Discussions

I have been trying to help a friend find an "affordable" rental arrangement in Brandon since April. He has been at the same job for 8 years making over $20.00 an hour. He is looking to rent something decent that he can afford without having to choose between rent and food/necessities. Not only that but he has 3 children and as soon as a landlord hears that they say sorry it won't work out. WHAT ARE PEOPLE SUPPOSED TO DO? He currently rents a two room apartment, not two bedrooms but 2 rooms maybe 300 sq feet and pays $700 a month. It is an outrage that people are taking advantage of the housing situation in Brandon to make a small fortune, leaving hard working people living in poverty! How hard should it be to find someone willing to rent and affordable place to you even though you have children??? If anybody has any suggestion I would love to hear them! I am so frustrated at this point.

Well to start you could help your friend out and purchase a property and rent it out and don't make a fortune like you say. What exactly is your definition of affordable. Three kids and himself would need about a 3-4 bedroom. That is a house. Now I would expect about 1200 a month to rent. Otherwise I would say look outside the city to rural areas and towns or try Manitoba housing and get put on their waiting list. Trust me no landlords are making a fortune off rental property. And plus why can't a person make money on an investment cause housing is something that doesn't go down.

Did you know the landlord is responsible for dealing with noise complaints?  
Yes to my surprise if KIDS are being KIDS in the middle of the afternoon (making noise, playing etc) it is up to the LANDLORD to issue a warning.  
 
Good luck landlords! They are so heavily regulated by the government.  
 
 
Best of luck in your search for an affordable place suitable and safe for children.

I guess landlords should operate at a loss out of the goodness of their hearts...  
 
My experience is 50% of all interested renters in Brandon that call and make an appointment do not show up even when the appointment is 30 minutes to 2 hours after the call. Of the remainder the majority do not meet my requirements because they have no landlord references, fail reference checks or have previous problems with the law or are generally "skids" for lack of a better word that will destroy my property. Basically landlords deal with lots of sh!t and nobody deals with sh!t for free.  
 
Maybe its the Brandon renters that are ridiculous, and the landlords charge a fair market rate for the time and energy they put into their investments.  
 
 
I wish your friend all the best but ~$20/hour with the expense of 3 kids is not very much.

landlords have to make money for their living too they are not in a charity program.

It''s the classic "square peg being fitted into a round hole" des:cription for your friends expectations dealing with reality. Seven hundred will at best provide a two bedroom basement suite, and that''s pushing his luck. And even if he finds one, his profile will not suit the landlords general standards of "risk assessment". Single male with three kids? ...that''s not going to prove in his favor when he''s up against other applicants for the same unit. Possible noise issues, over usage of i:ncluded resources such as shared laundry machines, water/ hot water and possible heat and hydro (depending on the building or apartment arrangements) and the liability with children playing on the property ...all are going to be negative strikes on an applicant with four occupants (three being children). Especially, when comparing against two individuals applying as roommates and working full time while planning to go to university for three years. Just saying... The risk assessment will always favor for those who have similar dedication, responsibilities and income to your friend, but with fewer occupants (and no children). Like many have said before... Landlords don''t make huge amounts once everything has been considered in running a rental. So, it only makes sense to choose an more "ideal tenant".  
 
It sounds unfair and to some somewhat discriminating, but it is a legal business decision in part for a landlord to maximize and protect the investment.  
 
The only solution I can see for this persons housing problems is to combine his living status with someone else (family or friend) and find a freestanding rental with three or more bedrooms to share. Because it will be near impossible him and his kids to live on their own with a $700.00 rent budget. Life can suck, especially with three kids on your own. I don't know his circumstances, but I feel and somewhat can relate to him with having three kids of my own. Because I couldn't imagine caring them without my wife or living in a smaller house or with no permanent home at all. But he needs support from friends and family (and possibly government assistance) ...not from the local landlords, such as myself. Sorry.  
 
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.  
 
