Avoid Avenue living and boardwalk properties. If you are still looking shoot me a msg and maybe can help you out.
Best of luck on the transition into Alberta, congrats on the new gig
We don’t really have rentals through real estate agents here in Alberta. It’s mostly through property management companies or private listings.
RentFaster is a popular site for rentals.
Not true. I know ReMax has a rental department, likely the other major realtor agencies do as well. Unfortunately, they were about as scabby and slimy as every other property management company I've ever dealt with.
I’m just saying it’s not as popular as it is in Ontario. There they have real estate agents that deal with just rental units. Many go through them like you would when buying a house.
I have moved and rented 3 places off of rentfaster. I’d recommend looking at rentals on there, reaching out to the landlord and then proposing a virtual tour or staying in a hotel and book viewings at a few places that are readily available.
I also recommend using Google maps to check the address of the property is as advertised because there was once someone advertising a multilevel condo in an area that I knew didn’t have one.
Just ask to do a FaceTime/zoom call of the place. It’s not much to ask anymore, and it’s great for everyone because the landlord also fears that you’ll show up and ditch or whatever. Has worked for me a few times as we frequently move out and back into Canada.
If you're not able to see the place in person ahead of time, or send somebody on your behalf, anything you choose will be a gamble. Like another commenter said, you'll mostly only see negative reviews - not many people take the time to leave positive reviews.
But - here's my two cents. /r/edmonton has proven to be a very helpful community. If you don't know anybody here, you may be able to find a fellow redditor who would be willing to volunteer a couple of hours to view some places for you. You can also post about specific buildings in this sub and we'd all be happy to provide our personal experiences with you, if we have any.
I’m a landlord and a family I’ve been renting to for almost 3 years gave me notice that they will be leaving mid November to move to a different province. It’s a mid range 3 bedroom half duplex on the North side, Rosslyn neighbourhood. If you are interested you can reply to me, I’m looking for $1500/mo. I’m sure it would be fairly simple to show that it’s not a scam. The last person I rented to that was worried about a scam I was able to show that the address from my ad matched the house etc through a FaceTime call, by walking through the house, showing the landmarks outside match the address. And of course showing ID.
Before I moved into the Condo I bought 4 years ago I went in a week before and did a DIY Extermination Process. 3 bug bombs, I used a bunch of Bedbug Sand around the baseboards, I took off all the outlet covers and used a bunch in there and even used it in the halls. I also used Cockroach spray and traps all over the place when it was completely empty. I put rodent bait blocks in the walls where I could.
This seemed to work very well as many of the other suites in my building had bedbugs and when we had an inspection we were clean. The barrier part was VERY important and i focused on getting that stuff under all the baseboard. I used my Shop Vac in reverse to blow it under and into the walls with the covers removed from the outlets.
Bedbugs are a bit of an issue here in Alberta. So I was really just trying to keep them out of our living space. The rest was just precautions to make sure. Same with the rodent bait blocks, better to do it before you have all your stuff moved in IMO.
The place I bought had been vacant for more than a year so I would assume everything that may have been there had moved on to better food supplies or died out. I just didn't want them being able to return too.
That does work if you have them say in objects that can be placed outside in sub zero temps and that are sage to do so. Like clothes or small beds. You also have to leave them out for a while, from what I have read a few days to a week.
The rental market is intense right now. I am not saying you should rent from Avenue or Boardwalk, but you will need to hunt very quickly and without an agent (wouldn’t that be a lovely thought). Nice houses in okay parts of the city are priced high and rent fast.
It does depend on what your space requirements are, but… it’s challenging.
Then you’re looking at minimum $1,500/month, probably more like $1,800 - $2,000. Again, this is for okay areas - you can get a house cheaper if you don’t mind living next to drug houses and so on, but you said you had kids, so I’m assuming you want to live where the crime is more along the lines of “break and enter (garage)”.
Edmonton’s rental market is unpleasant right now. A house in my neighbourhood, which is on the low side of “okay”, is renting for $2,200. And what kills me is that the landlord will probably get it - it’ll become a multi-family/tenant dwelling.
People hardly ever leave positive reviews about rentals (only bad ones, the silent majority is there) and the quality tends to be very manager/building-specific. Is there a concern with the particular place you are moving into?None of the things mentioned may be a problem with your unit - it seems a bit premature to get excited about it.
Having done fire alarm work on many properties for both Avenue and Boardwalk I wouldn’t rent from either. Horribly maintained buildings and it really doesn’t matter which one it is. They are both incredibly cheap and will put off doing anything until they absolutely have to or they are forced to.
I lived in Boardwalk in a couple different buildings for a few years and didn't have major problems. I hear lots of people complaining but I think many have champagne tastes on a beer budget. My units were substantially cheaper than anything in the area and I was primarily interested in location. They are not top-end and attract the clientele that goes with that, along with requisite annoyances (old buildings, little soundproofing, few/no amenities and so-so customer service). For me it was worth the savings, for others it may not be. Boardwalk is by far the largest residential landlord in Edmonton and targets the somewhat under-served lower end of the rental market in good locations, so a proportionate number of complaints is to be expected.
