You should try to give yourself as much time as possible in your quest to finding your new place to rent. Sometimes of course, you may not have the luxury of time depending on your current living situation. However, ideally, if you can give yourself 2, 3, 4, or more months, you'll be in a much stronger position to get the best place in the best location for the best deal. If you're currently renting, chances are you have to give your landlord a minimum of two month notice anyways - which should be the minimum time you should start your search.
The advantage of time gives you the chance not only in searching for a place to live specifically, but also in thinking about and defining your rental goals. It gives you the luxury in figuring out, investigating and researching what your specific wants and needs are. And that leads into some of the things you should consider in your quest...
What Do You Need?
We've prepared a cool checklist to help you determine your rental unit search. Figuring out what you truly need (and the distinction between needs and wants) is an essential step. You have to be able to figure out what you can't live without versus what you're willing to bend or compromise on. Finding the perfect rental space is more accurately a process of settling and deciding which factors win out for which property. For example, a closer location to your work may be the same rent as a farther location, but the farther one may be much larger in square footage than the smaller one. In that example, rent isn't the question - it's simply location vs. size. There are dozens of compromises and choices that you will have to isolate and consider.
Where Can You Find It?
A good search for a rental property starts with word of mouth. You should tell everyone you know that you're looking to rent a new place for a certain rent range. Friends, family, co-workers, colleagues, friend-of-friends are all great sources to find quality rental units. Of course, more commonly, renters use kijiji, craigslist, classified newspaper ads, street-walking, and increasingly online forums and rental websites. Don't forget to also utilize free community papers, community information board postings (ie. libraries, rec centres, city hall etc.), government resources, student housing offices (on campus), real estate agents and offices, etc. Have a look at our amazing rental unit source checklist to help aid you in your search.
Talking To Landlords
A landlord is a big components of your rental search. While you're not searching for a specific type of landlord, you shouldn't underestimate the importance of having a quality landlord. It's not good enough to just find the best apartment of the bunch. You will have to talk to and evaluate the landlord (or superintendent/property management company) for yourself. If too many warning signs or red flags come up, you should reconsider the rental unit and possibly walk away. A good landlord will respond to your questions thoroughly and to your satisfaction. Everyone knows a landlord will evaluation his/her tenant prospects. But it's not often stressed that a tenant ought to do the same with landlord prospects as well. Expect to talk to the landlords on your potential rental unit list.
Checks & Balances
It's very likely that your landlord will do a credit check on you before you finalize a rental agreement. It's also likely that a landlord will verify employment, contact your references including your previous landlord(s), etc. I've even done searches on Google, Facebook, and other online social networking sites to get a sense of how this tenant is. If your Facebook profile has the anarchy symbol everywhere, and violent messages/updates in your profile, don't be surprised if you don't end up getting your dream rental! Same goes for good credit and good references. Make sure you have this in place before you start your search. All hope isn't lost if you have bad or no credit. Check out my article on bad credit tenant tips for some help in that unique situation. Finally, don't forget to make sure you previous landlords and references are aware that they have been listed as references and may be contacted by a future landlord.
Deciding To Go Solo (Or Not)
Do you live alone? Are you moving in with your partner, spouse, children, parent, friends, roommate (friend or stranger), grand-parent, etc? You'll need to consider what your living arrangement will look like. It's hard enough to anticipate your current and future needs for yourself, but it is nearly impossible to determine them for others. You'll almost certainly want to involve any other people living with you with parts or all of the steps in your rental unit search. I believe one of the most challenging arrangements is a sharing accomodations with a roommate. Whether it's a blind search or drafting a friends or acquaintance as a roommate, there are pitfalls and dangers to look out for. Making a tenancy work as roommates is a special situation that I've covered separately.
