The pulse of the Canada Rental Market!
I finally added a page for Kanata, Ontario. I have been receiving enough listings for this area that I thought that it now deserves it’s own page. Until now, I just put them under Ottawa, since it is a close by major city. However, Kanata has almost 100,000 people, and is growing rapidly, so I thought, what the heck.
At any rate, the new page for Kanata rentals is here
I am sitting here writing this in a pair of shorts, and a t-shirt. It is March 24, and it is just downright balmy from where I sit. I imagine most folks across Canada are getting Spring Fever, and I know that many are planning on making a move to a different home or situation. The vacancy rate in Canada is still pretty low, especially in places like Edmonton and Calgary. However, you can still find a good rental if you are just persistent, and keep checking the site every day. For landlords and property managers, I recommend placing a photo ad for your rentals. I honestly am not saying that to make a quick buck - I know that photo ads get a lot more attention and will rent your place a lot quicker. Remember, I have added google mapping to my photo ads - a feature not all other rental sites have.
At any rate, happy spring! I hope everyone who is looking finds the perfect rental!
I take fraud and spam very seriously, and I spend time every day blocking spammers and scammers from the website. I am able to catch spammers frequently, since every ad that comes in has an IP address with it. I am able to look at an IP address and usually tell if it is from one of the typical Spammer countries (like Nigeria, etc). Nigerian IP address almost always start in a 41, 82, or 83. When these ads come in, BANG - I block’em! It is great because I can also see how many times that they try to access the site after I have blocked them.
I also rely on the help of our users, and I do get e-mails from time to time telling me of a fraudulent ad on the site. I take these ads off immediately, and also then block the IP of the person who submitted the ad.
I have noticed that spam email and fraud attempts have dropped dramatically on the site over the time it has been in service.
I want to thank the person who submitted the following fraud alert recently:
I wanted to let you know that the following ad from your site is a fraud.The same type of scam was on another site that I almost got sucked into.
They claim to be living in West Africa and once you Western Union the money to them they will DHL the keys and documents to you. Fortunately,
I went to look at the house first and found him out.
03-Feb-08
Beautiful custom built 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath apartment .
You will enjoy uncompromising tranquility in this recently renovated, luxurious house surrounded by breathtaking and majestic trees.
You will love features like a gracious fenced and landscaped yard, dreamy custom kitchen, elegant floors, awesome master bedroom with walk
in closet and ensuite, fabulous basement development with generous family room, full bath and an adorable fireplace, exceptional work shop
and storage space. This unsurpassed home is in move-in condition and a new deluxe 2-car garage could be completed,The price is final
and includes everything-heat,gas,electricity,high speed internet,TV cable, underground parking,washer/dryer,twice a year window cleaning.
it is a very quiet area. Very close to main roads and bus stops, playground zones for children As you can see, this home was really created for you!
Steven
herbert.steven@yahoo.ca
From The Manitoba Herald
The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The actions of President Bush are prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they’ll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O’Reilly.
Canadian border farmers say it’s not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. “I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn,” said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn’t have any, he left. Didn’t even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?” In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. “Not real effective,” he said. “The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn’t give any milk.”
Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves.
“A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions,” an Ontario border patrolman said. “I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though.” When liberals are caught, they’re sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR races. In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the ’50s.
“If they can’t identify the accordion player on TheLawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age,” an official said.
Canadian citizens have complained that the illegalimmigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies. “I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can’t support them,” an Ottawa resident said. “How many art-history majors does one country need?” In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada , Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals.
A source close to Cheney said, “We’re going to have some Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And we might put some endangered species on postage stamps. The President is determined to reach out.” he said.
For the first time since 2002 apartment vacancies are seeing a slight increase - this according to The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Rates are at 1.5 percent, up from 1.2 percent at this same time last year. This is good news that is clouded by the expectation that rents are going to increase even more - by at least $100.
There are rentals out there, and my Edmonton page sees quite a bit of traffic, and is actually one of the most heavily used pages for listings on the entire site. Â This may be a great time to make a move, since the holiday season is typically the slow season for renters!