Edited by snowman5, 2016-06-30 20:58:08

Friends of ours live in Victoria Woods Estates. They have a two bedroom townhouse style condo. Oh two floors. It's a decent size in decent condition. We've been over there lots and the neighbors seem to be nice and quiet. There's lots of h it's that have kids in so I'm sure kids aren't an issue.  
They pay $785 a month for a two bedroom. I know they have three bedroom places too but not sure how much they are.  
Maybe your friend could try calling them and see if if they have any places available.

with all the comments in this section. I also have rental properties. It is my business, not a charity. I charge "fair market value" for my properties. If I have 20 ppl or 1 person looking to rent from me, I check ALL references, previous landlords, facebook and facebook friends. After that, I consider the "risk" and I choose the best suited tenant, sometimes that is passing on all of them.  
I agree the rental market is hot in Brandon, that's why I made a budget, got smart with my money and bought another house.  
Best of luck to your friend.

If your friend has held a steady job for 8 years, he should apply for a mortgage as was suggested. Paying a mortgage is like taking money out of one pocket and sticking it in the other pocket.  
You might be surprised to know that with the exception of the east coast Provinces, Brandon, and Manitoba in general, has the cheapest real estate and rental prices. To put it in perspective, a typical 3 bedroom house anywhere in the lower mainland runs for around 2500-3000/month

Some people can't just go and get a mortgage.  
 
Don't you think if this person could get a mortgage they would have one? I know it took us a lot longer then it should have to get a mortgage. My wife went back to school in her late 20's so we were living on one income which made it hard to save money when we had to pay $1000 a month on top of school tuition. Owning a vehicle, paying for gas, car insurance, tenant, groceries, etc. Yes we are on the property ladder now but we were in our 30's before we could afford a downpayment for a house.  
 
Sometimes it's not as easy as just going out and buying a house rather then renting. The OP makes a point that renting is expensive and while I agree that renting in brandon isn't as expensive as some places it is the income in brandon is not as high as some of the other places where renting is more. I feel like it all balances out.  
 
The OP is mainly asking for advice on how their friend can find affordable rental accommodation giving advice like saying "go buy a house and rent it to them cheap" is not really helpful advice.  
 
I understand the OPs frustration but I don't believe Landlords are intentionally gouging tenants. It's just how the market is.  
 
Vic Woods, Argile courts, The town houses on the east end (16th street east) not sure of the name, The Coop housing off breacrest (Ptarmigan way area) They are all rentals that I believe are a little cheaper, are a decent size and are kid friendly.  
 
Again good luck.

Loraine, depending on the sex and age of the children either 3 or 4 bedrooms are required by regulation. Every landlord needs to abide by those regulations too.  
If your friend lives in 2 rooms (not 2 bedrooms) as noted in your post than he might have a situation on hand.  
 
 
"Children of different sex, over age 5 (five) years, shall not share a bedroom.  
Same sex children, age 0-5 years, shall not share a bedroom with children older than 8 years of age."  
 
http://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/cfsmanual/pubs/cclm/part3_space_and_accomodation.pdf

Lucky Luke said "Loraine, depending on the sex and age of the children either 3 or 4 bedrooms are required by regulation. Every landlord needs to abide by those regulations too.   If your friend lives in 2 rooms (not 2 bedrooms) as noted in your post than he might have a situation on hand.       "Children of different sex, over age 5 (five) years, shall not share a bedroom.   Same sex children, age 0-5 years, shall not share a bedroom with children older than 8 years of age."     http://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/cfsmanual/pubs/cclm/part3_space_and_accomodation.pdf "

as far as I can tell that link refers to residential child care facilities, not private homes, while having your own bedroom is preferable dad is doing his best to balance the needs of his children with what he has so it would be horrible for the government to then mandate bedroom sizes for the family  
 
as for the landlord situation I am SOOO sick of hearing about the horrible landlord blah blah blah, all the arguments have been said, in previous discussions the costs have been laid out but people still dont seem to understand that living and maintaining a house isnt free and honestly those who think they can do better should go buy a house and rent it out, oh but wait, they cant because they have poor credit, no money ect ect blah blah blah

SparkyJones said "    Enfyre said "If your friend has held a steady job for 8 years, he should apply for a mortgage as was suggested. Paying a mortgage is like taking money out of one pocket and sticking it in the other pocket.   You might be surprised to know that with the exception of the east coast Provinces, Brandon, and Manitoba in general, has the cheapest real estate and rental prices. To put it in perspective, a typical 3 bedroom house anywhere in the lower mainland runs for around 2500-3000/month " Youre example is good but invalid. This isn't the lower mainland...I could easily retort with a one bedroom flat in Sydney Australia is 1000-1500 a fortnight. That to is a good example of prices of real estate and renting but pointless to this discussion "

It does have a point to this discussion. The OP said Brandon is unaffordable. In response I'm saying, comparitvely, to any place actually feasible to move to (i.e. in Canada) Brandon is ([i]more[/i]) affordable to live. In any other area, on average, your going to pay more, without the same percentage increase in average wages, (using Vancouver area as an extreme example of this). In this sense, Brandon IS affordable.

