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Moving Out On Your Own (first time)

Malice

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So I'm 24, just graduated college, am in the midst of trying to secure a job in my field and I'm looking forward to the next step - moving out. I've never seriously rented before, so I'm looking to you guys for advice on the typical procedures/do's and dont's/what to knows of apartment hunting/living.

Things of interest:

- I live in Canada and am looking to move to downtown Toronto
- I am not interested in roommates of any kind
- I'm not considering basement apartments. Only high-rise, duplex, triplex, etc.

Sites I use to browse:

- Viewit
- Kijiji

All advice/experience is appreciated :)
 

Malice

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I want to know the types of questions i should be asking when I'm scouting an apartment for the first time. I have some general ideas in mind, but I didn't want to miss anything important. :)
 
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Phantonym

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Keep in mind, I have no idea what renting an apartment in Canada is like, what are the laws concerning lease agreements and what are the legal ways of protecting yourself as a person who rents an apartment. Might be a good idea to find that out.

Read the lease agreement very thoroughly through. Make sure the details are in place, what are the specific responsibilities of yourself/the owner/the person renting the place out, what is included in rent, how things work in the building and things like that.

When it comes to apartment hunting, I usually just did loads of research beforehand online. Whether I'm ok with the location, is it easily accessible/near places of particular interest/use to me, what is the neighbourhood like, what the overall state of the building and the apartment is, whether there have been recent renovations or plans for renovations in the near future for the whole building; whether what I'm getting for the amount of money is a good deal or if I were to pay a little extra somewhere else means that I could get a better deal and details like that.

I looked at the online ads (only from sites specializing in real estate) very carefully but I only made an appointment to see the ones that were at the top of my list, the places that appealed to me the most and knew I could afford them after doing my research. Of course I had to see the place to get the overall idea and feel of it, but I didn't find it necessary to go see lots of places and overwhelm myself. But that's just me, the times when I've rented apartments or bought them, I ended up taking the first ones I went to see, the ones I wanted the most due to the extensive research. I can understand if others feel the need to see multiple places and make up their mind that way.

Good luck with everything!
 

Spamtar

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if available in your area check out Craigslist.com. Go for fresh/new listings.

When you get a place assume that whatever rental deposit you post the landlord with try and sceme out of you when you move out (if not sue you for more). If they don't thats cool but regardless, don't count on getting it back.

As well as the home/apartment similarly hunt for a good landlord. Get their name and check out the court records for any lawsuits they may have had in their landlord capacity.

Take a wittiness and have them take digital pictures and video of the condition of the property when you moved in. Email them a copy to preserve time stamp of date taken. Do the same thing when you move out.

In general...as a rule of thumb...I think longer term leases benefit the lessee more than the lessor and thus personally choose to go that route. I personally, never had a problem breaking a lease when I produced another to take over the remainder of the lease.
 

Fluffywolf

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Well, a good idea is to bring your cloths with you the day you move in, so you don't have to go to work in a jogging suit. That was about the only snag I ran into myself.
 

Randomnity

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ask about bedbugs. as far as I know they aren't allowed to lie about it. I'm guessing it will come up in a lot of apartments from time to time, but you want to know that they're treating it properly when it comes up, not just spraying single apartments which does nothing and leads to a chronic problem.

source: WAY too much personal experience. :dry:

You'll also want something near the subways if you can at all manage it, which you probably already know.

Craiglist is arguably the most standard place to apt-hunt, so you're missing out if you don't look there.

You probably need less space than you think you do. Apts are expensive in downtown Toronto, and obviously that increases with size.

I'd probably ask how they respond to things like necessary repairs, if you're talking to the previous tenant. If you're talking to the landlord they'll probably assure you that they're perfection, so who knows.
 

Malice

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Typically how much rent do you guys have saved up before you move into a new place? I know most require first/last, but it would make sense to have a safety net of something right? 3 months worth? 4? :) *such a n00b*
 

Fluffywolf

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Typically how much rent do you guys have saved up before you move into a new place? I know most require first/last, but it would make sense to have a safety net of something right? 3 months worth? 4? :) *such a n00b*

Assuming you need to furnish your place, I'd save up for at least that.
 

Malice

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I can't see me really needing much... a couch maybe? A kitchen table and some chairs? All easily accessible secondhand. :thinking:
 

Fluffywolf

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Great if you don't have much standards! I found myself to be pretty picky :( .

I searched for ages and ages until I found the perfect chair. Couldn't care less about the rest though. :D

As for saving up a few months of rent, depends on your financial stability I suppose.
 

