Following are five misconceptions Canadians may have about buying US real estate, from Keats, Connelly and Associates' partner and CEO, Dale Walters, a leading cross-border wealth expert.

1. If I report my rental (or capital gain) income in Canada, I will not have to report the income in the US. Conversely, if I report in the US, I will not have to report in Canada.

The basic tax concepts that determine taxability are residency/citizenship, and where the work or business activity took place. The business (rental) activity happened in the US, therefore the income is taxable in the US.

You may own the property, but if you’re a landlord in Canada, you can only legally enter your tenant’s home under a limited number of circumstances. To protect yourself against liability claims, it’s important you make yourself aware of, and make sure you adhere to, tenancy laws local to your province.

Many landlords are not sure of their legal rights and responsibilities when it comes to eviction, and when they are sure of their rights and responsibilities, they aren’t sure of the actual logistics of evicting a tenant so that's it’s 100 percent legal.

  Michael Drouillard, author of Landlording in Canada, was recently interviewed by Sophie Lui on the morning news at Global TV in Vancouver. Drouillard discusses issues for landlords relating to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and addresses the most common questions he is asked about handling long-term and short-term rentals.

Please note that your computer needs to have speakers or headphones for you to hear the audio.

• Common questions around short-term and long-term rentals.

 CTV’s Canada AM interviewed Heather Bayer, author of Renting Your Recreational Property for Profit about the pros and cons of renting your vacation property.

Heather provides useful tips and advice on what owners should know and how owners of recreational properties such as cottages can rent them out successfully.

• Click the link to open a new window and view the full interview on renting your vacation property.

Tina Parker, author of Do Your Own Home Staging was a guest on Eastlink Television. The camera crew followed her for a day while she was home staging a condo just in time to get it listed on MLS. She also gave tips and advice on the dos and don’ts of home staging and talked about the importance of visual marketing your home via placement of furniture and household items.

• Tina doing home staging.

The first rule of landlording is: Always use proper documentation. Whether you’re renting out a basement suite, a separate apartment, or just a room in your house, remember that it is your property that you are temporarily entrusting to another individual. It is your right as the owner of that property to ensure it is protected, and it is your responsibility to keep documentation of any and all agreements or transactions which occur between you and your tenant. This is true at any stage of the landlord-tenant relationship: pre-tenancy, during tenancy, and as your tenant is leaving.