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apartment hunting in Toronto

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

So far, I've seen some fourteen apartments in Toronto. Here's a map of them.

I have the following advice for anyone looking for an apartment in Toronto for a small family. Use craigslist.org, kijiji.ca, and viewit.ca to get a feel for prices and neighbourhoods. But hire an agent to find the place you'll move into. The reason? The landlords who go to the effort and expense of listing with the agencies (e.g. through MLS) do so because they're willing to invest in better tenants. The properties I saw with the assistance of our agent were simply better than the ones we found on our own.

Moreover, an agent has access to tools that helps them evaluate the tenant, the local rental market, and even the rental agreement. Between my agent and me, we found several things that needed to be fixed in the agreement. Most of these she caught. But it was the insights into the local market that made all of the difference. Knowing that you're signing a lease at a time when the rent has been knocked way down from the neighbourhood's summer-time price peak is a welcome benefit that you wouldn't otherwise have. And noting that landlord has conducted a string of successful leases in the neighbourhood over the past so many years adds confidence in the landlord. Even the simple fact-sheet you get from an MLS listing is far, far better than the typical listing on one of the free websites. There's far more data and it's more reliable. No stupid adjectives like "brilliant" or "cozy" or "spacious". Just hard facts on floor space and the age of the windows and the state of the electrical system.