Canada Rentals Blog

Well Duh, It’s Victoria Day

I always do this every year - have minor “panics” on certain days when traffic goes down.  Now, I am not one who usually gets to excited about holidays…in fact, I usally forget that holidays have occurred until after the fact.

Today, I noticed that traffic was down a bit.   Being in the internet business, that’s never a good sign, and I started to worry about it…only briefly, when I remembered that it is Victoria Day, so many people are taking the weekend off.

That’s good - since the weather is nice in many places, and people do need to unplug a bit.

I’ll stop worrying about traffic, and get outside and enjoy myself.   Happy Victoria Day everyone!!

- Be Safe!

David

Posted in David's Thoughts | No Comments »

Will it blend

My friend Dave has done it again with another funny video for our Scammer friends…

Posted in Funny | No Comments »

How To Identify A Scammer Tool

Identifying scammers has been a big challenge on our site. We have been pretty successful in blocking many of these shady people, as well as educating our users about how to identify a scammer or a scam e-mail.

My friend Dave has launched a new site called Pickrent, and he has created an awesome Scammer Identification Tool and video. It is a really great, and very accurate way to dissect an e-mail or exchange to see what the likelyhood is that it is a scam.
I highly recommend that you try it if you think you might be a target of a scam.

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Rents are ususally negotiable

In our time doing managing this site, we have heard of many people who have successfully negotiated a lower rental amount than what was advertised. If you bring something to the table that is desirable, often times the renter will favorably move on the rental amount.
Most landlords or property managers will happily take a person with solid references, and a willingness to sign a longer lease - at a lower rental amount - over a person with no rental history, or a person who can only sign a 6 month lease over the preferred year lease.
If you don’t have any pets, that is also a negotiating point. Don’t smoke? That is another one.
I had a friend that negotiated a lower rent by agreeing to paint the apartment she was living in.  The bottom line - even if you don’t have much to bring to the table - is to ask.   All they can say is ‘no’ and you might be surprised that the landlord is flexible, especially if they are highly motivated to rent the unit, or if it has been sitting on the market for a while.

Posted in David's Thoughts | No Comments »

Truly awesome

I don’t usually post things not related to rentals, but this one I had to - for some reason, I agree with its awesomeness..

Posted in David's Thoughts | No Comments »

Is it as easy as simply putting a sign in the window?

A friend of mine, who owns another rental site in a different country, has typically done very well because the vacancy rate where he is is so high (almost 10%). I think it’s actually even higher than that. So, naturally, property managers and landlords need to advertise more, and thus, more money being spent on advertising.
He has also said that if the vacancy rate is very low (like in many areas of Canada), that landlords and property managers only have to put a sign in the window of the rental for a day to rent it out. Sounds like pretty good logic.
I know that the vacancy rate, especially in the western provinces of Canada is very low….sometimes close to 1 or 2 %. I don’t personally live in those areas, but I’d be interested to find out from property managers living there if it is, in fact, that simple - putting a “For Rent” sign in the window to rent out a property, and if vacancy rate is the main variable that determines how much they spend in advertising and online listings.

Posted in David's Thoughts, Roommates | No Comments »

Short-term rentals for the Calgary Stampede

Can you believe that it is almost that time of year where we start thinking about things like the Calgary Stampede? Gee whiz, we just got done with the holidays!
Well, believe it or not, people are already starting to ask about short-term rentals for the Calgary Stampede, which is July 3-12. They’re smart, because with the low vacancy rate in Canada lately, it is wise to start early.
Our Calgary page is a great place to list your rentals for this week of hootin’ and hollerin’! We’ll also accept ‘housing wanted’ ads for the Stampede as well, so if you aren’t having any luck, post a quick ad letting people know what you are looking for and you’ll likely get some good responses. Many people will rent rooms, or basements to people for this event. It’s a great way to make some extra cash, and maybe meet some interesting cowboys and cowgirls!
Until then…Happy Trails!

Posted in Site Stuff | 9 Comments »

Post holiday traffic

Every year, traffic on the site dips pretty significantly starting about the 2nd week in December, going through the 27th or so.  Then, around the 27th, the sharp, upward climb in traffic begins.   There is another small dip in traffic on the 31st and 1st, for obvious reasons, but then - wham!   Right after the 1st traffic on the site skyrockets!   The peak for this little burst is usually around the 8th or 9th of January.   Of course, many people get done with the holidays and have a ‘resolution’ to move into a better place.