"My friend has worked at his job for 8 or more years and makes more tha. $20 an hour and can't find a place to live"  
 
Yes this is somehow landlords fault...they should without a second thought invest their own personal money to provide housing for those that can't save for a down payment for their own house. And they charge to much and are evil.  
 
We are in a world of everyone owes someone something. Really people, you are responsible for your life, good bad or ugly. Own up to your responsibilities. Stop making your hardships someone else's fault.  
 
Maybe I'm getting crusty as I age, no one owes you anything, period. Your life is good bad or ugly because of your own doing, and no one owes you a damn thing. Get it? Don't have anywhere to live, yep that sucks, but there are always options, are you personally willing to chase them? No? Then not my problem.  
 
I feel for your friend, stabable job, Decent money and not a big enough place to live...but not the landlords fault. Until people learn the only direction to point fingers is directly at themselves we will live in the 'someone owes me' society, and I am way past that. I have hard times, I've worked multiple jobs to get through them, I had more debt than I care to remember, but I worked my ass off to get to a better place. I currently a tarnished credit record because things got that bad, but I currently don't have a cent of debt. Yet I still work multiple jobs to add to the savings. My life is mine, and I wish others would see that, and stop blaming other for the place they currently are.  
 
Stop blaming the landlords, if it wasn't for them, your friend would be homeless.

Never_give_up said ""My friend has worked at his job for 8 or more years and makes more tha. $20 an hour and can't find a place to live"     Yes this is somehow landlords fault...they should without a second thought invest their own personal money to provide housing for those that can't save for a down payment for their own house. And they charge to much and are evil.     We are in a world of everyone owes someone something. Really people, you are responsible for your life, good bad or ugly. Own up to your responsibilities. Stop making your hardships someone else's fault.     Maybe I'm getting crusty as I age, no one owes you anything, period. Your life is good bad or ugly because of your own doing, and no one owes you a damn thing. Get it? Don't have anywhere to live, yep that sucks, but there are always options, are you personally willing to chase them? No? Then not my problem.     I feel for your friend, stabable job, Decent money and not a big enough place to live...but not the landlords fault. Until people learn the only direction to point fingers is directly at themselves we will live in the 'someone owes me' society, and I am way past that. I have hard times, I've worked multiple jobs to get through them, I had more debt than I care to remember, but I worked my ass off to get to a better place. I currently a tarnished credit record because things got that bad, but I currently don't have a cent of debt. Yet I still work multiple jobs to add to the savings. My life is mine, and I wish others would see that, and stop blaming other for the place they currently are.     Stop blaming the landlords, if it wasn't for them, your friend would be homeless. "

Courage in the face of adversity determines what we are made of. You have what it takes and your post is inspiring, well said!  
 
Edited by 70`s guy, 2016-07-02 00:19:51

I totally agree with your last post!

for it''s size IMHO. Smaller than Winnipeg, but the rent landlords are asking is pretty close to or higher than Winnipeg. However I don''t think landlords are to be blamed, they making hay while the sun is shining. Demand vs. supply. To deal with the problem though I would,  
-Move to a smaller town outside.  
-Rent a big house and share the rent with others (students, workers etc).  
-Look for extra income  
-Buy a cheap house and fix it up  
 
Edited by SJN, 2016-07-02 12:19:01

I would assume there would be demand for rentals that cater to families, judging from the threads that come up on ebrandon. However, it''s risky. I totally understand why landlords don''t allow pets and most don''t like kids - I have a bunch of kids and even well-behaved they''re messy, noisy, they break stuff and damage property (usually accidently, but it happens nonetheless). So from an investment perspective, I totally get that.  
 
