A harder task than originally thought
When the topic of living arrangements for university was brought up in high school, the majority of us had the same naive answer. We were going to live in residence first year, make the best friends ever, then find a beautiful house close to the school, near grocery stores and downtown where we’d live happily ever after.
Looking back at how I and many others viewed finding a house, I want to go back, pat little grade 12 me on the head and say “oh sweetie no,” because what I assumed would happen was farther from the truth than I’d like.
…even my ‘smooth’ process was still daunting and scary at every step.
What no one ever tells you about finding a house are the specifics involved in it. Everyone just assumes you know about utilities, post-dated cheques, and the like. Before I got to university, I never thought that there could be separate payments you had to make for gas, hydro, and rent. I knew my parents paid everything separately, but they owned the house, so I thought a landlord would take care of all of that. After I started looking, I found out some landlords don’t, which really scared me, because I sometimes find paying a phone bill complicated, so paying individual bills split amongst four people? That would be a nightmare.
On top of just paying for the house itself, most places aren’t furnished. I understand why this is the case, but naïve me at the beginning of the search thought every place would be furnished, including the bedrooms, so we wouldn’t have to buy anything more for it. I was wrong there too. Almost no houses come with furnished bedrooms. I get why – that could be a little gross if you don’t know the people who lived there before you, but in the beginning, it sounded like it would save a lot of time and money already having a bedroom ready for me to live in. Most houses don’t come with any furniture at all. Then you have to sort out if anyone can bring couches, tables, etc., so you don’t have to spend a ridiculous amount on furniture when you’re paying rent and groceries on a student budget.
The final part, actually signing a lease, was probably the most stressful time for anyone when getting a house. First, you have to get everyone’s parents on board because if one person can’t sign that lease, the deal is going to fall through. Then, you have to make an offer first and hope and pray that no one made one before you or made a better offer after you. Finally, you have to look over the lease and make sure that everything is legal and nothing harms you. I was lucky, because I volunteer with the Student Health and Advocacy Center (SHAC) on-campus, so I knew most of what I needed to know about what can and can’t be in a lease. This made my friends and I a little better off than most, but it’s still scary signing a legally binding contract centered on where you’re living for the next 12 months.
I had a smoother time finding living arrangements than most, but even my “smooth” process was still daunting and scary at every step. It all ended well – my friends and I found a house we absolutely love with no problems (thus far), but it caused us all a lot of anxiety and stress getting to that point. Really, I’m just glad it’s over and I’ve got a house I’d be happy living in for the next three years, so I have a long, long time before I have to repeat this process.