It is a great time to list a property on the site, as the number of eyeballs that will see it will more than double in the coming weeks.

It’s also a fun time of year to have a rental site.   January is usually great, and then, March madness is right around the corner!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday!

~David

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I have made the move to a different webhost

I have made the move to a different web host.  My current (or most recent) one just simply was not adequate.   This old webhost of mine was down almost every other day, and I can’t even begin to count how many tech support requests I had to send them.  On a few occasions, they implied that the fault was my own.   I have had this site for 3-4 years now, and haven’t changed the structure, or database at all, and the errors started happening out of nowhere.  I even got a MySQL database expert (third party) to look things over and he even said “nope, it’s your webhost’s fault.”

I am a bit nervous as changing webhosts can sometimes affect your rankings, but so far so good.  Actually, if anything, traffic has increased some.

I have removed the subdomains from the site and just made them straight pages.  Subdomains are kind of a pain sometimes, and they aren’t as effective as they used to be.

The other thing is that I moved my webhost to the US.   I just couldn’t find a coldfusion webhost in Canada that I was comfortable with.  I use one in the US for some other sites of mine and it has been rock solid for the many years I have been with them.  I hope that having a US ip address doesn’t affect anything.   According to what I have read, it shouldn’t, especially if you declare your site’s geographic location in google’s webmaster tools, which I did a year ago.

So, we’ll see how this goes.   If I can stay on this new webhost and go for more than a week without tech support I will be thrilled.  Oh, wait, it’s already been over a week.   Woohoo!!!

Posted in Site Stuff | No Comments »

I just discovered Osoyoos

I have been doing this site for several years now, and I have learned a lot about many of the cities and towns in Canada that I service.  I thought that I had most of the ‘important’ ones on the site, but recently, someone mentioned “Hey, where is Osoyoos BC?”  I thought “Osy-who?”

I looked into it, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Osyoos area is quite a popular destination, especially in the summmer months.   There are many  home rentals in Osoyoos as well as vacation rentals and even apartments.

I learned that retirees especially like the Osoyoos area and the Okangan Valley.  The arid climate is very favorable and there are plenty of recreational activities in the area.  Osoyoos Lake is a big draw (this lake is considered the warmest lake in Canada).

For more information about Osoyoos, you can visit their town website here.

Anyways, I have added Osoyoos to the site!

Posted in Site Stuff | No Comments »

Happy Halloween, but lower traffic today

Happy Halloween to all of the ghosts and goblins out there today.    I am taking my 3 year old out today, dressed as “James” from the Thomas trains…If you have a small child, especially a boy, you know all about these.

Definitely seeing a little lower traffic today - probably because everyone is out getting wacky on sugar and candy.

That’s ok.  Holidays happen.  Happy Halloween!

Posted in general | 3 Comments »

What does a typical scam e-mail look like?

I am now posting scam emails that people have received from my site to help the ‘good guys and gals’ to be able to identify the scammers.   I also have a list of known scammers on another blog post that you can see by clicking here.

Here are some examples of fraud attempt emails:

********************************************************

HERE IS A CLASSIC WITH SEVERAL OF THE EMAIL ‘EXCHANGES’:

Hello,
> I am interested in renting your place and here is a little info about myself. I am Victor Mason and I am 26 years old. At present I am based in the UK, but will be relocating to your Province in a couple of weeks to settle.Consequent to this and in order to make settling in much easier and quicker I am searching for an accomodation early and I saw your add on the site and would be very happy if reservation for the place can be made.I can assure you that you will not have any regrets letting out this apartment to me as I am a very respectful and matured individual who values peoples opinions and also loves to be happy and make people happy( Happiness is a product of making someone happy).I am calm and collected by nature & I get along much easily with most people.I will be coming over alone,with no family or pets. I do not smoke and I drink very lightly.My reason for moving is because I have a new job offer and the pay is very good. I will be working as a
> DataBase Adminstrator on Oracle.Please reply me as soon as you read this email.I ll be waiting to hear from you.
> Kindly contact me via email: victorrrmason@yahoo.com
> Thank you once more
> Yours sincerly
> Victor Mason

**********************

Hello k,
My employer has sent payment to your location and I’ll be sending you
the tracking number. This will enable you know when it will arrive.
I will appreciate if you notify me as soon as it does.
This is the first time I will be traveling to North America and I
believe articulating myself with the cultural change will not be
difficult as people like you will make me settle in easily. In the UK
majority of us are conservatives and I believe Canada is an
environment with more liberal and free thinking individuals( and more
beautiful ladies, LOL!!!).

