Rockies Rentals

If you haven’t done so already, read Moving Tips Part #1. By now your truck should be rented, boxes assembled, and you have purged everything that requires purging.

Packing Books

• Smaller boxes are better. Books are heavy, so if you fill a big box it will weigh a tonne and you risk hurting yourself or the box breaking open. Look for boxes that have a strong bottom (wine boxes are great for this activity). Tape up the bottom just to be sure!
• Place larger, heavier books on the bottom of each box.  Finish out the top of the box with paperbacks.
• If storing the boxes for a while, make sure to not store them on the ground.  Moisture and critters will get into your precious books.

Packing Computers/Electronics

• Don’t you wish you had kept the original box with all that custom-fit styrofoam?  If you didn’t, pack electronics in a large box.  Wrap each piece with old towels or sheets to protect them.
• Keep the cords in order.  Roll them up and put them in a cardboard tube (toilet paper and paper towels rolls work great).  Write on the tube which cable is inside, and which component it belongs to.  No paper rolls?  Use plastic wrap for the cords — much better than the sticky residue that tape leaves behind.

Packing Dishes

• Use all of your kitchen linens (dish towels, etc) to lay between each plate as you stack them.  The nice thing about using kitchen linens is that when you unpack you won’t have to clean up loads of packing trash.  In lieu of kitchen linens, paper towel, cardboard, and bubble wrap works nicely.
• If you can find some milk crates, they are the best thing to pack dishes in.  No fear of the bottom breaking out!
• Fill up the spaces surrounding the dishes with cooking utensils and such.  You don’t want the box to be too heavy.
• Fill up the extra spaces with rolled up newspaper or bubble wrap.  If items can shuffle around, that is how they get broken.

Packing Clothes

• Leave everything in the dresser drawers.  Move the dresser with everything intact.
• For hanging clothes, gather about 20 hangers.  Tie a piece of string around the top.  Pull a large garbage bag over the clothes from the bottom up and tie again at the top.  This means you can reuse the garbage bag once you unpack.
• Use every piece of luggage you have.  Borrow luggage if you have to.  Pack out of season clothes first.  Pack luggage with clothes for your last week.  That way, everything else can be packed ahead of time.
• Shoes are no fun to pack.  Put socks/belts inside the shoes so they will keep their shape.  Pack shoes in a big piece of luggage or duffle bag.  Lay out one row of shoes, place a towel over top, and layer over another set of shoes.  Continue until the bag is full.

Do you have more tips to add to the list?

Let us know! We’d love to hear from you!

Since we assume that you would like to live in the modern world and not write letters by candlelight, you will probably need some electricity, no? The purveyor of electricity in the Bow Valley is Epcor.

Managing Your Account (New accounts, moving, cancelling service)
It is in your best interest to contact Epcor with at least 3 days notice prior to your move-in date.  If you elect to wait until the last minute, you’ll be charged $10 for your poor planning.  Epcor representatives indicated that 1 week prior is a good time to arrange the new service (or changes to existing service).  Accounts can be opened online or via telephone (310-4300 in Alberta, 800-667-2345 in North America, 780-412-4000 Outside North America).  You will require two pieces of identification.  Driver’s License and Birth Certificate are preferred.  If you don’t have those items, Epcor can use other document to get you hooked up.  A $200 Deposit is required for new customers, which will be added to your first bill.  If you’re not keen on having Epcor hold onto your moolah, you can opt for a credit check -  if you pass, no deposit is required.

If you already have electricity service and are moving to a new pad, you can transfer your service online or via telephone (see phone numbers above).

Monthly Charges
There are a number of factors that affect how much your monthly bill will be, the least of which is the actual cost of the electricity itself which hovers between $.09-$.12/kWh (Kilowatt hour).  How energy efficient are your appliances and what type of appliances are you using?  How many people live with you, and do they operate on a similar schedule? Do you plug in your car, or multiple cars, in the winter? Do you have electric or gas heat? Do you make energy-efficient choices (turning lights off, choosing low watt bulbs, etc)? As there are too many variable at play, Epcor is reluctant to indicate what an average bill is worth.  We polled a few of our users to see how much they were paying so that you could have a general idea:

$65/Month in 2008 <Condo 1000 square feet; 2 Bedroom, 1 bathroom; some energy efficient appliances/bulbs; gas heat; 2-3 occupants on fairly similar schedule>
$76/Month in 2008 <House 1700 square feet; 3 Bedroom, 2 bathroom; some energy efficient appliances/bulbs; gas heat; 2-3 occupants on fairly similar schedule>
$65/Month in 2008 <Condo 1000 square feet; 2 Bedroom, 1 bathroom; some energy efficient appliances/bulbs; gas heat; 2-3 occupants on fairly similar schedule>

