So, I am back after taking February off to move to a new home.  I wrote another article last January with some saving tips when moving (see: Moving On The Cheap) and now I’d like to write about my experience of looking for a new place to rent.  I believe I did a few things that have helped me and my family find the perfect place for us and our lifestyle while still sticking to our budget.  If you plan on moving soon, I hope these tips will help you, too.

1. Decide On What You Want and Where.  I had a dream place in my head: lots of space for me and my family, in suite laundry, a modern kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, lots of light, walking distance to the train, a mall, rec centre and library, great neighbours, lots of trees, pets allowed, etc.  At this point, I didn’t think, “Oh, we’ll never be able to afford that!” I did this just so that I knew what I wanted.

2. Research Prices.  When we found out our house was being demolished and we had to move, I right away started looking online for rental units.  I set aside at least an hour a day to look at ads just to have an idea on what people were asking for in terms of prices for rentals.  We wanted a 2 bedroom plus den or a three bedroom and so I scoured all the online sources I knew for these.

3. Decide How Much You Want To Spend/Can Afford. Now that I knew roughly how much a new rental would cost for us and for what we wanted, we did some compromising.  On my wish-list, what was it that was most important to have and what could we live without?  I used this as a guide to finding the best possible place for us since we found that we couldn’t afford a place with everything on the list.  So, be realistic but at the same time you want to be able to get as close to what you envisioned, so never give up the hope/image of the dream place!

4. Start Looking for the Best Places and the Best Deals. After deciding on a budget, make those calls and set those appointments for viewing around a month before you have to move.  Look at LOTS of places.  Create a list or chart of the places you see with the pros and cons of each and then re-evaluate after you have viewed the place and met the agent or landlord.  For example, the rent might be within your budget but the Electric and Gas bills might be too high.  Or, the rent is a little bit more than you wanted but you’ll save on transportation since you will be able to walk to work from there.  All these things you’ll need to take into account budget-wise.

5. Put Your Best Foot Forward. Make sure you look presentable when you go to the viewing, be articulate and friendly.  You want to make sure the landlord or agent will want you living in their rental unit.  If they like you, you will be first on their list and you might even be lucky enough to negotiate the rental price down or at least be able to ask for new appliances.

6. Take a Tour Around the Neighbourhood on Foot and Talk to the Neighbours. You want to make sure you are moving to a safe environment and that you get along with your neighbours.  It can be hell living in an area where you are not comfortable or where you do not like the people around you.  If possible, have a chat with the old tenants.

7. Be Patient, Don’t Stress. I think the reason why we got an apartment with almost all my wish-list items is that I pushed my partner to not stress out.  He wanted to take the first decent place within our budget but I asked him to trust that we would find a place close to our wish list if we looked a little bit longer.  Because I trusted my gut and believed that we deserved a place close to the image I had, we got everything we wanted (except second bath and no cats or dogs) and stayed in our budget.

Next time, I’ll give some tips about how to get organized and save some money after you have moved to the new place!