There''s also a difference between having family-friendly rentals and having affordable family-friendly rentals. Affordability seems to be the primary factor around here.  
 
A housing co-op specifically for families might be a solution. They''re generally not for-profit enterprises, but the members work together to keep costs down. It''s a sort of half-way between just being a renter and owning: you''re not gaining equity, but there''s no outside landlord so you have some measure of control. It would be a huge undertaking to start one, however.  
 
Edited by Abbysmum, 2016-07-02 16:30:29

Let''s talk numbers.  
 
Let''s use this triplex currently on the market as an example. Not exactly the same property parameters as what you''ve listed, but it has 3 2-bedroom units, so feasibly for small families. https://www.realtor.ca/Commercial/Multi-family/16575449/853-Russell-Street-Brandon-Manitoba-R7A5G3  
 
The asking price is $564,900. Let''s assume you can purchase it for about $550,000.  
 
Commercial/investment properties usually need at least 20% down, so let''s assume I''m going to leverage another property I already own (my primary residence, for example) for the down payment. I''m going to need about $110,000 down, and mortgage the rest. Keeping numbers simple (not counting land transfer taxes, lawyer fees, fees to the bank for the mortgage, not outstanding repairs are needed, etc), let''s assume you can get a 3% mortgage on the property for 20 years on the balance of $440,000. That''s giving you a payment of about $2400 a month in mortgage payments to the bank for the next 20 years on your investment. That works about to be about $800 a unit (3 units).  
 
According to the city''s website, that property has a net taxes of $5281 per year. That''s about $440 dollars a month, or about $146 a unit.  
 
So, just to pay the mortgage and keep the city happy with taxes, I''m shelling out around $950 per unit.  
 
Now, I need to charge enough to cover damages the tenant may cause. Even very responsible tenants put wear-and-tear on the units: that''s just life. We''ll add in a modest $200 buffer for the wear-and-tear/damage/blown hot water tanks, etc. That very modest - a single blown hot water tank could eat up a year''s worth of buffer on a unit. But that $200 added to our $1150 brings us to $1350 for a 2-bedroom unit. And the investment property hasn''t even turned a profit yet.  
 
Now, that''s simplistic I realize. Many properties are not mortgaged to the max and have been paid down. Some older buildings may pay less taxes, but may require more maintenance. We haven''t accounted for any taxes on the income generated on the property that the owner will need to pay. The owner's mortgage on his primary residence will increase because he's taken equity out of his own home to purchase this investment property. The building will need ongoing maintence over and above the $1200/year per unit already factored in. But in that particular building, in that particular instance, a 2-bedroom unit will likely not rent for less than $1350. That''s very easily a mortgage payment and taxes on a modest house.  
 
Edited by Abbysmum, 2016-07-02 17:59:59

OP - what is even worse, is reading all the bigoted comments on here by some members. I agree, there is a huge greed factor going on in our City - regarding the Rental Market. I also agree that renters are looked down upon - and the Human Rights factor needs to be looked into. And what is even worse, is the attitude some landlords have regarding upkeep of their rental properties, needs to be addressed by the Health Inspector.  
 
More renters need to be reporting their units to the Health Inspectors office - and have the Air tested, Black Mold issue address - and insist the cat piss/odors/mold/grunge/smoke residue/plumbing/sewer smells - need to be taken care of - based on our Right to living in a clean environment.  
 
Sor Renters, let your Voices be heard, as alot of Landlords are in Violation of the Health needs for Humanity - ie. Contact the Health Inspector - it is YOUR RIGHT to have a clean home to live in!!!!

please explain how landlords are affecting the renter's human rights.

whatthewhat said "OP - what is even worse, is reading all the bigoted comments on here by some members. I agree, there is a huge greed factor going on in our City - regarding the Rental Market. I also agree that renters are looked down upon - and the Human Rights factor needs to be looked into. And what is even worse, is the attitude some landlords have regarding upkeep of their rental properties, needs to be addressed by the Health Inspector.     More renters need to be reporting their units to the Health Inspectors office - and have the Air tested, Black Mold issue address - and insist the cat piss/odors/mold/grunge/smoke residue/plumbing/sewer smells - need to be taken care of - based on our Right to living in a clean environment.     Sor Renters, let your Voices be heard, as alot of Landlords are in Violation of the Health needs for Humanity - ie. Contact the Health Inspector - it is YOUR RIGHT to have a clean home to live in!!!! "

Agree that if there are issues then it is the tenant to take actions to get them addressed . That being said in many cases tenant create a lot of issues with the condition of their rentals such as cleaning, garbage, pets ect.  
 
