School Registration

[Christiandg]

Based on the school rankings for Catholic scool in Toronto, 'Our Lady of Perpetual Help' seems to be the best for Elementary.

h t t p://ontario.compareschoolrankings.org/SchoolsByRankLocationName.aspx?schooltype=elementary

My family will be moving to Toronto by the end of July and I have chose to live around Younge and St. claire area to be eligible for this school.

Any idea on this school how fast they are getting filled up? Because I will be moving end of July and the school starts at September and I will maybe need a week to look around for an apartment. Are they open for late registration just in case?

 

[scylla]

I can't answer your question about how quickly schools fill up. However you should be aware that Yonge and St. Clair is an expensive part of Toronto and an expensive area to rent it. I would recommend you do some searching before you leave to understand the pricing in that area. Also, the availability of rentals is very low in Toronto. It's quite likely it will take longer than a week to find an apartment. Especially if you are looking in a very specific area. Good luck.

 

[Christiandg]

Thanks for the quick reply scylla.
Sorry I didn't mean exactly close to intersection of St. Claire and Yonge but somewhere at least within that block to be eligible for the school transport. I found some 2 BR apt below which I think has a reasonable price although these buildings look very old. Also, I don't know if there are any hidden caveats in these ads. What do you think of these apts? Reasonable or a bogus?

h t t p://viewit.ca/vwExpandView.aspx?ViT=15350 ---- $1420
h t t p://viewit.ca/vwExpandView.aspx?ViT=107378 ---- $1615
h t t p://viewit.ca/vwExpandView.aspx?ViT=49331 ---- $1310

 

[scylla]

The hidden caveate in the add for me is the "and up" beside the rental price. That seems to indicate that the price they are quoting you is the lowest possible rate - it doesn't mean that the unit up for rent is actually going at that rental rate. That's how I read it. But maybe I'm wrong. I guess you could contact them to find out. You should also verify what this rental rate includes and excludes (e.g. utilities, etc.). I do know at least one of these apartments (have driven by them). They are certainly older - but that's not necessarily bad (older buildings tend to have larger rooms).

Because rentals are in such high demand / low supply, people are also sometimes offering more than the going rate to rent a place in high demand areas. A coworker of mine lost out on two properties recently because others outbid her and offered the landlord more than the posted rental rate. I can't comment on whether this is happening in the area you're interested in or not.

The other thing working against you will be your lack of time in Canada. Because so few rentals are available, landlords can be picky about who they select. They prefer people who already have a rental history in Canada they can verify, an established Canadian credit rating and a full time job. If you are competing against others for a property, you may lose out based on these factors.

Anyway - good you are doing research now. Best to come as prepared as possible.

 

[scylla]

Here are some reviews for the first building:

http://bedbugregistry.com/location/ON/M4V/Toronto/1%20Oriole%20Rd/

http://www.myhood.ca/view/review/index.php?sort_id=1&type=reviews&id=4193

Makes sense why it's so cheap...

 

[Christiandg]

Wow, I didn't know there are reviews for several apts in TO and also bedbugs registry. Thanks for the valuable information.
Even without the Bedbugs, I noticed the price is quite high because I can see similar 2 BR apt in scarborough for less than a thousand. But I am after the good school and proximity to potential work (downtown) is what I am after. So I think even if I raise my budget up to 1800 it will still be worth it for I will save on transport cost and time. My plan is to start calling the agents/landlord a week before I arrive so I can book to see the actual place.

 

[scylla]

Yeah - you really can't compare to Scarborough prices. The prices you found are low for the area you're looking in. I was expecting something closer to $2K for a 2 bedroom. Scarborough is a completely different area, much farther from downtown Toronto and generally nowhere near as nice as Yonge and St. Clair. I live very close to downtown Toronto (some would probaby say I live IN downtown Toronto) and Scarborough is the equivalent of Mars to me.