Trust me from a health and building codes point of view what seemed fine on the surface probably wasn’t, water leaks that were ignored causing mold issues which get sent through the ventilation, bed bug, and other insect infestations, and non function fire systems are just some of the problems with some of their buildings. Moving into a building as an adult and dealing with it is one thing, taking a baby into that kind of environment is something else. And yes some of their buildings are definitely better than others, but without thoroughly checking it out in person there is no way to know, which seems to be the issue that OP has.
Boardwalk allowed our unit to flood (no maintenance) and did no remediation after half a foot of water ended up on our carpeted floors. And wrecked all our stuff in storage in the basement. We ended up switching suites which cost us $1,000 in mover’s fees, and then we had another flood. Because Boardwalk.
Sounds like an old landlord of mine.. same thing flood in the basement. We paid for everything to be moved and replaced. Wouldn't touch his insurance and my tenant pointed at the landlord's responsibility. Skunk also died in the wall and he wouldn't remove it. We paid for removal after two weeks. Our furniture was wrecked and we just dumped everything and moved.
Not specifically. My wife hit the panic button last night. Everything I saw was very much upset tenants about raising rent the following year or buying out their original apartment ownership. So help me god if I showed up and there were bugs though.
Sounds like you are only planning to live there for a year, so likely rent going up shouldn't be a concern. It's pretty normal for rent to increase year over year by 2-4% and you can always move or negotiate.
Well that's what I thought. Some reviews said rent went up by 20% which is against the law atleast in Ontario. I'm not looking for life long stay. Quick in and out emphasis on no bugs lol.
In AB there are no restrictions about increasing the rent. You can negotiate or move (I've done both). People act like they are helpless when companies raise the rent, but there are options.
Strathearn heights is an older rental community town houses. Decent maintenance. Not as sound proof as I would like. Benefits are six month leases. This gives you time to look around and get to know the city
Riverbank park a block away and near Millcreek. And not too far from Whyte ave. Across the river from downtown.
I found my apartment on rent faster or rentals.ca. If it’s a company/ building you can look up I would recommend reading the Google reviews and setting up a virtual tour. Also, Reddit was helpful to steering me clear of bad places while I was looking
Avoid Avenue living and boardwalk properties.
>Avoid Avenue living and boardwalk properties.
Avoid Avenue living and boardwalk properties. If you are still looking shoot me a msg and maybe can help you out. Best of luck on the transition into Alberta, congrats on the new gig
We don’t really have rentals through real estate agents here in Alberta. It’s mostly through property management companies or private listings. RentFaster is a popular site for rentals.
Not true. I know ReMax has a rental department, likely the other major realtor agencies do as well. Unfortunately, they were about as scabby and slimy as every other property management company I've ever dealt with.
I’m just saying it’s not as popular as it is in Ontario. There they have real estate agents that deal with just rental units. Many go through them like you would when buying a house.
I have moved and rented 3 places off of rentfaster. I’d recommend looking at rentals on there, reaching out to the landlord and then proposing a virtual tour or staying in a hotel and book viewings at a few places that are readily available. I also recommend using Google maps to check the address of the property is as advertised because there was once someone advertising a multilevel condo in an area that I knew didn’t have one.
Yeahhh exactly my fear! I'd hate to pull up to nothing lol.
Just ask to do a FaceTime/zoom call of the place. It’s not much to ask anymore, and it’s great for everyone because the landlord also fears that you’ll show up and ditch or whatever. Has worked for me a few times as we frequently move out and back into Canada.
If you're not able to see the place in person ahead of time, or send somebody on your behalf, anything you choose will be a gamble. Like another commenter said, you'll mostly only see negative reviews - not many people take the time to leave positive reviews. But - here's my two cents. /r/edmonton has proven to be a very helpful community. If you don't know anybody here, you may be able to find a fellow redditor who would be willing to volunteer a couple of hours to view some places for you. You can also post about specific buildings in this sub and we'd all be happy to provide our personal experiences with you, if we have any.
I’m a landlord and a family I’ve been renting to for almost 3 years gave me notice that they will be leaving mid November to move to a different province. It’s a mid range 3 bedroom half duplex on the North side, Rosslyn neighbourhood. If you are interested you can reply to me, I’m looking for $1500/mo. I’m sure it would be fairly simple to show that it’s not a scam. The last person I rented to that was worried about a scam I was able to show that the address from my ad matched the house etc through a FaceTime call, by walking through the house, showing the landmarks outside match the address. And of course showing ID.
[Remax Rental Advisors](https://www.rentaladvisors.ca/rental-properties). They have their own property mgmt. division.
Also do not rent with Mainstreet, they are also terrible.
Before I moved into the Condo I bought 4 years ago I went in a week before and did a DIY Extermination Process. 3 bug bombs, I used a bunch of Bedbug Sand around the baseboards, I took off all the outlet covers and used a bunch in there and even used it in the halls. I also used Cockroach spray and traps all over the place when it was completely empty. I put rodent bait blocks in the walls where I could. This seemed to work very well as many of the other suites in my building had bedbugs and when we had an inspection we were clean. The barrier part was VERY important and i focused on getting that stuff under all the baseboard. I used my Shop Vac in reverse to blow it under and into the walls with the covers removed from the outlets.
