Rubie

Having rented here in the UK since selling our house we are a bit loathed to rent again despite the obvious benefits of living in an area before you decide to buy.

With all the upheaval so far we both want to settle down again as quickly as possible and I have heard that usually rentals in Canada are for 12 months minimum , at that rate we still wouldn't be settled in a years time.

If you bought a house before you moved over do you have any top tips or good/bad experiences that you could impart? Buying without knowing an area goes against everything my head is telling me, yet my heart is telling me to do it! What do you think?

iaink

Id always rent in an area first. Realtor fees and commisions here are no laughing matter if you get it wrong. Tens of thousands of dollars could be wasted.

If a year is too long consider a month or two in one of those convenience suit type hotels, or check out the local classifieds for short term options.

BTJ

Is it maybe possible to ask a landlord to include some sort of escape clause. So you can pay a fee in order to prematurely end the contract to cover the expense of advertising the rental again? No idea how this would go down, or if it is even possible, but I have (or more accurately had, luckily out of the initial 6 month contract now) in the UK such a clause.

lmartin999

I did it. I came over for a weekend in February (we were moving at the end of May). Looked at a few condos, saw one I liked that I thought was too good to pass up and bought it (without OH seeing it even, except for pics). We'd moved out of our place in the UK into a rental and couldn't face another move.
We knew Toronto reasonably well though and knew what we were looking for.

iaink

Had you lived in TO before then? Id have to know an area pretty well before commiting to buy here knowing what it would cost to offload a property that turned out to be a wrongun.

JonboyE

We did. Or, more to the point, I did. I came over on a recce about six months before we were due to move, took some advice from some people in the business, and put down a deposit on a yet to be built home on a new subdivision. The house was built and ready for us when we arrived.

It was very comforting during all the stresses of emigrating to know that we had a nice house waiting for us and the financial buffer to last several months if I couldn't find a job straight away.

Of course, Mrs JonboyE didn't like it from the start. Within six months of exploring she had decided that she wanted to live in White Rock. If I didn't want an expensive divorce I had better make that happen. The funny thing is that in six months you can put a lot of roots down. It took us several years to move. Fortunately, the advice I had received was good and the general strength of the real-estate market then meant that we made a fair amount of money on the house and the selling costs were incidental (if it is possible to think of $20,000+ to be incidental). However, we traded peace of mind during the initial move to several years of being unsettled knowing we were living in the wrong place.

I would always recommend someone rent for a year.

iaink

Im not sure there are too many markets in Canada where you could rely on that, and just on principal I hate to hand that much over to anyone, let alone a Realtor...

R I C H

I bought land and a house before having any sort of residency status. It worked out fine. YMMV, of course.

I rent property and restrict letting terms to a day under 6 months - that leaves me in control and prevents tenants from being able to sub-let.

lmartin999

We hadn't lived there, but knew the city quite well. We knew the area would work for us so it was just a matter of making sure everything was ok with the condo. Given what we were buying and where it wasn't really a gamble.

ExKiwilass

hmm curious..where was this?

JonboyE

The subdivision was called Cloverwoods. Fraser Hwy and 184th in Surrey.

fledermaus

We bought soon after we moved here and it was a mistake. The house was ok, the street was OK but it wasn't home. We moved after 2 years and it cost $$$. The house and location we have now is lovely. Small but lovely.

I wish we had rented for a year or so before buying.

Do you have jobs to come to? As that will heavily influence where you end up living.

magnumpi

We arrived Dec 2008 and rented since, we have now bought a house, we move in May 31, 2011.

I had no idea of areas, crime rates, schools, stores, soccer clubs (for da kid) transport links, 401 access, lake access, ect ect.

Only by renting will you then have a good idea of where you would like to sekkle.

edmontonian

I have had several years experience with renting with a company called boardwalk before i came to live in the UK (because I was single lol ) and can recommend them, We will be renting for a while when we return to Edmonton.

Currently they have a lease of Four, Six and twelve month lease terms which are available to new and existing residents.
So at least you could rent for a short time while deciding if its where you want to be.

London Mike

I would be sure where you want to live before buying. First time buying is ok, but 2nd time buying is expensive with land transfer tax etc.

This issue is made even more paramount of you hjave kids and need to consider school districts. Post codes dicate your school, on the whole.