Facing new challenges and enhancing my skills will be first priority
and I promise you that you will not regret ever renting the place out
to me as I am a very matured and understanding person.Most importantly
my shipper will be getting in touch with you regarding shipping of my
Honda Accord (2008) to your place and I have given him your contact.In
case you want to get in touch with him his name is Jason Sphink and
email address is jasonsphinkshipper@gmail.com
Yours sincerely
Victor

***********

Hello ,
I have been instructed by Mr Victor Mason to commence shipping
of his personal effects. He instructed me to also get in touch with you
about the funds($2500) you will be sending me so I can prosecute the
shipping of his effects and  also  to give you details of how I will be
receiving the funds.You will be required to send it via western union
money transfer to the details below.
Name: Felix Sphink
Destination: 12 Church Row London NW3 6UP United Kingdom
You will be required to send the transfer information details to me
today which include the amount sent and senders name and MTCN(money
transfer control number).I hope you are very conversant with western
union.Also western union  will be charging you to send the funds so
you can deduct the charges from the funds before sending.
Thanks
Jason Sphink

********************************************************

HERE’S ANOTHER ONE

Hello,
 Thank you for  your quick response,i appreciate it
and it seems everythingwill be perfect at your place.
I intend on coming over to Canada in like 2-3wks from now and
would like to have made payment for the place and every other thing
before i come because my employer will be paying for it. I
will be working withIbm Canada Ltd as a DataBase Administrator on oracle
and i have a 2yrs contract with them.. I dont mind if the place
is not ready by the time i come, i can always stay in an hotel
till its ready. Its going to be my first time in Canada and the
location is okay with me since i will have a  car...I have made
arrangement for my visa and every other thaing, but just
 want to secure a place before i come over... Well i'm having one or two
 problems but i guess i could solve them this way,my employer will be
sending you payment for the place but it might be excess of the amount
for the rent plus damage deposit,kindly deduct the amount for the room
and send the rest to my shipper who will be shipping my honda
 2004 model and other personal effects before i
move into your place.I wont be bringing much over as i intend to buy
 most afresh there. But my PC will be coming with me surely & other
personal belongings.If this is ok with you. Like i said i live in the
Belfast area in the U.K.. kindly mail me back your name to
make out the payment in & your address to have it sent to.
I will be needing your phone number as well, so i can call you
& we can discuss more on this issue or any other issues.
I will also appreciate it if you give me a detailed amount of
what i will be paying both for rent and damage deposit.
Thank you so very much for understanding

Yours with all sincerity
Des

********************************************************

This one is paraphrasing, but the idea is like this:

- Doctor (chemist) from oversees relocating to my area.
Note - His grammar indicates he is ESL and possibly from W. Africa
or India but he claims he is from the UK with a Scottish
last name (that alone was a little odd). After some basic
questions about the home he wants to lease it and requests
 things like room measurements for the furniture to be
ordered and lease agreements.  He does not, however, ask
basic questions like proximity to schools, hospital
(his supposed workplace), neighborhood etc.  About the third
 e-mail he wanted my contact information so his 'financier'
could send me the deposit and first months rent asap.  I asked
that he complete the rental application form before I did
 anything or received any money. He competed it but was missing
key info like a workplace reference. The fraud warning I found
 said his next request would be for my Visa card information so
 he could credit my card with the funds he owed me. I flushed him
before he got to this e-mail.

