Research on initial lodging in Toronto

[calgirl]

Hi,

Anyone doing research for initial lodging in Toronto? Please share experiences. We plan to travel in March 2010 so started searching affordable furnished apartments. We are initially looking for furnished apartments close to public transport and shops for daily needs. I have contacted some property owners and got response. The monthly rent range I got is between CAD 1300 to CAD 3900. Of course we are looking for affordable simple apartments and nothing luxurious. Please let's share suggestions, search results and ideas on this with each other. Suggestions from people who are presently living in Toronto are most welcome.

 

[calgirl]

No one is doing any research on initial lodging? What about the guys got visa and planning to move next year? Am I the odd person out not to have any relative over there in Canada for support?

 

[sharma77]

i have told my friend in toronto to arrange for this. online rates of the flats r always on high side. i will let u know when i will get a confirm accomodation in toronto. cheers

 

[calgirl]

Thank you sharma. Please share the information with me.

 

[GIAWM]

calgirl,

You can check the below link.. may find it useful.. specifically for short term accommodations...

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/f-housing-short-term-rentals-W0QQCatIdZ42

I think its better go with a short term accomodation first and then check for a permanent one after getting a job and settled there...

Your post was a relief for me seeing that others are also daring to move to canada, without close relatives there... we also donot have any relatives there .... So please do share your experiences there... on finding the accomodation and getting accustomed.. so that it will be helpful for us also...

Prayers & Best wishes

 

[qorax]

No one is doing any research on initial lodging? What about the guys got visa and planning to move next year? Am I the odd person out not to have any relative over there in Canada for support?

Ma'am,

The Toronto suburbs of Mississauga & Brampton are quite popular with immigrants (also from our area) and are within the GTA. These are close to avg 15 kms from Torronto main. And are well connected by Transit (Bus) & Subway (Metro). Morover, the rental costs here are compititive too. Besides, plenty of stores selling our grocery & other products.

As you are already aware, short term rentals are extremely diff to find. The general norm is 12 months tenancy contracts, while a 6 months one, though hard, can be found. The ideal way is to prebook hotel/motel/guest house and then take on the classifieds to quest a proper rental accom. Out of these, the guest house options are especially good due to lower rental costs.

There are plenty of them on the net. One that couple of my friends/colleagues have used is http://www.safehomestay.com, you may log on to them safely.

Besides, my close friend is in Toronto Police (ex-Army Officer) and stays at Brampton. If you desire, PM me and I'll give you his contact Nos and send him a word to assist you in whicheverway possible.

Hope that helps.

Regards.

 

[gerrybyrne]

Hi Cagirl. My son and a couple of his mates are paying 1300 a month for a 3 bed apartment in mississauga. Toronto is more expensive though. Here is a link to a website that might help you. http://www.rentboard.ca/

 

[calgirl]

Thanks to all of you for sharing information. I too have found some places, emailed them and received response. Would like to share those with all in case any of us finds it helpful.
1) Studio6 in Mississauga: Furnished apartments close to Square One. They have studios in some CAD1500 per month. They rent away for short term. Visit www.staystudio6.com
2) Email to Alfred at alfred @ mypal.ca from Alfred Furnished Apartment Limited and he will get back to you soon. They are close to downtown Toronto. Very reasonable rates for short term furnished apartments.
3) Email to cris @ cez.com for short term furnished rentals very close to Toronto Down Town.
4) Glen Grove Apartments in Toronto also have short term furnished apartments but in high rate and not my cup of tea. Posted this information in case someone is interested.
5) Stuart at Stuart @ universalaccommodations.com is a broker and can arrange short term rentals. However after few email exchange I found that his clients have pretty high rate (much higher than 1,2 and 3) so I lost interest.
6) Checked the website mentioned by SD. Those are rooms with common kitchen and rates are high. Emailed them for some more clarification. Will let all know after I receive response.
Will share whatever info I get with all and expect the same from others.
SD: It will be great if you can share your friend's email id with me. You can mail me at madhumita.gh @ gmail.com

 

[pooja82]

i didn't see any nasty reply to GIAWM.....................it was him actually who had mentioend toronto kijiji...............u don't want to say anything to him...............
i think i overlooked it........................ ;D

 

[calgirl]

i didn't see any nasty reply to GIAWM.....................it was him actually who had mentioend toronto kijiji...............u don't want to say anything to him...............
i think i overlooked it........................ ;D

Say what? Can you please express yourself properly? I don't understand those ...................s

 

[rupeshhari]

Have you tried craigslist, not sure if this is popular in Canada.

 

[calgirl]

Have you tried craigslist, not sure if this is popular in Canada.

Thank you for the input. I have checked craiglist. Also I found some website mentioning that craiglist has some fraud advertisements. Can you please clarify this. I have checked with the hostels there and they have responded back positively. Can you please tell me if those are good? They have mentioned that they are capable accommodating families.

 

[claxtonCT]

pls be very careful when dealing with properties from craigslist ads. there are lots of people scamming new immigrants, so do your research and investigate all you can about the ad. oh, and never pay deposit without seeing some ID.

 

[calgirl]

pls be very careful when dealing with properties from craigslist ads. there are lots of people scamming new immigrants, so do your research and investigate all you can about the ad. oh, and never pay deposit without seeing some ID.

yy
Are you from Canada? We do not intend to book any property in advance and without checking. I guess that's the decision my husband and I should stick to. What do you think? We are planning to stay in a hotel/motel in downtown Toronto initially and then move to some furnished apartments temporarily. Are we right are you can suggest something better. We will be having two kids with us. Can you please let me something about the hostels?

 

[rupeshhari]

Yep there can be fraud. The best thing might be to go and stay in a famous hotel, it doesnt have to be an expensive one. Maybe something like holdiay inn for one or two nights, then look at other cheaper hotels/motels to see if they are safe, non-scam etc and then during that time, go look at rental property (even from craigslist).

I don't know if Canada has "motel 8" kind of hotels. They are not particularly nice but I was told that they are clean.