MAHIRAP PO! (It was hard!)
I am jumping right into this topic even before I build the blog up.
We arrived in Victoria last December 11. We got a Canadian phone plan and opened our bank account in the first week. We even got our SIN. But we failed to get our BC ID. Simply because we don’t have a permanent address.
It is now the third week of January and we still do not have a permanent rental. Paano nga ba?
When we arrived in December, we stayed in a 1 bedroom airbnb suite near the ocean. The place was nice but quite expensive as we had to pay USD 2300 when we booked (roughly Php 140k). That was one of the cheaper places when we booked 2 months before.
On the second week of our stay (December 20-24), we were searching and scheduling viewing. Only one viewing pushed through but we did not like the place.
Nobody informed us of the succeeding holidays here.
The unforeseen holidays
There was no office work from December 27 to 28.
December 29 to 30 were the only times we were able to call property managers and most of the people were still on leave. Most of the property managers resumed their work on January 4.
That meant 2.5 weeks of not being able to view any property or talk to anyone.
We only had 5 viewings from the numerous inquiries. While we submitted applications and emailed, nobody got back to us except to say that the unit has been taken.
We were in a dilemma. Our one month in our Airbnb was almost up (January 10) and we still don't have a rental. The Airbnb prices are also going up. And we do not have the option to renew our current place.
We had no choice but to move to an inn after our one-month reservation is up.
We reserved 24 days at Red Lion Inn. The cost is CAD 89 / night.
For 24 days, it would reach CAD 2500 (or about Php106k) with taxes. The place was so much better than our 1 bedroom suite simply because Walmart and Uptown are just half a block away. The place we got was a studio with 2 queen beds and a kitchenette where we can cook. Pwede na. I even liked it better because the location is so convenient.
So now, back to our dilemma.
We joined FB groups in the area. We sent private messages to landlords. We looked at Kijiji, craigslist, and used.ca, aside from property manager's home pages. We emailed more than 30 listings already.
Two weeks now and we have had rejections. Most also do not reply. Or seenzone. We do not understand. We have more than enough money. We can even prepay several months. Pero ba't ganun?
The process
Here, the process is different.
Once you view a property, the adults in the household need to submit an application. Part of the submission includes landlord references and proof of income. We do not have both. Offering to submit a Philippine bank certificate was ignored. They want it in a Canadian bank. We are getting frustrated. 😣
We also do not have a credit score yet simply because we just got our credit card. 💳
Did I also mention that there is a housing crisis here in Victoria?
So what do we do? Currently at a loss given the situation. So dasal lang. 🙏
Slowly too, we are transferring our money from the Philippines to our Canadian bank. I think we are losing but we have no choice.
Right now, we are on a wait-and-see.
It is our 12th day at the inn. While we are comfortable, I can’t wait to have our own place.
I will keep you posted as we look for our apartment.
Dasal-dasal lang be 🙏 cause the Lord will provide the best place for us to thrive. 🙏
Afterall, nandito na kami (we are already here).