********************************************************

Hello,
       I am interested in renting your place and here is a
little info about myself. I am Gosham Steve and I am 26 years old. At
present I am based in the UK, but will be relocating to your Province
in a couple of weeks to settle.
Consequent to this and in order to
make settling in much easier and quicker I am searching for an
accomodation early and I saw your add on the site and would be very
happy if reservation for the place can be made.
I can assure you
that you will not have any regrets letting out this apartmentto me as I
am a very respectful and matured individual who values peoples opinions
and also loves to be happy and make people happy(Happiness is a product
of making someone happy).I am calm and collected by nature & I get
along much easily with most people.I will be coming over alone,with no
family or pets. I do not smoke and I drink very lightly.
My reason for moving is because I have a new job offer and the pay is very
good. I will be working as a DataBase Adminstrator on Oracle.
Please reply me as soon as  you read this email.I ll be waiting to hear from you.
Kindly contact me via email: goshamsteve1@ymail.com
Thank you once more
Yours sincerly
Gosham Steve

********************************************************

Hi,

My name is Juliet Smith,i am an undergraduate student who just got an
admission in your locality, I saw your ad on the internet and i am interested
in your room,so let me know if it is still available so that i can tell my Uncle
to make payment for it so that i can move in as soon as the money is been confirmed.

To tell you a few about myself,i am a young lady of 21,based in St. Petersburg Russia,
very ambitious,i have always wanted to school outside Russia to change my environment
 and make new friends.

Here is also my number you can call me (+79052281237)

Hope to read from you soon.

Juliet
Juliet Smith
julietsmith81@yahoo.co.uk

********************************************************

Hello there,i am susan rose and i am 27...I am  interested in renting the
room posted on the internet....I am ready to make payment as soon as possible...
Get back to met at susan_rose2003@yahoo.com,if the
rooom is available....thx

susan rose
susan_rose2003@yahoo.com

********************************************************

Hello,

        My Name is Mr.Alex Bruce,I am highly interested in making
 payment for the room you advertised for rent,I want to make the
 payment on behalf of my Daughter who intends to be at your
 location to further her education,I am currently off FRANCE o business
 and i require an answer to the below following questions.

 1. A brief description of the accommodation

 2. Nearest bus/stops to the universities around the house

 3. Cost for 1 Month rental and Deposit.

 4. Which date is the apartment will be available.

 Note that your payment will be made to you via Bank Cheque or Draft.

 I look forward to receiving your response as soon as possible and if
 you want me to send my daughter`s pics, let me know.Do get back to me
 via mail aabruce85@gmail.com

 Best Regards
 Mr.Alex Bruce

********************************************************

Greetings there,
How
are things?Well i saw your place for rent canadarentals.net online and
it sparked my interest,My name is Mcloany Phobe.im off work for a
holiday and need to take some time off.
 I would love to rent the
place which i would be coming.i have experienced getting riped by
people who advertise houses and end up not getting the place ,please do
email me back and let me know the price per month,deposit and total
cost to pay to secure the place prior my arrival, i would like to know
about the utilities available as i would like to know how many months
it would be available with you so please do email be back with details
about the place so we can proceed,i will make solid arrangements for me
things to be moved in by my hauler so please do get back to me asap..
i await to read from you
 soonest.thank you ...
cheers,
Mcloany

********************************************************
hello, 

i am Gordon Mark, am an international student, i am coming to your country
to further my education. i saw your apartment on the web and i will like to make
enquiry on it.  let me know how much you will receive for 4month.

please get back to me with every other necessary details
in need to know about the apartment.

i hope to hear from you soon..

Gordon
Gordon
gordon_mark2@yahoo.co.uk

********************************************************

HERE IS A "LISTING" POSTED ON THE SITE - Sometimes, scammers post fake ads to try to
reel unsuspecting renters in....

 05-Jan-09
*-Great layout for families or roommates.
*-Updated paint and berber carpets through out.
*-Spacious 3rd level family room and bathroom.
*-Central Air Conditioning (2006)
*-Lovely wood burning fire place
*-Privacy Backyard (no back neighbors)
*-Backyard 10 x 10 shed for extra storage.
*-Full access to attached 2 car garage.
*-Close to park/playground (5 min. walk); neighborhood elementary school;
 close West Edmonton Mall and several groceries stores 10 min. drive;
excellent bus connections; great connections just off White mud and
Anthony Henday easy to go south or north.

