When it comes to stories that you hear in the news in regard to rental properties, more often than not, you’ll hear about increased rental rates or stories related to landlords (often referred to as slumlords) who may not be looking after their property as they should be. The stories that a lot of people don’t hear about are the ones where landlords are dealing with tenants that are not living up to their part of the rental/lease agreement. What many don’t realize is that it’s the dark side of property management that landlords and property managers are having to deal with all the time. In August of 2018, Vionell Holdings Partnership (VHP) took over the property management of a building in the West End of Brandon. An initial assessment by a VHP team member of the property to determine the need for short and long-term repairs wasn’t positive. The VHP team member found several needles on the property, noticed that there were a lot of people coming to the building that didn’t live there and that doors were propped open with newspapers and other items. The rent balances were basically up to date on August 1st, however as each month went by, only portions of the agreed upon rental payments were made. By November 12, VHP served the tenant in unit A we will call him “Tenant A” an eviction notice; by December 31 he had an outstanding balance of $2,685.50. For that same time period the couple residing in another unit accumulated an outstanding balance of close to $1,000, we will call them “Tenant B” The first hearing for Tenant A was held on December 3 with the Residential Tenancy Branch, however because of an error in filing the paperwork and the possession order not being delivered to the tenant, it wasn’t until January 22, 2019, that VHP received notice that “Tenant A” would need to be out of his unit by January 25, 2019. In the meantime, VHP hired a security company to perform random property checks to help improve the safety and quality of life for the other residents living at the property. By January 31, Tenant A accounts receivable balance increased to $3,580.50. Tenant B owed $1,867.00 for rent that had not been paid. However, not being able to collect on rent weren’t the only problems for the property management team. Brandon Police Service members were called by a neighbour to Tenant A on February 4, however, the details of the reason or outcome are unknown. The next day VHP team members noted that Tenant A was still in the apartment and Sheriffs were contracted to remove the person. The Sheriffs notified Tenant A they would be removing him if he wasn’t out by February 8. Finally, after months of hearings and eviction notices, the apartment was secured on February 8 by members of the VHP maintenance team and the Sheriff’s office. To be continued. Watch for Part 2 of the Dark Side of Property Management in the coming weeks. Vionell Holdings Partnership (VHP) provides rental housing and property management for an array of residential and commercial customers, including Condominium Management. VHP currently has over 4,000 units under management in Manitoba.  For more information please visit www.vhproperties.ca.

Cathie Crossin, a Travel Agent with McPhail Travel, is this weeks guest.  Many of you may also recognize Cathie from her time spent as the owner of Tastees on First Street. Years lived in Brandon: Technically only 2. We had an acreage east of town for 18 years, but when my son reached Bantam (hockey) age the hard choice was move or play for Southwest. And if you grow up playing Wheat King hockey, you don’t suddenly switch to Cougar hockey because boundaries shift.  So we moved. First job:  I walked into Baskin Robbins at Polo Park, with friends to get some ice cream, and saw a “Help Wanted” sign, so I volunteered to help. The manager laughed and said it didn’t work that way but gave me an application.  I started the job later that week. I was 14. If you were trying out for Canadian Idol what would be your go to song: Would NEVER sing.  However, I have applied for The Amazing Race Canada. Favourite destination vacation spot: Easy!! Turks & Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. Favourite All-Time Wheat King: Goalie Andrew Hayes. He inspired my son to be a goalie and also I’m so proud to see Andrew start and succeed in his own coffee company. Andrew and his family are doing amazing things with Roasti Coffee in Edmonton. They buy coffee beans from a woman’s farm collective in Rwanda. I love it when people succeed and help others along the way. And Nolan Ritchie. Our family has grown up with Nolan through hockey. He’s a top quality player on & off the ice. Nolan has come in clutch to win big games for our teams over the years. We watched him score his first WHL goal this year & I teared up. So happy for Nolan and his family! He’ll be fun to watch as a Wheat King the next couple years. A new business you would like to see make an appearance in Brandon: No idea. I like the creative things local people initiate. You've got friends visiting Brandon for the first time, where are you taking them:  Westoba Place/Keystone Centre. There’s always an event on! And then to Benny’s for a great meal. What do you enjoy most about living in Brandon: Royal MB Winter Fair. Such a first class amazing event!  So proud to have a Royal Fair in our city. What is a hidden talent you have that few are aware of:  I’d be a great blackjack dealer for about 15 minutes. Then I’d lose my job telling people they suck at playing blackjack. We can’t be friends if you hit while the dealer shows a 6. Three apps you cannot live without: Skyscanner, banking apps, music. Toppings on a pizza: Cold tomatoes, cold prosciutto, blend of interesting cheese like in Italy. What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs: Build a team. You can not do everything yourself. Start with good people, everything else can be taught. One item you would have liked to add to Tastee's menu but never did: Should have put the bacon cheddar poutine on the menu years earlier. What motivates you: Travel.  And the chance to travel with my kids. A concert you would like to see the Keystone Centre bring to town:  No idea. Whatever makes people happy. What's a skill they don't teach in school that they should:  Charitable giving and its positive impact. To be successful you need to be: Ethical, independently motivated & incredibly resilient. Dream dinner party guests:(4): Charles de LaTour, Princess Diana, Ritchie Valens & my mom. She’d get a kick out of it. And I’d get to see her again. Childhood celebrity crush: Brett Favre Describe Brandon in one word: Emerging.