Boy, the spammers are really at it hard this year. Seems like every December, the number of spam listings and emails more than doubles.  Bottomfeeders these people are!
I have to say that we are getting pretty good at blocking spammers from the site. Â We still human-edit each and every listing on the site, and we check each ip address for each listing to see if it comes from a typically spammy country or ip range. Â If it is a spammer, we block them from the site. Â Every day we block 4-5 new ip addresses.
We take spam very seriously, and we are hoping that our efforts will minimize any unnecessary e-mails or worse, people becoming the victim of a rental scam.
Our number one tip when responding to an ad, or when sorting through responses from an ad that you placed on our site is to deal with the person…in person! Â If anyone says that they can only conduct business online or through the mail, it is a sure bet they are trying to scam you.
Be careful, and we hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!
David
Canadarentals.net
I received an e-mail from someone today requesting that I put a section on the site for Furnished Suites and Extended Stay.  I already have a section for Corporate Housing on the site, and I thought that Extended stay fell under the same umbrella as corporate housing. I did a little searching, and most other companies use “Extended Stay” and “Furnished Executive Suites” in their description of their corporate housing services.
To me, all of those phrases are geared toward the businessperson who has to visit another city for more than a few days for business or company purposes, and needs more amenities than a hotel would provide. Most of these “Extended Stay” or Corporate Housing properties offer business centers, nicer or luxury appointments, and even valet parking and concierge services.
The person who e-mailed me asked if I would add Ottawa to that section, so today I am releasing a new page on the site for “Ottawa Corporate Housing.” You can click here to view it.
I was reading today in the Edmonton Sun that the vacancy rate is forecasted to fall below the current 1% level in 2008. It isn’t uncommon for people to look for upwards of 6 months to find a place to live. Naturally, this has driven rents up, forcing many people to work 2 or 3 jobs just to afford housing.
Renters are in the best shape if they go into the market sans kids or pets. Property managers and landlords can be choosy, and unfortunately that can lead to some discrimination. Few places in Edmonton accept pets.
What’s the cause? “A limited supply of new rental buildings is keeping the market tight, according to the CMHC’s outlook for Edmonton, released this week. Apartments being converted into condos is further keeping a stranglehold on renters.”
So how do you find a place in Edmonton? Unfortunately, there is no magic solution, and you may have to wait several months to secure housing. However, one of the biggest keys to minimizing the wait is being persistent. New homes and apartments do come up (at least on our site) daily, so try to be the first to call, and sell yourself well. Good references are what a landlord really wants, and knowing that you will be a solid renter.
Figuring out what you are willing to compromise on will also broaden your opportunities. You may have your heart set on living downtown, but in this tight market, would you be willing to commute 10 minutes? 15 minutes?
Another hard decision may be about your pet.  Can you possibly “board” your pet with a family member for a year?  Looking for a place is always easier when you already have one, so living without your pet for a year or 6 months to secure a living arrangement might give you the time you need to look for a better place without feeling as pressured.
Don’t give up, and check all listing sites frequently.  Although it may look a bit grim, new rentals become available every day.
Seems like there are no shortage of really bad Canadian jokes out there.  “Groaners” as they may be referred to. At any rate, let’s take a break from apartment hunting for some forced chuckles.  Please feel free to add a clean Canadian joke in the comments section if you have one.  I’ll start it off:
Why did the Canada goose run onto the soccer field?
Because the referee called a foul.Â
 I had the unique opportunity last month to move my family into a new home in a new city. It is an amazingly grueling and emotional process, especially if you have a small child in tow. The physical aspect of moving is almost enough to put someone into the hospital from sheer exhaustion. I also found out that the emotional toll can be great too.Part of what was so stressful to think about was making sure my wife and I chose a home in a neighbourhood with good schools. As we all know, schools can be good, bad or downright terrible, unfortunately. We spent a lot of time scouring the internet to try to find information about the schools that we might be enrolling our son in based on the neigbourhoods we were interested in. The internet search took quite a bit of time and at times we were doubting what we were seeing on several websites. As you might guess, moving leaves you with almost no spare time, so I really wished that there was a good source for school information in one convenient stop.Well, after the fact, I stumbled upon The School Selection & Real Estate Advisor for the Toronto region (including York and Durham). This is a comprehensive report that really takes a lot of the guesswork out of the Toronto area schools and their quality rank scores.
