We have long accepted the fact that we will never own a home in Vancouver and will be renters for the foreseeable future. And we are OK with that, which is made easier by the fact we’ve lived in the same place for the past five years and have relatively inexpensive rent by Vancouver standards. Plus we use our savings to drink a lot, which eases the pain and feelings of inadequacy when envious of the back yards of our more responsible and mature friends. But that’s not the case for a lot of people.
One of our siblings recently applied to rent the main floor of a house on a lovely beard-shaded street in Mount Pleasant. The next day she received a text from her prospective landlords telling her they had gone with a different applicant who had offered to pay above the asking price. It struck us as a bit obnoxious — essentially bribing a landlord — but within both the tenant and landlord’s rights. Who wouldn’t turn down more money than what was initially asked?
But then we started to wonder why a landlord would actually admit that the only reason they picked a different tenant was because that tenant threw a bit more cash their way, instead of just saying, "Sorry, we went with another applicant”? And we’re guessing the reason is that the landlord was seeing if our sibling would give a counter offer.
We’re aware that bidding wars are a reality of buying a home in Vancouver, but maybe we’re naïve in thinking it’s not a part of the rental market. Whatever the case, it doesn’t exactly bode well for Vancouver’s continued slide into douchiness and unaffordability.
But hey, we’re a world class city.