EMAIL US FOR MORE DETAILS AND PICTURES
Cynthia
Bosethonia@gmail.com
West Edmonton

********************************************************
Hello,i am interested in rent for just
1month...well,i will becoming for 12th of febuary for 1month and we are
2people coming,me and my wife. for our honey moon...please email me
back with the cost for 1month and the mode of payment you will like to
accept and meanwhile,please let me know if certified check is good for reservation....

Till i read from you...

Thanks and av a lovely day ahead.

********************************************************

$1000   3 BEDROOM HOUSE FOR FOR RENT 

$1000 per month or. High speed Internet extra. laundry room and living room in a
 recenty constructed basement suite. Bedrooms and bathroom have locking doors.
Back yard has a patio with barbecue. House is heated and cooled with "green"
 energy and has a monitored alarm system. Quiet, safe neighborhood.
 Only quiet renters need apply.

Cynthia
cynthiahrobertson3@gmail.com
Southwest, Winnipeg, MB
Winnipeg

********************************************************

$1000   3 Bedroom house for rent in Downtown ,Kelowna, BC
Cozy 3 bedroom house - 1 minute walk to Hospital. 2 bedrooms down, 1 up, small yard, laundry room, utils average about $200 a month and can be added to rent for convienance.  pet allowed , smoking allowed , house needs nice respectful people .

Robertson
cynthiahrobertson2@gmail.com
Downtown Kelowna
BRITISH COLUMBIA

********************************************************

Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2009 01:29:07 +0100
Subject: show some love
From: habibakarim01@gmail.com

********************************************************

********************************************************

Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2009 03:00:02 -0800
From: michael_corvin1@yahoo.com
Subject: For rent

Dear Owner,
       I wonder wheather you can grant my request and do me a favor.I am writing to
occupy your apartment.
       Brief about me: My name is Michael Corvin,I am native of Canada,I am 41yrs
old,I have two children,I own a joint small scale firm with my wife in Canada.We have
one branch office in United Kingdom where i am presently since about a year ago.
       You might be wondering that what do i need an apartment for in Canada despite
the fact that i own business with my wife in Canada.But am ashamed tell you that my
wife os fu----- her Personal assistant.I need this apartment secretly to come into so
that i can hide there and catch my wife redhanded.I am told by my lawyer that if i get
her that way,divorcee her will not be a problem.
      Please keep this as a secret between you and I because if you discuss it with
anyone,he or she might know my wife and hint her and you know it will be difficult to
carry my plans out anymore.Am sorry to say this.
      And more importanly,You will assist me greatly in terms finance.I am not saying
you should give me money or rent the apartment for me for free of Charge.All am saying
here is that i don't want anyone to know about this secret apartment i want to
secure.So i won't be paying you directly because my wife will know if i do.
      Canadian Money order will be sent to you in am amount of $4,500 and you will
deceuct $2,000 for down payment of the apartment and help me to transfer the remaining
$2,000 in cash via western union to the travel agent that i will send you the
information of their staff after you have received and verified the Money order.
      If after i need to pay more,i will surely do it on my arrival.Please help me as
i suggested above so as avoid anyone knowing about this plan of mine.I dont want to
leave leave no traces.I really want to catch her redhanded.Please help me secure the
apartment.
     Kindly foward your details to me such as your full name that will be printed on
Money order,your postal address and phone number to contact you.I am ready to pay you
additional fees as goodwill gesture. Please get back to me as soon as this email is
received and also feel free to ask me any questions.

Michael.

********************************************************

My Name is MARTINS LARK.I am interested in the Room for Rent.I am a professional Artist,
I do Paintings,Drawings and Billboards Adverts etc.I am resident in the United Kingdom,
I am planning on RELOCATING to the CANADA,Mainly for the purpose of close customer
service/sales.I want to create  a full awareness of my Art Products in the CANADA..
and am planing to have my master degree in the state.

 I have had quiet some customers in the CANADA, And So i want to strengthen my Bussiness.
I am planing on moving in by MID-Aug.I am also in the process of securing an office space
were i can do my paintings and attend to customers.
 How much is a months rent,and how long is the minimum period i can stay..
I intend to spend at Good Period of time.Can you give me more information about the
Room Available..Do you have any pics? What are the payment options available?

