1 Bedroom Apartments Ottawa

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“If you are not at the point in your life that you are looking to buy a home or a condo, you are likely looking for a great apartment that you can call home. Once you find a great apartment, however, there are a few things you need to keep in mind before you sign a lease and officially accept the apartment as your new residence.

Consider the Location of the Apartment

While the apartment you are considering buying may be absolutely beautiful, you also need to consider its location. Look for an apartment that is near to the right highways, bus lines, or train lines before you commit yourself to living in the apartment for the next several months. The inconveniences of getting to work or participating in special events simply will not be worth it if the apartment is located too far from the routes you need for community.

Read the Lease Carefully and Ask for Changes when Necessary

If the landlord has developed his or her own lease, there may be a few stipulations in it that you are uncomfortable with. Before you sign the lease, ask for these stipulations to be changed. While you likely will not get the landlord to change certain stipulations, such as not allowing pets to live in the apartment, you may be able to get other aspects of the lease changed.

Consider Your Safety

While the apartment may look beautiful and well-kept, there are a few safety issues you should consider before signing a lease. For example, you should ask the landlord to describe the security measures that are in place on the grounds. This may include a parking garage available to those living in the apartment complex, security cameras and more. If the landlord does not already provide security, you might want to add this to your lease to make sure something is provided.

Another safety issue revolves around the maintenance of equipment on the apartment grounds. For example, if the apartment complex has an elevator, you should look into how often it is inspected and you should find out if there is a number you can call if you have problems with the elevator. In addition, you should find out if the landlord provides a guaranteed turnaround time if equipment such as the elevator should fail. After all, it could fail tomorrow and you could find yourself stuck in a lease and walking 20 flights of steps to your apartment every day.

Find Out About Special Services

Some apartment buildings include special services in the cost of rent while others do not. Before you get yourself tied into a lease, find out what services are included. For example, how do tenants dispose of their garbage? Is there an incinerator, are there garbage receptacles throughout the building, is there regular clean up to keep vermin away?

Know Where Your Money Stands

More than likely, you will be asked to pay a security deposit before you can take over the apartment. Make sure you are comfortable with the terms surrounding the security deposit before you sign a lease. Also, be sure to find out when you will get it back after you move. Similarly, if you think you might move out before the terms of your lease are complete, find out if the landlord allows subleasing of the apartment or what will happen if you move out while still paying your rent. Some landlords will allow you to move back in if you vacate the apartment while still paying rent whereas others will seize the apartment, cancel your lease, and impose penalty fees.

For many people, renting an apartment is a wise decision that fits nicely into their lifestyle. Before committing to a lease, however, it is important to take several things into consideration in order to make sure you are properly protected.”

You’ve probably heard this before: if you’re making a monthly rent payment, as opposed to a monthly mortgage payment, you’re essentially throwing your money away. Well, as common as the saying is, it’s not necessarily true – in many situations, it’s actually much more advantageous to rent an apartment rather than own a home. Here’s why:

It’s Easy

Compared to owning a home, living in an apartment rental is incredibly easy. Why do the work yourself when you can enjoy the following benefits:

·        Dedicated property and maintenance staff to call if anything goes wrong

·        No back-breaking snow shoveling, lawn maintenance or pool/sauna care

·        One single monthly rent cheque usually pays for everything (instead of several separate bills and fees when you own a house or a condo)

You Get More for Your Money

Believe it or not, you can usually rent an apartment or house for much less than the cost of buying it – especially if you live in a larger city. And if you want to be right downtown, renting is almost always more affordable than owning a condo (and you get a lot more living space, as well, as downtown apartments are usually much larger than downtown condos).

As well, apartment renters don’t have to come up with the thousands of dollars in down payments, closing costs and fees for things such as building inspections, legal counsel, land transfer taxes and insurance.

And this doesn’t even factor in the cost of borrowing – in the first five years of ownership, most mortgage payments are applied only to the interest, not the capital. This is money that you won’t get back when you sell your home (and you’ll still have all the hassles and extra costs of putting your house on the market).

That Tax Break is Not Guaranteed

Getting a big tax break is supposed to be one of the greatest advantages of owning a home – but you can’t always rely on getting this break. If your annual mortgage interest payment, plus any other deductions you are entitled to, isn’t greater than your standard tax deductions, you will not receive any tax benefit from owning a house.

If you rent an apartment, however, you’ll always receive some form of tax relief, as a large portion of your rent is tax deductible every year.

Maximum Flexibility

Renting provides an enormous amount of flexibility. You can pack up and leave immediately at the end of your lease (which can be monthly or yearly, whatever best suits your lifestyle) – there’s no waiting to sell and no agonizing about the housing market before you move. For many people, the freedom to live where you want and when you want is a huge benefit that simply cannot be overlooked.

Minimum Risk

For homeowners, the stakes are enormously high should their finances crumble. When they can’t pay the mortgage, the lender has great leverage – the house and all the equity invested in it could be in jeopardy. That’s not to say there aren’t consequences if a tenant can’t pay the rent – but the financial devastation that comes with losing your home is far greater than being evicted from your apartment.

In addition, there are several social service programs that are run by all levels of government to help people in need pay their rent so they won’t be evicted. Are the banks as lenient or supportive when it comes time to pay the mortgage?

Ultimately, making the decision to either rent an apartment or buy a home involves much more than simply comparing rental rates, mortgage payments, lease lengths and tax breaks. It’s a combination of all of the personal circumstances happening in your life – both now and several years down the road.