Does your rent include utilities?
Having your utilities included with your monthly rent can be a great way to manage your living expenses. However, remember that landlords are business people and are generally not in the business of losing money.  When utilities are included, the rent is usually a little higher to accommodate for any high bills that you may incur.  If you do choose a rental property with utilities included, don’t delude yourself into thinking “I don’t pay, so it doesn’t matter if I leave the lights on all day, or run the dryer just to warm up my bath towel”. It matters.  If you consistently use more power than your landlord has budgeted for, your rent will likely increase.  So turn off those lights, and only run the washer/dryer/dishwasher with full loads or be prepared to pay the price later down the line.  Plus, you live in the Bow Valley now so it’s time to start putting the environment first!

So, you’ve decided to move!  Before you even start looking for your new place, here are some thoughts to get you on your way!

• Purge. There is no time like the present to get rid of unused items.  The more clutter you can reduce, the less you need to move.  Plain and simple.  If you come across items that you haven’t touched since your last move, those definitely need to find a new home.  Weed out your clothing collection. Shred old documents that you no longer require.  If you are disposing of anything that is still useful (just not to you), consider posting it on FreeCycle.org, or donate it to the Victory Thrift Store (3 Industrial Place, Canmore).
• Get Stocked Up. It’s amazing how many boxes it actually takes to move!  It’s good to get a selection of different sizes.  Small boxes should be used to pack heavy items (books, dishes), while larger boxes can be used to pack light, bulky items (clothes, shoes, linens).  Visit the liquor store to get wine boxes.  They have strong bases so you don’t have to worry about the bottom breaking open when packing heavy and precious items. Also get some good packing tape and a few markers for labelling boxes.  Ask local retailers if they have extra bubble wrap from incoming shipments. They’ll be happy if you will take it away.
• Get Organized. On the outside of each box, write a number and the name of the room it will go in your new place (ie bathroom, guest bedroom, shed).  Get a spiral-bound notebook and make it your moving bible.  In your new notebook, write down the box number and the contents. This means you can start packing early, and if you need to find something either before or after you move you will know exactly in which box to look.
• Start Packing. Seasonal and seldom used items should be the first to be packed.  Knick knacks should be next. Leave out a few books and movies for your last few weeks, but pack the rest up. Make yourself a travel toiletry to cover you for the last remaining days, and pack up al the other bathroom stuff.  By the last week before your big move, only the items that you need for exactly one week of living should be left to pack. If you packed one box each day in the month prior to your move, you can concentrate on moving (and not packing) in the last few days.
• Use Your Luggage. Pull out every duffle bag and piece of luggage you own.  They are great for packing clothes — go figure!  You might even want to borrow some luggage, particularly if it comes on wheels.
• Reserve a Rental Truck. As soon as you know the date of your move, reserve the truck.  Think about how many people need to move out on the last day of the month!  There certainly aren’t enough trucks to go around, and you don’t want to be the one left on the street corner next to your pile of well packed boxes.

If you are thinking about moving to the Bow Valley, it’s a fair question for us to ask.  Can you afford to live here, or are you going to move here and leave in the next few months when you realize that you can’t make ends meet?

Personally, we think living here offers great value.  Sure, housing costs more than you would expect, but you probably don’t need a car because you can walk everywhere, and most of our entertainment is provided for free (think hiking, climbing, and otherwise enjoying the mountain landscape) or at a very low cost (special thanks to all of the arts festivals). We also don’t pay PST in Alberta, and we have a lower tax rate than the rest of the country.  High cost of living?  It’s all in how you look at it.

But realistically, can you afford to live here? The published average rent rates in January 2010 were as follows:

Roommate/Shared Living Banff $594 Canmore $554

Studio/Bachelor Banff $918 Canmore $733

1 bedroom Banff $966 Canmore $958

2 bedroom Banff $1582 Canmore $1208

3 bedroom Banff $2065 Canmore $1540

These prices are all for unfurnished units, and utilities (gas, electricity, water) are usually added on top of this figure.  These prices are lower than they were one year ago (Banff-2%; Canmore -14%).

Budget gurus will tell you that housing costs (rent + utilities) should only make up 30% of your gross income.  So, renting 1 bedroom apartment in Canmore ($958+100 utilities) would require a job paying $3526/month. Assuming you work 40 hours per week, that job must pay $20/hour to reach this goal.  Have you seen any $20/hour jobs advertised here recently?  They are rare but do exist, and they usually aren’t advertised. If you aren’t living with a significant other or working for an employer that has private subsidized staff accommodation, chances are you will be living with a roommate.

