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Looking for Apartment for Sept - Any head's ups or tips?

CDL.TO

CDL.TO

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Okay, a two-part post, first looking for some general tips, second seeing if anyone has some inside info .

This is my first time searching for a real apartment (as opposed to just a room) and I'm still shaky on what are the best paths and decisions to make.

In general,

For those who have recently been on an apartment search, any tips?

- How far in advance would you start seriously looking and calling?
- Which websites or papers would you recommend? Which website or classified did you end up finding your apartment through?
- Anything else I should keep in mind and check out before signing a lease?

-----------------
Does anyone know of any particular apartments coming available?

Two university students looking for a 2-bedroom apartment for September, with a budget limit of $1000-$1100 +utilities. We have no problem with a basement apartment, but I'm 6'2" so ceiling height is important. Easy access to the subway is important, west-end is optimal (Junction, High Park, Annex, Bloor West Village, etc...) and anything east of Yonge/Don River without being close to the subway won't work. My roomie wants onsite laundry facilities, and I would like easy access to a good neighbourhood with a grocery store available.

Feel free to private message me if you don't wish to post. Thanks everyone.
 
Having just moved myself, here is some advice:

What you must decide right off the bat is how much you care. Do you place a lot of value on where you live? How long will you stay? How much time are you willing to devote to your search? Until these questions are answered, don't proceed to the next step.

Next think about what's important to you. Here are a few things to consider: size, location, transportation, A/C, renovations, dishwasher, neighbourhood amenities, view, balcony, NEIGHBOURS, landlord/super, and parking. What will you settle on? What do you absolutely have to have? What is unacceptable?

Lastly (yes, lastly) think about what you are willing to spend. Once these initial tasks are complete, you are ready to start actually looking. Start off broad, and slowly narrow it down. See what the entire city has to offer by picking up a free rental magazine, then narrow it down to 3 neighbourhoods. Go into 10 buildings per neighbouhood, then pick 3 you like. In each of those buildings, try to get into as many apartments as you can. That way, when you find the right place you'll know it!

As for me, I started looking 5 months before moving and saw about 40 individual apartments in the two neighbourhoods I chose. When I finally chose which building I wanted, I saw about 10 apartments over several months. It's because of this thorough process that I know with near certainty that my apartment is a perfect match for me, and my rent is less than 95% of equivalent apartments in the city.

Something to consider is that the 2 month's notice period for September 1 has already passed. Those who did as thorough a search as me would have already snapped up the best apartments. Maybe consider an October 1st move in date.
 
Chuck made some good points and if you have lots of time or want to spend lots of time searching then his advice would work pretty well.

If however you are like me and often have not had a lot of time, or are apartment hunting from out of town and don't want to make a dozen trips here are some suggestions from my own experience.

- If ceiling height is a concern for you, I would basically skip looking at basement apartments. 8 foot ceilings are going to be the tallest you will most likely find and many will be even shorter. I am a tall person myself and living in a space with ceiling heights under 8 feet would only be worth it if the rent was dirt cheap, and even then I would have to think twice about it.

- As a student, there is always a chance you might be heading off somewhere else for a summer or find that in a years time the apartment location doesn't work well for getting to work or other locations around the city. For that reason I always take into consideration how easy it would to sublet or transfer a lease if I had to change my plans for a summer.

- If you are like me, and many students, money is tight and sticking to your budget is important. Don't panic if you don't find something in your price range right away and settle for something you can't afford. Just look a little harder and you will most likely find something suited too you.

- I am not sure about specific resources for Toronto but I have used Craigslist for apartment hunting in Montreal and Ottawa and had very positive outcomes in both cases. Actually my top two apartments where both found on Craigslist.

- Use common sense. If something seems off, if the landlord seems dodgey or you get some other strange feeling about an apartment, just walk away. Being stuck in a crappy apartment or trying to get out of one is a crumby experience and can usually be avoided just by using your best judgement.

Beyond that best of luck. At least the rental market is not really tight so it is not a bad time to be apartment hunting.
 
Thanks for the advice, Chuck. Much appreciated. Your mention of a 2-months notice concerns me, is this standard? I've been looking at websites and classifieds and even now listings are still for July and August occupancy. I've only seen one listing as so far for September. I'm not really flexible for move-in date as this is for school.

I also wonder if your advice is more applicable for a higher-rent place. As a student looking close to the bottom end of the scale ($1000 for a 2-bedroom), I wonder if 100% of your advice applies to me. No matter what I would like in a place, I know that my limiting factor is budget, not facilities.
 
