So yeah this strata cleaning thing started when I looked at our building’s common areas last Monday. Man, it was gross – dusty corners, fingerprint smudges everywhere, carpets looking like they’d seen better days. I figured we might need to hire a cleaning company since none of us volunteers wanted to scrub stairwells on Saturday.

Here’s what I actually did:

• Grabbed my phone Tuesday morning feeling ambitious, just searched "strata cleaners near me." Big mistake. Got bombarded with flashy ads that all screamed "BEST PRICE" without actually saying a price.
• Decided to be smart. Made a proper list of what needed cleaning: entrance lobby, hallways on two floors, staircases all the way up, and that nasty carpet in the meeting room. Took photos too, cause everyone knows words don’t capture that level of grime.
• Picked three local cleaner websites that didn’t look like scams. Filled out their "Get Quote" forms. One asked for like twenty details – square footage, building age, even what kind of tile grout we had. Who knows that?
• Then I waited. Got an instant auto-reply from Company A saying "We’ll contact you within 24hrs!" Radio silence followed. Typical.

Company B actually called back Wednesday afternoon. Guy sounded rushed, gave a rough number over the phone – "Probably around $700?" When I asked what that included, he mumbled something about "standard package." Sketchy. Asked for a breakdown by email. Still haven’t gotten it.

Thursday, Company C sent a proper PDF quote. Looked decent at first glance: $85 for lobby, $60 per hallway, staircases $100 each… but then I spotted the small print. Extra $150 for "biodegradable solutions" (since when is basic cleaning solvent extra?), and $250 for the carpet shampoo they conveniently decided wasn’t in the "standard" hallways quote. Felt kinda ripped off just reading it.

Friday morning I was fed up. Called this fourth place a buddy mentioned. Didn’t bother with their website form – just dialed. Explained everything clearly: the list, the photos, the junk fees others tried pulling. The lady asked smart questions ("Got pictures of those stair corners?"), said they’d actually send someone to look first before quoting. Shocking concept! Took her guy about twenty minutes to walk through later that afternoon.

Got their quote Saturday: flat $900 for the whole list, no weird add-ons, dumpster rental for the old cleaning crap in storage included. No mention of magical premium solvents either. Compared to Company C’s hidden fees, it was surprisingly straightforward. Probably gonna nudge our strata committee to pick these folks.

Biggest lesson? Those instant online quotes are mostly junk. Getting someone’s eyeballs on your actual mess costs nothing and saves way more hassle. And always, always ask "What exactly is NOT in this number?" Cause they sure as heck won’t tell you upfront.