Vancouver Living Adventure
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Vancouver in Washington is also one of the major cities that most people consider moving into. Finding an apartment for rent in Vancouver can be a frustrating, tiresome and grueling if you are not prepared for that great apartment hunting.
Whether you are looking for a pet-friendly apartment or a trendy loft here are some tips you can use as a guide to your ultimate Vancouver apartment:
1. Know discrimination laws and issues. There are certain tenant discrimination issues with the landlords that occur during tenancies.
If you are a foreigner, you must know that the Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in tenancy matters based on race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, marital and family status, religion, physical or mental disability, sex and sexual orientation, source of income (as long as its legal), and age (unless you’re a senior citizen.)
2. Know if you are qualified to rent an apartment in Vancouver. A landlord or building manager can reject applicants who have bad credit history, history of not paying rent, history of running an illegal business on residential premises, criminal conviction, income insufficient to pay the rent and lack or negative references from a previous landlord or employer.
3. Be keen and meticulous in rental agreements. Your Residential Tenancy Agreement is the most important document you should pay attention to when you rent an apartment.
Although it varies in forms, written rental agreement must contain the correct legal names of landlord and tenant, the address of the rental unit, the date the tenancy agreement is entered into, the address and telephone number of the landlord or his agent, the amount of rent payable and when it is due, lease terms and duration, services and facilities included in the rent, and the amount of security deposit and/or pet damage deposit if required.
4. Before hunting for an apartment, make a list of your housing priorities. Jot down your need for extra parking spaces, kitchen spaces and linen closets and the like. Going through your possible needs before finding an apartment that will suit your personal preference.
5. Make sure that you check out the property first before finally deciding. Make sure that you physically examine the condition of the apartment you are planning to rent to see if it is well maintained.
6. Take a small chat with your potential neighbors. If you are considering a particular apartment to rent, take some time to visit your would-be neighbors and ask if there are any problems with the building and if they are satisfied with the management’s maintenance and with the building’s amenities.
7. Examine the lease carefully. If you have been renting in the past, you would be familiar what a lease is. But if this is your first time to rent an apartment in Vancouver, make sure that you familiarize yourself with what a lease is.
Basically, a lease pertains to a legal obligation to pay rent for a specified length of time with variations on the terms and conditions of tenancy. Normally, one-year leases are given to most apartments in Vancouver but these terms vary depending upon the landlord.
8. Be safe and secured. Security should be one of your top priorities in renting an apartment. Make sure that the your building have controlled access, exterior security gates and doors, working locks and window latches and a security service.
