[Klazu]

Thank God it is now over and we are out! The move-out was starting to become a neverending nightmare that just went on and on. The move-out inspection today was ridiculously hard and us having spent all Sunday cleaning places was not enough. Their requirement for this 14-year-old suite was it to be spotless and like new. Nothing less would do if we would like to be getting back our full deposit. We didn't want to give them a single penny extra, we did what was asked and it is now finally all done and keys have been returned.

During the inspection we also had the chance to catch up with the rental agent one more time. She was still telling how nice it would be for us to still return, but we don't want to have anything to do with them going forward.

It seems that 2.5 months on the market without any success has not discouraged them and they still think they can rent it out for big bucks. I just wonder how delusional they have to be to still think they will be able to rent it for the same ask price, although everything we warned them about has happened. The unit is empty now on and I doubt it will help that they will re-paint the walls. That was the minimum they could do, as last re-painting must have happened more than 5 years ago, likely even earlier. At least we didn't have to pay for it (which would have been totally wrong).

Some numbers to crunch. We were paying $3575/month for this suite, which was a fair price back in 2012 and we don't deny that prices have gone up since then. But their their ask was $4800 (+34,3%) from which they were prepared to come down to $4400 (+23,1%). We were ready to meet them at $4100 (+14,7%) which would have already been a quite stetch for us, but to no avail. They just kept asking more money in every single email without coming down themselves.

As per the agent "the real rental value" of this suite is $5000-5500 (+53,8%), but the landlord is so reasonable person that they are not asking that. That's of course a load of bull and we know the real value being around $4000 for suites in similar conditions, but it goes to tell how delusional they are. For that price there are already so many other options to consider that an old suite like this is just not attractive, but they seem not to understand this. As a result the suite will be empty possibly for a long period of time and they will start losing money already from June onwards. That is quite funny considering that it is all about money and maximum ROI to them and the quality of tenants or how often they will change seemed never to be any value for them.

The whole thing left a really bad taste and we don't even want to think about dealing with them ever again. The rental agent is completely clueless and and the landlord is simply greedy. They will also not go for anything else than 1 year fixed-term contract with the move-out clause, so the tenant will annually be on the hook for significant rent increases that do not follow provincial guidelines.

We don't want that kind of situation anymore and will stay away from them. If you are interested in this 45th floor suite, be aware that you will be dealing with very difficult people. The building itself is very nice and I am proud having lived there for 3 years, but it's time for something different.

Anyways, it is now over for us, but unfortunately the search will continue during this summer. I hope at the end of the day it all pays off and we find something better than what we used to have. Until then, our temporary home is a cheap 32nd floor furnished shoebox in Yaletown. EOM