Below are some of the "expert/authority" media coverage we have received.

First-time Investor Discussion on Investing in Multifamily Properties - Breakthrough Real Estate podcast (audio only - no video)

This one-hour 'Breakthrough' real estate investing podcast discusses

     - How I got started and how I found some of my investment properties

    - How to properly analyze a multifamily investment property

    - What to do immediately after purchasing a multifamily investment property

    - What is a Break Even Ratio (BER) and why it matters

    - Analyzing different ratios including NOI, BER, DSCR, cash on cash return, cash flow to purchase price and what they mean

    - What cap rate is and isn't and what it truly means

    - Creative financing examples

    - And much more

Original podcast is here: http://breakthroughreipodcast.ca/episode-63-investing-in-multifamily-properties-with-chris-seepe/

Date: February 01, 2018

COVID-19 and Landlord/Tenant Issues - What You Need to know now and the future - Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington webinar

Video (about 570 MB)

Audio (about 85 MB)

 This one and a half hour webinar discusses

     - How COVID has impacted April through June 2020 rental income & rtenant relationships

    - How COVID will impact investment property values

    - Realtors' tenant placement risk exposure

    - Some of the many statutes and other legislation affecting residential landlording

    - Dealing with tenants - legitimate needs and explotive abuse

    - Missing clauses from Ontario's standard tenancy agreement

    - Guarantors are not tenants

Date: June 04, 2020

Podcast: Rent Arrears Collections - Go Beyond Collections

CEO of Go Beyond Collections Agency, Greg Maitinsky, discusses with Chris Seepe the challenges, reality, and "dark side" of residential landlording, as well as the arduous process of collecting rent arrears.

Date: August 2019

Ontario’s Rent Increase Guideline – Is it Fair? - Real Estate Magazine and Canadian Apartment Magazine

Most residential landlords would say without hesitation that Ontario’s annual rent increase guideline does not fairly reflect the true cost of operating a residential rental property in Ontario. Is that really true?

Date: August 2019

Date: October 2019

Standard Lease Agreement Presentation (2-hour video)

This two-hour video is a recording of a presentation I did on Ontario's mandatory Standard Lease Agreement (SLA), which is now required for most residential tenancies. The presentation discusses details each of the 72 clauses that I feel are 'missing' from the SLA and which form my Appendix B of the SLA.

See: www.standardlease.ca  or  www.ontariostandardlease.com

Compressed Word-editable and field-fillable version of the Standard Lease Agreement (SLA)

Compresses the SLA from 14 pages to 5.25 pages while retaining every letter and punctuation mark in the official .pdf version of the Ontario Standard Lease Agreement -- only the formatting has been edited in this Word version. Adding my own 72 clauses creates a total of 10.75 pages. User can password-protect the document so that only the fillable fields can be changed.

See: www.standardlease.ca  or  www.ontariostandardlease.com

Topic list and sample of compressed file can be found here.

Last Update: 2018 04 23

Standard Lease Missing Clauses That Could Spell Trouble for Landlords - Canadian Apartment Magazine

Ontario's Standard (form of) Lease (SLA) is 14 pages long and yet is not only confusing in places, heavily tenant-biased in others and providing all kinds of legal advice for tenants, it is missing a large number of critical tenancy clauses that will cause Ontario landlords no end of misery if the respective topics aren't addressed.

Date: March 2018

How to Determine the Value of Your Investment Property - Canadian Real Estate Wealth magazine

This article is a primer for the first time and novice investor for determining the value of an investment property using Net Operating Income (NOI), as well as explaining the benefits and limitations of NOI.

How to Determine the Value of Your Investment Property - Commercial Exchange magazine

This article is a primer for the first time and novice investor for determining the value of an investment property using Net Operating Income (NOI), as well as explaining the benefits and limitations of NOI.

Pricing an Investment Property: Guidelines for Passing the Financing Clause - Canadian Apartment Magazine and Real Estate Magazine

This is a follow up article to the primer above. It looks at extending your analysis to include the parameters and metrics that lenders use to assess the risk of their loan against your property, including Break-even Ratio (BER) and the Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) of the property (not the borrower). 

Dr. Landlord: The Misunderstood Cap Rate - Real Estate Magazine

This article explains what cap(italization) rate is and especially what it doesn't tell you about the property you're considering buying.

Date: February 27, 2018

Dr. Landlord: Where Does Cap Rate Come From? - Real Estate Magazine

Most investors and realtors can calculate cap(italization) rate nad apply it to determine the baseline value of a property. But where does cap rate come from? Who determines that a particular cap rate should apply to a specific building type in a local market?

