Antstar

Hi all,

I've just found out that I am free to immigrate to Canada after several years of thinking about it and a lot of job hunting! Very excited to finally be making the move but I'm not sure on the best way to proceed with housing?? All the threads seem to suggest that short term accommodation is almost impossible to find and secure if you aren't in Calgary doing viewings in person - Can anyone give me any advice on whether or not that is true? Or point me in the right direction for reasonably priced short-term accommodation?? I'm focusing on the South West (2 bed apartment or similar) because that's where I will be working (500 - 12 AV SW). We are a young couple mid 20's (no kids or pets) looking for somewhere at least for 3 - 6 months while we adjust and look for somewhere more permanent.

Ohhhh we should be moving around mid-september if that's relevant - any advice will be appreciated! Good and bad areas, good realtors, personal contacts - anything

burton bunch

Hi Antstar

Welcome to BE

This forum does have a search facility - dont know if you know about it.

I mention this as this question is asked so frequently.

Do a search for Calgary or rentals something like that and just see what comes thru. I do know someone who has moved out of Calgary (SE) this weekend and the property was advertised and the very first viewer thru the day took the rental - maybe indicating that it is hard to find one.

I do know that hotels have quite recently been covered for the Calgary area so maybe a search would bring you something there too.

We are not in Calgary but when we looked at rentals in the town that we are in then most landlords would only take a 12 month rental agreement out - nothing less. Also be aware that Alberta does not have any law that protects the tennant ie the landlord can do what the hell he likes !

I know this isnt much but at least it can point you in the right direction.

Gaynor
x

Found one link for you

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...88#post4991088

Antstar

That's great, thanks for taking the time to reply Burton Bunch! I didn't realise that Alberta landlords were that unregulated!

I would look at buying straight away but I'm currently tied into my mortgage so have to pay a hefty penalty if I pay it off early.........

I will definitely take a look at the link, thanks again.

Antony

burton bunch

Hi Antony

Dont know whether you would get a mortgage due to the property in the UK which you say that you are tied into.

FYI My hubby is over there on a WP and I am selling up before coming over for good.

I do know that Phil went to see the bank we are with and was told that whilst he has the commitment in the UK to pay this mortgage off they were un willing to lend to us in Canada - think part of that was that we had little deposit to put down due to all of our equity being in the UK property.

However, some we know put him in touch with an independent mortgage broker who was of the attitude that if you dont tell me you have a property in the uk then I dont know about it probably techinically illegal but if you can afford to pay the mortgages on both sides of the pond I dont really see any problem.

Judy in Calgary

My understanding was that, for the duration of a lease (usually one year), the rent was fixed. After the initial year's lease, the arrangement typically reverted to a month-by-month agreement, and the landlord could raise the rent any time he/she chose.

However, Alberta's Residential Tenancies Act and Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Act recently have changed.

According to the Alberta government's web page entitled Changes to Tenancy Laws 2007, rent increases now are limited to once a year.

The new rules are retroactive to April 24th, 2007.

Antony, it would be best for you to stay in an apartment hotel for a few days till you get yourself sorted out.

Furnished accommodation can be rented by the month, but is very expensive.

Unfurnished accommodation is more reasonably priced, at least by Calgary's standards, but a landlord usually demands a one-year lease to start with. You occasionally can find a landlord who is willing to lease for six months to begin with.

You'll be working in the Beltline area. It's a transitional neighbourhood that is contiguous with the downtown core. Some businesses are located there, but the neighbourhood also has lots of high rise and medium rise apartment buildings (with the occasional old house still standing).

I believe it would be an acceptable area in which to live for your first year, while you looked around and thought about where you wanted to live in the longer term.

You could walk to work and would not have to rush out and buy a car straight away. This too would give you a chance to think about which vehicle you wanted to buy.

Judy in Calgary

Antony,

An apartment hotel that is very close to where you'll be working is Best Western Suites Downtown Calgary. It's not actually downtown. It's in the Beltline district.

Apartment hotels that are located downtown and within walking distance of your office are 5 Calgary Downtown Suites, International Hotel, and Holiday Inn Downtown. The Holiday Inn is in a slightly scuzzy area of downtown, but the drug addicts won't harm you.

Actually the Beltline district is a little salty too, and the homeless people, hookers and drug addicts who hang out there won't harm you either.

Another way of finding temporary but expensive self-catering accommodation is to do a Google seach for EXECUTIVE SUITES + CALGARY. Those kinds of accommodation may have to be rented by the month (or, if you're lucky, by the week). Apartment hotels can be rented by the night.

If you can't find anything downtown, your next best bet is Motel Village. It's in the northwest quadrant of Calgary, near the university, and it has a good train connection to downtown. You'll recognise the hotels and motels that are located there by the fact that most of them are on Banff Trail NW, and they have Motel Village or University in their names. At least one of them, Hampton Inn & Suites, is an apartment hotel, and perhaps some of the others are too.

Another place you can look is Macleod Trail South. It's a busy road, rather lacking in charm in my opinion, that leads southwards from downtown Calgary. But the hotels along Macleod Trail are within walking distance of train stations, and it's a convenient enough place to stay for a few days.

Just do a Google search for APARTMENT HOTEL + CALGARY or for SUITE HOTEL + CALGARY. Then look for clues that they are located downtown, in Motel Village or on Macleod Trail.

Hotels to avoid, from the point of view that most of them are not conveniently located with respect to the C-Train, are hotels in the northeast quadrant, near the airport, and the couple of hotels that are in the far west part of Calgary, near Canada Olympic Park (Four Points by Sheraton Calgary West and Sandman Hotel and Suites Calgary West).

Helen Parnell

If anyone reading this needs temporary furnished accommodation near Calgary during July and August, pm me. I have access to 4 bedroom house sleeps 6/7 fully furnished, $50 per night. No catches, but only till the end of August.