The Fundamentals of Renting

By David Fleming

@Torealtyblog

www.torontorealtyblog.com

1. YOUNG PEOPLE LOOKING TO MOVE OUT OF THEIR PARENTS’ HOUSE

2. PEOPLE MOVING INTO THE CITY OF TORONTO.

The majority of my clients who come to me looking to lease a property fall into one of two categories:

If you’re looking to rent, and you are either a complete rookie or a seasoned veteran, it still pays to start from the beginning. I recommend evaluating the following 4 criteria, in order:

1

ROOMMATE

First and foremost, will you be sharing your residence with another person, or perhaps more than one person? There are pros and cons, but the most important advantage is cost. Let’s assume that a 1-bedroom condo at 123 Fake Street is $1450/month and a 2-bedroom condo is $1850. Clearly, it costs you an extra $525/month or 36% more rent to live alone than with a roommate. Living alone is a luxury! If you have a close friend who is also looking, perhaps you could save in the neighborhood of $6000 over the course of a year by living with that person.

ww

w.to

ront

orea

ltybl

og.c

om

2

HOUSE OR CONDO?

I find a lot of people who come to me looking for a condo end up with an apartment in a multiplex building, and the reason always comes back to price. Simply put, condominiums are newer, nicer, and have more amenities than apartments. By “freehold” I mean anything from a detached house to a townhouse, to a basement apartment, to a unit in a duplex, triplex, fourplex, multiplex, or high-rise apartment building, but NOT a condominium.

The main drawbacks to freehold apartments have to do with the condition of the units and the age of the building. Picture parquet floors in the living room, old single-pain glass windows that have been painted over and don’t open, and of course kitchen which is either wooden cottage-style cabinetry, or bright white with wooden strips.

If you’re looking for “new and updated,” you probably won’t find it with a freehold apartment.If you’re looking for “much more affordable than a condo,” then you might have found your next home.Freehold apartments also offer better areas and neighborhoods quite often because there may not be any condominiums in the area you’re looking at. Freehold apartments offer the lessee a compromise, but definitely a value proposition.

$PRICE

I really think that the price is determined by whether or not you have a roommate, and whether you want a pretty new condo or an affordable apartment.

The largest consideration with price is parking, since a parking space with a downtown Toronto condominium will run you an extra $100 – $150 in your monthly rental cost.

3

4

AMENITIES & FEATURES

What do you want and what do you need? A 2-bedroom condo with only ONE bathroom as opposed to TWO will save knock $150 – $200 per month of the rental cost.

A building with a fully-equipped fitness facility and swimming pool will add a back that $150 – $200, as would the aforementioned parking space.

If you’re desperately trying to work with a small budget, the old adage “beggars can’t be choosers” seems to fit, and perhaps you can’t turn up your nose at anything that isn’t an “authentic loft conversion.”

VISIT WWW.TORONTOREALTYBLOG.COM FOR MORE REAL ESTATE INFORMATION

There are many more considerations, but when push comes to shove (and it usually does), most people don’t find their “perfect space” that they’ve created in their mind because it doesn’t exist at the price they envisioned.You may only be there for a year, and in the grand scheme of things, it’s better to save over the course of that year in order to splurge down the road…

Analyzing those four points in order (Roommate, Condo vs. Freehold, Price, Amenities & Features) should at the very least get you started.