Renting for the 1st Time: Need Your Expertise

[MadCow]

Hello:

Main Questions of this thread: (So you don't have to read the whole scenario)

-What advice can you give to a couple renting a place on their own for the first time?

-What area(s) offer the safest/secure neighbourhoods with good-to-amazing 1-bedroom apartments for rent between $700-$850/month?

-Are apartments with security booths at the parking lot entrance for people who purchased/own the room in the apartment? If not, how does one be eligible to rent in there?


Backstory:

My girlfriend and I are looking to move out into our own apartment this summer. We're currently looking around at different 1-bedroom apartments, and so far we haven't come across anything we've liked that we could afford.

Right now we have only taken a look at a couple buildings in Brampton (ugh..) and there's another place that I'm going to book an appointment to go see. If this apartment doesn't turn out well, then we don't have much choice but to look at another city.

We're not looking for a huge place since we'll be out most of the day at work and/or school. We want a decent-peaceful neighbourhood that is secure and safe.

We're looking to find rent for $800 at the most, utilities included. We'll need one parking spot, which I believe roughly costs $30-50/month; and a balcony is preferred, but not necessary.

I've been checking on www.viewit.ca and craigslist, but nothing definitive or eye catching as of yet.

Questions are at the top.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you!

[Ariadne]

You've got a tall order on a limited budget.

My advice:
- don't live somewhere that you're not happy with based on a budget. you won't be happy and every day you'll wake up unhappy (obviously you don't want to be in Brampton)

- try to find an area that would be suitable commuting wise for both of you.

- re-examine your budget. here's perspective: to rent a room, just a room, in downtown Toronto in a 'safe' neighbourhood, will run you about 500-700. we used to rent a 1 bedroom bsmt apt in Mississauga, in a VERY safe area, accessible to ALL amenities and we were paying $920/mo. that price included all utilities and parking for 2 cars

- try checking the local communities websites for links. Mississauga's website has links to rentals

- if this move to another apartment is on your path to buying a home within the next 1-2 years, consider getting a bachelor apartment (smaller, but cheaper), and store all of your stuff at a family member's house

- if you're looking at a basement apartment, make sure that the unit is up to Code. alot of people try to rent theirs out to make some money to pay their own mortgage. working smoke detectors are an issue

- don't waste your time. certain neighbourhoods in the GTA have bad reputations for good reasons. don't even bother thinking of looking there, although their rentals tend to be cheap (for good reason)

- try to find the Yellow Boxes, with the copies of Condo Guide, Renter's News, etc. I've never used them myself, but they do have a full listing of all apartments for rent throughout the GTA

-figure out what u can do without. if one of u have a cell phone, don't bother getting a landline. it's not necessary to get all the bells and whistles with your utilities either (e.g. high speed internet).

- if you go to a building for a site inspection, see if you can speak to people who live there, and obviously when the superintendant isn't with you. sometimes you'll find out things that would be good to know in advance, like elevator problems. 1 working elevator for 150 people is not a good scene.

- talk to your friends or people you work with. they may be able to point you in the right direction

hope this helps. i know how frustrating it can be to find a good place. you'll find it though. :)

[MadCow]

Thank you very much for the advice and support, Ariadne. :D

Living in Brampton would be best for our jobs/school and staying in touch with our families. The "ugh" was in reference to the crap apartments that I saw last week. It made me lose hope that I wouldn't find anything good here.

We are considering bachelor apartments, too, especially if we can get one at a good place.

We've ruled out basement apartments due to warnings from olders posts I have read on here, as well as a warning from a friend who says that couples tend to end up falling apart when staying underground--some kind of effect it has on the psyche.

We've already decided on keeping our cellphones, instead of getting a landline. We'll end up going on to a couples package to save some more money.

I hadn't thought of getting the nitty gritty on the apartment from the locals. Maybe it was because of the characters we encountered when looking at apartments earlier last week--the only thing on my mind was to drive as far away as possible, let alone talk to anyone we saw.

