Whether you are moving to London, Ontario or outgrew your current property, finding an affordable rental property in the city can be a challenging task because the availability of the available inventory is drastically low and competition is high.
With the increase in short-term rentals, one could point at them as the cause. At Betkorp, we believe that the main reasons for this unbalanced state are the drastic increase in population, strict city bylaws discouraging multi-family dwellings and poor planning in housing development. We could have a healthy debate on this subject for hours, but this is not what this article is about.
So how does one find and secure a rental property during these challenging times? Well, there are several steps you can undertake to beat the majority of the tenants competing for the listed properties:
For instance, partnering with an agent can be instrumental: a good agent typically has a solid liaison with the property managers, who, in turn, inform the agent about the current and upcoming listings.
Another approach is to sign-up to get pre-screened by a property management company, like ours. Here, at Betkorp, we have a database of interested tenants, who indicated a city zone of interest, type of property and a budget. They submitted that along with their personal info, which is being used to pre-vet them for future rental opportunities. Our database is, essentially, a waiting list
When we receive a notice to vacate from our existing tenants, we use this list to notify the pre-qualified potential tenants about our available rental properties. It is done in priority, before the property is ever listed for rent. We also connect tenants with self-managing landlords. A significant number of rental listings never hit the public eye: we fill the tenant spots either from our database or through the referral network.
Click the link to our sign-up page to get on this list. Remember, classified rental ads are not as effective as the agent referral or pre-vetted tenant lists. We are not suggesting you to go to Kijiji or Facebook marketplace to review the rental ads. Everyone who is looking has already seen them and has reached out to the management company or the owner. We are suggesting to post your own ad. It is free! Build a case for yourself, showcase what makes you a great tenant and reach out to the community for leads. You might be surprised how far it can go!
~ Kris Betkowski