Thanks, AS.

I hear you about the ceiling heights. Last time I briefly searched for a bachelor (before finding a room) my first question to any landlord was what the ceiling height was. It takes a great apartment to make up for the fact that it's a basement.

Good advice about summer. I need to do a Co-op placement next summer and I have assumed that it would have to be in Toronto (particularily since I don't drive), but I do need to keep in mind the possibility that it might not. Unfortunately, one year contracts do seem to be standard in any place that isn't a flophouse.

Interesting that you have said Craigslist. I check it every couple days and have been surprised to actually find it expensive compared to more professional sites.
 
When I was looking for student apartments, I was basically working 9-5 in the suburbs, and needed to find an apartment downtown which was really hard. I usually got frustrated fast and settled for something within the first 5 places I saw. So ya, my earlier post is more applicable if this next place is it, and you won't be moving for a while.
 
CDL.TO said:
Good advice about summer. I need to do a Co-op placement next summer and I have assumed that it would have to be in Toronto (particularily since I don't drive), but I do need to keep in mind the possibility that it might not. Unfortunately, one year contracts do seem to be standard in any place that isn't a flophouse.

Interesting that you have said Craigslist. I check it every couple days and have been surprised to actually find it expensive compared to more professional sites.
Click to expand...

One year contracts are not bad. Living in Toronto does mean there is a good chance that you can find work in the city for the summer so there is less concern about having to head off someplace else. But if you do have to work in another city at least if you can find an apartment that will have an appeal to someone looking for a summer sublet, such as a place close to a university or in a trendy or up and coming neighborhood, then it is easy enough to work around. If you still have a few more years of school then it is better to find a decent place you will like and could be suitable for a few years and deal with any issues that may arise from co-op placements as they happen.

That is one thing I should have also mentioned about Craigslist. While you can find some really great places and affordable rents, it is best used only if you allready know a lot about the area and price points of the city and neighborhoods you are considering. Like many internet resources the potential for ripping people off should always be remembered. And as I mentioned before I have not used that site for apartment hunting in Toronto so its value as a resource might vary from city to city. Maybe some people on this forum who have used it for finding apartments in Toronto have some comments on their own experiences using it.
 
Don't waste too much time, thousands of students will be looking for accommodations very soon for September so the sooner your onto this the better results yielded.
 
Vaughan Rd: it's cheap(ish), diverse, interesting (the closest thing to montreal style toronto has), close to the subway, 5 minute bike ride to bloor st/st george campus, 25 minute walk to bloor st, is reasonably quiet and safe. Just give them the money and move in.

Second pick: Highpark: Many apartment vacancies (why I don't know--perhaps these tennants buy condos downtown leaving empty units?) in a clean and decent environment. 10 minutes to st george stn. I'm moving here myself in a few weeks--just down the street from annette area for me (why? I'm sick of living in someone else's home and want a biggish apt under $1000 close to the subway. Not perfect==perfection in Toronto requires $1500+) For some reason--students trashing the place? Huge demand so landlords can slack off?--st george apt's are tiny expensive and run down. If you're absolutely desperate--there's always tartu for a few months until you find that perfect place.

Third: Parkdale. But something about the area exhausts me==it's better to know someone from the area to tell you which buildings are absolute ghettos. Negative: transit is a nightmare (if speed is what you want==like me.)

Fourth: Bloor/Sherbourne/Yonge area==noisy, ghettoish but I suppose if value and convenience is your number one priority, go for it--but the noise would drive me insane:(
 
High Park would really be the perfect location for me and my roommate (anywhere off Bloor between DT and Jane that isn't ghetto would be great), but all listings I have seen for High Park have been pretty expensive. What websites or listings did you check to find your place?

I guess it would be worth mentioning that neither I nor my roommate are UofT students.
 
You could also try the Annex. There are lots of great old homes there. Little Italy is also great. I would avoid Chinatown if you could - especially a Victor Ng house.
 
Thanks again, Chuck et al. But I know Toronto neighbourhoods well. What I need to know is where to look to find listings for those neighbourhoods.
 
And don't forget just walking around until you find somewhere you'd be interested in living. Spend an afternoon on a bike, and just drive up and down sidestreets and apartment buildings until you see a "for rent" sign. Similar to looking for a job, a large chunk of vacancies are not posted anywhere.
 
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