Category Archives: David’s Thoughts

Expanding your visibility and reach

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Seems like every day there is a new website out there that offers rental listings (usually for free) or some sort of classified service.  Then, there are the old standbys – Craigslist, Kijiji, and some of the other larger ones.

Basically – there’s a lot to choose from to list your property.

I think a lot of people out there stop with the larger sites when they list their rental or housing wanted ads, thinking that will do it for them.  Often times it does – and the property gets rented very quickly.

However, I do think that it is important to expand your reach and visibility to sites like mine – even though Canada Rentals is a smaller, less trafficked site – mine does have very good visibility with many searches.

I also think that there is a segment of the population who prefer to steer clear of larger sites – since there is a stigma, or trust issue in that sites like Craigslist (historically, in our view) have proven to be very popular with scammers.

That’s not to say my site hasn’t been a target either – it has – but one thing that we do to set ourselves apart is that we aggressively block scammers, and we also use our blog as a way to communicate to our site’s visitors about current scammers, what to be careful of, and other relevant and useful (we hope) information.

Ours is a simple site- but people who have used us before have by and large reported good results, and a safe experience.    We hope that you might consider our site to supplement your efforts on the larger sites, and maybe, perhaps, learn something new about the housing and rental market in your area!

Hey, Why Wasn’t My Rental Listing Included?

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So, if you are wondering why your listing didn’t appear on our site, it could be due to the following reasons, most of which are outlined in our Terms of Service on our listing page

- You are trying to include a URL in your listing – we generally do not post external URL’s in our listings

- You attempt to post the same ad day after day (duplicate content) without making any attempt or effort to remove your old listings (each listing gets an automated email with specific, easy removal instructions)

- Your ad really doesn’t offer anything helpful – if you try to post an ad promoting another site or service basically saying “hey, we have rental listings, come over to our site and check them out” – we probably won’t list it.    We want real, actual listings on our site.

- Your ad is irrelevant, or too generic (not an actual, physical rental property)

- It is obvious that your listings are being submitted by a 3rd party firm, such as an overseas SEO company (it’s easy to for us to pick these out)

- Your listing is spammy in any way, shape or form.

Basically put, each listing is looked at by an actual human being before it is activated – we do this to cut down on spam, and non-relevant or useless listings.

We want Canadarentals.net to be a respectful site with respectful users.

Well, I am just delighted!

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I have received so many great comments lately from people who tipped off from the plight of scammers after reading our blog post about scam e-mails and from our Fraudsters and scammers list here.

If I had accomplished nothing else from this site but saving just one person from being taken by one of these scams, I would be happy. So naturally, I am thrilled!

I will continue to post information about scammers, and hope that someday, the rental world will be a scammer-free world!

Thank you everyone for your great comments, and happy renting!

David

Well Duh, It’s Victoria Day

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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

Rents are ususally negotiable

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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.

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

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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.

Economic crisis in the US affecting Canada?

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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?

Will we ever learn?

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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.

Cottage Rentals Increasing?

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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!

Apartment construction costs in Edmonton and Calgary

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I saw an article today that talked about construction costs “increasing faster in Edmonton and Calgary than any other major city in Canada, according to a Statistics Canada report released on August 15, 2008.”
When I read the article, I thought to myself “It’s about time” thinking that this means that there has been an increase in apartment building in these two cities, who desperately need more housing (don’t believe me – look at the vacancy rates in these cities – the lowest in the country).
Unfortunately, the costs were due to higher labor, fuel and materials costs.
What this probably means for the near future is that apartment building will cool off a bit. The economy is certainly not “new building friendly” right now. I imagine the vacancy rate in Edmonton and Calgary will stay in the low single digits for some time.

Signs of life

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Am I seeing some signs of life in the Canadian rental market?  I guess that’s a matter of how you look at it.  For me, traffic is up, listings are increasing, and life is good.   I am hearing that the vacancy rate is a bit higher now than it was not so long ago, especially in the western cities.

I guess this isn’t as good for landlords and property managers, in that they might have to work a little harder to find renters. It also depends a bit on exactly where you are geographically, but in general, I am sensing a shift.

I am also seeing a nice increase in listings especially in the market of executive, or high-end homes.

Just an observation.   We’ll see how the rest of the summer pans out.

Craigslist, Kijiji, and little old me

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To return to the main ad posting page click here

It’s true – Canadarentals.net has some pretty darn good rankings, which is amazing since it has all been done by me, David – a stay-at-home dad. I have always been adept at developing rankings and traffic for my sites – all “white-hat” as they say – nothing done spammy or unethically.


In many cases, I rank right there with Craigslist or Kijiji (as of 6.3.08):

Kijiji

In many cases, I rank at the top (as of 6.3.08):

Craigslist

I have to say that both Craigslist and Kijiji are outstanding sites and obviously very successful. Both of them receive infinitely more traffic than my site does, but they both also have many more categories than my site (autos, for sale classifieds, etc). My site focuses on just property rentals. I am just happy to be able to do what I have done in just a few short years with Canadarentals.net, and ‘swim in the same pond’ as some of these larger sites.

Anyways, thank you for using my site! I hope it brings you success in finding a renter or a rental.

~ David

Who is Canada Rentals?

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I finally decided to clear this matter up a little. I get e-mails frequently asking to speak to the president, tech support, marketing department, or just e-mails wondering who in the heck we are.

Well, Canada Rentals is a one-person show – me! My name is David, and I am the owner, tech support, editor, marketing and every other department. I started this site several years ago, and it has taken off beyond my highest expectations.

Although I enjoy the programming aspect of the site, I am more a person who has a knack for getting traffic and visitors, and respectable rankings in the search engines (ethically and organically!). I think this is of most value to anyone posting an ad on the site. The site is approaching a milestone 10,000 page views in one day! I also believe in a spam-free website. I know this is an ideal, but I do spend a lot of time blocking spammers and bad people from the site, and I try to make sure that each ad is a legitimate rental or renter. There is no way to be 100% with this, but I have made some great progress in this area.

I take a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment in helping people with their ads, and making sure there is a human connection with the site. From the comments I have received, people really appreciate this.

The photo below is of myself and my son (my wife is holding the camera).

To get back to the main site, click here.

It’s Victoria Day and I’m working

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Am I the only one working today?  Traffic seems down (naturally) on the site.  I guess the government is forcing (or strongly encouraging) people (most people) to take today off.    They gave a pretty stern warning to Sears because they opened several stores today.  Oops!

From the Canadian Press:

TORONTO — At least 10 Sears Canada (TSX:SCC) stores in Ontario opened their doors to the public on Monday, even though the provincial government warned the company that it would be against the law to do so on Victoria Day.

Fines for violating the retail act could range between $500 up to $50,000 but… said it was completely up to the police to act on complaints from the public and then act accordingly.

Guess I’ll go find a parade somewhere.