5 Reasons Why Apartment Hunting Is Frustrating

Whether you’re looking at apartments for rent in Canada for the first time, or the 15th time, apartment hunting can be an exhausting and incredibly frustrating experience. If you use only questionable classified ads as your main resource, you might not have the best experience finding an apartment.

There are other frustrations that come with the territory. Apartment hunting isn’t called that because it’s easy!

Here are five reasons why apartment hunting is frustrating (and five ways to make it better):

1. Finding an apartment within your set budget

When it comes to the rental market, budgeting is tough. Different communities have different median prices, so sometimes it can be difficult to find a place with the space you need for a cost that works.

Prevent yourself from falling in love with a place that’s way over budget by doing an online search first, sorting the results within your budget.
And beware of apartments listed way, way below your budget. If the price is not normal for the neighbourhood, there might be a catch.

2. Disagreeing with partner or roommate

If you’re apartment hunting with a significant other, family member or roommate, it can be hard to stay on the same page. One person might want the cheapest place, while you want certain creature comforts.

The best way to make everyone happy is the each make a list of your “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves.” Compare the lists and talk it out. Hopefully you can come to some sort of agreement over what you’re looking for in a rental apartment. Once you’ve settled on your needs, only look at places that include those features. Online search tools can help you narrow down your search before you start viewing places.

3. Arranging viewings

Speaking of viewing schedules, it can be hard to arrange a viewing of an apartment unit. Sometimes the current tenants are still home, or the landlord isn’t available during convenient times.

To avoid having to schedule a handful of walk-throughs, narrow down your search online first, then request to see only those units.

4. Deceiving photographs

Sometimes the online photos of rental units are taken at deliberate angles to make the place look more spacious. They’re also often taken of the place empty or staged, with minimal features. This is why viewing an apartment is really important, even if everything is available online.

If you can avoid it, never rent an apartment sight unseen. Photographs are fine, but they don’t often tell the whole story.

5. It’s perfect, but …

• It doesn’t allow pets.
• Utilities are extra.
• The kitchen is too small.
• There isn’t a balcony.
• It’s too far from work.
• It’s too far from transit.
• The appliances are old.
• It’s in a bad neighbourhood.
• It’s not accessible.
• Etc.

Sometimes you think you’ve found the perfect place, but if it has a flaw you cannot overlook, you’ll have to head back to the drawing board. Of course, there’s no perfect apartment, so you will have to let some little things slide, but some negative features can’t be ignored, and you have to move on and keep looking.

Remove some of these frustrations by starting your apartment hunt online. Gottarent.com is a great search tool to help you find rental apartments in your area.