If this is the first time that you are renting an apartment in Canada, there is a lot of information that you need to know before you start your search. How many bedrooms do you need? Are heat and electricity included in your rent? The following is your Canadian apartment hunting guide.
Before you begin your search for an apartment, you will need to have some information in place. You will need to know what kind of apartment you want to rent. How many people will be sharing the place with you? Each person will require their own room, unless you are sexual partners. You will also need to know what your budget is for your housing needs. You will also need to know in which you wish to live and which area will keep you close to your work or school. Once you have a clear idea of how much you can afford to pay for rent, you can begin your apartment search.
Take a look through the rental listings in your community newspaper. When you go to the store or the laundromat, check out the posted advertisements. If there is an apartment building you really want to get into, keep an eye on their availability board, or contact them to be put on their wait list.
Call about up to six apartments at one time. Ask important questions. Find out if your electricity is included in your rent. Ask about the heating as well, as this expense can be costly especially in winter. Find out what kind of heat the apartment has. Electric heat will be more expensive than natural gas heating, however, if your electricity is paid for with your rent, then you really do not have to worry about it when it is forty below zero.
While you are asking questions about the apartment, remember to ask if a refrigerator and stove are included, and what kind of laundry facilities are available. Apartment buildings tend to have a common laundry room, whereas smaller apartments, duplexes or places that have bachelor apartments may have no laundry facilities at all. Which would mean that you would have to find the closest laundromat where you could do your laundry.
For those who are renting for the first time, you might ask if the apartment is furnished beyond the refrigerator and stove. Some apartment complexes that have bachelor apartments may include a bed or sofa bed and possibly even a dresser and lamp in each apartment. These bachelor pads do not have much for amenities. The bathrooms are often shared with people on the same floor of the building. Some may or may not allow cooking in the private rooms, and may or may not allow cooking in a common kitchen.
Many landlords will insist on obtaining a security deposit, equivalent to the value of one month’s rent, before you can even move in. That means that you must, in essence, have the equivalent of two month’s rent ready to pay before you move in. Generally, the deposit is used toward your last month’s rent, and accrues interest throughout the term of your rental. If you should decide that the place is not what you wanted and you make a midnight move, your landlord will keep that money as they must now try to recover and to rent the apartment again.
For those new to renting, the landlord will insist that you have a co-signor to guarantee that they will be paid should you fail to pay your rent for example when people are renting Calgary apartments or Kitchener apartments. This co-signor is usually someone like your father or mother, someone with a good credit history. If you have been paying your own credit cards for more than a year, chances are the landlord will take you on. Once you have rented several times and had good references from previous landlords, you will not need a co-signor any longer. Then you will be on your way to independence!
When living in Toronto finding apartments for rent in Edmonton that are right for you can be difficult. Viewit can help you with your search for an apartment in Edmonton as well as Halifax apartments.