Canadian noobie needs a bit of help with apartment/condo rental :)

S

surfkitty_IHB

New member
Hi everyone!

My husband and I are moving to OC for 6 months and I have a couple of quick questions. We are actually hoping to stay longer than the 6 months but we have our own business so we have to see what hapens when we apply for the visa.I was speaking with someone about renting their condo for 6 months and he said that we are responsible for power, water and gas. That is fine but I'm wondering if we'll have a hard time signing up for these if we don't have a SSN. Does anyone know who provides these serices for Aliso Viejo? We've thought about renting a furnished condo that includes utilities but they're so much more expensive! Also I'm wondering if anyone has checked out the "Canyon Villas" in Aliso? We're considering renting a 1 bedroom there for $1500.00. Any thoughts about that or Aliso Viejo in general? Thanks in advance for any advice or tips!
 
<p>You might want to contact the apartment management office. They should have all of the contact information for the various services and utilities. These contacts are likely to be appropriate for the entire city.</p>

<p>As for Aliso, it's hard to go wrong there. In which city will you be working (if not at home)? </p>
 
<p>Contacting an apartment management office is the way to go. Aliso is a beautiful place, it can get expensive, but its just like most other places though. How big of a place do you want to rent? What isyour monthly cost goal?</p>

<p>-bix</p>
 
Thanks for the replies! It's actually a person renting out their condo so I should probably ask them who suplies the utilities for the area. Our monthly budget is $1500-$1700 for a 1 bedroom (the one in question is 600 square feet). Does that seem reasonable? If anyone has any other suggestions for places to rent please let me know. We have our own business so the area doesn't sepcifially have to be Aliso. I'm just looking for somewhere reasonably quiet, safe and not as expensive as Newport/Laguna. Plus being from Canada (and landlocked most of our lives) we would love to be somewhat close to the beach :) Thanks again!
 
<p>Irvine Apartment Communities would be an alternate choice. They have recently refurbished their older apartments that will meet your rent range. IAC is very savvy regarding their business center. Most projects have conference room, computer stations, club house, Fax and printer and UPS postal receiving room. <a href="http://www.irvinecompany.com">www.irvinecompany.com</a></p>

<p>Their pool and resort like amenities are much better than most neglected pool and tot lots run by a condo HOA. You will be traveling a long way to OC for business and a better resort environment and business support center are much better for your soul when you plan on operating from home. Some IAC also have social activity groups that allow you to make some friends. </p>

<p>Beware, It is much harder to make friends with your home owner neighbors. Home owners look down on renters. Neighbors are very private here in OC. Read some of my April postings on this subject.</p>

<p> </p>
 
That's very interesting...thanks bkshopr! I'm not sure that we will qualify with IAC as we don't have any U.S. credit. I'd also like to rent in somewhere newer so it may be tough to find something in that range in Irvine. I think I will give them a call there and see what they say about the U.S./Canadian credit thing. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised :) That is so strange that homeowners look down on renters. I understand if they are loud and have no respect for their surroundings but my husband and I just sold our home last month and we'd prefer to travel for a while before purchasing again. There is just way too little time in my life to get stressed about who owns property and who's renting (but that's just my opinion, lol)! Anyway thanks again everyone!
 
We are renting at one of the Irvine company complexes <a href="http://www.rental-living.com">www.rental-living.com</a>. The website has price ranges for all the complexes. We really like it - great pool, clean apt and feels new. Also, as far as furniture goes - I looked into getting a furnished place and/or renting furniture and decided that Ikea was much cheaper (do you have Ikea near you - I know there are a few in Canada!)
 
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