You can obtain this magnificent resource here. |
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Canada is becoming a pretty popular place. I know, because the number of housing wanted ads posted on the site by people immigrating to Canada is steadily increasing. I also know from the statistics, and also from the rental housing shortage that many of the bigger cities in Canada are facing. Anyone moving to Canada from abroad naturally will need to follow the correct immigration laws and procedures. Hiring a consultant to do this can be very costly. For most people, moving to another country is not something they have done before, so there are naturally more questions than answers. I have found a really good resource that is a lot less expensive than many of the alternatives. It is easy to use in a true step-by-step interactive process. It is downloadable software, so you can get it immediately (we all love instant gratification, don’t we)? You can get this most excellent immigration software here |
The following question was posed via e-mail today. I am wondering if anyone might have any insight?
Hi, We own a rural estate home at Red Deer, Alberta (half-way between Edmonton and Calgary). Is there a need for short term or corporate housing in our area? 1.5 hour drive from Calgary and Edmonton
Part of what makes a successful blogger is the ability to “stir the pot†in a unique and interesting way…to give a totally different or innovative perspective to what’s happening in their sector or market. My friend Dave Dugdale over at Rentvine.com has shown his ability to create a blog that is totally unique and that has a loyal and growing following. Dave never crosses the decency line, but manages to ruffle a few feathers here and there. His ability to stir the pot and then to have created something tasteful in the end is why I am calling him the “Betty Crocker of Blogging.â€
His latest effort is a great video he took at SES San Jose of a “Paid Links†session that included many of the big names in the search industry (Matt Cutts, Greg Boser, Dave Naylor et al). The rules of the search game (and the rentals game) are continually changing, and Dave Dugdale always does his part to help move the goalpost.
Check out his great video here
Continuing with my efforts to sell my condo ‘by owner’ I have to say it has been a little bit of a roller-coaster ride. Selling a home (or buying one) can be quite stressful. You would think that the stress would come from the piles of paperwork, or perhaps the actual closing, or maybe the negotiations process. For me, I haven’t even gotten to these points yet and I am already feeling exhausted! The hardest part is having to clean your house spotless for each showing. This is especially stressful for me, since I work from home, and when the showings come during work hours, the entire process from cleaning to the actual showing can take several hours. This process is even harder for me, since many days I have my 2-year-old at home with me, and it seems like we are on the continuous loop around the house - me cleaning, and him “undoing” everything I just did. But, I realize that this is a very integral part of the process, and the more showings I have, the more chances I have to sell the place.
The most frustrating thing so far for me has been the one realtor “no call no show.” You may be asking why a realtor is involved if I am doing this ‘by owner.” I decided to advertise that I would co-op with realtors. Basically, if a realtor can bring me a buyer, I will pay the buyer’s commission. They have to call a centralized showing service that I use to set up the appointment, and then they can come see the place with their client. Pretty standard.
This particular one came on a particularly busy day for me. The showing service called and said that the showing was from 5-6 that evening. It was already 2 in the afternoon, and the house was a bit of a mess. My wife even took a few hours off of work to come help me clean and “stage” our place. Lost work time for both of us!
We got the place spotless, and left at about 10 until 5. We decided to go out for a quick dinner while the agent showed the property. We even left fresh lemonade out.
We got home at 6:30, and it was immediately obvious that nobody had been by. Realtors are supposed to leave a business card on the table when they show a property to let you know that they have been there. We saw no business card, and no note. The lemonade was not touched.
