I don't know how the housing market is like over at other places than Toronto.
Originally, I was planning to move during the beginning of July, but two things prevented me from doing so: first is my cousin's wedding, which was scheduled around the same weekend when I was planning to move. Second, a former co-worker was entertaining the option of moving in together so we could share the costs of renting.
Now the co-worker has told me that he intends to look for a separate place for himself and his girlfriend who is planning to move in with him very soon. Which means I have to start looking all over again. Problem is that I was told that some apartment rental offices tend to jack up their rents during the summer months (this is usually prime moving season) without incentives. Especially during September in which the post-secondary crowd is looking to move in before school starts.
I would like to know if anyone has had similar issues while moving during the summer (high rent, low incentive). As I am currently paying dirt cheap to rent a room in a townhouse, I was wondering if I should wait until the rent is cheaper during the fall-winter months in order to snag a cheaper place WITH incentives. While the place I am in IS cheap at this current time, it is also very poorly maintained, which means that I would prefer to bail at the earliest possibility.
Advice would be appreciated. Thanx.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
What are "incentives"? Here, you generally pay Firt month's rent, the Last month's rent (of the lease) and a security deposit equal to one month's rent.
When I moved in January, the big incentive was that the owner did not make me pay a last month's rent (which means that I'll eventually pay it when I move, but I like my new place so I'll probably renew my lease in January).
I do wish my apartment had it's own washer/dryer though- going to the laundrymat sucks.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I'm not aware of rents going up in the UK during summer. If there is then it's more likely to be for the kind of properties let by students, since it's over the summer that they'll all be looking for new or different places to live before the next year starts in September or October. And the prices will likely stay up for the rest of the year, so they're just standard prices increases not seasonal ones.
I'm also not familiar with the "last month's rent" that seems to be required over there. Here it's usually the first month's rent, plus one month as a deposit (often with maybe a bit extra, say �100, to cover cleaning - they always contrive to keep that �100 no matter how spotless you leave the place). What has become more common is the practice of rental agents charging you a finder's fee - we first encountered this in NZ where in order to rent a place in Auckland we had to pay $400 deposit, $400 rent and $450 for the agent: after that, we dealt with the landlord directly in all matters. Fucking rip-off if you ask me. And we found places in the UK doing it as well - �500 rent, �500 deposit and �250 for the agent. In the end we rented privately via some friends of the in-laws.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I think the old "Last month's rent" thing is in case you decide to skip out on the lease.
It's not a terrible thing but coughing up three month's rent to move into a place hurts.
Posted by Vice-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
I live in Los Angeles... I think that speaks for itself.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
Some of the incentives provided that I've seen so far include one month free, a rent freeze for 3 years, free utilities and parking at others.... etc.
As much as I want to get out ASAP, I do not want to get trapped in an expensive lease. At the same time, I am saving money by still living in this place, but do I really want to live in a poorly maintained townhouse for all this time?
Posted by Mighty Blogger Snay (Member # 411) on :
The last time I moved was *just* over two years ago. I signed the lease in March, for a term starting in June. I think the leasing company was having trouble getting people in, because I was able to rent a two-bedroom apartment for what they were otherwise charging for a one-bedroom.