The Rants of Issachar
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Rentersweek & Renting Apartments - Why Canada needs to be more techie...
A friend of mine owns a company called Rentersweek.com. Basically it's a website that advertises and lists apartment rentals in the Greater Vancouver area, advertising sublets, things like that.
It seems to me that this vastly superior to the old classified ads thing, church bulletin boards and the like. Maybe I'm more techie on this than some, but I find it frustrating to have to filter out all the ones that are way out of my price range or are way too cheap to be livable. Plus, I really don't like searching things manually. I'm getting used to using Google and Wikipedia as my instant outsourced memory, and I'm beginning to expect to be able to sort everything instantly. The ability to do an instant apartment search for two-bedroom apartments in Burnaby within my price range and leave out all the unfurnished ones is starting to seem like a necessity.
It's like Monster.com for job searches. It's just a better way. I think this sort of thing is available in the States, so why not here?
There are a couple of things to improve on the site though. First of all, if someone's going to advertise their apartment for rent, it's just stupid or lazy to not include picture. It's easy. If you're going to make me drive all the way out to see the place, (when it's completely unnecessary), I'm instantly less likely to want to rent it. It would be like not including a photo on an eBay listing. Although, that is a funny graphic to put in for people who don't provide photos. At first I thought the beaver was holding an electric toothbrush. (That would be odd).
Secondly, they need to have more advanced search options. Furnished/Unfurnished is nice, but it's not enough. I'd like to be able to include only apartments that have washer/dryer and dishwasher in the apartment. If I'm going to reject anything that doesn't meet a certain set of criteria, it makes sense to be able to search based on all of my criteria.
Nothing's ever going to beat your good friend deciding to rent out part of his house to you, but that's not always going to happen.
Anythoughts? i.e. How do we get more techie stuff like this in Canada? Or am I in a minority in wanting this?
It seems to me that this vastly superior to the old classified ads thing, church bulletin boards and the like. Maybe I'm more techie on this than some, but I find it frustrating to have to filter out all the ones that are way out of my price range or are way too cheap to be livable. Plus, I really don't like searching things manually. I'm getting used to using Google and Wikipedia as my instant outsourced memory, and I'm beginning to expect to be able to sort everything instantly. The ability to do an instant apartment search for two-bedroom apartments in Burnaby within my price range and leave out all the unfurnished ones is starting to seem like a necessity.
It's like Monster.com for job searches. It's just a better way. I think this sort of thing is available in the States, so why not here?
There are a couple of things to improve on the site though. First of all, if someone's going to advertise their apartment for rent, it's just stupid or lazy to not include picture. It's easy. If you're going to make me drive all the way out to see the place, (when it's completely unnecessary), I'm instantly less likely to want to rent it. It would be like not including a photo on an eBay listing. Although, that is a funny graphic to put in for people who don't provide photos. At first I thought the beaver was holding an electric toothbrush. (That would be odd).
Secondly, they need to have more advanced search options. Furnished/Unfurnished is nice, but it's not enough. I'd like to be able to include only apartments that have washer/dryer and dishwasher in the apartment. If I'm going to reject anything that doesn't meet a certain set of criteria, it makes sense to be able to search based on all of my criteria.
Nothing's ever going to beat your good friend deciding to rent out part of his house to you, but that's not always going to happen.
Anythoughts? i.e. How do we get more techie stuff like this in Canada? Or am I in a minority in wanting this?
17 Comments:
Posted by: 
ValeriusWhen I was looking for a place to rent a couple of months ago, I did mostly internet searching because (because I didn't live in the area). The site I found was rentfaster.ca - which is a great site, although it only covers Calgary and Edmonton. It has lots of photos and good search options, and quite a few listings. Internet sites can have the best search options available, but if they only have 3 listings, it's not much use. So we don't just need good sites - more landlords need to start advertising over these sites instead of in the newspaper.
Still, nothing beats just driving/walking around and having a look at the neighbourhood. Especially if you're moving to a city you're unfamiliar with. That's actually how I found the apartments I've rented (a lot of places post signs out front).