I was pretty pissed, I have to say. I know that it is their perogative to not show up if they don’t want to, and there is nothing that I can do about it, but it irked me to no end to think that I lost a good part of my work day (and so did my wife). Would a simple phone call to me or the showing service have been too difficult?
I ended up e-mailing the realtor to ask her what was up, and she wrote back and said “We decided it was too far to drive” - the drive is actually only about 10 minutes from where they were coming from.
I didn’t write back, too fumed about the whole thing. I looked at this particular realtor’s website, and she writes about herself ““My buyers, sellers, and investors expect and deserve the most professional, ethical and loyal representation. ”
I’m not sure if she has kids, but in the future, I hope that she, and any other realtor who wants to see a home, realize that when the home is occupied, and especially if there are kids, that a simple, quick phone call if you don’t plan on showing up can save a lot of time for the sellers, and can help to improve the reputation of realtors in general.
Incidentally, we have had 7 showings so far - 4 independent, coming off of public listing sites like craigslist, and 3 from the showing service.  All four of the “independents” showed up and were punctual.
I have always wondered what kind of response I might get if I posted a very basic ad on my site. Of course, the ad would be fake, since it is me. I haven’t done it until recently because I have a problem with wasting people’s time posting an ad without a rental to back it up. However, my curiosity got the best of me.
The ad I posted was the smallest one on the page. “One Bedroom Apartment for Rent - Central Location.” That, plus my contact e-mail was all the ad consisted of.
I had the ad on the site for one day, and got about 10 responses. 3 of those were asking more about the apartment. 3 of them were scammers or crooks trying to rope me into a ‘rent payment transfer scheme.’ The other three wanted the apartment regardless of the features or cost per month (I did not include the monthly rent.). The city I posted it under currently has a vacancy rate of less than 2 percent, so apartments are hard to come by.
I was happy that the site was a ’success’ in generating leads for my fake apartment. I was not so thrilled that I got so many idiots trying to scam me. But, I have also posted rental ads in the past on Craigslist and other places, and have gotten the same type of idiots from those.
I don’t think we’ll ever get away from the bottomfeeders of the internet (most, unfortunately are still in the Western African Countries). However, if you use a free email service (as most people do when they post a public ad), you can find out where the email originated from. This should help you to figure out if their intentions are good or bad.
If you look at the header information from the email, you will usually see a “Received” header that is followed by an IP address (4 numbers separated by periods). That’s what you need to find out where the email came from. Take that number and put it into a good IP tracking tool. I use this one: http://www.ip-adress.com/
To those few people that contacted me through my fake ad, I apologize. It did help me with this post, which I hope people will find useful if they get a fishy email. Remeber, the number one piece of advice when you get a fraudulent email: IGNORE IT AND DELETE IT!
Happy Renting!
Check out this guy who went onto the British version of “America’s Got Talent” and blew everyone away. He is a cell phone salesman who has “confidence” problems. Here is is.
Enjoy!
PS - He went on to win the competition.
Since I have been trying to sell my condo, I have posted it in several places out there in internet-land. Every ad that I have posted has said specifically “please do not call me with other commercial interests.” In the past two weeks, I have probably received about a dozen calls from realtors who start off by saying they want more information about my property. Within about a minute, they say something like “I see you have your property listed FSBO. Did you know that real estate is all about marketing, and that’s where I can help you to meet your goals.” I then usually ask them straight up if they have a buyer interested in my property. Every time the answer is ‘no.’ All they were trying to do is to pawn their expert services to me. They are a tricky bunch, starting off by implying that they have a buyer that is interested. Not the case though. All they are interested in is their big fat commission.
I had another realtor insist that she could sell my place within 3 months. I asked her if she knew anything about my complex or my area. She didn’t. If she had done any research, she would have discovered that there are almost 30 units in my complex that are for sale, and the last one that has sold was back in early March - Over 3 months.
