Vancouver is a gorgeous place to live. However, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to secure a place to live. While you can reach out to various realtor/agency websites and browse various apartment websites, you may find yourself making very little progress. And the answer is simple, yet strange: Craigslist.
Honestly your best bet for finding an apartment in Vancouver is going to be through Craigslist. If you’re lucky, an opening through a friend or acquaintance will pop up, but Vancouver apartments go fast. You should only start looking at least a few weeks in advance or you’ll be too early or late.
Most rental dates begin on the 1st or 15th of each month. In my experience landlords would post a month, maybe 2, in advance to spend weeks finding their ideal renter. Since it’s so competitive for a renter to get a “good” apartment, landlords are able to be picky in choosing who they accept.
Table of Contents
Narrow Down Neighborhoods
You can read my Honest Guide on Vancouver Neighborhoods to decide where you’d like to aim to be. My biggest piece of advice is to remain flexible on this. Isn’t part of charm of your dream apartment the fact you now live in Vancouver? Once you read about different neighborhoods you may decide some are suited to your personality and lifestyle than others.
Adjust Search Terms As Needed
Once you have an idea on a neighborhood or two that interests you, narrow down your search by neighborhood and bedrooms. I’ll mention budget a lot, but you will need to adjust your search several times to fit your budget. Vancouver is $$$. When I wanted to move to Yaletown I searched “1 bedroom apartment Yaletown.”
Filter Per Your Budget
As you scroll through the results, you’ll get a clear idea if certain neighborhoods are within your budget. Depending on the neighborhood, you may have to sacrifice space for location! You may also need to accept the unfortunate reality that some neighborhoods may be out of your budget. Vancouver is expensive! In this case, I’d consider living with roommates if your heart is set on a certain location.
Review Individual Listings
As you click on each listing, you’ll receive a better idea of what the posting entails. For example, on the post below I am able to find out square footage, that the apartment comes furnished, it includes 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom, and it is available on October 1st. I’ve also located the “reply” button, which I’ll discuss in the next paragraph. Further down the screenshot below there was even more information. This posting required a minimum 6 month lease, no pets allowed, listed the included furniture, etc.
Message Your Favorites
Once you find results within your budget and in your desired neighborhood(s), I recommend reaching out to the main contact as soon as possible. Click the “reply” button and you will receive a generated email created by Craigslist. Use your personal email address, copy/paste the email provided into your email, and send them a message stating your interest. Now any responses will go to your personal email’s inbox.
I sent the following email to my prospective postings:
Hello! My name is Sara and I saw your apartment posting on Craigslist. Currently I live in a townhome in South Surrey, but am looking to move downtown (to get away from the suburban feel). I am in my mid-20s and have a great career in Product Management. In my free-time I enjoy outdoor activities and am currently very focused on my professional life. I’d love to schedule a meeting or a look at the apartment, if possible. Please let me know if there is more information about myself that you’d like to receive.
I wanted the landlords to understand the background of my move, my profession, and if there is any additional information they need. Since they’d be inquiring for this information anyways, I wanted to beat them to the punch to show how serious I was and not waste time (as I said – it’s competitive!).
Note: Be aware of scams. Don’t ever pay in advance for a property without visiting or completing a valid contract with your landlord or realtor.
Schedule an Apartment Showing
From there it is a waiting game to hear back from agents. Once you do, it gets exciting! If the response lets you know when you can see an apartment, start scheduling time so you can see it in person. As usual, I recommend completely this as soon as you can. When I searched for apartments, I reached out to at least 8 postings. I was fortunate to schedule 4 on that immediate Saturday and 4 on the Sunday. I left 30 minutes for each showing even though they were all within a few blocks of each other so I could have plenty of time and not feel rushed when I asked all of my questions.
Fill Out A Rental Application
Once visiting the apartments, if there are any that stick out to you (even just a little), the next step is to fill out a rental application. Typically the landlord or realtor showing the property has these on hand during the tour. So if there is any remote possibility you’re interested, ask to have a rental application. The application itself can vary slightly, but overall they ask questions about: your profession, your income, previous addresses along with landlord references, if you have pets, etc.
Sign Your Lease and Move-In To Your Dream Apartment in Vancouver
As I said, the market is competitive, so complete the form and submit immediately. Immediately I filled out rental applications for a few of the apartments I saw. I heard from the landlord I was approved for my top apartment choice the same night I submitted my application. I signed the contract the day after (that Monday). Gotta move quick! Yes, between searching for apartments, emailing the landlords, visiting apartments, filling out rental applications, and eventually signing a year-long lease, the entire process took me ONLY ONE WEEK.
My advice is to keep an open-mind. If you are flexible on location, you open up many more options to yourself. If you don’t get your first choice, keep your head up because plenty of new postings are around the corner. Best of luck!
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