Tag Archives: urban lifestyle

10 Ways You Can Make Money from Your Condo

Many people are currently looking at Montreal condos for sale, as the present boom in the property market makes it an ideal investment. As these developments continue, Montreal is also becoming more and more attractive to employees, tourists, homeowners, and investors alike.

Planning to buy a condo and make money from it? Check out these tips:

  1. Assess your surroundings.

First, check your location and what that means for your rental property. Are you near offices? Are you in a family-friendly suburb? Are there other rental properties nearby? How much are they renting it out for? Check out the city government website for said information which can help you better estimate the possible return.

  1. Pick a target market.

Who are you renting out your condo to? This will dictate where you’ll advertise it and how much you’ll rent it out for. Try to pick a target market that’s not particularly saturated, especially considering the area where your condo is located.

  1. Force appreciation of your condo’s value.

Before you rent it out, you can actually force appreciation on its value by negotiating lower maintenance rates. If you can increase the efficiency of utilities like water and electricity, this will lower operating costs and increase value – making it more desirable to possible tenants.

  1. Prepare your condo for renting out.

You have to remember that you’ll also have competition, as you’re not the only rental property available. Depending on who you’re targeting, you should make it appealing and furnish it appropriately. By doing so, you’re making it the preferred choice of consumers.

  1. Put it out in the market.

Even if your condo is ready for renting out, that doesn’t mean you’ll automatically have tenants. You’ll need to advertise that the property available, and using the right channels is also key.

  1. Make all agreements clear.

Be very clear about your rental agreements. Is it a month-to-month contract or are you looking at something more long-term, like an annual lease? Who pays for the utilities? Who pays for the condo fees? Make sure the agreement between you and tenants is very clear to avoid future conflict.

  1. Rent out unused garage space.

Most condos come with a garage space, and you don’t necessarily have to include this in your rental package especially if your condo is in the city and your tenants don’t have a car anyway. You can always rent out the garage space as a lot of people are simply looking for a dependable parking space where they can park when going to work. .

  1. Rent out unused street parking space.

If your condo comes with street parking space, you can also rent this out separately to other tenants in the building.

  1. Consider other schemes.

Open your mind to other schemes for rental, like a weekday-only rental or short-term contracts. This is more likely to happen if your condo is located in a dense area like downtown Montreal, where you have office workers and tourists as well.

  1. Rent it out as office space.

If your condo is the studio type, you don’t have to make it residential. You can also rent it out as office space for professionals.

Portable LED Bluetooth Projector Is Game Changer- Has Short Throw Lens

BenQ America Corp., the No.1 DLP® projector brand worldwide, today introduced the Colorific™ i500, a completely new way to enjoy immersive entertainment in small spaces. A compact device that combines wireless streaming, short-throw LED projection and rich integrated audio, BenQ’s i500 instantly delivers big-screen entertainment designed for today’s modern, tech-friendly lifestyles. With access to the most popular apps, the i500 opens unlimited possibilities for thousands of movies, shows, apps, games and even live broadcast — all without cables, set-top boxes or streaming dongles.

Cute as a button right? It's only about 20cm x 9cm or 8" x 3"
Cute as a button right? It’s only about 20cm x 9cm or 8″ x 3″

“The i500 smart projector is an entertainment game-changer,” said J.Y. Hu, vice president at BenQ America Corp. “At just 3.3 pounds and 3 inches tall just about the size of today’s tablets, the i500 is a powerful and versatile device for even the tightest spaces. Simply turn on the i500 and you’re ready to stream videos and music wirelessly for the ultimate big-screen experience anywhere.”

Thanks to its short-throw lens, the i500 projects images up to 80 inches from as close as 3 feet from the wall or screen, enabling supersized movies, shows, apps and games in WXGA (1280 x 800) native resolution. Supporting a variety of streaming content, the i500’s Colorific technology features a long-life LED light source rated for 20,000 hours without lamp replacement and is capable of projecting high-definition videos with supreme clarity and sharpness. Its vertical keystone correction means the projector can be placed at an indirect angle without any distortion — perfect for placement on a coffee table. With its contemporary gold finish, it blends in seamlessly with existing décor.

On the other side of the dual-sided device users will find a pair of 5W fine-mesh-covered chambered speakers specially tuned to produce clear voices and rich sound quality without external audio connections. When the i500 is not projecting, it can double as a powerful, portable Bluetooth® speaker system.

The i500 comes out-of-box-ready and maintains its flawless performance with the latest software and streaming apps via over-the-air live updates to provide years of unlimited hassle-free entertainment. It is preloaded with popular streaming services and apps such as YouTube, Spotify, Vimeo, Netflix, Hulu and many others. Also, with available game pad and controllers, the i500 unleashes a universe of heart-pounding games including action/adventure, strategy, role-playing and even first-person shooter games.

The i500 does all of this via wireless LAN with no other connections required, and it can play video or music content from a USB stick or display Excel, Word, or PowerPoint documents without a PC. For even more convenience and versatility, the projector offers a selection of the latest inputs, including HDMI x 1, USB 2.0 x1, USB 3.0 x 1, audio I/O as well as a mic in.

The BenQ i500 is now shipping in North America at a retail price of U.S. $749.

Supplemental: Did we mention this beauty is also 3-D compatible?