Rent or buy a house in Canada ?

Or you could just live in the cab................................................

Again im no expert but i will share my experiencies.

When we came over in May we were recomended a Realtor (estate agent) so we booked an interview and went to see her. Apparently she was going to show us around the area, look at a few properties, then look at how the process goes.

Well it never happened, we went to see her, went and sat in her office while she explained that we would find it difficult to get a mortgage, it would take time and we would have to find a 25% deposit coz i was a driver, no Canadian credit history and no regular salary. I think we just went to the wrong broker but luckily we had done our homework and alread had plans in place.

.................................And this is how we did it.

When we first looked at Canada we knew 2 things.

• We needed somewhee to live
• We needed an escape route if it all went pear-shaped

Okay so we needed a home (plus fenced garden for Giz) but if you buy a house and the move doesnt work out you stand to lose a lot of money. We decided to rent at least until we got perm res so if we had to return to UK for any reason the most we would lose is 1 months rent which is our deposit.

We then hit 2 problems, theres not much info on the net, and landlords dnt usually like pets, especially big slobbering mutts like ole Giz.

I googled my little heart out and came up with 2 renting brokers in the Lethbridge area. I emailed them both telling them who we were and what we were looking for and they both had nothing , Giz was the stumbling point, bless him.

One broker said they had a contact in BC who had a house in Raymond and liked dogs. That night i called him direct and we had a long (distance) chat, i explained about Giz and how "ehem" well behaved he was, and i also explained that we would be in Lethbridge in May so we arranged to meet at the house.

We viewed the house, said yes straight away, signed up with a broker and signed the lease 2 days later.

The first phone call was made in late Feb, the landlord kept the deal open for us till May, I started paying rent & utilties in July and moved in August, job done.

The landlord and his wife came down to visit us a few weeks ago and we get on great with them, weve even got an open invitation to visit them in BC which we may well take up next year.

Well thats our story, a lot of googling, a bit of networking and a big fist full of luck.

So my advice is

• Consider whether its best o buy or to rent.
• Get Googling
• try these sites for size.

TO RENT

http://www.renterschoiceab.com/

http://www.braemoremanagement.com/

http://www.orionmanagement.com/

http://www.rentexhomes.com/

http://www.gottarent.com/

http://www.canadarentals.net/city-view.cfm?CityID=86

http://www.places4rent.com/

or try the local newspaper

http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/

TO BUY

All properties for sale in Canada are listed here......

http://www.mls.ca/index.aspx

Sorry i cant recomend any realtors, i havnt found any decent ones yet !!!

.....................................................................................................

Remember at the top of the post i wrote "Live in the cab"

If you are single, or at least coming out here on your own, or if its just you and the wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, or indeed life partner (by the way you have to pick one from the list, you cant have one of each, there wouldnt be room in the cab)

Then you may consider this option, its cheap, no risk and for a couple who could stand being in a cab 24-7, its a great way to explore North America and be paid for it. There are a few couples that do this at H&R (well i know of 1 anyway) and they seem happy enough.