Online Casinos are generating billions of dollars more in revenue than their land based counterparts. The most important reason for its massive success is that you can play on them easily from any corner of the world. All you need to have is a mobile phone or a computer with decent internet connection. Another important reason for their success is the various methods through which you can make payments on these sites. Online payment methods for casinos are extremely easy to use, secure and fast these days, and are used by almost all the players. Let us now look at some of the most convenient alternative methods for depositing money at online casino sites and the reasons behind their popularity. Ecopayz One of the biggies in terms of online casino payment methods, Ecopayz. Canadian casinos and players especially love this service. Boasting no transaction fees and is entirely free to use, Ecopayz is an e-wallet that is particularly easy to use and incredibly secure. Paying with it is a breeze as it is instant, global in reach and incredibly convenient. More even than paying, transferring money into and out of your Ecopayz account is also as simple as a couple of clicks and is fully supported by most major banks and payment methods. PayPal This method of payment is perfectly suited for the more tech savvy generation that wants things to happen within the blink of an eye. PayPal, an e-wallet, allows users to save money on it and use it whenever necessary. All you have to do is log into your PayPal account and make the payment. There is no surprise then that PayPal has reached over 164 billion dollars in total payment volume in 2019. Players prefer PayPal because it doesn’t make them wait to play their favourite casino games. Various reputed online casino sites have PayPal as the preferred payment option. What about credit or debit cards?! Although not very old but credit or debit cards have now become quite conventional as almost all bank users have at least one of each with them nowadays. Before the advent of e-wallets this was the preferred mode of online payment. It is very trustworthy and secure and hence majority of people still use it. In a way this method ensures that there is a two-factor authentication; first is to enter the pin and CSV number on the back of your card and second is to enter the OTP sent on your registered mobile number. This ensures that only the account holder can perform transactions using the card as they will be in possession of their card and mobile phones most of the time. However, regardless of the benefits credit and debit cards offer, more and more people are opting for alternative payment methods these days.

Welcome to the second “Community Connection” feature on www.bdnmb.ca where every few weeks we will be asking a friendly Brandon resident 20 questions about themselves and their life in the area.  This time around Shane Robins takes a turn answering our questions. Name:  Shane Robins First job: Chicken Corral, Neepawa MB Childhood celebrity crush: Prince It’s Sunday morning, what are you having for breakfast: Bullet Proof Coffee What is Brandon's most valuable asset: It’s people If you were trying out for Canadian Idol what would be your go to song: That Don’t Impress Me Much - Shania Chicken wings or lettuce wraps: Lettuce Wraps If an actress could play you in a movie, who would it be: Kiera Knightly Favorite city to visit: London England Your fast-food guilty pleasure: Tims I guess.....Not a fan of fast food Apart from loved ones, what’s your most treasured possession: my music collection A new business you would like to see make an appearance in Brandon: Costco makes sense Dream dinner party guests (4): Dali Lama, Einstein, David Goggins (Instagram) and Van Gough A movie you would watch again tonight: Eat Pray Love You've got friends visiting Brandon for the first time, where are you taking them: To the Firehouse! Biggest Pet Peeve: bad breath Bags/Purses or Shoes: shoes If it’s a beautiful day, where locally (75 km radius) are you going to spend it? On a lake in a boat Tell us 4 things you can’t live without: music, family, coffee, mascara ???? Describe Brandon in one word: Growing

If you own property, the assumption is that you’re making a good living off the rent or leases of the property that you own. Without considering all the factors of what determines rental rates, it is easy to jump to such a conclusion. However, aside from what the market itself will bear, there are many factors that determine rental rates. The reality is, with all costs associated with property ownership, there isn’t always a lot of revenue left over for property owners. The cost of land, servicing, and construction itself is driving up the cost of new housing.This applies whether you are purchasing a new home or living in a newly constructed rental property. For example, one of the most efficient ways to build family housing is to construct a four-plex, as you are able to get four units on one lot. The rough cost of building a new four-plex (each unit having three-bedrooms) is approximately $205,000 per unit, with a variance (either up or down) of five per cent: Assuming that investors use conventional financing with 25 per cent equity into the project this would mean taking out a mortgage of $615,000 on the four-plex. When amortized over 25 years, the monthly payments would be $3,518.37 (based on a 4.5 per cent interest rate) or $954.59 per unit. In addition to building costs, there are many other costs as well. Some of the costs that are part of owning the property include having to pay property tax, water, and maintenance (this includes everything from garbage pickup, grass cutting and snow removal, repairs and, replacement of appliances). Based on the value of $205,000 per unit, the monthly costs per unit look something like this: These figures do not factor in a return for the investor or vacancies which run anywhere from one to three per cent each year. This also doesn’t factor in the shortfall if tenants don’t pay their rent. Therefore, at a time of rising interest rates, for a new three-bedroom unit the rate will likely be set at $1,450 per month, just to break even. It should come as no surprise that as costs such as interest rates, property taxes and monthly water rates increase, so too will monthly rental rates increase. Vionell Holdings Partnership (VHP) provides rental housing and property management for an array of residential and commercial customers, including Condominium Management. VHP currently has nearly 4,000 units under management in Manitoba. For more information please visit www.vhproperties.ca. VHP has committed to constructing 128 multifamily residential units and 48 Life Lease Units in Portage la Prairie the first 48 units will be ready for occupancy in fall of 2019.