Date: March 13, 2018

 Low Cap Rate Purchase Could Mean Future Trouble - Bull & Bear Financial Report, Canadian Apartment Magazine and Real Estate Magazine

Real estate investors must be VERY careful about purchasing an investment property with a down payment of 25% or less at a cap rate under 5%, at which many investment properties are currently trading.

A 2% increase in the interest rate of a mortgage could lead to a 25% reduction in the value of your property and/or cause your property to have more costs than the income the property generates.

Dr. Landlord: What You Must Know About Ontario's Standard (Form of) Lease - Real Estate Magazine

As of April 30th, 2018 most Ontario residential landlords must use the provincial government's Standard (Form of) Lease agreement.

If you don’t know the laws related to residential tenancy, you're almost guarantee as a realtor or landlord to become a victim of it. This article identifies some of the more obvious concerns and risks.

The actual editable clauses can be purchased as part of the 'Handouts' package of the Landlording in Ontario real estate course. A sample of the clauses and a list of topics can be found here.

Date: March 16, 2018

Dr. Landlord: Ontario's Standard Lease: Missing Clauses that Could Spell for Landlords - Canadian Apartment Magazine

The number one hedge against professional tenants and bad tenant behaviour is a solid qualification process; number two is a robust lease agreement.

Summary of Ontario Standard (Form of) Lease Appendix B - from the Landlording in Ontario Course and Book

As of April 30th, 2018 most Ontario residential landlords must use the provincial government's Standard (Form of) Lease agreement.

The 13-page agreement comprises a 7 page lease that misses many issues and concerns that I have as a landlord. I have crafted an Appendix B with 65+ clauses, based on the 80 topics listed in this summary. The actual editable clauses can be purchased as part of the 'Handouts' package of the Landlording in Ontario real estate course.

Dr. Landlord: Ontario’s broken Landlord and Tenant Board abuses authority - Real Estate Magazine

The LTB in Ontario, broken for years, is now resorting to deliberate underhandedness to further frustrate landlords into abandoning their right of due process.

Date: November 13, 2019

Dr. Landlord: The Landlord and Tenant Board: Service delays putting more strain on landlords - Canadian Apartment magazine

LTB (or ''Loves Tenants Best'') has been the source of frustration for landlords virtually since its inception in 2007.

Date: December 05, 2019

Dr. Landlord: No Affordable Housing for Another Decade - Real Estate Magazine

Governments seem oblivious to the fact that AH isn’t just about affordability for home buyers and renters. The AH pandemic will never be solved until the problem is properly defined: AH is “self-sustaining housing that is affordable for the tenant, the landlord and the builder.” Most mainstream lenders won’t fund affordable housing and the few that might demand CMHC mortgage guarantees. .

Date: February 21, 2020

Dr. Landlord: Cannabis Legalization and Renters - Real Estate Magazine

The right to smoke in a rental property is not enshrined in any Canadian legislation, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Human Rights Code. Here are some of the serious issues that can adversely affect a landlord and what I did to mitigate that risk and impact.

Date: 2018 09

Landlords Seek Cannabis Veto - Canadian Apartment Magazine Online

Chris Seepe is interviewed on his views of permitting tenants to grow and smoke cannabis in his apartment buildings.

Date: 2018 01 25

Dr. Landlord: Do Residential Tenants Pay Their OwnProperty Taxes? - Real Estate Magazine

Just about everyone beloeves that aprtment owners/landlords pay the property tax as part of their operating expenses. Well, that's not true as this article explains.

Date: 2019 06

Dr. Landlord: Landlord's Guide to PIPEDA - Canadian Apartment Magazine

The right to smoke in a rental property is not enshrined in any Canadian legislation, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Human Rights Code.

Date: October, 2018

PIPEDA Complicates Background Checks - Canadian Property Management Magazine

The same article published in a magazine targeted to property managers.

Date: November, 2018

Canada's Rental Housing Crisis: Where does the fault lie? - Canadian Apartment Magazine and Real Estate Magazine

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), more than a quarter of Canada's renters and 6.5% of homeowners can't sustain their residence. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM subtle but slippery operative phrase to place blame on ‘market forces’ is misdirection and the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) June 2015 report titled, “Removing Barriers to New Rental Housing in Ontario” missed a variety of critical influences and driving factors.

On who's shoulders does Canada's rental housing crising squarely rest, why and what can be done to address it?

