{"id":515,"date":"2011-11-16T05:53:47","date_gmt":"2011-11-16T05:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/?p=515"},"modified":"2012-10-02T11:05:18","modified_gmt":"2012-10-02T19:05:18","slug":"housing-and-vfs-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/housing-and-vfs-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing and VFS Services"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey Folks, how are you? This post is extremely important<\/em> for those who want to live in a good place, with better conditions and with a good price. I think one of the things I’m having more difficulty with in this whole process of moving to another country and request documents, is the leasing of a property. That’s why this post is directed to putting to rest any possible doubts about this process and what the best options are for getting a good place to live.<\/p>\n

There are some real estate rental services in Canada. The most famous of them – but it also requires a bit more caution – is Craigslist<\/em>. You will find that most Canadians will tell you about this site as the best option. And, somehow, is the most used by all and that presents a greater amount of real estate, as both the part of tenants, as part of the owners – also known as a landlord – is what is being used more constantly.<\/p>\n

According to VFS, Vancouver\u2019s rental housing market is one of the most competitive markets in Canada. Tenants are not required to give notice of leaving more than one month in advance; thus available units are not known until seemingly last minute (4-6 weeks in advance of a desired rent start date). This, accompanied with Vancouver\u2019s 0.5% vacancy rate, creates a massive rush on apartments in a very short \u201cwindow\u201d of time (usually 20-40 days prior to a rental start date).<\/p>\n

I can say from experience, that this whole process of looking for a place to live in Vancouver has been a difficult and stressful for several reasons. Thus the intent of the post is to explain more about the options, then you can choose for yourself which seems more reasonable. In my case I’m still using the two options: a random search for myself through Craigslist and also searching using the VFS Housing Service<\/em>. But in both cases\u00a0keep in mind that you can take more than a month<\/em> to get a place since many documents are required from you to prove that you are someone reliable, coming out of their country.<\/p>\n

LOCATION AND PRICES<\/strong>
\nAs in almost all places in the world, the rent in Vancouver varies according to location, size and age of the apartment. A semi-new building, Private Accommodation<\/strong>, one bedroom, in the central region of city – Downtown – costs on average $ 1200 CAD per month. If you end up choosing what we call of Studio<\/strong> – we know as quitinete<\/em> in Brazil – the monthly value fell to an average of $ 800 CAD. Thinking this way, the more you move away from Downtown, the price tends to be lower.<\/p>\n

Another type of accommodation that is fairly common and seen in Vancouver, is what they call the Basement<\/strong>. The Basement are places where you would be renting the downstairs of a house. A family may be living upstairs, while downstairs you live, usually with your own private entrance, doing everything so that you don\u00b4t need to contact the family who is upstairs. For this type of accommodation, the values also vary from region to region of the city, but regardless of location of course the price will be lower than living in private accommodation in Downtown.<\/p>\n

Whatever the choice you make, always give preference for apartments close to subway\/skytrain stations\/public transit. That way you will greatly facilitate your day to day, especially during hard times of winter.<\/p>\n

RENTAL AGREEMENT<\/strong>
\nUsually the leases in Canada have a minimum period of 6 months, but in most cases one year. The proof of income and reference of others is something that probably will be requested of the tenant by the landlord. If you are unable to pay these expenses and it will be your parents who will pay for yours costs out of the country, it may be requested that banking information relating to them is provided.<\/p>\n

A 50% fee for the monthly rent may also be charged to you as soon as you move to the place, referring to what they call the Security Deposit<\/em>. For this case remember to ask for a receipt of payment so that once you leave the place you can take back that money.<\/p>\n

And be sure to ask exactly what is include in the monthly rent of the apartment, as is quite common in Canada to have this costs like water, electricity and heating included in the monthly amount, but just in case, it is worth checking before, ok? \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

VFS HOUSING SERVICE<\/strong>
\nAs I already mentioned just above, another good option for VFS Students<\/strong> is to request the help of their Housing Services. Despite having to pay a mandatory fee for the service – which varies with the amount of people who will live with you – the service can help a lot if you are experiencing the same difficulty that I did at that time. What VFS does is act as an intermediary contact between you and the Landlord, providing necessary documents and what it takes to get the confidence of the owner to the point of renting the apartment to you.<\/p>\n

