Golden Equity Properties - North York, Ontario

Yayo M.

The worst rental experience of my life — do not trust this company.

I gave this company a $2,380 deposit for an apartment in Toronto through one of their brokers, Lorein Quilty, based at 45 Trudell. That was the biggest mistake of my life, and I strongly urge others not to rent with these people.

Shortly after paying the deposit, I decided to withdraw due to personal reasons. I was told I’d receive a refund by mail — this was back in May. Since then, they’ve been extremely unresponsive.

Every time I reach out to Lorein, she tells me she’s not responsible and refers me to Barbara Canonici at their Montreal office (ext. 243). I’ve called Barbara countless times and emailed her multiple times with no response. Only after I warned them of legal action did I receive a one-line email from Barbara saying:

“The cheque is in process…”
No explanation, no timeline, and still no cheque.

I even called the company’s main line and spoke to someone named Mathew, who initially answered — but has since stopped picking up my calls as well. What’s worse is that they don’t answer when I call from my number, but do pick up when I call from a different one — which feels sneaky and dishonest.

After reading other negative reviews, I’m starting to believe this company is taking advantage of people. Their lack of professionalism, communication, and basic decency is unacceptable. They’ve added unnecessary stress during a very difficult time in my life.

I hope they’re held accountable for what they’re doing. Do not rent or do business with this company.

Y M.

I applied for a unit with Golden Equity Properties 399 Markham road and paid a $2,380 deposit. Within 48 hours, I withdrew my application — before signing any lease or receiving keys. I followed up promptly by phone and email, but instead of acknowledging my timely withdrawal, they ignored me for days and later claimed that because they responded after 48 hours, they could legally withhold 50% of my money.

Let that sink in: I withdrew on time, but they delayed their response, then used that delay as justification to keep half my deposit.

I personally handed my $2,380 cheque to Lorraine Quilty — the same person in the photo I’ve attached. She was all smiles when taking my money, but the moment I requested a refund, she started distancing herself from the company, saying things like:
• “I don’t work in that department.”
• “Call Barbara.”
• “These people take 6 months to a year to pay people back.”

According to her, Barbara Canonici is the only one who handles refunds. But Barbara is impossible to reach — her extension (243) is always full, she never answers calls, and when you send long, detailed emails, she replies with one vague sentence — or not at all.

Barbara is something else. You can write her a detailed, three-paragraph email, and she’ll respond with something like:

“The cheque is in process.”
No timeline. No answers. No clarity. It’s like texting an ex who only responds with one-word answers.

After months of this nonsense, they finally sent me a cheque for half the amount I paid — with no explanation, no tracking, and no regard for the stress and damage they caused.

I truly advise everyone to STAY FAR AWAY from Golden Equity. This was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had with a company. I’m taking legal action, and I genuinely hope no one else has to go through what I did.

Sofia L.

There’s like cockroaches everywhere they take forever to fix repairs and they don’t clean stairwells and people pee in there! They also make the rent go up by a lot and it’s just a big fraud. They always turn off the hot water and water to

nikhitha V.

503 balmoral dr .One of the worst building I ever lived. No maintenance only increase rent every year. Every month no hot water in the apartment . Don’t fix it for weeks .Now we don’t have water in bathroom . It’s been a week they don't fix it. Only water is there in the kitchen. If we call nobody answer. Ask those who live in the building before you renting this place. They will be very good you till you sign lease and get inside the building. Once you get in nobody answer the call. Even though the situation is emergency. You can see the picture there is no water and closed Brocken for 2 year never fixed

Breaking T.

This company hire contractors to renovate their rental units, but in the end. They kick out the contractors without any reason and never pay! They scam the contractors! Do not work for this company!

Neicy G.

I have never regretted anything more than I regret renting this place. My floors are falling apart, other people’s soapy water is gathering in my kitchen sink and the heater noise is so loud. I have been trying to get this fixed for weeks and no response. The building is infested with roaches everywhere.

Anderson

I'm a 503 Balmoral Drive resident. They increased our rent by 11% for 2023 from 2022 and written it down as 2.5%. This is above the 2.5% maximum increase under Ontario's guidelines and is an offence. I've sent numerous emails, called, and even left voicemails, but to no avail. No response at all. Poor service. If I had kept the previous years' increases, I would check just to be sure that they're following the guidelines. They are clearly breaking it for 2023.

An update for 2024:
The apartments at 501-503 Balmoral Drive have a serious hot water issue. Since mid-December 2023 to June 2024, there has been at least 3-4 hot water outages which usually span for several days each time. When pressed, it seems that they have to order new parts for whatever the issue is, but what's holding them back on a speedy fix is supposedly requiring management's approval to go through with it, which takes DAYS. During mid-December 2023 on Christmas break, we were left for about four days straight without hot water. I'm not sure what the problem with the fix is, because they haven't been effective in the slightest.

An update for 2025:
We've had multiple hot water interruptions again this year.
The latest one occurred on Sept. 25/2025, and it still hasn't been resolved yet as of Oct. 1/2025. I believe the complaints have gotten so bad, I've heard that some residents are trying to contact the city to help in this issue. Brushing teeth, cleaning oneself, doing the dishes, etc have been an issue. We had to resort to boiling water just to do any of that.

Nicole R.

Do not rent at 51 Mcmurchy ave north or any golden equity owned property.
This company is the biggest bunch of disgusting, do nothing thieves. In short there is absolutely zero building maintenance, inside our out 365 days a year. In the winter you are lucky to get your car out of the parking lot or walk up the front steps after a major snow storm until it eventually melts. They do not care about bugs, cleaning or any literal general concern anyone brings to their attention. Coming from someone who works in property management and has lived in multiple other places with PROPER management in place.. please save yourself and avoid at all costs!!!