How do you get an apartment in Victoria BC?

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). 

Other documents during the pandemic

We took advantage of the pandemic. I am saying this because if the situation was normal and we were not working from home, we would have found it difficult to file a leave of absence just to get our documents. 

While lining up for our passports, we realized that JE's passport will also expire in 2022. A long time away but we know that the visa that will be issued will depend on the validity of the passport. We don't want to take the risk. 

Fortunately, we got a slot and renewed her passport the following month. Her appointment fell before the Holy Week, a day before another lockdown was implemented. Whew! At least, all of us now got our 10-year passports except for JE who got five-years 

Another set of documents that we secured were PSA copies of our birth certificates, and civil status/marriage certificate. We opted to line up at the Starmall Alabang to be sure that we get it immediately. Also, it is cheaper than requesting online via the serbilis site. It was a long queue though. We lined up at 6 am and finished at lunchtime. The PSA serbilis was more convenient. We also availed of its service later on for my mom and it took a week for her documents to arrive. 

Lastly, we secured NBI clearances. We applied online and paid via gcash. We chose to have our appointment at Robinson's Galleria. Again the line was long. I had a hit because someone else had the same name as me but I went back after a week and was able to secure mine. 

Three sets of documents were secured during the first five months of the year. 

We had to be quick in securing all the schedules. So I suggest, even though the appointment will happen one or two months after, grab the earliest schedule you can get. That day will soon arrive. 

Just one step at a time. 

Confirmed seat

When I received my letter of acceptance (LOA), it stated that I should pay the reservation fee by February 12.  

The reservation fee is  CAD 1,000. It is non-refundable should I wish to defer to the following term.  But once confirmed, it will be deducted from my total tuition fee. 

When I received the LOA, I did not immediately settle the reservation fee. I dont know why but I have some weird idea of choosing a date when to pay it. LOL. 

While not paying, I have been reading up on the area and checking what else I need to bring. I also constantly read the acceptance letter. I could not believe our dream is almost here. 

Finally, on February 5, or one week before deadline, I logged in my school account and followed the instructions. It was quick and easy, but it did not stop me from saying a quick prayer while the transaction was being processed. After all, CAD 1000 is not a joke and the internet can fluctuate or whatever.  😅

And there it appeared. My payment confirmation.

I paid on a Friday. The following Monday, they emailed me my seat confirmation. The letter also stated other tips while waiting for my study visa permit. 

My next step: attend my DFA passport renewal appointment  that I scheduled 2 months ago. 

Waitlisted and LOAs

My initial first choice was New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) and Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) for the schools. 

I initially sent my school documents to my education consultant in IDP Philippines last October 28, 2020. They replied to me after 10 days requesting for consent forms. I immediately sent it last November 9. The plan is for them to apply to NBCC on my behalf. 

However, their documents person replied only on November 13. During this time, I checked and the course that I wanted is now on waitlist. My education consultant inquired with NBCC and they replied that I can choose another course that is still open. This actually placed me in a dilemma. 

I consulted IDP and they provided me another set of school options. Among the schools, I chose Cape Breton. I was actually interested in the university when I searched for it before. On the other hand, NBCC also suggested to check their other programs that are still open. 

This was my timeline:

• Dec 2 - applied to NSCC on my own since the college was not part of IDP's roster of school clients. 
• Dec 6 - applied to NBCC on my own as well. My IDP informed me during this time that their website is often down. Their website included a notice regarding this. So when I checked and was able to get in, I immediately applied. My program was on waitlist but I went ahead anyway. 
• Dec 9 - my IDP consultant applied to CBU on my behalf, She also arranged to waive the application fee. 
• Dec 16 - took my computer-based IELTS
• Dec 18 - received my test results online (Passed! 👆 )
• Dec 23 - received hard copy of my results and immediately uploaded to CBU. Also forwarded the same to IDP so they can forward to NBCC
• Dec 23 - requested for a copy to be sent to NSCC
• Jan 5 - received Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from CBU!
• Jan 13 - Inquired with IDP on NBCC. She informed me that I am on waitlist for both campuses 😔 I am on rank 40+. Given this and the slim possibility to get in, I removed NBCC from my option. 
• Jan 22 - Received LOA from NSCC!

Now which one? 

I can't wait. 

Timelines and a bit of reality. Pandemic came

 It  was silent... 

Our dream was not provided. 

 It was not yet time.

I had been silent about this. I was almost resigned. I kept rejecting the thought that EE was hard. Mahirap tumaas ang score. Mahirap mainvite. This will give a quick glimpse to what happened. 

I re-entered the EE pool when it expired after a year. I kept applying to jobs. I do not even want to count how many cover letters I wrote and resumes I sent out. I know that I am more than qualified but it was not yet meant to be. 

I researched more and read more. I talked to my friend from Nova Scotia. We met with relatives visiting from British Columbia. Because of my age, I know that I have to take a different path way. But we know we have to sound it off to people who know better. 

2019 was a blur. Suddenly it was gone. 

In February of 2020, we attended the Educanada fair. This time, I have 2 provinces in mind, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. We are not really looking at the big cities and these two appear to be perfect — the right amount of city bustle but with the laid back feel of the countryside with its nearness to nature. 

This time too, I am looking at studying further. Aside from honing my current skills and making me a better fit for our plans, it will also give me the opportunity to have a “feel” of the country. 

I applied at Nova Scotia Community College and New Brunswick Community College and they were already responding and requesting for additional documents. 

But then the pandemic happened. 

The country was in lockdown from March until June. My mind was preoccupied with work and fear of the disease. Almost all the other countries including Canada was in lock down. There was nothing that we can do. 

My IELTS, and with it, my EE expired. There was a big gloom hanging over my head. 

The country only eased the lockdown in June. Still, we were not confident to come out.

In August 6, IDP Philippines conducted a short seminar on studying in Canada. I signed up and scheduled a counseling session for August 29. Since I wanted a Saturday session, that was the earliest they can give me. 

This was the time too that I got in touch with my school for the additional documents. My school took longer to process the documents given the skeletal workforce. 

On the day of my counseling, counsellor AG explained to me what to do. (More about this in another post). She advised me to research and promised to email me additional details. 

We agreed on October for me to submit my documents to her. 

One month to research, to pray more, and to get ready.