Landlord by Design Blog
I started this blog as a form of therapy, a way to share ideas about ways to invest in real estate and manage your real estate investments.
I have found most of what is written online about real estate investing and property management is written with a slant to sell a service, course or investment. I wanted to be contrarian to that.
It is an interactive space with all my readers and followers. Some days I will just write a story based on one of my, or a reader’s experience. I welcome and appreciate all the stories from folks like you. Sharing ideas, solutions and advice has helped thousands of readers over the years.
If you are expecting perfectly edited corporate style blog posts with an agenda to sell you something, please leave this page (other than a link to buy one of our books).
If you want interesting helpful stories that tell the truth about the often chaotic world of real estate investing and property management, then enjoy the read.
Free Rental Housing Conference October 16, 2024
Free Rental Housing Conference October 16, 2024 Hey landlords and property managers. I am connected with the AAOA (American Apartment Owners Association). They are hosting a huge conference on October 16th in California. Lots of great content that is relevant across...
Big Changes To Nova Scotia Residential Tenancy
Coles Notes On Proposed Changes To Nova Scotia Residential Tenancy Act 2024 Happy Friday, I have had a lot of people reach out about todays announcement about possible changes coming to the NS residential tenancy act.So, I decided to make a quick post and easy...
20 Best Canadian Landlord Blogs and Websites
When it comes to real estate investing there is no shortage of blogs and websites to help you. I started a blog as a form of therapy for what I was going through on the property management side of the business. I found it hard to find many stories about this...
Rent Cap Gets Extended & Increased To 5%
Hey Landlords, Landlords in Nova Scotia received some news that will work well for both tenants and landlords. The rent cap has been extended to the end of 2025, it has been increased from 2.5% - 5% per year. New leases will be signed at market rent. Lots of news...
Why invest in student housing?
Why invest in student housing? I wrote this piece for the AAOA (American Apartment Owners Association). If you are not familiar with them make sure to check them out HERE They had asked me to write a short article about student housing. This is something that is near...
Midwest Book Review by Clint Travis
Hey landlords, Midwest Book Reviews is highly revered in the library and academic spaces. I am excited to get a recommendation from them. Enjoy the read. Landlord by Design 2Michael P. CurrieBeachrock Publishingwww.landlordbydesign.com9780995303706, $16.99, PB,...
What if the HRM Landlord Registry is a Great Idea?
Hey Landlords, I wanted to write a follow up piece to my post - Landlord Registry – More Red Tape Solves Housing Crisis Since that article I had the privilege over the past few weeks to discuss the pros and cons of the proposed registry (R400) and changes to the M200...
Landlord Registry – More Red Tape Solves Housing Crisis
Hey landlords, I can see the headlines now: "More red tape solves housing crisis" or "Halifax City Council regulates its way to a world class solution to affordable housing" maybe even "Landlord registry makes housing affordable." I often wonder if expensive rules...
For My Local Peeps Lets Hang Out December 8, 2022
DO YOU OWN RENTAL PROPERTIES OR HAVE YOU CONSIDERED BUYING A RENTAL PROPERTY? Join us on December 8th, 2022 from 7 pm - 9 pm for a Property Management panel discussion covering both long and short-term rentals with Jenna Ross, Owner of Happy Place Property Management,...
KIRKUS REVIEW OF LANDLORD BY DESIGN 2
Special thanks to Kirkus for doing a review of my latest book. Landlord by Design 2 - Moves to Make and Paths to Take for Real Estate Investing Success. For those unfamiliar with this prestigious review company, here is an excerpt from Wikipedia: Kirkus Reviews is an...
Be Careful If You Are In A Relationship
Are you a person in a relationship that plans to invest in real estate? If you’re in a relationship, I want to give you a little advice, this doesn’t just apply to real estate investing. You both need to know what you want out of the relationship, the business, the...
The Housing Price Crash That Never Happened In Halifax
Is anyone else in a boring stable market like Halifax that just went on a wild ride, but in reality not much will change other than houses won't be listed for 500K over what they should be, just inline with what they are actually worth. I will make a disclaimer, that...
How I Got 80% of My Heat Pumps For Free
Hey Landlords, I wanted to share my amazing experience with the Efficiency Nova Scotia Program for Multi-Family Affordable Housing. I can only speak to the Nova Scotia program, however, I would recommend searching for energy efficiency upgrades in whatever province or...
Real-Estate Expert’s Guide For Finding A Good Property Manager
Hey Landlords, A great property manager can make or break your real estate portfolio. Let's face it, real estate is a great way to build wealth, but can also be extremely challenging when it comes to building maintenance and tenants. This is a guest post written by...
Understanding Heat Pump Terminology
Hey landlords, I wanted to share some information from my friends at Greenfoot Energy Solutions. Heat pumps have been and are becoming super popular for both the ability to provide heat, but also air conditioning. If you plan to have one installed, make sure to check...
House Poor No More – Romana King
Amazing to receive a signed copy of a book written by one of my real estate writing inspirations. If you don't have a copy of Romana King's new book you can get one on Amazon....
Nova Scotia Tenancy Update – Renovictions – Rent Cap
Hey all, I wanted to post an update on the residential tenancy changes that happen starting tomorrow (March 21, 2022). The ban on renovictions will be lifted in Nova Scotia. This is great news for those buying older rundown buildings (which unfortunately is a major...
Why You Need A Great Well
Today is a special day for me, it is the day that our only property on a well get's a drilled well to replace the dug well. It is an expensive project that you can't really see or enjoy since it is an expectation to have clean flowing water at all our rental...
Rent Control Is Here To Stay Until December 31, 2023
Well after a lot of rumors, speculation, protests and debate temporary rent control has been extended in Nova Scotia. What does that mean for landlords? Residential rent increases will be limited to 2 per cent per year and will be in effect until December 31, 2023...
Process To Serve Tenants Documents Nova Scotia
I get asked a lot about serving documents to tenants. A lot of times it can be hard to track down somebody who is avoiding you. The bigger challenge is when you hook a "professional tenant", they use the rules in their favor to drag out a process such as eviction. I...