[Xax]

We've already decided on keeping our cellphones, instead of getting a landline. We'll end up going on to a couples package to save some more money.
Depending on your situation, it may be worth considering getting VOIP phone service (if you're going to have broadband Internet access). In our case, we rarely use our cell phones, so we do prepaid cell and pay $20/month for full-feature phone service through Primus' VOIP.

[Ariadne]

I didn't find living in a basement that bad...but we did have ventilation issues when we cooked, and our landlord liked to cook bacon at 4:45 in the morning. I have to admit, we did end up counting the days until we were going to move.

Another thing...keep a paper trail when you're renting a place, as you can claim them on your income tax when you're filing your 2007 Return (see Ontario Credits Form 479 - i think that's what it's called). Also check to make sure that you are filling in your Canada/Ontario TD1 tax forms correctly. These are the forms that determine how much tax your employer deducts from your paycheque.

Did you try the Renter's News? Or the commuter papers like Metro or 24?

[MadCow]

I didn't find living in a basement that bad...but we did have ventilation issues when we cooked, and our landlord liked to cook bacon at 4:45 in the morning. I have to admit, we did end up counting the days until we were going to move.

Another thing...keep a paper trail when you're renting a place, as you can claim them on your income tax when you're filing your 2007 Return (see Ontario Credits Form 479 - i think that's what it's called). Also check to make sure that you are filling in your Canada/Ontario TD1 tax forms correctly. These are the forms that determine how much tax your employer deducts from your paycheque.

Did you try the Renter's News? Or the commuter papers like Metro or 24?

We saw an apartment we really liked yesterday for the exact price we wanted, but unfortunately the last room was taken (an application was sent in) before we came in. We're hoping the last applicant doesn't get it, but we asked the superintendant to keep us in mind once another 1-bedroom apartment opens up.

We'll just have to stop moping and keep on looking.

I haven't thought of checking the Metro or 24. Thanks for those suggestions! I'll see if I can pick those up today and take a look. (Fingers crossed)

[MadCow]

Still on the hunt for an apartment here in Brampton. If anyone knows of someone subletting a 1-bedroom apartment in the area for $850 or less (including Utilities and parking), please let me know.

The places that we've been to that we liked were either out of our price range, or didn't have any vacancies until the end of the summer.

We basically want our own place ASAP. We've already bought everything for the kitchen and living room. All we need is a bed and an apartment.

We came across some ads for apartments at Kennedy and Vodden and another one at Kennedy and Queen. Any comments on these neighbourhoods in terms of safety? I've driven by the places many times, but never thought to stop and look at the community. I'll have to scope out the place when I get the chance this weekend.

Please let me know if you have any leads on apartments being available in Brampton. It seems that I'm running out of options (good ones at least). My girlfriend doesn't deserve to live in a slum, and I don't want to settle for a crap place.

Thanks.

[ccdude]

We came across some ads for apartments at Kennedy and Vodden and another one at Kennedy and Queen. Any comments on these neighbourhoods in terms of safety?

Thanks.

Not the best neighborhood. There are nice buildings closer to Bramalea CC Check there

[MadCow]

Not the best neighborhood. There are nice buildings closer to Bramalea CC Check there

Thanks for your input, ccdude! I didn't really think the neighbourhoods were quite good.

Only the apartments on Lisa St. are nice by Bramalea City Centre. The only problem is that rent starts at $900 + parking for a 1-bedroom at the least. $850 including utilties and parking is the most we're able to afford.

[MadCow]

I've recently seen ads for an apartment on Balmoral Dr. near the Bramalea City Center. I don't recall there being apartments in that area. There's 1 reviewer on a website that says that he/she does not recommend living there, and gave 1 star to every aspect to the building.

Can anyone here attest to the apartment(s) on Balmoral? That place seems fairly decent in terms of a neighbourhood.

[HerbertM]

Hi there,

I saw that you have been checking on viewit.ca. One thing I don't like much about them is that they have mostly management companies, so they do not have many individual landlords. Other great places to check are:

http://toronto.craigslist.org
http://toronto.kijiji.ca
http://www.mojacity.com