Renting a house before moving

[winterdiva]

Hi all,
We are preparing to relocate to canada permanently in a few months time. I was wondering if we can rent a house before we land? My cousin is a student in Toronto, so he can go and check out the place etc. Having a home to go straight away is so convenient!

we won’t have jobs when we land, but we have around $100k in savings. Also we have excellent credit rating here in the UK. Would this help in renting a house before we move?

 

[steaky]

Sure, you can try to rent before you come. Your UK credit rating might not work in Canada to secure the rent.

 

[Copingwithlife]

Hi all,
We are preparing to relocate to canada permanently in a few months time. I was wondering if we can rent a house before we land? My cousin is a student in Toronto, so he can go and check out the place etc. Having a home to go straight away is so convenient!

we won’t have jobs when we land, but we have around $100k in savings. Also we have excellent credit rating here in the UK. Would this help in renting a house before we move?

I just sold my place and went to rent a condo in Toronto Now you can take this with a grain of salt
I had to supply my landlord with confirmation I’m employed . Now I’m on a leave, so had to supply a confirmation from my employer confirming my return date to work
Had to supply my credit report .
Sign up with hydro, I had an excellent prior account history , so I didn’t have to give a deposit, If I didn’t , or was a new account ,I’d have to give a deposit
I gave six months in rent ahead of time , otherwise first and last
I went thru my real estate agent who handled the sale of my place , to rent the condo I went too

 

[winterdiva]

I just sold my place and went to rent a condo in Toronto Now you can take this with a grain of salt
I had to supply my landlord with confirmation I’m employed . Now I’m on a leave, so had to supply a confirmation from my employer confirming my return date to work
Had to supply my credit report .
Sign up with hydro, I had an excellent prior account history , so I didn’t have to give a deposit, If I didn’t , or was a new account ,I’d have to give a deposit
I gave six months in rent ahead of time , otherwise first and last
I went thru my real estate agent who handled the sale of my place , to rent the condo I went too

That’s crazy! Why did you have to give 6 months rent in advance???

 

[Copingwithlife]

That’s crazy! Why did you have to give 6 months rent in advance???

I elected too, plus the landlord's gave me a discount moving forward

 

[canuck78]

That’s crazy! Why did you have to give 6 months rent in advance???

Tight rental supply. Competition can be crazy. If you don’t have a job yet that can also alleviate some concerns.

 

[navinball]

That’s crazy! Why did you have to give 6 months rent in advance???

It's not 6 months in advance, they ask you to give first, last and 4 post dated cheques.

 

[canuck78]

It's not 6 months in advance, they ask you to give first, last and 4 post dated cheques.

Yes people are giving landlords 6 months of rent in advance at once. This makes landlords less concerned that you may not pay your rent especially if you don’t have a job yet. It is also a tactic some use to beat out others to secure a rental.

 

[bairn7]

I've just arrived in Edmonton. I'm airbnbing for a few months and I've found that it is a nightmare for things like registering for healthcare and changing to a Canadian driving licence. I've therefore started contacting some ads for leases. I don't have a credit history yet (you can't use the UK history) but every time I explain my circumstances and they all so far seem to be open to the possibility.

Do expect to have to put down a bigger deposit or provide evidence of being able to support yourself (eg bank balance, job offer, etc).

Most ads say credit and references required, but I have neither and it doesn't seem to be a block if you explain why you don't have them.

 

[canuck78]

I've just arrived in Edmonton. I'm airbnbing for a few months and I've found that it is a nightmare for things like registering for healthcare and changing to a Canadian driving licence. I've therefore started contacting some ads for leases. I don't have a credit history yet (you can't use the UK history) but every time I explain my circumstances and they all so far seem to be open to the possibility.

Do expect to have to put down a bigger deposit or provide evidence of being able to support yourself (eg bank balance, job offer, etc).

Most ads say credit and references required, but I have neither and it doesn't seem to be a block if you explain why you don't have them.

Some cities have a much tighter rental market like GTA, Vancouver, Charlottetown, etc. so landlords often have multiple interested applicants. If you are looking in an area with a decent vacancy rate landlords are more likely to be flexible. Never hurts to ask.

 

[Miumiu]

I've just arrived in Edmonton. I'm airbnbing for a few months and I've found that it is a nightmare for things like registering for healthcare and changing to a Canadian driving licence. I've therefore started contacting some ads for leases. I don't have a credit history yet (you can't use the UK history) but every time I explain my circumstances and they all so far seem to be open to the possibility.

Do expect to have to put down a bigger deposit or provide evidence of being able to support yourself (eg bank balance, job offer, etc).

Most ads say credit and references required, but I have neither and it doesn't seem to be a block if you explain why you don't have them.

Yes, similar situation for us when we moved here in Calgary.

I'd say, it depends on who you are renting from. We rented from the building management, not individual landlord. We just proved that we had enough saving (our settlement fund) then they gladly accepted it.