IMPORTANT!!! How to be approved by a landlord?

• Stable employment. You must provide a Letter of Employment (with the date of start, salary, employer's name, address and phone + contact person's name and phone) and the recent Pay Stub.
  
  
• Income requirements. They are not too high: usually, minimum 60K per annum will work. But, of course, the higher - the better...
  
  
• Credit score. It must be at least 620. Please read here how to obtain the credit report. If you a new immigrant and, so, have no credit history in Canada yet, then you still have a chance to be approved if two the previous requirements are perfectly satisfied.

• Co-applicant (guarantor). Find a person (your friend, family member or employer) who meets the requirements (and, therefore, is able to provide the verification documents, listed above) and is willing to vouch for you. A guarantor is an individual who is guaranteeing to the landlord that if the applicant fails to meet his or her obligations then the guarantor will meet those obligations (such as making the payments and keeping the property clean).
  
  
• Pay for more months in advance. A landlord has the right to require a tenant to pay in advance for 2 month: for the 1st and the last (that is the standard practice in Ontario). By law, a landlord could not require a tenant to pay more than first and last month's rent as a condition of the tenancy. But if the tenant voluntary offered to pay more money in advance and the landlord accepted that offer, then it would be legal (see the article Ontario tenants can offer rent up front in The Star; the article contains a reference to a decision of a Superior Court judge in that regard). So, in addition to the 1st month, you can suggest a landlord to pay also for 3-6 last months. As you see, you will need to pay for 4-7 months in total (the more months, the more chances to be approved). That method works in many cases (of course, it requires to pay more money immediately, but, from the other hand, you would pay that money later anyway).

Are you not in Toronto yet, but coming soon?

• I serve not only residents of GTA but also those who are moving here soon (including new immigrants).
  
• I work remotely with many of my clients - Skype and email enable easy co-working overseas.
  
• As a real estate agent, I have access to properties, appearing in the MLS database, for a few days before they go into the public access so that we can "skim the cream".
  
• Please contact me 3 weeks before coming to Toronto (not earlier!!!) and provide the following details:
  • Date of arrival to Toronto.
  • Form of housing you want (condo apartment, townhouse, semi-detached/standalone home).
  • Number of bedrooms. In Canada, real estate is measured in bedrooms: we say "2 bedrooms house" where people in some other countries say "3 rooms house" for the same.
  • Preferred area. If you are unsure (or have no idea about Toronto areas), call me for free advice. If you have kid(s), then I also will consult you regarding schools. In Canada, areas of cities are assigned to particular schools. Schools have different rankings from 1 to 10, and that influences home prices in the belonging area.

Did you know that...