Apartment hunting can be a lot of fun. In a city like Montreal, where there are tons of different boroughs and rent prices the Globe and Mail have referred to as “enviably low”, the possibilities of where you could live are endless. Here are six things to keep in mind when searching for the place of your dreams:
1. Pay attention to what’s near by
The best tip I got when looking for an apartment was “make sure you’re close to a grocery store.” Being walking distance from the places you need to go often – whether that’s grocery stores, drugstores or the metro – will make a huge difference. The same can be said for what other businesses are in the neighbourhood. For instance, if you’re someone who likes to go to cafés to do homework, check around to see if there’s one close by. Having these things near your apartment will make a huge difference, especially during the winter when no one wants to be outside for long.
2. Find roommates with similar wants
Make sure the people you’re planning to live with have the same idea of what kind of place you want. To avoid drama, it’s best to find people who are willing to pay around the same amount as you per month. Similarly, if you want to sublet over the summers, make sure your future roommates are on board with that.
3. Talk to the previous tenants
If the previous tenants are around when you’re looking at apartments, you should take advantage and ask them some questions. No one will have better insight into what the apartment is like than the people who have actually lived there. They’ll be able to tell you first hand things like how expensive utilities are and what the neighbours are like.
4. Go to HOJO
If you have questions about something in your lease this is the place to go. HOJO is Concordia’s Off Campus Housing and Job Bank. The walk-in office is dedicated to helping students with their housing issues amongst other things. Plus, make sure you check its web resource to look at different boroughs in Montreal and average rental prices.
5. Know what’s included in the apartment
A good thing to do before signing a lease is figure how much money you’re going to have to spend on an apartment on top of rent. Some apartments include utilities like heating in the price of rent while others don’t. Likewise, if you’re renting an unfurnished place, make sure you budget for filling it with furniture.
6. Don’t stress
If all your friends have already started looking and you haven’t, don’t worry about it. A lot of leases in Montreal don’t transfer until “Moving Day”, July 1. Plus, in a big city like Montreal, there are new apartments popping up on websites like Craigslist every day.