to avoid any personal attacks, use professionals.

For do-it-yourself landlords or any questions you can always refer to Landlord and Tenant Board web site it's quite helpful, has all the forms and step-by-step instructions

RENT INCREASE GUIDELINE (and proposed changes)

Each year, the Ontario government announces the province’s rent increase guideline for the
following year.

The guideline is the maximum amount that most landlords can increase a tenant’s rent during the year without making an application to the Landlord and Tenant Board.  It is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a measure of inflation calculated monthly by Statistics Canada, charting the change in the price ща all goods and services in the provincial economy.

The rate of allowable rent increases for 2012 will be 3.1 per cent and applies to rent increases between January 1 and December 31, 2012.  This is up from last year’s guideline of 0.7 per cent. Check this link if you are interested in more details of how it was calculated, as well as historical data

In most cases, the rent for a unit can be increased if at least 12 months have passed since the tenant first moved in, or since his or her last rent increase. The tenant must be given proper written notice of the rental increase at least 90 days before the rent increase takes effect.

Note that  the guideline does not apply to residential dwellings first occupied on or after November 1, 1991. So if you have one of these new condos, the RIG does not limit the amount by which a you can increase the rents.

However there is a new proposed amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act if passed, it will set annual Rent Increase Guideline between one and 2.5 per cent beginning in 2013! According to the Ontario government “tenants would benefit from greater certainty that would ensure affordable and stable rents so they have safe and affordable housing.”

For landlord this new rule means that unless someone moves out in the years when inflation rate is over 2.5% (and they happen more often than not), you have no way to bring rent in accordance to prices of everything else on the market. On top of that, no sublets (aka some finds you a tenant and help avoid vacancy) would be considered by landlords.

I suggest we all keep an eye on this proposed amendment