The latest and greatest email “phishing” scam that I am seeing is where I get an email from someone saying they want to buy my place, but that I have to fill out a questionnaire with about 30 questions, some of which I found personal and irrelevant. If they had just looked at my ad (where they got my email address), 99% of their questions would have been answered. They don’t need to know my monthly payment. Here is their lame questionnaire:
“Good Afternoon,
I saw the property you have for sale and would like to get some more information regarding the property. I realize that there are several questions on here and some of which might seem personal, however, I assure you that any information you provide, will be used to help make a better offer on your property. I am not trying to sell your house for you; I am interested in purchasing the property myself! Thank you!
Questions:
1. Owner Name first and last:?
2. Property’s Street Address:
City: State: Zip: County:
3. Asking Price: $
4. # of Bed and Bath:
5. Is the property Vacant:
6. Scale of 1-10, what is the condition of Property:
7. Are there any needed repairs:
if yes how much: $
8. What is the layout of the property (1-Story, 2-Story etc):
9. Is there garage or Carport:
if yes how many:
10. Any unique features:
11. Does the property have a basement:
if yes % finished:
12. Year house was built:
13. Size of lot:
14. Total square footage of House:
15. How long have you owned it:
16. Why are you the selling the property:
17. how long have you been trying to sell it:
18. What date would you like to close by:
19. How did you come up with the asking price ( Cost-Based Appraisal CMA Guess) :
a. If appraisal: Appraisal Date:
Amount: $
20. What would your bottom cash price be? $
21. Is there a mortgage on the property:
if yes amount: $
22. Would you consider other options as well:
23. What are the Taxes on a yearly basis: $
24. What is your total monthly payment (PITI): $
25. What of that payment is for Taxes & Insurance: $
26. Rental Range of the area: LOW $ HIGH $
27. Has the property been listed in the MLS in the last 12 months:
28. Your contact info: Mailing Address:
i. Phone:
ii. Fax:
iii. Email:
iv. Alt Phone:
29. Other Comments:
Please fill out as much information as possible, the more info I have the better offer I can make you. We want to help you! We truly do care about your needs and want to help you. I thank you for your time in filling out the questionnaire out on the property you have for sale.”
Notice how they don’t include any company info, or a phone number to call. However, the name attached to the originating email address always seems to be someone tied to the local high school sports scene - I did a search on three of the names form these deals.
Back to the realtor thing - I have had them call at all hours of the day and night, and on the weekend too. Every ad I have placed has said pretty outright not to contact me if you don’t have a buyer. I know they make their money off of commissions, and I know that the market is cutthroat, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t conduct your business ethically and with respect. I believe that realtors are a dying breed, and the more they pull these shenanigans, the quicker they will be a relic of the past.
On a positive note, I have to say that not ALL realtors are bottomfeeders. When I bought my condo many years ago, I used a realtor. She busted her rump for me, and acted professionally and respectfully at all times. I found a great place at a great price. She is still in business today, and from what I understand, she does quite well. I think people will use a realtor if they have a good reputation, but unfortunately, building integrity and a good reputation is a step that is skipped by many realtors.
So far, I have had two showings for my place. One came in from craigslist, and the other came in from the MLS. We cleaned the place spotless for both, and it really looked like a brand-new unit, with the exception of our furniture being there. The first couple that came through (the craigslist couple), I could tell immediately that they were not ready to buy. He was a recent graduate, and his girlfriend said that she worked three jobs. They sounded like they were on limited means, and even admitted that they had not gone through the pre-approval process for a loan.
I was a bit disheartened, since we burned 2 hours of our precious Sunday afternoon cleaning for them. I guess that’s part of the whole process though. I have a friend who told me that his parents are trying to sell their home, and they have had 77 showings in 100 days, and no takers. Scheeesh! At least they don’t have kids at home!
The second group came in with a realtor. I left the place (as you’re supposed to do) but I saw them drive up. They were two guys, and they just didn’t seem too excited. They went in and left within about 10 minutes. They did eat some of the cookies I left out. Amazingly, they did not close the front door. When I got home, it was unlocked and wide open. I have an indoor cat, and if she got out she would disappear, so I was a bit miffed at this.