Date: September, 2018

Nuclear plant relocations may create a housing meltdown - Real Estate Magazine

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) announced that it’s moving all its “non-station” personnel to a campus facility next to the existing Darlington Energy Complex in Clarington. These relocated people will compete successfully using their above-average incomes, lifestyles and other relocation incentives against the existing local citizenry who are already struggling to find an 'affordable' (meaning something they can afford, not the government’s fatally flawed definition) place to live.

Summary of my attendance at the Ontario Housing Action Plan Symposium

This is my summary report on the all-day event hosted by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on January 31st, 2019 to bring together over 200 individuals with disparate agendas and interests to work together to find solutions to Ontario's housing (and affordable housing) crisis.

Date: January 31st, 2019

Affordable Rental Housing Taxed Higher than Single-family Homes - Real Estate Magazine

As an investor, you should consider property tax rates of municipalities in which you’re considering buying (or building) a multi-unit rental property, not just for their unfair tax practice but also for the actual tax rate of multiresidential properties.

Can a municipality justify the overhead cost to service 10 families in the apartment building being about five times higher than servicing the equivalent number of single family homes?

Date: September, 2016

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Solving the Affordable Housing Shortage - Real Estate Magazine

There’s a powerful, compelling answer to addressing the pandemic affordable housing crisis with a huge financial pool available if the government would only take steps to unlock it.

This is What Causes Housing Shortages - Real Estate Magazine

The Imperiled Investment Property Tax Rate - Canadian Apartment Magazine

What the Future Realtor Won't Be - Real Estate Magazine

Top 10 Most-Read Articles in the Past 10 Years - Real Estate Magazine

Here are the most-read articles of all those that have been published in Real Estate Magazine from 2000 to 2019. Two of the 10 were written by me.

Date: 2019 06 26

Pearls of Wisdom: Inspiration Quotes for Real Estate Professionals - Real Estate Magazine

The real estate business is a constant emotional and financial roller coaster ride, and it’s easy to forget how fortunate we are. The next time you’re wondering why nothing’s going right, why is this happening to me and what did I do to deserve this, consider these pearls of wisdom in the form of inspirational quotes from some well-known and perhaps not-so-well-known thinkers.

Date: 2016 06 28

Does the Rental Industry Have an Image Issue?: - Canadian Apartment Magazine

Chris Seepe is interviewed by Canadian Apartment magazine for his reply to this question .

LED Light Bulb Comparison and Cost Analysis (and spreadsheet) - Real Estate Magazine

Whether lighting a single family home or the common areas of an investment property, the difference in electricity cost between LED, fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs is astounding. It costs possibly six times as much to operate an incandescent bulb as it does the equivalent illumination (lumens) of an LED bulb.  This spreadsheet is a detailed analysis and comparison between purchasing and operating an LED, fluorescent and incandescent light bulb. The spreadsheet with all calculations can be downloaded from here so you can plug in your own numbers.

Date: April, 2016

<--- Accompanying do-it-yourself, downloadable, fully-modifiable spreadsheet.

Latent Defect: Be Careful What You Sign - Canadian Apartment Magazine and Real Estate Magazine

A “patent” defect is one that can be discovered by observation (“obviousness”) or inspection using generally accepted industry-standard practices. A “latent” defect is one that is present but is not obvious, visible, apparent or actualized and can’t be discovered by industry-standard inspection practices. The principle of caveat emptor appears to be either becoming more specifically defined or more exceptions are occurring.

Fentanyl a Threat to Landlords and Realtors - Real Estate Magazine

Fentanyl is an incredibly powerful synthetic opioid analgesic approved to treat chronic pain and as an anesthetic that's 100 times more powerful than morphine, 50 times more toxic than heroin, and 20 to 40 times more potent than heroin. Four salt-size grains of pure fentanyl can kill the average adult. It can be a serious threat to first responders because fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin.

Inside Ontario's Landlord-Abusive Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) - Canadian Apartment Magazine and Real Estate Magazine

Who Failed 45% of First-time Homebuyers? - Real Estate Magazine

Canada's new Anti-Spamming Law will Change the Way you do Business - Real Estate Magazine (online)

A 2014 update on a solar panel review done in 2012. Green' is often a euphemism for 'money' and rental property owners faced with major capital costs are likely going to give the highest priority to the use that makes the best overall business sense, with return on investment likely being a major factor. This story looks into the pros and cons of, and the business case for and against, installing roof-based solar panels.

