37 – How to Handle Pests on Your Investment Property
Episode Summary
In this episode of Get Real Wealthy Season 2, Quentin talks about pest problems on an investment property and how you can handle them.
While not a fun subject, Quentin says that taking care of bedbugs is crucial. When looking for signs of bedbugs, first of all, you want to talk to people who are staying there, and ask if they have little bites on their skin, or are there little brown spots on mattresses in different locations. He adds “when this happens, you really need to work with tenants quickly in order to identify what the problem is, solve the problem, you got to take action.” If you have a situation where you see bedbugs, you need to call a professional right away, don’t handle stuff yourself, it’s not worth it. It also depends on the type of treatment required to rid the property of the bugs.
He adds that sometimes, you deal with tenants that have mental health issues. In such cases, you need to follow through with the forms that are required, through the landlord tenant board in your area so that you can either get the tenant out, get the tenant help, or get the tenant to help you to do what you need to do. Quentin adds that the other challenge is carpenter ants. Ants that you see often on buildings inside buildings, around wet damp wood. They eat the wood, and it can cause serious issues.
If you spot any carpenter ants, you want to look for leaky areas, and moist areas, and work with tenants immediately to solve that because if you have carpenter ants for an extended period of time, it could cause structural issues to a property. In conclusion, he adds that as a real estate investor you need to take action, and perhaps work with a professional to handle bug problems before things get out of hand.
Important Links and Resources
About the Author Quentin DSouza
Quentin D’Souza is the Chief Education Officer of the Durham Real Estate Investor Club. Author of The Action Taker's Real Estate Investing Planner, The Property Management Toolbox: A How-To Guide for Ontario Real Estate Investors and Landlords, The Filling Vacancies Toolbox: A Step-By-Step Guide for Ontario Real Estate Investors and Landlords for Renting Out Residential Real Estate, and The Ultimate Wealth Strategy: Your Complete Guide to Buying, Fixing, Refinancing, and Renting Real Estate.