I would appreciate as much information as possible.

Thanks,

Do have a nice day. 

MARTINS LARK.
Martins
martinslarkukartgallery@yahoo.com

********************************************************

$1300 Executive 3brm Bungalow House For Rent
Great layout for families or roommates.
*-Updated paint and berber carpets through out.
*-Spacious 3rd level family room and bathroom.
*-Central Air Conditioning (2006)
*-Lovely wood burning fire place
*-Privacy Backyard (no back neighbors)
*-Backyard 10 x 10 shed for extra storage.
*-Full access to attached 2 car garage.
*-Close to park/playground (5 min. walk); neighborhood elementary
school; close West Edmonton Mall and several groceries stores 10 min.
drive; excellent bus connections; great connections just off White mud
and Anthony Henday easy to go south or north.

Robertson
cynthiahrobertson@gmail.com
West Edmonton

********************************************************

Hi. I 'd wanted to make sure I get a suitable place for my daughter and I in this location.
Could you please tell me more of this property you have listed here for rent.
I am interested in taking a longer term. How much is the monthly rental fees and what would 

that be all together for the complete 12 months? How is the surrounding neighborhood
conditions? Can we move in with our own furniture’s after we get this property secured
 from you? Just thought I should know all this .I am relocating from BlackPool United Kingdom
along with my Daughter of 12 yr old.
Just email me back with more pictures too.
Thanks.
James Gilliard
jamesgilliard81@yahoo.com
James Gilliard

Posted in Site Stuff | 15 Comments »

Our Fraudsters and Scammers List

We have decided today (10.21.08) to start publishing e-mail addresses of people who have targeted the renters on our site (or our site in general), and who have been identified as trying to commit fraud or scams.   This list will continue to grow, unfortunately.  We hope this information is helpful to anyone who has someone questionable on the ‘other end.’  These people rarely are ‘country or area specific’ and are often attempting scams in multiple countries and locations.  Do NOT Do Business With These People!

To see examples of typical scam emails that people have received - click here

Note - to do a search of this list just hit ctrl and F and enter the email/search term.

The hall of shame is:
jimghlin@gmail.com
desmondweiss@googlemail.com
k_walker24@yahoo.com
jessica_smith@in.com
thermoswww@gmail.com
victorrrmason@yahoo.com
ken.anderson11@yahoo.com
judith.halls0806@gmail.com
Rbreeds1@yahoo.com
johnwilson801@yahoo.com
s_enterprise2005@yahoo.com
julietsmith81@yahoo.co.uk
susan_rose2003@yahoo.com
aabruce85@gmail.com
mcloany_phobe@ymail.com
Bosethonia@gmail.com
lamfumario@yahoo.com
wecloth@yahoo.com
jameswatt23401@yahoo.com
cynthiahrobertson3@gmail.com
sunny.em0009@gmail.com
cynthiahrobertson@gmail.com
pastormiguel.obien@yahoo.ca
johnsonanna85@yahoo.com
julian.richards@instinet.com
mail.alfredjohn@yahoo.com
roomy.cath@gmail.com
harrison.james27@yahoo.com
cath.millane@yahoo.ca
jamesgilliard81@yahoo.com
smith.wallcoth@yahoo.com
tracy.stone69@yahoo.com
happystephy1@gmail.com

This one is particularly nasty - he masks his ip address, so he is hard to track:
Blueairlords@gmail.com

Posted in Site Stuff | 31 Comments »

MySQL Database Problems

Have been having quite a few problems with my database this week.  Every evening, like clockwork, I start getting errors.  I think it has something to do with the MySQL server at my webhost, but it is really hard to tell.  They have ‘fixed’ the problem each evening, but it seems to return every day.   A friend of mine suggested asking them to re-boot their MySQL server, as he had this same problem with his site, and that semeed to result in a favorable resolution.  My webhost did this yesterday, and so far so good.   But, I am not holding my breath.  If it keeps happening I may have to make some drastic decisions about the site.   Hmmm.  Not looking forward to that.

Posted in Site Stuff | No Comments »

Economic crisis in the US affecting Canada?

