HOPE ME METAFILTER!

August 12, 2010 5:20 PM

Toronto housing HELP! Need a Toronto sublet 1 bedroom apartment or 1 bedroom in an apartment for a person doing a housing search in Toronto. We're having crap luck and need help from Metafilter.

I have a friend looking for an apartment in Toronto and we're having crappy luck.

_{(We've hit all the normal sites and seen a tonne of places, but clean bright non-underground apartments for two females with standards higher than bedrock don't seem to be easy to find.)}

She's got $1500/month to spend and needs 2 bedrooms near U of T or near transit that will get her to U of T.

Right now we're running out of couches to surf on and hotels are prohibitively expensive, so I'm looking for a place for her to stay while the search continues.

We're taking suggestions for apartments, housing rentals, or referrals to agents (do they have those in North America?) who might be able to help us/her find a place.

posted by tiamat to home & garden (15 answers total)

she's checked student housing, and talked to a student housing worker? They have a semeinar for off campus housing this saturday!
posted by PinkMoose at 5:29 PM on August 12, 2010

This? Or this? No pictures and maybe the price is too good to be true for the area, but this? Sorry, I know you said you've tried the usual sites...
posted by Beardman at 5:36 PM on August 12, 2010

Oh yes, and in general, if you don't already, always check the Bedbug Registry, especially if you're interested in any of the buildings on St. George or Walmer (i.e. the big clusters of apartment buildings near U of T).
posted by Beardman at 5:38 PM on August 12, 2010

This is across the street from me. It's apparently massive. 20 minute walk to school, right by the subway and the park. Perhaps you've already been and it was grody.
posted by Beardman at 5:41 PM on August 12, 2010

There's still enough summer to stay in a Uof T Residence for a couple of weeks while she looks for somewhere. Check Ryerson U for rooms, too.
posted by girlpublisher at 5:46 PM on August 12, 2010

In terms of places to stay your friend might want to check out the Neill-Wycik hotel/residence. Single rooms seem to run $40/night, which is much better than hotel rates. You might see some negative reviews of the place online, but they went through a renovation recently, and I can personally vouch for the place -- I stayed here one night while apartment-hunting in Toronto a couple of years back. It was clean and functional, though of course bare-bones.

I'm surprised she can't find a decent place to live for $1500/month, however. I have a feeling she's looking to close to campus. The Annex and the area east of campus inexplicably draw a lot of students (the Annex is overpriced, while east downtown is seedy). Toronto's subways are fast and efficient most of the time so I would suggest trying going a few stops west along the Bloor line, or north to the St. Clair area (or Eglington, but that might be too far).
posted by hiteleven at 5:50 PM on August 12, 2010

[edited the question to remove the "do you have a sublet" and reward parts, OP check your MeMail.]
posted by jessamyn at 6:09 PM on August 12, 2010

hiteleven, I agree she should be looking outside the Annex--nothing that is affordable there will be adequate--but having just spent basically 3 months looking for a 2 bedroom at that price near-ish to the university by subway, I can testify that it's really, really hard if you have any kind of standards.
posted by Beardman at 6:11 PM on August 12, 2010

hiteleven, I agree she should be looking outside the Annex--nothing that is affordable there will be adequate--but having just spent basically 3 months looking for a 2 bedroom at that price near-ish to the university by subway, I can testify that it's really, really hard if you have any kind of standards.

Hmm...well, I found a decent place that basically meets this criteria, but maybe it was just good luck. It was the first time that I was looking above the $1000/month range so I guess my experience is limited.

I do know the hell that is Toronto apartment-hunting well, however (I once lived in four different places in a little over a year), so I sympathize with all who have to go through it.
posted by hiteleven at 6:29 PM on August 12, 2010

I was at a building on Spadina / Bloor (uhh... 666 spadina) in a decent 2 bdrm place. It was clean, and the super was friendly. Streetcar at your front door, UofT is w/in walking distance. Sorry, no leads on a short-term place...
posted by defcom1 at 8:14 PM on August 12, 2010

There are a ton of older low rise buildings along Vaughan Rd. and the 60 bus runs down to St.Clair W station. Some are nicer than others.
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:21 AM on August 13, 2010

Two suggestions:

- Check places all along the Bloor-Danforth subway line. It doesn't take long to get from any reasonably central subway stop to U of T. That gives you more options than the Annex.

- If you're looking at living in a high-rise, and can find somewhere to tide you over for a couple of months, check at the first of the month, or just before, to see what apartments are now free because their occupants have just given their two months' notice. This might not be practical for you if you need to find somewhere to live right away.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 7:34 AM on August 13, 2010

Ack - that last sentence was very badly worded. What I meant to say was that you can probably find a good place for two months from now, if you ask around at high-rises at the first of the month.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 7:37 AM on August 13, 2010

Since you have tried the usual sites, I suggest you try the Rent Compass Toronto Apartments section, there are few different options there.
There are also iphone, ipod, ipad and Android apps that you can find here, so you can search on the go and don't need to waste your time on the computer all the time.
posted by batman99 at 8:08 AM on August 13, 2010

There are a ton of older low rise buildings along Vaughan Rd.

Number 118 has a bad roach problem. The one directly south of it apparently is fine.
posted by Beardman at 11:03 AM on August 13, 2010