If you are unhappy with the situation you are in then take action to change it. It is your life and your money so if you don't feel you are getting value for your money then look at the options and decide on another. If the product you are looking for is more than you can afford then you need to cut expenses or increase your income. If you are relying on others to solve your issues ( landlord, government)you are accepting your situation and have no one to blame than the one you look at in the mirror. You!

one more thing.. said "I totally agree with your last post! "

thank you for this - I think someone needed to say that - sad I cannot find my post on here any longer - but thanks for reading me.

Oryx said "please explain how landlords are affecting the renter's human rights. "

give yourself a minute, scratch your head, and think about it. Did you read my comment?? I am sure you are smart enough to figure it out - have you been out there lately to see the crap some Landlords are renting out??? Hell, the Health Department should be condemning ALOT of the rentals this town has to offer. So glad I do NOT rent within the city of Brandon. . . I know better.  
 
And STOP pming me your SMITE man - I don't appreciate it!!!  
 
Edited by whatthewhat, 2016-07-03 12:18:07

whatthewhat said "    Oryx said "please explain how landlords are affecting the renter's human rights. " give yourself a minute, scratch your head, and think about it. Did you read my comment?? I am sure you are smart enough to figure it out - have you been out there lately to see the crap some Landlords are renting out??? Hell, the Health Department should be condemning ALOT of the rentals this town has to offer. So glad I do NOT rent within the city of Brandon. . . I know better.     And STOP pming me your SMITE man - I don't appreciate it!!!     Edited by whatthewhat, 2016-07-03 12:18:07"

you can thanks rent controls for that

is a rental and every time someone moves the land lord has a huge mess to clean up! One set of people that were evicted barfed all over the house, even out the darn windows! Plus the LL has to haul all the furniture and junk they leave behind. I'm sure all this adds to the cost LL have to charge in order to make a profit!

whatthewhat said "OP - what is even worse, is reading all the bigoted comments on here by some members. I agree, there is a huge greed factor going on in our City - regarding the Rental Market. I also agree that renters are looked down upon - and the Human Rights factor needs to be looked into. And what is even worse, is the attitude some landlords have regarding upkeep of their rental properties, needs to be addressed by the Health Inspector.     More renters need to be reporting their units to the Health Inspectors office - and have the Air tested, Black Mold issue address - and insist the cat piss/odors/mold/grunge/smoke residue/plumbing/sewer smells - need to be taken care of - based on our Right to living in a clean environment.     Sor Renters, let your Voices be heard, as alot of Landlords are in Violation of the Health needs for Humanity - ie. Contact the Health Inspector - it is YOUR RIGHT to have a clean home to live in!!!! "

I’m a landlord myself. And I’m sick of being labelled as ‘greedy’ when I have such high, rising costs.  
 
The rents are not high, they have simply increased in line with bank increases on the landlords, increased insurance payments, increased property taxes in addition to the normal maintenance!  
 
The tenants would only be happy getting the house for nothing and even then would probably not look after it properly!  
 
Additionally we (I) maintain our rentals, although I do agree with you there are landlords that do not do such a great job of maintenance.

if you really want to know my personal situation, my Landlord just gave me a rent increase from $530.07 to $870.74 - so tell ME I do not have cause to be a little upset.!!! And yes, the Residential Tenancy Legal Dept. is taking care of this issue for me. But thanks for your concern - other than that, the rest of my personal situation is private - and no slamming at me will cause me to share anymore with you at this time.  
 
Please STOP THE SMITE attacks on me - and thank you Oryx for your supportive commentary.

I am on disability. I receive less than $800/month. Meds that are not covered $300/month. I ven $500 for rent but it's impossible to get that. Monthly good budget it supposed $164/month. Could you live??

How is your rent being raised that much??When I thought all a landlord can raise the rent what is it like 3% per year .... without special permission from tenancy board?