I just read that the “Bailout” plan in the US did not pass.   A lot of people, pundits, stockbrokers and politicians are saying that the US is heading for a huge economic meltdown and crisis.

I am wondering how this might affect Canada.  Will people in the US start moving to Canada in droves (thus making the rental market even tighter?).   Will the bad economy of the US make those folks stop visiting Canada and spending money here (especially at the resorts this winter - Banff, Whistler, etc)?

I am not an economist by any means, but I can’t imagine that Canada will escape the effects of what is going on with our next door neighbour.

Thoughts?

Posted in David's Thoughts | No Comments »

Site down equals stressful weekend

My site over the past month had been experiencing a number of outages - for whatever reason, the server my site was on was just not performing well, causing a lot of errors, and strange things happening.  I spoke to my web host on Friday, and they said that they would transfer my site to a new server over the weekend.  The disturbing and stressful thing was that they said that there should be no downtime.   Well, I shoulda known.  The site was down for 20 + hours, and I was pretty stressed about it.  My web host made several mistakes and misled me on what was involved (I actually knew what was involved, but stupidly chose to believe them when they said “no down time.”

I do like my web host - or, I want to like them.  The reason is that I believe that they do try hard, and they are for the most part polite and responsive.   I think it was the fault of the guy in the “sales” department who misled me about the details of transferring a site to a new server - I think he just didn’t know any better.   As I told them this weekend, this is not some hobby site posting photos of my cat - it is a big part of my livelihood and there is a lot at stake.

The site is back up now, and I think is working -  If you submitted a listing on Thusrday or Friday,  and you don’t see it on the site, please let me know.  There also may have been some loss or corruption of information with the database transfer.  I am checking into that too.

At any rate, I apologize for the site being down - hopefully those days are behind me for the time being.

David

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Will we ever learn?

Ok, I don’t know how many friggin’ times I have said in my blog, on my website, and screaming it at the top of my telepathic and mental lungs - never, ever EVER do business with someone from Nigeria. I have nothing against the Nigerian people, and I am sure most of them are nice people trying to make the best out of life. However, the ones that are online and contacting people abroad, almost without exception, are scammers. EVERYONE should be aware of this by now.

So it disturbs me when I come across a forum where someone is talking about an email transaction that took place from a rental posting on my site. The woman went on to say in her forum post.

“I was originally suspicious at the very first when he said the word Nigerian,BUT we have had many responses from out of country persons looking for accommodations….”

Jaw dropping to me. This is precisely why they (scammers) keep at it because people like this don’t have enough common sense to just say no to these scams.

I am now officially speechless.

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Sun Peaks Accommodations page

Imagine a heavy snowfall - the kind that adds up to a perfect, knee-deep powder day - while you are soaking in a hottub steps away from your slopside chalet!
Yes! Ski season is almost upon us, and I am kicking myself for not having Sun Peaks on my site as a choice for accommodations.
Well, I just added it, and already I have a great chalet listing on this page for a ski-in ski-out chalet!
Sun Peaks is a great area and village. It has over 3,600 acres of terrain and almost 3,000 vertical! From Hotels and Lodges to Chalets, and even Bed and Breakfasts, Sun Peaks has it all!
Plan your vacaion today!

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Cottage Rentals Increasing?

I have been seeing an increase in the number of “Cottages” being listed on the site lately. I wonder if “Cottaging” in Canada is more of a late-summer/fall thing?
The listings I have been getting have been mostly in the Kawartha Lakes area and various other small towns in Ontario.
Do people cottage in the winter? I assume so - but to do more winter-type activities. Or, does this market fade away when the cold weather comes?
Someone, please educate me!

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I have done Gravenhurst Ontario a disservice

I owe the folks up in Gravenhurst, Ontario an “I’m Sorry.” I have had this site going on 3 years now, and up until today, Gravenhurst was not a city choice on my site. I really thought when we added our cities in the first place, that we covered all of the towns and cities with more than 5,000 or so people in them - most certainly towns over 10,000.
I am glad someone e-mailed me and asked me to add Gravenhurst to the site. I hope that people up there will use it for their cottage rentals or vacation rentals. You can see the Gravenhurst Rentals page on the site now.
I found a nice little video clip of Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst. You can see it here:

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