The VFS Housing Service works as follows. Filling all three forms that they’ll offer – The Service Agreement, Profile Questions and Application for Tenancy<\/em> – they will map out exactly what kind of place you want to live, location, price you can afford, if the apartment is furnished or not etc. In addition to these three forms, you will also be asked for your Letter of Acceptance<\/em> from school, a copy of your passport<\/em> and your Study Permit<\/em>, in addition to your financial information<\/em> or your parents, shown to have sufficient funds to sustain you in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

With all these documents in hand, the VFS Service looks for the best housing option, take photos of the place, comes into contact with the owner, present the best options to you, and if all goes well, you can move into the apartment chosen.<\/p>\n

The idea of this service throughout the school is able to get you everything you need so you can be accepted as a good tenant for the place you want to live. Thus intervening in this process and proving your morality and ability to pay for your costs.<\/p>\n

With regards to the rates charged by VFS, I’d rather not mention them as they may change over time. To do this, I ask that you contact VFS directly by e-mail or over the phone.<\/p>\n

Finally, it is well to remember that if you opt for services of VFS, the ideal scenario is to ask them at least 40 days in advance<\/strong> if possible. That way they can find the best place to accommodate you. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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acompanhe esse texto em portugu\u00eas<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t

Ea\u00ed pessoal, como est\u00e3o? Este post \u00e9 extremamente importante<\/em> para quem quer viver em um lugar bom, com melhores condi\u00e7\u00f5es e com um bom pre\u00e7o. Acredito que uma das coisas que estou tendo maior dificuldade em todo esse processo de mudan\u00e7a de pa\u00eds e solicita\u00e7\u00e3o de documentos, est\u00e1 sendo o de loca\u00e7\u00e3o de im\u00f3vel. \u00c9 por isso que esse post \u00e9 direcionado para tirar o m\u00e1ximo poss\u00edvel as d\u00favidas quanto a esse processo e quais s\u00e3o as melhores op\u00e7\u00f5es para conseguir um bom lugar para morar.<\/p>\n

Existem alguns servi\u00e7os de loca\u00e7\u00e3o de im\u00f3veis no Canad\u00e1. O mais famoso deles – mas que tamb\u00e9m exige um pouco mais de cuidado – \u00e9 o Craigslist<\/em>. Voc\u00eas perceber\u00e3o que a maioria dos Canadenses ir\u00e3o te falar sobre esse site como sendo a melhor op\u00e7\u00e3o. E, de certa forma, \u00e9 a op\u00e7\u00e3o mais utilizada por todos e que apresenta uma maior quantidade de im\u00f3veis, j\u00e1 que tanto da parte dos locat\u00e1rios, como da parte dos propriet\u00e1rios – tamb\u00e9m conhecidos como LandLord – \u00e9 o que est\u00e1 mais sendo usado constantemente.<\/p>\n

De acordo com VFS, o mercado de arrendamento habitacional de Vancouver \u00e9 um dos mercados mais competitivos no Canad\u00e1. Inquilinos n\u00e3o s\u00e3o obrigados a notificar sua sa\u00edda do local com mais de um m\u00eas de anteced\u00eancia, portanto lugares dispon\u00edveis n\u00e3o s\u00e3o conhecidas at\u00e9 o \u00faltimo minuto a partir dessa desist\u00eancia (de 4-6 semanas de anteced\u00eancia da data desejada do in\u00edcio da loca\u00e7\u00e3o). Isso, tamb\u00e9m acompanhado com a taxa de 0,5% de vaga em Vancouver, cria uma pressa enorme de apartamentos em um per\u00edodo muito curto de tempo (normalmente 20-40 dias antes de uma data de in\u00edcio de aluguel).<\/p>\n

Posso dizer de antem\u00e3o por experi\u00eancia pr\u00f3pria, que todo esse processo de busca por um lugar para morar em Vancouver tem sido algo bem complicado e estressante por diversos motivos. Sendo assim, a inten\u00e7\u00e3o do post \u00e9 explicar mais sobre isso para em seguida voc\u00ea poder escolher por si mesmo qual op\u00e7\u00e3o parece mais razo\u00e1vel. No meu caso eu ainda estou utilizando das duas op\u00e7\u00f5es: a busca aleat\u00f3ria por mim mesmo, atrav\u00e9s do Craigslist e a busca utilizando os Servi\u00e7os de Habita\u00e7\u00e3o da VFS<\/em>. Mas, em ambos os casos, tenha em mente que voc\u00ea pode levar mais do que um m\u00eas<\/em> para conseguir um lugar, j\u00e1 que ser\u00e3o exigidos diversos documentos de voc\u00ea, para provar que voc\u00ea \u00e9 algu\u00e9m confi\u00e1vel vindo de fora do pa\u00eds deles.<\/p>\n