ValeriusWhen I was looking for a place to rent a couple of months ago, I did mostly internet searching because (because I didn't live in the area). The site I found was rentfaster.ca - which is a great site, although it only covers Calgary and Edmonton. It has lots of photos and good search options, and quite a few listings. Internet sites can have the best search options available, but if they only have 3 listings, it's not much use. So we don't just need good sites - more landlords need to start advertising over these sites instead of in the newspaper.Still, nothing beats just driving/walking around and having a look at the neighbourhood. Especially if you're moving to a city you're unfamiliar with. That's actually how I found the apartments I've rented (a lot of places post signs out front).
Posted by: issacharThere's the Multiple Listing Service for people who are buying places. It doesn't help you with renting though.
issacharThere's the Multiple Listing Service for people who are buying places. It doesn't help you with renting though.
Posted by: issacharCoul...
Sorry I can't help you. I've no idea what the rents are like and I don't know the job market either.
Topics are variable things. I just like to have conversations. And most of us don't know each other. I don't know a lot of people who visit. It's kind of a neat thing really.
Not a replacement for a real-world life, but it's a step up from anonymous pen-pals. :)
issacharCoul...Sorry I can't help you. I've no idea what the rents are like and I don't know the job market either.
Topics are variable things. I just like to have conversations. And most of us don't know each other. I don't know a lot of people who visit. It's kind of a neat thing really.
Not a replacement for a real-world life, but it's a step up from anonymous pen-pals. :)
Posted by: ValeriusCoul - yes I just moved to Calgary from Burnaby a month ago. Leaves aren't turning here yet - but being farther south I guess we're just a bit behind. After living in the lower mainland for five years I find I'm actually looking forward to a "real" winter a little bit :)
Just checked out the MLS service, I like the search features. It seems to be listings from all realtors? I didn't know that was available on the web before now.
ValeriusCoul - yes I just moved to Calgary from Burnaby a month ago. Leaves aren't turning here yet - but being farther south I guess we're just a bit behind. After living in the lower mainland for five years I find I'm actually looking forward to a "real" winter a little bit :)Just checked out the MLS service, I like the search features. It seems to be listings from all realtors? I didn't know that was available on the web before now.
Posted by: MarcoDude, what IS that thing the beaver is holding, anyways? Or is it some frilled collar? It's an odd graphic no matter how you slice it.
MarcoDude, what IS that thing the beaver is holding, anyways? Or is it some frilled collar? It's an odd graphic no matter how you slice it.
Posted by: issacharIt's a camera.
issacharIt's a camera.
Posted by: Katinka(I thought it was a spray can! lol)
Katinka(I thought it was a spray can! lol)
Posted by: GravesAh! Scary profile pic! And I like people who aren't techie (please note deliberate attempt to rile computer guy).
GravesAh! Scary profile pic! And I like people who aren't techie (please note deliberate attempt to rile computer guy).
Posted by: Graves*smile* no, Gorman.
Graves*smile* no, Gorman.
Posted by: LisaHow does one change the picture beside one's name? Kat posted my pic and I am still trying to delete it somehow.
LisaHow does one change the picture beside one's name? Kat posted my pic and I am still trying to delete it somehow.
Posted by: LisaBTW, "Gorman" - cool eyes!
LisaBTW, "Gorman" - cool eyes!
Posted by: Katinka(btw, that's a beautiful sunset!)
Katinka(btw, that's a beautiful sunset!)
Posted by: Lisa(Kat, wouldn't it be it nice to look out one's apartment/suite windows to see that every day? (re: sunset) )
Lisa(Kat, wouldn't it be it nice to look out one's apartment/suite windows to see that every day? (re: sunset) )
Posted by: Katinkayes, what are the apartments in Hawaii like for rent?! ;-P
Katinkayes, what are the apartments in Hawaii like for rent?! ;-P
Posted by: westcoastloonWord about Renter's Week must be spreading. Just tonight I was driving behind a Civic hatchback with a www.rentersweek.com sticker across the back window. (And no, it wasn't you it was an older model black Civic.) Small world.
westcoastloonWord about Renter's Week must be spreading. Just tonight I was driving behind a Civic hatchback with a www.rentersweek.com sticker across the back window. (And no, it wasn't you it was an older model black Civic.) Small world.