The nature of our business means that we receive housing requests from people unfamiliar with the area.  The vast majority are “I’m looking for a 2 bedroom apartment.  Our budget is $800/month including utilities”. And our personal favourite: The same request as above, with the addition of “We need it to be fully furnished and/or allow pets and/or be located in downtown and/or 3 month lease only.” These types of requests offer great free entertainment for our staff, so keep them coming — we like to have a good laugh during our workday

For many, moving to the Bow Valley may very well be the first time they have ever lived anywhere other than mom & dad’s or a college dorm.  If that’s your story, here are some thoughts on taking the first steps in finding the perfect place to live.

Be Thorough: Chances are that you are so excited at leaving home that every place you review will seem like a dream home, and you won’t even notice any negative points.  Time to take off the rose-coloured glasses and see things for what they really are!  Open up each door and cabinet — do they open easily? Turn on each tap — is there hot water? Is there adequate counter and cupboard space? Where will you do your laundry? Is it well laid out? Is there adequate storage space? How does the rent compare to other similar properties? Does it include utilities?

Do You Have Enough Cash? Typically, you will be required to pay a Damage Deposit equal to one month’s rent.  So on the day you move in, you really need enough cash to cover two month’s rent.  If you’re having a hard time getting that cash together, ask the bank for a short term loan or credit line.  You could also ask the landlord to pay the Damage Deposit in installments (but I would leave that option to the last resort).

Get Receipts: Make sure you get a written receipt for each deposit.  If you are paying by check, the cancelled heck can act as a receipt.  Don’t even think about paying cash without getting a written receipt signed by the landlord.

Get The Whole Story: Does the place sound too good to be true?  If so, is there something they are not telling you? Is it near the train, or a 24-hour liquor store? Are the neighbours loud? If you are moving into a building with other tenants, ask around about the management of the building — is the manager or landlord reasonable and fair?  It’s sad to say, but for every crazy roommate and tenant, there is a crazy landlord.  This will be your home for the next while so make sure you get all the facts.

Do a walkthrough: Any landlord worth their salt will insist on a walkthrough, but if they don’t you should!  You are responsible for returning the property to its original condition (less any reasonable wear and tear).  You don’t want to wait unti the day you move out to try and prove that the large stain was there when you moved in.  Take a digital camera and document everything in the place — particularly anything that is already damaged.

Did using these tips help you securing your first apartment?

Let us know! We’d love to hear from you!

There are many people in the world who will agree to something, shake on it, and then do the complete opposite.  Don’t you just hate that?  Or perhaps nothing was said at all, but you felt it was reasonable to expect your new roommate would pay their portion of the long distance bill, but somehow they got the impression that since the telephone bill was in your name they were not responsible for lengthy calls to long distance lovers ending with “no, I’m not going to hang up first … you hang up first … no, I love you more”.  I guess you should have had them sign a Roommate Agreement (RA).

An RA is much like a lease, except it leaves out all that “person of the first part” mumbo jumbo that people rarely understand and replaces it with more important details like who is taking out the garbage and when.

Here are some items you should establish with your new roomies:

1. Rent: How is it paid (cash, check)? Who collects it? Who is responsible for getting it to the landlord?
2. Division of Rent: Is rent divided equally?  If someone has a bigger room, private bathroom, parking spot, or owns most of the furnishings, how much more (or less) will they be paying?
3. Utilities: Whose name will the utilities be in?  Are they being shared equally? When is payment due? What utilities are being installed (telephone, cable, satellite, internet)?
4. Yard Maintenance: Who mows and how often?  Who shovels the snow and how soon after snowfall should it be done?
5. Garbage: Who takes the garbage out and how often?
6. Recycling: Who takes the recycling?  Who gets to keep the refund money from bottles and cans? An idea is to collect the refund money and use it to buy a pizza every now and then.
7. Guests: Are guests allowed? How many? How often?  Are overnight guests allowed?
8. Pets: Are pets allowed? Who is cleaning the litter box? Who is taking Fido for a walk? Who is buying food and ensuring the animal is in good health?  Who is feeding them?You don’t want to come home to a bowl full of dead goldfish and find out that all 6 roommates had been feeding Goldie. (Or reversely, that no one was feeding Lucky).
9. Smoking: Is smoking allowed? Where are the designated smoking areas?
10. Dishes: Shall dishes be washed immediately after use? Or will someone do a load of dishes every few days?
11. Household Products: Who is paying for toilet paper, dish soap, garbage bags and light bulbs? A good idea is to each contribute a couple dollars to a piggy bank each month and use this fund to buy the necessary shared items.
12. Food: Is everyone responsible for their own food?  Or is there some give and take?  With limited cupboard and refrigerator space, it is not feasible for each roommate to have their own mayonnaise jar.  Figure out a way to compromise, or use the fund to buy staple food items.
13. Cleaning: Who cleans the bathroom and how often?  In this case, I would also detail what ‘clean’ means.  For some, picking up the towels and emptying the trash means the bathroom has been cleaned.  How often do the floors get washed/vacuumed? Consider hiring a housekeeper.

