Moving is a hectic time, rarely will you ever find it not to be. You are uprooting you life from one home, and moving on into a new one.

When you are moving, you will need to close down affairs at your existing residence and arrange new services at your new home. People tend to arrange for an overlap period during the move from one residence to another; however you will have to remember that you will be paying two rents in that one month.

It can get costly, however it will give you more time to pack and set up your new place.

If you do schedule your move at a busy time, such as the end of the month, planning is the key to your move.

Have everything sorted out before hard, van rentals, phone and cable hook-ups, etc. As you set up your new services, remember to disconnect your current home, making you not liable for any usage after you have left.

Organization is the key to making a smooth move, if you know you will be moving, prepare packing in advance. You will find yourself saving a lot more time, and almost making the move effortless.

When you do move, keep note on everything that has been packed and moved. You are creating an inventory list; this way you are sure to keep your items in check and hopefully get them there in one piece.

Jeff Markewich
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.imgrealestate.ca

The Lethbridge City Council have given city administration the go ahead to buy the former IGA site east of Galt Gardens, citing it as the ideal spot for a future public facility that will enhance the downtown core.

On Monday’s meeting, the city council members gave unanimous approval to a recommendation from administration to purchase the vacant property, at a price of $4.4 million.

The property has been vacant since the end of May 2009; when the city’s only remaining downtown grocery store closed permanently.

As of now, the council members have not specified what type of facility will be put up on the site, however it was noted that a new performance arts centre and a new community arts centre are among the projects listed in the city’s 1008-1017 Capital Improvement Plan.

Nobody was at the point to say exactly what the site will be, mainly because it is an ideal site for a public building that will enhance the downtown area. For that reason, it will take some time to delegate the appropriate building.

Acquiring this land was necessary, especially since it is difficult to actually purchase land in the downtown area; it very seldom comes up for sale.

I for one cannot wait to see what they decide to do with this plot of land, I have high hopes for this building, especially since it was stated several times that it will enhance the downtown area.

Heleen Jacobsen
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.infomarketgroup.com

As we continue to learn more about the environment, the awareness of health hazards becomes increasingly important. When you examine rental units, you have to take into consideration, what could affect the quality of your life if you were to rent the unit.

When considering air quality, you have to look into molds and chemical contaminants, such as heavy pesticides usage or smoke from neighbouring units. If you have significant problems with your allergies, then this can prove to be an big issue for you.

For checking on the presence of mold, you might find one of these indicators:

- Stains or discoloration on the walls or ceilings

- Musty or earthy smells

- Mold or rotting wood on window sills

Water quality is an important consideration as well. Well this is mainly the case if your main source of drinking water is a well; generally you will not have much problem with this issue.

When you look at water quality, consider where your main source of water will come from; the tap, a reservoir, well, etc.

You have to evaluate where you will find your main drinking water from; will it be from water bottles all the time, or will you go straight from the tap.

Always pay attention to your surroundings, you do not want to find yourself living in a health trap.

Glen Chapman
Broker of Record with Club “100″ GMAC Real Estate
www.club100realestate.com

After you have made your rental agreement, there are still have a lot of things to take care of. You have to plan to move, arrange new services, packing, etc.

This part of the Canadian Renting Guide will help you prepare for the transition to your new accommodations.

Moving

This part of the guide will help you with moving, in terms on what you can do to speed up the process.

Initial Inspection

You can find information on what you must do when you move in, and establish the conditions of your new accommodations.

Paying Rent

This section will help clarify when the rent is due, and what the landlord can require.

Household Pests

You can find information on common household pests and what you can do to eliminate them. No one wants to live with pests; help get rid of them with this part of the guide.

Responsibilities

In this section you will find the responsibilities and obligations of both the landlord and the tenant

Hopefully, you can come out from this section being more knowledgeable on what to do in certain situations after you have made your rental agreement, which can ultimately make the transition easier for you.

Jeff Markewich
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.imgrealestate.ca

To conclude this section, we will get into a little more detail of restrictions placed within the Rental Agreement.

The two main restrictions seen with a tenant and landlord are pets and smoking.

There are exact rules for each province and territory, however that are also commonalities.

In most provinces and territories, the landlord can refuse to rent to tenants that smoke and/or have pets. In Nunavut, only private landlords can refuse rent on this basis; public housing landlords cannot refuse to rent.

Whether or not a landlord can evict a tenant who violates the clause in their lease varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

With the exception of Ontario, landlords can evict tenants for these breaches of the lease.

Within each province and territory, the breaches of a lease due to pet ownership can be treated differently that breaches due to smoking.

To evict a tenant, the landlord must follow legal procedures set by the province.

Whenever there is a conflict between the landlord and tenant, the proper steps must be taken to resolve the issue. These steps are defined within the rental agreement and it can vary.

Continuing Series:

Canadian Renting Guide: Renting a Place to Live – The Rental Agreement Part 1

Canadian Renting Guide: Renting a Place to Live – The Rental Agreement Part 2

Glen Chapman
Broker of Record with Club “100″ GMAC Real Estate
www.club100realestate.com

Continuing from where I left off, we will dive straight into what you can expect to find in a rental agreement.

When you are ready to rent with a landlord, you will have to agree on specific terms for your tenancy, and these terms will make up your rental agreement. This can be in the form of an oral or written agreement. In most cases, it will be a written agreement that both parties must sign.

This written agreement is often a lease form provided by the province.

You should expect a rental agreement to stipulate the following terms:

• The names of both the landlord and tenant(s)

• Address of rental property

• Agreed upon monthly rent, with or without utilities, parking and cable

• Amount and terms of deposit

• When the rent is due

• What repairs your are responsible for and your obligations to do repairs at the request of the landlord

• Term of rental period

• Notice of period that the tenant is required to give when terminating a tenancy

• The amount of the security of damage deposits, if applicable

• Subletting rules

• Allowable rent increases

• Specific restrictions

• When and how a landlord can enter the residential premises

• Conditions for termination of a lease

• Terms for dispute resolution

• Emergency contact information

Tenants are responsible for normal wear and tear on the premises during their tenancy. Meanwhile the landlord is responsible for the general upkeep. Be sure to record the condition of the accommodations before you settle in, as proof of how it was in the beginning.

In the final part of this section, it will cover specific restriction, and what happens if there is ever a problem.

Continuing Series:

Canadian Renting Guide: Renting a Place to Live – The Rental Agreement Part 1

Heleen Jacobsen
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.infomarketgroup.com

As many of you are aware, when renting a accommodations, there are always a rental agreement you have to sign.

The landlord will ask you to sign a rental agreement, or as it is more commonly known as, a lease.

Although the term lease is used, it is just one form of a rental agreement.

In this section you will learn about the rental agreement, which can be a written lease or a verbal agreement.

Rental agreements are governed by landlord and tenant law specific to the province or territory where you are renting the accommodation. There are many similarities that exist from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but each province and territory does have their own legislation.

The rental conditions that tend to be unique for a specific province or territory are:

• Collecting and returning deposits

• Requiring post-dated cheques

• Changing locks

• Permitting landlord entry to the premises

• Managing sublets and assignments

• Rent increases

• Renewing and terminating leases

• Withholding rent for repairs

• Giving notice

• Hot to handle disputes, such as late rent payments and eviction

• Allowance of pets and/or smoking

This is only the first part of this section, the next part will cover the rental agreement in writing and what you can expect.

Jeff Markewich
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.imgrealestate.ca