[tpm] country hacker, city hacker

[Olaf Alders]

On 2013-10-04, at 11:25 AM, arocker at Vex.Net wrote:

> I don't know the first thing about finding an apartment,
> 
> Three words; "Search engine" and "Craigslist". Most big buildings have
> their own websites, and even small places are usually referenced online.
> You might want to start with a furnished place temporarily. Just a place
> to sleep, eat, and park your clothes while you look around. I was going to
> suggest sharing an apartment as an option, but it sounds as though, like
> me, you would rather live up a tree than with other people.
> 
>> I imagine finding any apartment would be challenging, let alone one
> that > I like.
> 
> Competition between landlords is quite fierce here. (A lot of overseas
> investors have bought condos, which adds to the rental supply downtown.)

I'd suggest having a realtor show you around as someone else has already suggested.  The realtor's services should be free (to you) as s/he'll likely take the first and/or last month's rent from the landlord in return for bringing in the new tenant.  You'll have someone who knows the market far better than you likely ever will and will be motivated to get you settled in somewhere.  Also, a decent realtor can negotiate your price for you.  Rental rates are negotiable and this person negotiates for a living.  If that doesn't work out, you can fall back on doing the hard work yourself.  I've done it both ways and after going the realtor route, I can't see myself actually trying to do this stuff on my own again.

Olaf
--
Olaf Alders
olaf.alders at gmail.com

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