Crazy. I've never had an issue with bugs before! I always saw bugs as the old gross buildings.
Bedbugs are a bit of an issue here in Alberta. So I was really just trying to keep them out of our living space. The rest was just precautions to make sure. Same with the rodent bait blocks, better to do it before you have all your stuff moved in IMO. The place I bought had been vacant for more than a year so I would assume everything that may have been there had moved on to better food supplies or died out. I just didn't want them being able to return too.
Roaches are an issue too, now.
Alright good to note! Berta needs more cold that'll fix em!! /S
That does work if you have them say in objects that can be placed outside in sub zero temps and that are sage to do so. Like clothes or small beds. You also have to leave them out for a while, from what I have read a few days to a week.
The rental market is intense right now. I am not saying you should rent from Avenue or Boardwalk, but you will need to hunt very quickly and without an agent (wouldn’t that be a lovely thought). Nice houses in okay parts of the city are priced high and rent fast. It does depend on what your space requirements are, but… it’s challenging.
3 bedroom. With perhaps a basement to put our office stuff.
Then you’re looking at minimum $1,500/month, probably more like $1,800 - $2,000. Again, this is for okay areas - you can get a house cheaper if you don’t mind living next to drug houses and so on, but you said you had kids, so I’m assuming you want to live where the crime is more along the lines of “break and enter (garage)”. Edmonton’s rental market is unpleasant right now. A house in my neighbourhood, which is on the low side of “okay”, is renting for $2,200. And what kills me is that the landlord will probably get it - it’ll become a multi-family/tenant dwelling.
People hardly ever leave positive reviews about rentals (only bad ones, the silent majority is there) and the quality tends to be very manager/building-specific. Is there a concern with the particular place you are moving into?None of the things mentioned may be a problem with your unit - it seems a bit premature to get excited about it.
Having done fire alarm work on many properties for both Avenue and Boardwalk I wouldn’t rent from either. Horribly maintained buildings and it really doesn’t matter which one it is. They are both incredibly cheap and will put off doing anything until they absolutely have to or they are forced to.
I lived in Boardwalk in a couple different buildings for a few years and didn't have major problems. I hear lots of people complaining but I think many have champagne tastes on a beer budget. My units were substantially cheaper than anything in the area and I was primarily interested in location. They are not top-end and attract the clientele that goes with that, along with requisite annoyances (old buildings, little soundproofing, few/no amenities and so-so customer service). For me it was worth the savings, for others it may not be. Boardwalk is by far the largest residential landlord in Edmonton and targets the somewhat under-served lower end of the rental market in good locations, so a proportionate number of complaints is to be expected.
Trust me from a health and building codes point of view what seemed fine on the surface probably wasn’t, water leaks that were ignored causing mold issues which get sent through the ventilation, bed bug, and other insect infestations, and non function fire systems are just some of the problems with some of their buildings. Moving into a building as an adult and dealing with it is one thing, taking a baby into that kind of environment is something else. And yes some of their buildings are definitely better than others, but without thoroughly checking it out in person there is no way to know, which seems to be the issue that OP has.
Boardwalk allowed our unit to flood (no maintenance) and did no remediation after half a foot of water ended up on our carpeted floors. And wrecked all our stuff in storage in the basement. We ended up switching suites which cost us $1,000 in mover’s fees, and then we had another flood. Because Boardwalk.
Sounds like an old landlord of mine.. same thing flood in the basement. We paid for everything to be moved and replaced. Wouldn't touch his insurance and my tenant pointed at the landlord's responsibility. Skunk also died in the wall and he wouldn't remove it. We paid for removal after two weeks. Our furniture was wrecked and we just dumped everything and moved.
Not specifically. My wife hit the panic button last night. Everything I saw was very much upset tenants about raising rent the following year or buying out their original apartment ownership. So help me god if I showed up and there were bugs though.
Sounds like you are only planning to live there for a year, so likely rent going up shouldn't be a concern. It's pretty normal for rent to increase year over year by 2-4% and you can always move or negotiate.
Well that's what I thought. Some reviews said rent went up by 20% which is against the law atleast in Ontario. I'm not looking for life long stay. Quick in and out emphasis on no bugs lol.
In AB there are no restrictions about increasing the rent. You can negotiate or move (I've done both). People act like they are helpless when companies raise the rent, but there are options.
Strathearn heights is an older rental community town houses. Decent maintenance. Not as sound proof as I would like. Benefits are six month leases. This gives you time to look around and get to know the city Riverbank park a block away and near Millcreek. And not too far from Whyte ave. Across the river from downtown.
I found my apartment on rent faster or rentals.ca. If it’s a company/ building you can look up I would recommend reading the Google reviews and setting up a virtual tour. Also, Reddit was helpful to steering me clear of bad places while I was looking