When I moved to the UK, I was shocked by the amount of mould and damp everywhere. And then in conversations with locals, it turned out that it was 'normal' (?!?!?)
What's the situation in Vancouver?

Stay away from certain condo complexes in Vancouver.

Bed bugs. Bed bugs everywhere. In the library, in plenty of condos - even nice ones. You've got to be careful.

It can be. If the outer skin of a building is in good order and it is adequately ventilated inside then damp and/or mould are not a problem. If not, then yes.

Coal Harbour?

Sure, will check the outer skin of every building I visit.

On a serious note, I'm not sure I can handle any more mould...

I've heard about this. Why is it such a massive problem??? Can you actually see them? Will I be able to tell if there are bed bugs when I visit a property?

Only if you stay overnight or ask the former tenant to strip.

There're no snakes though. Or is that Ireland?

I shall follow these tips: http://www.masseyservices.com/blog/tag/bed-bug/

No, you won't see them.

Also, try to avoid contact with smelly or homeless people - bed bugs can jump over and you can take them home. That's how el_richo got bed bugs and he spent months trying to get rid of the buggers. That's after he got a bite on the crotch which led to fourniers gangrene. He's better now, but his wife isn't very happy apparently.

Oh no, this is horrible!

This index to rental properties may help:

http://bedbugregistry.com/

I trust you're not as naive as your reply suggests?

I used to see a lot of cedar shingled roofs with moss on them in Vancouver, but don't know about mould other than grow-op mould probs are notorious there. Bedbugs have been in the news for years there too (there was a tv doc about it). They get a lot of rain in the winter.

For "damp" I was going to suggest using towels. However, after some "online" research, I discovered that towels, when used in Canada, are the main cause of dry skin.

HTH.