Renting an apartment before arriving

[erical]

Hi everyone,

We're moving back to Canada (Hamilton, ON) in March and trying to figure out our housing. Neither of us have family or close friends in the area so we can't get people to go see the apartments in person for us. I do have some friends of friends there I could ask and pay to go check out places if necessary. We initially planned on renting a one bedroom on AirBnB for a few weeks but it's quite expensive. As a result, we're considering trying to rent an apartment in Canada while we're still overseas. How risky an undertaking is this? Has anyone else successfully done this?

It's not my favourite idea but it would save a good deal of money, we'd be able to ship our stuff there, we could order furniture, and we'd have our own home to go to when we arrived. We don't have jobs yet as it's too far in advance but we have plenty of savings and my credit score is perfect. We figure if we offer more rent in advance and offer to have my parents co-sign then landlords would be keen.

If anyone has moved to a city without family/friends I'd be interested to hear how they handled it.

 

[steaky]

Since you are moving back, you should have some idea of the neighborhood / house type you are familiar with.

Just like my 7 days tour in Toronto last month, I booked an Airbnb two ensuite in a single house. I pretty knew what to expect (by experience) before arriving - the house feature and neighborhood. There is no risk unless you are a newcomer.

 

[Bs65]

Maybe have to ask yourself would you do this sight unseen in your home country, friends viewing or not ? Probably not and if a mistake will likely be tied into a 12 month lease.

 

[steaky]

Maybe have to ask yourself would you do this sight unseen in your home country, friends viewing or not ? Probably not and if a mistake will likely be tied into a 12 month lease.

OP can negotiate into a week / 6 months lease. It's up to them.

 

[erical]

Thanks for the replies but I think I was unclear. I meant I was caught between two options.

a) rent an Airbnb for a few weeks while searching for an apartment in person
b) sign a typical 12 month lease while abroad

Haha I'm actually a Canadian citizen. The reason I'm considering these two options is because I'm traveling back to Canada with my pet cat. As a result, my hotel and Airbnb options are limited (more expensive).

I'm not crazy about signing a lease without going in person. I was considering it because a lot of the places I looked at were in apartment complexes (can easily check online for management complaints) and they already had video tours posted. If I saw a place I really liked I could ask a friend of a friend to go in person and take some videos and notes for me. I was just curious if anyone had done so.

The reason I don't want to just rent the Airbnb for a few weeks is that it's mad expensive (because of my pet). Two weeks in Airbnb accommodation is about a month's rent if I found an apartment. I'll probably have to bite the bullet and just spend the extra money so I can apartment hunt in person. I got some messages from real estate agents on here but not interested in going that route.

Cheers everyone!

 

[Tri-Cities]

I would never step into a 6 or 12 month rental agreement, no matter what's written on the internet!!

Airbnb is expensive, thanks to greedy people...

Another option could be a short stay at a motel. There are good ones out there and from what I know (tried it myself, friends did too) some offer montly rates. This would sure be more expensive than the usual rent but cheaper than Airbnb.

Good luck!