Thread: Thinking about Renting my first apartment

Now I'm thinking a little bit into the future, but I figure its a good idea to have an idea about what I need to do for something as big as moving out.

Here's the deal:
I am moving to Waterloo, ON to take Computer science at the university of waterloo.
If you don't know Waterloo has been ranked the #1 school in Canada, and Microsoft recruits directly from the graduating class of Computer Science.
It is a 5 year course, but there is a co-op option, meaning I would go to school for 2 semesters, come back home and work for a semester, school for a semester, work for a semester, school, work, and so on.
The only problem is, I have a steady girlfriend, and we have no intention of breaking up.
The longest I will be away at any given time is 3 months.
She is curently in a 3 year course in university, and will be finishing in 2010.
We have decided that when she finishes school, she would move to Waterloo with me while I finish schoo and we will rent an apartmentl, then we would go wherever a job will take me.


Some things that we would like are:


A Balcony
at least 2 utilities included in rent
on site laundry
1 full bedroom, that won't be too cramped
decent living conditions (ie. no rats/bugs, bad floor/walls/celieng, etc.)

Assuming that my girlfriend finds at least a job with 30 hours per week while we're there, We can expect to make $3000 per month while I'm working, and less than $1000 when I'm not working.
I would plan to have enough saved to cover Rent and all other costs while i'm not working


My question for some of you is:
What kind of hidden costs and important things must I take into account when planning and budgeting?
I currently make $2000 a month, but will not be working during school.
During my co-op term, I will be making similar, if not more.
We would like to get a place that is not a crapshack, but isn't going to put us back too much.
I was thinking probably something around $500-$800 a month in rent.
What kind of financial goals should i set, as far as how much should I have saved up between now and 2 years from now.

I would be particularly interested in hearing from some members in the 20-30 year age group, just because if they went through a similar process, or anyone who's kids have done the same.
many of the costs would have been the same when that happened, as opposed to someone who first moved out 30 years ago.
I would still value anyones input or advice on the subject.

again, there is still lots of time, but I would like to have an idea of what I'm in for.

"i_bleed_purple" wrote:

I am moving to Waterloo, ON to take Computer science at the university of waterloo.
If you don't know Waterloo has been ranked the #1 school in Canada

Isn't that like being the prettiest one on The View?





:P

[size=6pt]I'm sorry[/size]

I would be particularly interested in hearing from some members in the 20-30 year age group, just because if they went through a similar process

I see, cutting a few of us "More Mature" guys/gals out of the loop.
;D

Regardless.
Hard to say what you should budget for specifically as cost per apt vary by region.
I know that Wildwoman and I lived in apts for about 8 years after we were married and tried to keep our apt cost to about 1/4 of our monthly income.

That left money for vehicles, insurance, food (of course), and enough mad money for entertainment.

We also kept that rationale in mind when we bought our house.
Kindof a "We live in our house not for it" mentallity.

Definately make sure all utililities are included and you have a nice place to park your car (as well as a few guest spots) without an additional cost if possible.
Also, check with other tenants if you can or at least check out the landlord to find out what type of cat he/she is.

Good luck my friend.

One thing I would definately recommend is renters insurance.
It is relatively cheap, and can save you a LOT of money if something happens that affects your property.

A water pipe bursts, the upstairs neighbor's water bed breaks, a fire, etc.
I have seen them all happen, and if you don't have renters insurance, you are SOL.
The landlord is only responsible for the structure itself, not the property inside.

Both NoDak and Mar have really good advice (the same advice I gave my kids last year, but of course kids are soooo much smarter than their parents), if possible keep housing down to 1/4 of your monthly income.
Really important if you have to provide your own utiliities, winters in Manitoba can pretty cold and expensive.
Budget breaker avoid eating out as much as possible, even the Mickey D's dollar menu starts to add up after awhile.

In computers the key word is "backup", in renting the key word is "insurance".
Like NoDak pointed out the landlord is responsible for the structure, not the contents.
Most carriers are reasonable in rates, but make sure any extreme valuables are appraised and added as a rider (jewlery, guns, collectables, etc.).
If they offer it, go for "replacement value" insurance.

mad money for entertainment

Mar, just how much does a case of "Beast" cost? ;D

"NodakPaul" wrote:

One thing I would definately recommend is renters insurance.
It is relatively cheap, and can save you a LOT of money if something happens that affects your property.

A water pipe bursts, the upstairs neighbor's water bed breaks, a fire, etc.
I have seen them all happen, and if you don't have renters insurance, you are SOL.
The landlord is only responsible for the structure itself, not the property inside.

[size=40pt]
+1[/size]

Trust me... it's happened to me. It's the smartest move you can make.

"singersp" wrote:

"i_bleed_purple" wrote:

I am moving to Waterloo, ON to take Computer science at the university of waterloo.
If you don't know Waterloo has been ranked the #1 school in Canada

Isn't that like being the prettiest one on The View?





:P

[size=6pt]I'm sorry[/size]

Haha, Waterloo may be #1 for computer science but it certainly isn't the best school, haha.
It's good you're going there for that reason.
I've found that certain schools are very good at certain programs but bad at others.
Case and point, the University of Alberta is generally regarded as the best pharmacy school in Canada, but I certainly wouldn't go here if you were interested in the arts or something...

As far as the long term relationship goes, sounds like you've thought it out, which helps a lot.
I'm in one 8 months out of the year, but I see her every month or so and all the time during the summer.