Rockies Rentals

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!

I once new a girl that had a super-spacious apartment in downtown Banff.  It was this great character building with huge vaulted ceilings and massive windows.  If my memory serves, I believe it even had a clawfoot tub.  I loved her apartment — it was gorgeous!  She paid a total of $500 per month.  I always thought it was the best deal in town, and then I learned that there are quite a few of these great deals around, you’ve just got to know where to look.

Due to the housing shortage in Banff/Canmore, it is quite common for people to take the very first place available for fear that they may be sleeping on the streets if they don’t act quickly. Before you rush into signing a lease, take some time to reflect on how to find the great places in town.

• Prioritize: What do you want? What do you need? What can you not live without? Would you prefer lower rent or private space? Do have have to be near your workplace, or can you walk/ride/bus it to work?
• Review your expections: If you are hoping to find a spacious apartment overlooking the river, with no lease, $600/month, utilities included, that allows pets, and is fully furnished — well, you need to get used to disappointment. Review the Cost of Living for the Bow Valley and set your expectations accordingly.
• Get the word out: Tell everyone you know that you need a place to live — tell your friends, bring it up at the watercooler, tell the guy who is pumping your gas. It’s a small town — the first good lesson to learn is how beneficial word of mouth marketing can be.
• Let Karma prevail: There are landlords that don’t care about money and just want someone responsible to take care of their investment. In return, they rent out some amazing properties for next to nothing. There is no secret to getting in on this sweet deal — be responsible. Have a good credit rating; do well at your job; be a good person; give back to your community; treat others’ property as though it were you own; and, most of all, be a good tenant.

Did using these tips help you find the perfect apartment?

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