Book Rentals in Ontario from India
- Thread starter avnijain
- Start date
Had friends with no jobs and no credit history moved there recently(GTA). They got in touch with a realtor that worked with newcomers, were asked to pay 4-6 months of rent in advance. Probably a route to consider?
My own case (when I wasn't intending to buy), posted a message in one of the Indian groups of the target city. Got 10-15 responses with leads and had chat with nice folks. No idea if they were to steal my kidneys or give me home - but I felt very comfortable. It sucks that these groups don't exist for other ethnicities as they're a wonderful help. You need to take caution too, as your own kind knows your vulnerability and how to exploit you. Happens.
I also used Facebook marketplace as I was looking for a detached house at the time. Messaged 10, 2 said that the house was rent out in <12 hours of posting. Had very pleasant chat with 4 landlords, had a friend check them out and everything was good. You can try this too, it works. Especially if as a newcomer you don't have a job or credit - easier to rent a basement compared to an apartment.
Rental companies - There are rental companies that you can reach out to. They always seem to have a criteria (e.g. job, credit check, etc). Hard to find a success with those if you don't fit their criteria or have none of the commonly asked info.
Hey thanks for such a detailed response. We might not be able to pay 4-6 month rent in advance. Currently we both don't have a job in Canada. Me being in I.T, trying to secure one from India. My husband is in legal and he is not getting any response from any employer. I searched some on Facebook today on 'Indians in Toronto' and hope to get some responses.
Do let me know in case you have any leads. Any help is highly appreciated.
Hopefully you'll be able to get a job pre-landing, that'll solve a lot of your settlement concerns. I'll check with my network and share anything I find too
Anywhere in Ontario would not be fine. Unlike PEI, Ontario is big. For example, it takes 15 hours driving by car from Thunder Bay to Toronto. Secure a job first.
Edit: Similarly, I would not book rentals in New Delhi if I would be vacationing in Mumbai.
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Ontario is big. And since you haven't been here before, wouldn't it be better if you get temporary rental (e.g. Air B&B or hotel or other short term rental) and look for a more permanent location after you have arrived and maybe find a job (or at least know roughly where about you will get more opportunities? )
Agree that you need to budget for an AirBnb or similar for at least a few weeks, if not a month or two. Tech jobs are relatively easier to get (though everything is a bit slow right now), but your husband cannot work as a lawyer or at a law firm without going through the NCA qualifying process to become a lawyer in Ontario. That takes about 18-24 months, depending on how many exams he will have to take.
During that time he is free to do any other job, of course. He just can't work as a lawyer.
During that time he is free to do any other job, of course. He just can't work as a lawyer.
There are is a surplus of lawyers in Canada and a lot of entry level jobs have been replaced by IT. Also getting a job in law with foreign qualifications will be extremely difficult. The only exception may be for a firm that does trade with India. In general I would remain flexible until you secure jobs. If you secure an apartment then you are usually limiting where you can work. I would even suggest applying for jobs across Canada. For IT jobs there are job opportunities everywhere but the larger centres are Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Kitchener/Waterloo and Vancouver. Many are set on living in the GTA and especially Brampton and Mississauga but many will have a better quality of life and better job opportunities if they consider other locations and locations where the cost of living is lower. I would secure a Canadian phone number because without one many employers won’t see your CV or will usually discount them. It also is very important to look at a home in person or have someone look at a home in person before signing a lease. Pictures often don’t accurately show the home. Newcomers should also be cautious about trusting members of their home country community. People assume that they will have their best interest at heart and be a good contact for finding things like employment and housing but many unfortunately take advantage of their own community members. Websites like kijiji show rentals and many larger apartment buildings have their own leasing offices and agents ( many are listed on the website viewit). Unlikely other countries there aren’t real estate agents that specialize in rentals and most landlords do not list with a real estate agent. Actually many landlords don’t work with real estate agents because they don’t want to pay a fee and their lease prices don’t account for the cost of working with a real estate agent which is usually one month of rent. Real estate agents are unlikely to show listings where they won’t get a commission. The one exception is higher end rentals.
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That is what we are thinking. He could at least work as a legal assistant or something till the time he clears his NCA exams.
A lot of the work is now done computers and so the competition for existing jobs is pretty fierce. Even graduating Canadian lawyers struggle to find jobs. The market is saturated and also relies a lot on connections especially to the top law firms.
But still there's work that can't be done on computers (things like reception of customers) and don't need to be a lawyer in order to work in legal (such as a legal assistant).