Pre-arrival housing services - toronto

[sam19822020]

hi,
as VFS India offices have started opening up, my family is planning to come to Canada in Q1-2021. we are thinking of either putting up at an Airbnb or renting out a place before arriving in Canada. we are not very keen on Airbnb option because it is just an additional movement once we decide on a place to stay after 14 days to a month. Does anyone know of an agent/ service provider based in India who can help me find properties in and around Toronto and also help me close the deal? any leads will be very helpful.

thanks.

 

[canuck78]

hi,
as VFS India offices have started opening up, my family is planning to come to Canada in Q1-2021. we are thinking of either putting up at an Airbnb or renting out a place before arriving in Canada. we are not very keen on Airbnb option because it is just an additional movement once we decide on a place to stay after 14 days to a month. Does anyone know of an agent/ service provider based in India who can help me find properties in and around Toronto and also help me close the deal? any leads will be very helpful.

thanks.

Would really encourage you to book an airbnb or hotel for at least the first month. Most landlords will want to meet you before signing a 1 year lease especially more affordable rentals. You also want to see a place in person and the neighbourhood before entering into a lease. You may want to find a job before committing to a lease because you could end up commuting for multiple hours if you get a job in a different area of the city. Airbnbs will be furnished where as most rentals will be unfurnished. Being in quarantine in an unfurnished rental will be difficult. Real estate agents are not really involved in helping people find rentals especially more affordable rentals. For example many apartments have their own rental offices and would not pay a real estate agent if they found a tenant interested in their unit. For this reason real estate agents will not show many rental options.

 

[scylla]

hi,
as VFS India offices have started opening up, my family is planning to come to Canada in Q1-2021. we are thinking of either putting up at an Airbnb or renting out a place before arriving in Canada. we are not very keen on Airbnb option because it is just an additional movement once we decide on a place to stay after 14 days to a month. Does anyone know of an agent/ service provider based in India who can help me find properties in and around Toronto and also help me close the deal? any leads will be very helpful.

thanks.

I would strongly recommend that you go with the Airbnb option and get to know Toronto and see places in person before you lock in a year long rental. If you really want to go straight into a year long rental, do not work with an agent or service based in India. Work with someone who is based in Toronto, who knows the rental market and who can visit properties in person.

 

[sam19822020]

thank you Scylla and canuck78 for your responses. I was of the perspective that we could get furnished rentals. if most rental options are unfurnished, then probably we will stick to an Airbnb. I also do agree to the physical presence part, hence my intent was to find an agent based in india who has an office in Toronto - sorry it was not very clear in my post. I was hoping this agent could give us a virtual tour of the neighbourhood but yeah, if there is no line of sight into our potential work locations, it might end up being a bad decision. thanks both, appreciate your feedback.

 

[scylla]

thank you Scylla and canuck78 for your responses. I was of the perspective that we could get furnished rentals. if most rental options are unfurnished, then probably we will stick to an Airbnb. I also do agree to the physical presence part, hence my intent was to find an agent based in india who has an office in Toronto - sorry it was not very clear in my post. I was hoping this agent could give us a virtual tour of the neighbourhood but yeah, if there is no line of sight into our potential work locations, it might end up being a bad decision. thanks both, appreciate your feedback.

Full year rentals are generally unfurnished. Short term rentals are generally furnished. I think it's a good plan to rent short term and wait until you know where you will be working before you lock into a full year rental. Good luck with your move.

 

[canuck78]

Especially in the larger cities having a rental in a certain area can really limit your work opportunities because it would be tough to accept a job if it took 2-3 hours to travel to work twice a day. Most real estate agents deal in more expensive rentals. There aren't rental estate agents like in other countries. Depending on what you're looking for websites like viewit.ca and kijiji have rentals posted.

 

[steaky]

Especially in the larger cities having a rental in a certain area can really limit your work opportunities because it would be tough to accept a job if it took 2-3 hours to travel to work twice a day. Most real estate agents deal in more expensive rentals. There aren't rental estate agents like in other countries. Depending on what you're looking for websites like viewit.ca and kijiji have rentals posted.

Beware of scams in kijiji.