The realtor submitted her report later that night about our place. It said that her clients were not interested in buying our place, since it was overpriced compared to other units in the area. What? Ours is the lowest priced unit in the complex! They also said that should look better. What again? It looked like a professional had cleaned it. The only problem is that there’s not much furniture in our place right now, and not many pictures on the wall. If their lack of imagination is why they didn’t like it, then that’s another story.
I am starting to get anxious about our condo sitting on the market forever. The market in general is really bad right now, and I read something this morning that it is probably going to get worse. And, my sister reminded me that July and August are really soft months as well, since it is hot, and many people are on vacation, and not thinking about real estate.
So I am now starting to think of my contingency plan if I don’t get any offers in the next month or so. The only one that is logical is to rent it out for a while while the market recovers. I am not in the mood, and I don’t have time to be a landlord right now, so this is not the most favorable option for me. I’ll also take a loss on the place if I do that, since with the going rental rates around here, adding the HOA dues, I’ll be paying more than I’ll be making with a renter.
My wife and I both agreed that it is still early, and it has only been on the market for a few weeks. We plan on riding this out for about 3 months to see what happens.
“Knowing when to apply effort, and when to let to” - I refer to this phrase often when I have a lot on my plate.   Right now, trying to make my condo really attractive and unload it as soon as possible has taken a lot out of me. I’ll be honest in saying that there haven’t been a ton of phonecalls on it. Actually, there have been phonecalls, but unfortunately they are spammy people wanting to sell me their real estate services. This annoys me, since on every ad that I have posted I clearly state ‘do not call about with other commercial interests.” Anyways, I delete them and move on.
The market for condos in my area is not very good, so you have to have a really attractive place, and you have to be the best price around. I have seen several similar units around me sit on the market for 9-10 months.  It is a bit scary. Many people just end up renting them out since they can’t find a buyer.
I have done everything I can imagine to help my cause - I have listed on every website out there, from Craigslist, to Owners.com.  There are several local sites that I have used as well. I am sitting here right now at my desk, wondering what else I can do, when I thought of my little phrase “Know when to apply effort and when to let go.”
There isn’t much else I can do. The word is out as best as it can be. I have priced aggressively, and I have staged my place as best as I can with new paint, new carpet, new dishwasher, wood floors, and a thorough cleaning. It’s feeling like I am watching and waiting for the pot to boil.
So, I am opting to let go for now - to go outside on this beautiful day, and take my son for a stroll.  It’ll do me some good to get my mind off of things, and who knows? Maybe when I get back there will be an email or message from a legitimate person wanting to see my condo.  Sometimes when you aren’t trying so hard, things seem to just ‘happen.”
Continuing the process with my condo that I am trying to unload, I decided to walk around my complex to see how many other units are for sale, and at what price.  My complex has about 300 units.  I was a bit discouraged to learn that 28 (by my count) were for sale.  That is a lot of competition!  I am starting to think about how FSBO can work to my benefit, and the one way I can think of is PRICE!  If I can do a true ‘by owner’ sale, I will basically save about 6% on commission, which I do plan on passing on to any buyer.   Today I posted the price in the window, and from what I can see, I am the lowest price of all comparable units (in terms of size, beds, baths, etc.)
It’s a tough local market when there’s a lot of inventory. Â Everything I know says that you have to set yourself apart somehow. Â I have looked at quite a few of the other folks’ signs and fliers, and quite honestly, they are pretty boring. Â Mine is also one of the only ones with new carpet and wood floors. Â I made sure that was prominently in the flier and on my signs.
I did have my first showing this weekend - someone who saw my ad on Craigslist.  They were a young couple and didn’t seem terribly prepared, so I don’t think I’ll be seeing them again.  It was a bummer, since for every showing you have to do the ‘flight of the bumblebee’ to get your place into ’show’ mode. Not an easy task for me with a 2 year old running around and ‘undoing’ everything I just cleaned!