Marketing a Luxury Property - Real Estate Magazine

How many people in Canada are in the market to buy a 28-room summer home with 1,450 acres of land, 9,000 feet of lakefront, three wet slips, two farms and a modern four-bedroom log cabin? At $12 million, very few, so broadening the buyer field through exposure to a worldwide market is essential. This is not a post-it-on-the-MLS-and-wait-for-calls kind of listing. Creative strategies and a lot of hard work go into marketing a world class property to elite target markets.

Date: 2015 05.

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Exploring Solar Systems - Canadian Apartment Magazine

A 2014 update on a solar panel review done in 2012. Green' is often a euphemism for 'money' and rental property owners faced with major capital costs are likely going to give the highest priority to the use that makes the best overall business sense, with return on investment likely being a major factor. This story looks into the pros and cons of, and the business case for and against, installing roof-based solar panels.

Sunny Days for Solar Panels - Commercial Exchange Magazine

A 2016 update on a solar panel review done in 2014. Pricing of solar panel systems continue to drop and the microFIT payout drops in synch with that. The business case remains essentially the same. Getting a microFIT application approved id becoming much more difficult.

Finding Opportunities in Adversity - Real Estate Magazine (REM) 

Why are investment opportunities becoming more difficult to find for Canadian real estate investors? How will Canadian Organized Real Estate (CORE) need to change to embrace the tsunamic events that are bearing down on Canadian Realtors and what can Realtors do to brace for the impact?

Checking out of Cheques: Electronic Payment Processing Moving in - Canadian Apartment Magazine, Commercial Exchange Magazine

Why are landlords among the last to embrace the many benefits of electronic payment processing (EPP)? Why do the banking deposits when your tenants will do it for you? Why expose yourself to unnecessary Privacy Act legislation? Why accept even one more NSF charge?

Checking Out of Cheques - Canadian Real Estate Wealth Magazine

A more condensed version of the above article.

Video Interview - Investor Insight - Commercial Investment Checklist segment

This 1:15 minute segment briefly answers the interviewer's question: What is the single most important thing to look for in an a commercial real estate investment.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PuOmMc_Pio  (copy-and-paste this link into your browser)

Television Interview - Business News Network (BNN) Bellwoods Brewery segment

This 3:49 minute segment looks at the trials and tribulations a Toronto-based micro-brewery experienced in trying to find a location that met their sometimes conflicting business needs (an "industrial" place to brew with a retail pub for sit-down customers in a trendy area with an upwardly mobile demographic. Our 27-second interview starts at 1:18.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqIO4gcub6k (copy-and-paste this link into your browser)

To Be or Not to Be (a Landlord): 10 reasons to be and 40 Reasons Not to Be - Toronto Globe & Mail Newspaper, Canadian Real Estate Wealth magazine

The reasons to be a landlord are mostly obvious. The reasons not to be are, by themselves, not big deterrents, but making just a few of these mistakes can cause you a great deal of misery and pain, especially if you operate in Ontario, Canada, one of the world's most heavily-regulated rental housing markets.

Clauses You Might Want in Your Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) - Commercial Investor magazine

Buying or selling a multi-residential property is a commercial transaction and requires many more considerations than a typical house transaction. It also requires a different set of considerations than most other types of commercial real estate transactions, primarily because tenants’ homes and the Residential Tenancies Act are involved, and many costs that can be passed on to a commercial tenant cannot be passed on to a residential tenant.  

How to Create the Best Rental Agreement - Canadian Real Estate Wealth magazine

Like any other business in today’s litigious-prone society, supported by tenant-biased judicial authorities, you must take the time, and undertake proper due diligence, to ensure that you protect yourself in the operation of your landlord duties, or you will inevitably suffer the consequences. And, right after you've done a thorough credit check, you'll want a robust and balanced rental housing agreement like the one described in the article.

Date: 2013 04 16

Creating the Ideal Rental Housing Agreement - Commercial Exchange magazine

Like any other business in today’s litigious-prone society, supported by tenant-biased judicial authorities, you must take the time, and undertake proper due diligence, to ensure that you protect yourself in the operation of your landlord duties, or you will inevitably suffer the consequences. And, right after you've done a thorough credit check, you'll want a robust and balanced rental housing agreement like the one described in the article.

