Afternoon all. Just after a few "renting an apartment" thoughts if possible.

Does anyone have any thoughts on private rentals (apartments/basements in houses) vs. apartments in proper apartment buildings? In terms of quality etc. For perspective I'm talking about the absolute bottom-end of the market, where a skint newcomer would live.

I've been doing my usual trawl of the apartment listings, and have come across www.myhood.ca There's a section for people to give reviews of the buildings they have lived in. Some of the reviews are frankly horrific.

Just wondering if people have any comments, if one is 'better' than the other.

We're renting in a fully managed apartment building where all the units are owned by the one company. The level of service is fantastic - any problems are sorted out almost immediately. We even had a non-emergency plumbing issue solved on a Sunday afternoon. Maintenance issues in places like this must be less hassle because each apartment is identically kitted out.

That said we're probably not at the arse-end of the market. If we were still living in London the rent we're paying would put us in that bracket, but Vancouver's pretty cheap.

There is no clear answer to this one. In toronto, many of the "proper apartment buildings" are in various states of disrepair, owing to the tight rent controls keeping a large percentage of rents in these buildings at relatively low levels for many years, with maintenance bills generally being large depending on the size of the building.

This would not be the case (necessarily) in condo buildings, which may look like apartment buildings (a bit) but are all privately owned. Private rentals can be well-kept or very grotty, it really depends on the landlord, the location, and the price range. At the very bottom of the rental market in toronto (about $1100/month or less) you really just need to either put in the legwork to see the places or have an agent look through the ones on the MLS for you and narrow them down for you to see.

Thanks to those that replied.

Yea we had a fantastic super in North Van. Even the European lady before him, sure she was on the run after the war, was terrific. I think it comes from a lack of jobs worths. They tend to feel its their responsibilty to help when ever possible. I mind set sadly lacking on this island.

Are you moving to Vancouver or surrounding Burbs? (I am basing that question on the fact that the replies so far are from BC folk).

Why don't you rent some temporary furnished accommodation first (eg www.suitedeals.com in North Vancouver) and then check out the rental listings from there.

BTW: Craigslist is also a good source for rentals.

Clare

PS Some areas are very good for renting, eg 51% of all residents in the City of North Vancouver live in rentals

Hi there, I'm headed to Toronto
I have no problem finding rentals, I was after peoples opinions on private vs managed buidlings based on their own experiences.
But thank you anyway.

Just my 2 cents worth. I'm familiar with the website you mentioned. If you went by that alone then you would have a fright. I think our building gets really bad reviews and slagged off quite heavily on it. however we love it here and have had no problems.
Admittingly we haven't had any major disasters that have needed sorting or anything.

Lol, yea I think there are some rather disturbed people out there based on some of the reviews. But it certainly got me thinking!

Thanks for your perspective Zoe.

PS. Did you have to provide references for your building?

They wanted employers references but seeing as neither of us had a job , they couldn't have them

We'd planned to get a mortgage originally- we're expecting to arrive in Edmonton in around 2 months.
However, the sale of our UK house fell through recently and I dont hold out much hope of us selling it again before we leave...so, chances are, we're going to have to leave with the house still on the market.

Been looking on a few websites and we can still get a nice house for the same monthly amount the mortgage was gonna cost, so it's looking like a better option anyway. Gives us a chance to get to know the areas better, and see what happens with the housing market in Alberta- ie/ dont really want to get a 85% mortgage if house prices are gonna come down 10/15% over the next couple of years.

Edmonton appears to have a massive oversupply of new houses right now, so odds are that by the time you sell your house in the UK, Edmonton prices will have dropped substantially .

Yeah. Instead we offered a years rent up front. That worked.

try to avoid "housing" is were people who need help are. They have some lovely places and offer "market rent"

Market rent is where you pay the full price - usually slightly cheaper than other places in the same area, but it is usually full of chav like people.
We are currrently live in housing, paying market rent. Most of the people here pay $200 - we pay $1200! for the joy of living in a pretty place full of ghetto people.

lol i am not a snob, please don't miss read me. just be careful where you go, we has no idea when we moved in. Now we are much wiser!

hugs