Apartment renting

[Redout]

Hey guys and gals.....

so we've finally decided to sell the house I'm currently living in right now so that means later on this year I have to be looking to rent an apartment probably downtown to be closer to work and the nightlife action.

Now I have never rented or even lived outside my own house so I don't know what I should be looking for.

I've been glancing at the renter news magazines but some of the prices has things like utilities included? Excuse my ignorance but what does that mean exactly? like hydro, water, maintence fees? I really don't know?

PLus any great tips with personal experience would be a great help too.

Thanks!

 

[groovespinna]

Ive just found the most kickass place ever, on The Esplanade across from the Bier Market. the rent is ridiculously low. why? "Community Housing" which I thought initially was some welfare, crackhead lodging. but it's not. It's similar to a condo board of sorts. every tenant brings something to the table in the way of maintenance. so this keeps costs down. and the locations are primo, and conditions are better than any other building I looked at downtown, or midtown or pretty much anywhere. Im moving in April 1st, and Ill let you know if there is a huge shitty part of this that Im overlooking, but so far, this is great. BIER MARKET!!

 

[Beer babe]

yah all inclusive is all your utilites included...apartments don't have maintenance fees so you'd never have to worry about that.

i used www.viewit.ca and found that to be quite useful. good luck in your hunt!

 

[Deedee]

Ive just found the most kickass place ever, on The Esplanade across from the Bier Market. the rent is ridiculously low. why? "Community Housing" which I thought initially was some welfare, crackhead lodging. but it's not. It's similar to a condo board of sorts. every tenant brings something to the table in the way of maintenance. so this keeps costs down. and the locations are primo, and conditions are better than any other building I looked at downtown, or midtown or pretty much anywhere. Im moving in April 1st, and Ill let you know if there is a huge shitty part of this that Im overlooking, but so far, this is great. BIER MARKET!!

PULLLLLLEAZZZZE tell me how u hooked that up...I'm moving out on my own( no more roomate) in 2 months and will need to start looking. It's gonna suck the big....

 

[groovespinna]

it's not hard. these places advertise in all the regular spots.

as Ive said in a few pm's to people asking already, I can give you a name and number later this week. not today. nothing is signed yet.

 

[lucky1]

So you are moving into one of the coops by St. Lawrence? no need to be all secretive... it's not really that much of a secret. To apply for a coop other tennants still need to go through the board application / interview so its not as if they are going to snatch the apartment out from under you.

also for coops of the "community living" part means that everyone does their share and is a memeber of a commity to help keep the building running. You have a say in how you community is run. I live in a coop. if you have more questions about it feel free to post them I will try and answer them.

for more info on coops check here:
http://www.coophousing.com/

also there should be contact info and a list of coops with open wait lists

 

[groovespinna]

yes, the coops. I thought I had already said that.
so the crackhead factor is low?
I know they also offer geared-income rent rates and I know the crowd that brings out in Guelph.

 

[MOD ONE]

High park... awesome area or the junction too.

 

[lucky1]

to apply for rent geared to income you now must apply trhough metro housing and they place you in available spots. The funding has changed. so the wait list is like several years, and then you have no say in where you are placed.

I live in a coop, but not one of those buildings. So i can only speek of coops in general. My coop is much smaller... only 60 units, and different location.

 

[groovespinna]

there was no wait list where Im going. I called last week and Im in for an April 1st rental.
Toronto Commuting Housing Coop.

 

[lucky1]

The wait list I'm talking about is for subsidized units..

You are porbably in for a market rent unit.. (which are still better value than regular apartments)

 

[groovespinna]

oh yes, that's correct.
they ARE better. for this location alone, they are couple hundred dollars a month better.

 

[lucky1]

what size unit a 1 bedroom? I pay the same for a one bedroom that average bachelor (non-basement) units go fo downtown.. Its okay but I'm looking for a roomate, and probably going to move, becasue its still a big chunk of cash for me every month.

 

[groovespinna]

one bedroom is going to run me 840 + util.
that's not a great deal until you see the building. and we all know the neighbourhood.
bachelors start around 630 +
two bdrms Im not sure of because Im not living with a roomate ever again. unless Im sleeping with her. but I know they are obviously the best deal, as always.

 

[Doug.M.]

Here is a RALLY good tip...

NEVER rent from a bulding owned by the 'Wynn Family'. They are by far the worst slum lords ever!!!!!!!!!
I took a law suit just to get out of a lease with them After researching them I also found out that they have had buildings condemned, and have won the 'golden cockroach' award several times!
Most of there builing are in the pardale area.

 

[The Tesseract]

that sounds awesome Groove

I'm looking at moving out within a few months because I live in Markham and work in Etobicoke. It's as my dad said "We don't see you enjoying that commute, so you might want to think about finding a place too. That way we can dump this place and get a condo" (my dad hates this house with a passion)
My mom, to say the least, isn't too keen on that idea. LOL

Anyhoo....
I'm most likely looking going to be looking for a place west of Downsview.
What are the better neighbourhoods/intersections around there?