Randomnity

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It depends if you have a rock solid job, what your safety net is like (parents/family/friends, how close distance-wise are they, how close relatinship-wise are they, i.e. how much help could you realistically expect if you suddenly had no income), and what your risk-taking level is.

With a rock-solid job I'd probably be ok with having enough to pay all expenses for a couple months, plus first/last months. With no job or unstable job I'd probably go at least 6 months and preferably more, but I'm very reluctant to get help from anyone so YMMV if you're willing to crash on couches or etc for a few weeks if you need to. You never know what will happen, though. I like to think about the worst cases, like losing job or having a house fire or something, and think of what I would do financially and otherwise in those cases.

and not to harp on the same thing again, but especially with used couches or anything unholstered, and also wooden furniture that goes in the bedroom, there's a big bedbug risk. It's a big problem in toronto (like most big cities) and it's seriously a nightmare to go through/attempt to get rid of. Although with an apartment odds are you'll run into them sometime anyway, I wouldn't do anything to increase the chances. :(
 

Malice

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This is a good point, I've heard about a bedbug issue in Toronto...but I don't know much about them or how to get rid of them :/
What sorts of things do you look for when scouting an apt to know if it has critters or not?
 

jimrckhnd

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I'd start with a check list of household items you will need. Cruise around your parents house room by room and make a list: it's amazing what you don't have when you first move in. Start stacking this kind of stuff up - helps prevent CC shock.

The next thing I'd do is make a prioritized list of what it you want in an apartment. Most likely you are going to compromise the first time out so decide what is MOST important. It will help you narrow down your choices. Also if you have friends in the city (or even if you don't) visit and check out the neighborhoods to see which ones give you the right "vibe".

Have fun!
 

SilkRoad

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My first thought is that if you want to live in downtown TO, completely rejecting the idea of roommates may not be very realistic, unless you have plenty of money to fall back on or a really good job.
 

Randomnity

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This is a good point, I've heard about a bedbug issue in Toronto...but I don't know much about them or how to get rid of them :/
What sorts of things do you look for when scouting an apt to know if it has critters or not?
You won't see anything in an empty room since they'll be in the other apts or in the walls. They're extremely good at hiding which is why they're such a pain in the arse to get rid of. I'd probably just ask both the previous tenant and the landlord if you're able to, or even the neighbours, if there've been any bedbug problems recently.

Depending on your immune system the bites might not be visible/noticeable at all or they might be OMG THE WORST UNCONTROLLABLE ITCH IN THE FREAKING WORLD FOR 2+ WEEKS (like they are for me :dry:) but either way the bugs are a huge pain to get rid of. You have to wash and dry all your clothes with heat, ruining some of them. You have to extensively vaccum all the things. You have to disassemble all the things. You have to collect all the clutter things, and then figure out how to decontaminate them without wrecking it. Then you get the house sprayed with nasty chemicals that smell for weeks afterwards and are probably bad for you. Then you do it all over again if it didn't work, while cranky from horribly itchy bites. It took 5 sprayings for us, spread over maybe 6 months.

All that to say, I now don't buy used furniture for the most part - certainly not anything upholstered. As much as I could desperately use a couch, and don't want to pay for a new one atm. :(
 

kyuuei

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- Ask the neighbors what THEY like and dislike about the place.
- Find out if the prices they're asking for match up to the amount of services/upgrades they offer, and if THOSE match up to neighboring areas
- It's good to look for things like water damage signs, funky doors hanging, tiles loose or cracked, etc. It's a sign the apartment complex doesn't keep up with maintenance, and that all goes down hill from there.
- Check the parking situations. A lot of times I had to park nearly half a mile from my own apartment because the parking was SO bad in my complex. I never bothered to check.
- Make sure you read EVERYTHING in the contract closely. They tried to slap me with a fee because I "Didn't give them 30 day notice that I was moving out".. I told them when I FIRST bought the place I would Only be there for a year. I told them, "Last time I checked, 1 year later is still before 30 days before I move." They couldn't really do anything against me after that.
- Don't settle right away. Make sure you've looked everywhere you can look for all the potentials. EVERY Place makes it sound SO urgent for you to move in... But unless you have a friend giving you the inside scoop, don't listen to them and take your time on finding the right place.
- Also, I don't know about the area you live in or anything.. but ask about how they help clear snow, or help stop floodings, etc. Weather makes a huge difference if you have to run 300 ft. to your car in the rain with food you dont want to get wet.
 
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Ginkgo

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Cool. I've known a few people who were absolutely clueless as to how to take care of themselves after moving out. One kid got food poisoning from trying to store pizza in his closet. Another only knew how to make microwave meals.

Something tells me you shall surpass them with flying colors.
 
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