Date: 2013 11 01

The Competition Bureau is Right to Open the MLS (Opinion) - Real Estate Magazine (REM)

The Compaetition Bureau is right to open the MLS ... but for the wrong reasons. Real estate boards should not be building MLS systems but this is not to say that they shouldn't have complete control over the MLS. There are better ways to monetize the MLS, improve Realtor qualifications, provide an infinitely better MLS system, and serve the best interests of the public and Realtors alike

 (Competition) Bureau's Win is a Godsend (Opinion) - Real Estate Magazine (REM)

The breaking of the TREB and MLS stranglehold on the real estate industry is a godsend. Now, any realtor whose only contribution to a real estate transaction is knowing how to get information from the MLS is doomed. Breaking the MLS stranglehold will dramatically improve our ability to overcome the greatest threat to our profession …

Smokers Significantly Ruin Property Values - Real Estate Magazine (REM)

Smoking in the home may significantly affect property values, anywhere from 10% to 30%, and allowing smoking in rental units is costly to landlords.

The Real Costs of Buying a Multi-residential Property - Canadian Real Estate magazine

 If you have not purchased a multi-residential property before, and especially if the number of units is greater than six, you may be surprised by the myriad costs involved. This article lists and discusses most of the types of closing costs you could expect to pay, and providing estimates where possible for some of those costs.

Handling Non-Paying Tenants - Canadian Real Estate Wealth magazine

Ontario is among the most heavily-regulated rental housing markets in the world, and the favouritism shown to tenants by all political parties and levels of government has created some unbalanced legislation, as well as significant business challenges for rental housing owners and operators. This article looks at what the Landlord & Tenant Board spends most of its time doing and how it has become absolutely essential that landlords astutely qualify their applicants to reduce their ever-increasing risk exposure.

How Much Insurance Should I Have for my Investment Property? - Canadian Apartment magazine

Insurance companies are in the business of not paying out for damages, and will look for every means and angle they can to reduce or refuse to pay for your losses. The purchase price (market value) of a property is very often not representative of what it would cost to rebuild it. This article delves into the difference and what you must do to ensure your investment is not wiped out by a catastrophic event.

Are Electricity Suite Meters Worth the Investment? - Canadian Apartment magazine

The landlord renting to an international fast food restaurant chain (franchisee-owned location in Scarborough) demanded an increase in net rent. The franchisee observed that the increase was not sustainable by the current revenue stream. It was determined that the location was part of a high-traffic "destination" mall and the asking rent was reasonable. We speculated (but did not confirm) that the demographics of the mall customers had changed dramatically over the years since the franchisee's location was opened, and that the new customer demographic was not suitable to the resturant's product offerings.

Sunny Returns for Solar Panel Installations - Condo Business magazine

'Green' is often a euphemism for 'money' and condo boards faced with major capital costs are likely going to give the highest priority to the use that makes the best overall business sense, with return on investment likely being a major factor. This cover story looks into the pros and cons of, and the business case for and against, installing roof-based solar panels.

Commercial Leasing Tips Sheet - Canadian Real Estate Wealth magazine interview online

Investing in and then leasing commercial space may seem like no-brainer, but there’s more to the process than meets the eye. From finding the property to finding the right tenants to securing the rent, here's your must-read primer.

Evicting Bad Tenants - Canadian Apartment online

Multi-res Investing - Canadian Real Estate Wealth magazine interview

Any investment in real estate is about location. This is no less true for multi-residential properties where the economy, future growth and building types all play an important role. This article interviews Chris Seepe and others from around North America about what is important when looking for a multi-residential investment property.

Little Black Book of Scams - Competition Bureau of Canada

Scammers are sneaky and sly. They can target anyone, from youngsters to retirees. They can also target businesses. No one is immune to fraud. The Competition Bureau's group of superheroes has found a way to see through the scams. Their secret is simple: knowledge is power! Read on to find out how you can also become a fraud-fighting superhero. Share this booklet with family and friends and start powering up!

Date: 2018 03 01

The following articles have been published on Monster Commercial.com, an exhaustive online resource for tenants and investors.

- Determining the Value of an Investment Property

- 10 Reasons to be a Landlord ... and 40 Reasons Not to Part 1

- 10 Reasons to be a Landlord ... and 40 Reasons Not to Part 2 

- Searching for the Perfect Site and Space for Your Business Part 1

- Searching for the Perfect Site and Space for Your Business Part 2

- How much insurance should you have for your multi-residential property?

- Is suite metering in multi-residential property worth the investment? Part 1

- Are electricity suite meters worth the investment? Part 2

- Purchasing a Multi-Residential Property – Closing Costs  Part 1

- Closing costs for buying a multi-residential property – Part 2  

Ontario Private Sector Rental Housing Landlord Manifesto
  
This Landlord Manifesto is a written statement of the beliefs, aims, intentions, motives, views and policies that set out the collective understanding of what it means to be a private sector residential rental property landlord investing and operating in the province of Ontario, Canada.