 

[Rude1_247]

Just cutting and pasting from previous posts of mine on this topic:

vbmenu_register("postmenu_2156908", true);
Member

Join Date: May 2004
Location: YAHOO! AIDS!
Posts: 14,676


http://www.preflection.com/Lists/Ann.../AllItems.aspx

http://www.gracesplaces.ca/vacancies.html

http://www.torontostarclassifieds.com/

http://toronto.craigslist.org/apa/

http://www.mls.ca/

http://www.summerhillproperties.com/

http://www.hearthstone-management.ca/house_rentals.htm

http://www.renters.ca/renters/index.cfm

https://classifieds.nowtoronto.com/classifieds/

http://www.places4rent.com/finder.asp?LOCID=677

www.myidealhome.com

http://www.parkproperty.ca/

http://www.gottarent.com/apartment/search_results.phtml

http://www.wjproperties.ca/

http://www.royalyorkapartments.com/walmer.htm

http://www.mercedesapt.com/

http://bytheowner.com/


Condo rentals
http://www.heartoftorontocondos.com/
http://www.rentingtoronto.com/toronto.html
http://www.rentallifestyle.com/
http://directory.google.com/Top/Regi...y/Real_Estate/
http://www.redto.com/Real_Estate/Ren...ry-834-3-1.htm
http://www.dcri.ca/toronto.php
http://www.torontocondos.com/new/main.html
http://www./
http://www.carriebyford.com/for_rent.htm
http://www.downtownrealty.ca/New-Lis...-for-rent.html
http://www.downtownrealty.ca/New-Lis...o-rentals.html
http://www.harbourcondos.com/For_Rent.html
http://www.privatetorontocondos.com/














http://www.torontorentals.net/

http://berkley.renters.ca/affiliates....searchResults

http://www.greenwinrentals.ca/

http://www.aristocrat.ca/aristocratmgmt.htm

http://www.morassutti.com/

http://webhome.idirect.com/~vreiss/t...labilities.htm

http://www.trivestdev.com/

http://www.rentersnews.ca/

http://www.pmonline.com/capreit/onta...onto/torc.html

http://www.gscrentals.com/Apartments/Toronto-Central/

My advice, scour the Toronto Star classifieds daily. When you book an appointment, come prepared with a cover letter (stating what kind of tenant you are), a letter of employment, any references you might have, and post dated cheques just in case. The best apartments usually aren't advertised at all and if they are, they get snapped up really quick, so going prepared with all the neccesary paperwork is a huge plus.

Also, it shows that you're a responsible tenant, and a landlord may give you a bit more flexibility in terms of lease arrangements if they can trust that you're relatively mature and responsible.

 

[I_bRAD]

If you're working in Etobicoke, Parkdale is a nice place, and half way between work and downtown!

 

[torontobarfly]

no idea how much money you plan on paying for your rent but if it's in the $1000+ range you might want to forget about a regular apartment and look at renting a condo...the condo market has doubled in the last 5 years and 40% of units being sold are for rental purposes which means the prices have dropped to the same level many "standard" apartments are charging, especially in the downtown core...it's very much a renters market right now and many owners are flexible with their rent...i used to pay $1100 for a basic one bedroom apartment with no extras...now that can get you a new condo with dishwasher,washer/dryer,a/c, marble floors,granite countertops,etc,etc....if you're not looking to spend over a grand then that's cool but it you are keep your eyes peeled for condo rentals on the market...

 

[groovespinna]

something about me wouldn't feel right about renting a condo when I could spend a few more dollars and own it.
Im just waiting till I have a stronger down payment then Im off to condo-land myself next year.

 

[torontobarfly]

something about me wouldn't feel right about renting a condo when I could spend a few more dollars and own it.
Im just waiting till I have a stronger down payment then Im off to condo-land myself next year.

true, depends on how much you have to put down though...if you just put down the minimum and buy you could be paying upwards of 4-$500 more a month then it would cost you to rent....personally i'm on my own and don't have a big lump sum to put down...plus i like to move around allot so it just makes sense for me to rent....

 

[Redout]

what is the difference between an apartment and a condo?
I was at one point looking to lease a condo..... but I don't know where I will be in the next few years or so, so I've opted out of that option

I'm lookin to spend from $800-$1200 I'm looking for more a modern 1 bedroom with a little but of luxury.


thnks for all the advice guys.....

 

[groovespinna]

you rent an apartment. you buy a condo, plus maintenance fees, etc.

how much detail do you want here?

 

[VinylRach]

I'd go towards 1200 if you're wanting a modern 1 bdrm...but dont expect too much luxury if you're looking in the downtown core

 

[groovespinna]

1200 can get one fuck of a one bdrm downtown.
you're just thinking Beaches Rach, which is for important people.