How long should we budget for apartment hunting?

Papillon0928

Hey everyone,

FI and I are moving to a new province in June so that we can be all straightened away in the new place before I start my teaching placements in September. Because of my current state of health, I have to be pretty selective in terms of where to live, so I was expecting to take a week off of work later this month or during the first week of May to become more familiar with the city and take a look at apartments that are projected to be available. FI was on board with the idea, but when we discussed the idea with our families, they think it might be better to wait, leave 1-2 weeks before our planned moving date, and then go apartment hunting in June while staying with FI's relatives in the interim period.  Their rationale is that it saves an extra trip where I might not find something early, plus if we wait FI can accompany me and we will have our Mazda instead of using a hit-or-miss transit system.

This is my first time looking for apartments, so I'm at a total loss in terms of what to do.  Is 2 weeks even long enough to find a decent place? Is it worth the investment to do an apartment-hunting trip beforehand?

JMalettas

 I would think 2 weeks typically wouldn't be much time to find an apartment. It depends on where you're moving though, the demand for apartments, and also your budget. We live in Ontario, and when I was renting, my apartment took me 3 months to find. (I was also slightly picky. ie: wanted a decent location/area, & something that wasn't a dive). It was hard to come across, & I looked at a lot of places. (It's scary what people will rent). I would say give yourself at least 2 months minimum. 

 Good luck!

 *J

short+sassy

On the flip side, one thing negative about looking too far out (I think early May would be fine for a June rental) is unless you are willing to pay for the extra months, I'm assuming most landlords aren't going to hold a place for you for more than one month.

For example, the last time I was renting out the other half of my duplex it was mid Dec. and the ad stated it was available for an immediate move-in.  I had a woman from out of town e-mail me that she was interested, but wouldn't be moving in until March 1st.  Of course, I thanked her for the interest and politely told her I'm sure it would be rented before then.  I mean, I guess it didn't hurt for her to ask, but it just seemed really odd to me that she was hoping I was going to hold this apartment for her for almost three months.

On another example, my first tenants ever moved into it directly from out of state, sight unseen (other than pics).  Again, I had it available right away and they wouldn't be coming into town until about five weeks later.  But we agreed to split the difference.  We all signed the lease through e-mail and scanning and their lease started two weeks before they were moving in. They immediately overnighted me the first month's rent with the security deposit being due on move-in.  Worked great for all of us. 

Papillon0928

Thank you for the input ladies  It is just so hard to know what to do!  My situation is a lot like JMallettas, because I need a place that is in good condition, near my teacher's college campus and my job, and within my budget- so it's definitely like trying to find a needle in a haystack, and I worry that I won't be able to find exactly what I am looking for in a really short timespan (we're moving to Newfoundland, and even though the area is developing, it's mostly condo-style living in lieu of traditional apartment complexes).  

At the same time, if we can find somewhere with all of those characteristics, I'm certain that others will want something similar, so I can definitely see where short+sassy is coming from; I worry that any landlord fielding offers on such an ideal location will prefer to start getting tenants and rent right away instead of having to work out holding a place for us.  Decisions, decisions...