When to start renting?

[DABMAN]

Hey guys was just wondering if you guys normally begin renting a month before school starts (August) or is September okay (school for Western starts on the 7th with orientation day this year)? I'm from out of town so I'll need to buy some basic things like bed frame, mattress etc, do you think 7 days is enough to set everything up?

 

Thanks

 

 

[TobyFlenderson]

School starts on the 7th? News to me, but I like that, feels like a late start which means more time off beforehand.

To your question, when I started 1L the first day of class was earlier (the 3rd?) and I moved in on Sept 1. That was a little rushed, because I needed to make sure my desk and stuff was assembled pretty much the day we moved in, but I still had most of the day before class to get settled and (lightly) prepare for the first day. I purchased my desk/bed/etc in advance though, and lugged it up in the moving truck. I would recommend doing the same. If you try to buy it in London once you get there, that's where I think you'd be most likely to run into timing problems.

If you start on the 7th, and move in the 1st, that is more than likely plenty of time for you to move, unpack, assemble furniture, settle in, whatever you need to do. 

If you move in Aug 1, you'll almost definitely find yourself on day 3/4/5 wondering "now what?" while you wait for school to start. Gives you some time to explore London though, if that's worth the extra month's rent to you (I'm sure for some people, it would be, depending on where you're coming from).

Alternatively, you could get the place on Aug 1 and then just move in later, like the 20th or something, but then you're still paying the extra rent. I wouldn't do this unless you really have to, like in a scenario where you really like a place and they want a tenant for Aug, so you pay rent earlier than need be for the sake of securing the place.

Ultimately, I think you'd be fine with a Sept 1 move in date. 

[DABMAN]

23 minutes ago, TobyFlenderson said:

School starts on the 7th? News to me, but I like that, feels like a late start which means more time off beforehand.

To your question, when I started 1L the first day of class was earlier (the 3rd?) and I moved in on Sept 1. That was a little rushed, because I needed to make sure my desk and stuff was assembled pretty much the day we moved in, but I still had most of the day before class to get settled and (lightly) prepare for the first day. I purchased my desk/bed/etc in advance though, and lugged it up in the moving truck. I would recommend doing the same. If you try to buy it in London once you get there, that's where I think you'd be most likely to run into timing problems.

If you start on the 7th, and move in the 1st, that is more than likely plenty of time for you to move, unpack, assemble furniture, settle in, whatever you need to do. 

If you move in Aug 1, you'll almost definitely find yourself on day 3/4/5 wondering "now what?" while you wait for school to start. Gives you some time to explore London though, if that's worth the extra month's rent to you (I'm sure for some people, it would be, depending on where you're coming from).

Alternatively, you could get the place on Aug 1 and then just move in later, like the 20th or something, but then you're still paying the extra rent. I wouldn't do this unless you really have to, like in a scenario where you really like a place and they want a tenant for Aug, so you pay rent earlier than need be for the sake of securing the place.

Ultimately, I think you'd be fine with a Sept 1 move in date. 

Thanks Toby. Not sure if you as a 3L will have classes beginning on the 7th but according to https://law.uwo.ca/about_us/sessional_dates.html orientation is then (don't blame me if you miss the first day of classes haha)

Regarding the moving truck thing I've researched a bit on the costs (renting+having someone drive it to London from Toronto) and it seems like its around $1000, does this sound accurate to you? 

Also why do you think I'll run into problems with timing if I'm buying my stuff London? I imagine myself just going in store and grabbing whatever and just bringing it back home. 

 

[Diplock]

Depends. Are you attending TRU, or any other school?

Too soon?

[TheMidnightOil]

11 minutes ago, Diplock said:

Depends. Are you attending TRU, or any other school?

Too soon?

Low blow!

[TobyFlenderson]

5 minutes ago, DABMAN said:

Thanks Toby. Not sure if you as a 3L will have classes beginning on the 7th but according to https://law.uwo.ca/about_us/sessional_dates.html orientation is then (don't blame me if you miss the first day of classes haha)

Regarding the moving truck thing I've researched a bit on the costs (renting+having someone drive it to London from Toronto) and it seems like its around $1000, does this sound accurate to you? 

Also why do you think I'll run into problems with timing if I'm buying my stuff London? I imagine myself just going in store and grabbing whatever and just bringing it back home. 

 

$1000 seems high! I used UHaul, and I had one of their larger trucks. If you give me a day or two, I'll try and find my receipt and let you know, because off the top of my head, that seems double the price I paid (didn't come from Toronto, but the distance travelled would be close enough that I don't know why there'd be such a substantial difference in price). 

If you're gonna go in somewhere and just say "hey that desk/bed/etc is great, I'll take it", then no, I suppose you'll have less issues, but your selection is also narrower this way. I went to IKEA during the summer and just stored the unassembled stuff in my house until I moved. If grabbing stuff up there works for you, then by all means though, go for it -- especially if you can use a smaller moving truck that way, and save some money on that rental fee.

My original concern re: timing was that I envisioned you arriving, going furniture shopping, and running into problems where the stuff you want isn't available and you have to wait for it to come in. In my year away from London, I've forgotten a lot of the geography. Is there an IKEA in London? My memory says no, but if there is, that would likely address this problem, as long as you have a vehicle to make that trip. My car would have struggled with a trip to Ikea to furnish an apartment, so the moving truck helped on that front, too.

[Skier41]

16 minutes ago, TobyFlenderson said:

$1000 seems high! I used UHaul, and I had one of their larger trucks. If you give me a day or two, I'll try and find my receipt and let you know, because off the top of my head, that seems double the price I paid (didn't come from Toronto, but the distance travelled would be close enough that I don't know why there'd be such a substantial difference in price). 

Uhauls lately are incredibly expensive and vary based on direction of travel. To move from BC to NS, it costs about $8000 for the smallest truck but only $3000 in the opposite direction. Uhaul prices are absurd rn. As with everything else, I guess COVID is to blame. 
 

Edit: Not saying Toronto - London will be this crazy but probably more expensive than in previous years. 

Edited June 23, 2021 by Skier41

[Whist]

3 hours ago, Skier41 said:

Uhauls lately are incredibly expensive and vary based on direction of travel. To move from BC to NS, it costs about $8000 for the smallest truck but only $3000 in the opposite direction. Uhaul prices are absurd rn.

Building off this, I was quoted roughly $800 for a UHaul from BC to AB, for a nine foot cargo van (their smallest). That doesn't include gas costs. They also told me demand is very high right now.