Whatever you decide to put in your RA is up to you.  You can make it as detailed or as vague as you’d like.  Print a copy and have each of the roommates sign it.  Make sure to give everyone a copy that includes all of the signatures.  From time to time, you will discover new situations or disagreements that weren’t covered in the original document. You can either ammend the document and have every re-sign it, or keep the newest issue in mind the next time you write a Roommate Agreement and include it at that time.

We’ve all had one … the Roommate From Hell (RFH) <insert crack of thunder here>! But did you know that we have all been an RFH at some point?  Now before you start saying “What? Me? Never! I am perfect in every way”, just consider that for every roommate that hated having even one dish in the sink, there was another roommate who preferred to wash a whole sink of dishes all at once.

My RFH: In the days prior to MP3 players, my RFH would take my CD Walkman and a bunch of my CDs without permission.  The first time it happened, I assumed someone had broken in since my CD player was the only thing of any value in our apartment.  While I was ripping through the apartment trying to figure out if anything else was missing, she sauntered in and had the nerve to complain about my taste in music since I didn’t have any CDs she liked. When she would be late for work (which was often), she would tell the manager it was my fault because I didn’t wake her up.  Hey chick, I’m not your mother!

Her Side? She’d probably tell you that I didn’t like to share my things, I had terrible taste in music, and that I wouldn’t wake her up for work.  But I digress …

The quickest way to develop a hellish living arrangement is to not discuss what is bothersome to you.  I’m not suggesting you and your roomies should hold hands and sing Kumbaya – But if it drives you up the wall when they put the empty egg shells back in the egg carton, just say “Hey – what’s up with the egg shells?”.  Then you can have a mature conversation, both sides can express their view, then a compromise can be found.  Wow — isn’t being an adult hard?

Do you have a Roommate From Hell Story you’d like to share?

Add a comment below or send it to us.

So, you think you have finally found your dream home (hopefully by searching the Rockies Rentals Listings).  You’ve spoken to the landlord on the phone and everything seems to be in order –  perfect location, the rent is in your price range, and it has all the features you desire.  Great!  Now all you have to do is convince the Landlord that they should pick you over the other 50 applicants.

• Be professional: Would you show up for a job interview late and wearing ripped jeans? The same goes for meeting a potential landlord. Look presentable, arrive on time, speak to the landlord in a respectful manner. In the event that you would show up to an interview late and wearing ripped jeans, you’d better start reading some of our articles on landing the perfect job.
• Be Prepared: Bring a copy of the ad, a notepad and pen for taking notes, checks for paying a deposit, a camera for taking pictures.
• Prove you can afford it: Ask your employer for a Letter of Employment. Bring a copy of your last few pay stubs. Bring a copy of last year’s tax return.
• Prove you are responsible: A copy of your free credit report is easy to get. A clean credit report will show that you take your financial reponsibilities seriously.
• Do not ‘diss your previous landlord. It does not matter if he was a slumlord that absconded with your deposit — now is not the time to vent about how you hate his guts.
• Don’t Beg: Begging denotes desperation.  It’s irritating when kids and dogs do it — tenants should avoid it as well.
  You say (in your whiniest voice) “But I really need this place. I’ll do anything!”.
  Not-So-Good Landlords hear “Charge me anything. Treat me like crap.  I’ll take it”.
  Good Landlords will think “Hmm … I smell desperation.  I’ll bet their is something wrong with this tenant.  Otherwise, they wouldn’t be having such a hard time finding a place. I’d better look for someone else”.
• Be Prepared to Make a Decision: Are you interested in the place or not? Does it meet your needs? If you plan on continuing your search, you might miss out on a place that met your needs while you search for something else. That being said, don’t agree to rent a place unless you are sure it is ‘the one’.
• Follow Up: Contact your references and let them know someone might be calling them. Contact the landlord a few days later and ask if they have made a decision. If they have not chosen you, ask them why. If they give you a reason, listen to them and fix the problem!

Did using these tips help you find your dream home?

Let us know! We’d love to hear from you!