Partner case study
Capital for Canadian landlords, with The Great Renter
The Great Renter helps Canadian landlords screen tenants. Spark Finance helps the same landlords fund the upgrades that earn more from every unit.
- Partner
- The Great Renter
- Built by
- The Great Folks, Victoria, British Columbia
- For
- Landlords and property managers
The partnership
The Great Renter is tenant screening built for Canadian landlords. It is made by The Great Folks, a product studio in Victoria, British Columbia, and it sells one report at a time: no account to open and no subscription to cancel.
Landlords who screen with The Great Renter run their rentals as a business, and a business needs capital. A basement suite, a renovation between tenants or new appliances can lift the rent a unit earns, but the money has to be found before the first month's rent comes in.
That is where Spark Finance comes in. Spark takes one application to the Canadian lenders most likely to fund a rental business, so a landlord can put money into the property now and pay for it out of the yield it earns.
What The Great Renter does
Every report is built from facts at the source, not from what an applicant typed into a form.
From $19.99 a report, paid by you or the applicant.
Screen a tenant with The Great Renter →Identity verification
The applicant checks their own ID on their phone with a government ID and a live selfie.
Equifax credit report
Credit score, payment history, debts and collections, pulled from Equifax Canada with the applicant's consent.
Watchlist and adverse media
A search of news and public sources for fraud and theft, and a check against international watchlists.
Back in minutes
The report arrives by email, usually within minutes. Property managers get a dashboard and volume pricing.
Six ways to earn more from a rental
Yield is what a property earns after it pays for itself. These are the upgrades landlords most often fund to raise it, and the kind of financing each one usually fits.
- 01
Add a secondary suite
A basement suite, garden suite or laneway home adds a second rent to the same lot. Many Canadian cities have loosened the zoning for them.
Fits: Term loan → - 02
Renovate between tenants
A unit renovated while it is empty can be listed at today's market rent. Kitchens, bathrooms and flooring move the number most.
Fits: Term loan → - 03
Put laundry in the unit
In-suite laundry is one of the features tenants pay more for, and it keeps good tenants longer.
Fits: Equipment financing → - 04
Cut what the building costs to run
Heat pumps, windows and insulation lower the bills you pay on included utilities, and every dollar saved is a dollar of yield.
Fits: Equipment financing → - 05
Furnish for mid-term stays
Furnished units for travelling nurses, students and people between homes can earn more per month than an unfurnished lease.
Fits: Line of credit → - 06
Charge for parking and storage
A paved pad, a lockable shed or a bike room turns unused space into a monthly line on the lease.
Fits: Term loan →
Rent rules are set province by province. Some limit increases for a sitting tenant and allow a reset between tenancies, so check what applies where your property is before you plan around a higher rent.
How it fits together
- 1Pick the upgradePrice the suite, the renovation or the equipment, and what it should add to the rent.
- 2Apply with Spark FinanceOne application. We take it to the lenders most likely to fund it and show you what comes back.
- 3Do the workFund the job and get the unit ready to rent.
- 4Screen your next tenantRun the applicant through The Great Renter before you hand over the keys.
The people behind The Great Renter
Taylor Martin
Partner, Product and Go-to-Market
Came to The Great Folks from running customer and operations teams at a fast-growing background screening company.
Charley Ballantyne
Partner, Technology and Delivery
Leads the technical work at The Great Folks, from architecture and infrastructure to analytics.
The Great Renter is built by The Great Folks, a product studio in Victoria, British Columbia. Need to screen a tenant? Order a report from The Great Renter.
Fund your next upgrade
One application to the Canadian lenders most likely to fund your rental business, for landlords who own their properties through a corporation. Applying is free, and you can stop at any time.
Spark Finance is a brokerage, not a lender. Financing comes from independent lenders, and every offer is subject to their approval and terms. The Great Renter provides tenant screening and is not a lender. Screening reports are sold and delivered by The Great Renter under its own terms. The ideas above are general information, not advice about a particular business or property. Read Spark's privacy policy and terms.