LOCALIZA\u00c7\u00c3O E PRE\u00c7OS<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\nComo em quase todos os lugares do Mundo, o valor do aluguel em Vancouver varia de acordo com a sua localiza\u00e7\u00e3o, tamanho e idade do apartamento. Um im\u00f3vel semi-novo, Acomoda\u00e7\u00e3o Privada<\/strong>, 1 dormit\u00f3rio, na regi\u00e3o central da cidade – Downtown – custa em m\u00e9dia $1200 CAD por m\u00eas. Se voc\u00ea acaba optando por o que chamamos de Studio<\/strong> – que no caso conhecemos por quitinete aqui no Brasil – o valor mensal ca\u00ed para uma m\u00e9dia de $800 CAD. Pensando dessa forma, quanto mais voc\u00ea se afastar de Downtown, o pre\u00e7o tende a ser mais baixo.<\/p>\n

Outro tipo de acomoda\u00e7\u00e3o que \u00e9 bastante vista e comum em Vancouver, \u00e9 o que eles chamam de Basement<\/strong>. Os Basement s\u00e3o lugares aos quais voc\u00ea estaria alugando o andar de baixo de uma casa. Uma fam\u00edlia estaria vivendo no andar superior, enquanto voc\u00ea vive no andar inferior – Basement – normalmente possuindo uma entrada privada, fazendo de tudo para voc\u00ea n\u00e3o precisar ter contato com a fam\u00edlia que est\u00e1 no andar superior. Para esse tipo de acomoda\u00e7\u00e3o, os valores tamb\u00e9m variam de regi\u00e3o para regi\u00e3o da cidade, mas independente da localiza\u00e7\u00e3o com certeza o pre\u00e7o ser\u00e1 mais baixo do que vivendo em uma acomoda\u00e7\u00e3o privada em Downtown.<\/p>\n

Independente da escolha que voc\u00ea fizer, d\u00ea sempre prefer\u00eancia por apartamentos pr\u00f3ximos \u00e0s esta\u00e7\u00f5es de metr\u00f4. Dessa forma voc\u00ea facilitar\u00e1 bastante o seu dia a dia, principalmente durante tempos de Inverno.<\/p>\n

CONTRATO DE ALUGUEL<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n<\/strong>Normalmente os contratos de aluguel no Canad\u00e1 possuem prazo m\u00ednimo de 6 meses, mas na maioria dos casos de 1 ano. A comprova\u00e7\u00e3o de renda e refer\u00eancia de terceiros \u00e9 algo que provavelmente ser\u00e1 cobrado do locat\u00e1rio pelo LandLord. Se voc\u00ea n\u00e3o tiver condi\u00e7\u00f5es de pagar por suas despesas e for seus pais que ir\u00e3o pagar por seus custos fora do pa\u00eds, forne\u00e7a dados banc\u00e1rios referentes aos mesmos.<\/p>\n

Uma taxa referente a 50% da mensalidade do aluguel tamb\u00e9m poder\u00e1 ser cobrado de voc\u00ea assim que se mudar para o local, referendo-se ao que eles chamam de Dep\u00f3sito de Seguran\u00e7a<\/em>. Para esse caso lembre-se de pedir um recibo desse pagamento, para que assim que voc\u00ea deixar o local voc\u00ea poder ter de volta esse valor.<\/p>\n

E n\u00e3o se esque\u00e7a de perguntar exatamente o que inclu\u00ed dentro do valor mensal do apartamento, j\u00e1 que \u00e9 algo bem comum no Canad\u00e1 ter gastos como \u00e1gua, eletricidade e aquecimento inclusos no valor mensal, mas por via das d\u00favidas, vale conferir antes, ok? \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

VFS HOUSING SERVICE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n<\/strong>Como eu j\u00e1 citei logo acima, uma outra op\u00e7\u00e3o boa para alunos da VFS \u00e9 a solicita\u00e7\u00e3o de seus servi\u00e7os de habita\u00e7\u00e3o. Apesar de precisar pagar uma taxa obrigat\u00f3ria pelo servi\u00e7o – que varia de acordo com a quantidade de pessoas que ir\u00e3o morar com voc\u00ea – o servi\u00e7o pode ajudar bastante caso voc\u00ea esteja passando pela mesma dificuldade que eu nesse momento. Porque o que a VFS faz \u00e9 acabar sendo um contato interm\u00e9dio entre voc\u00ea e o Landlod, disponibilizando documentos necess\u00e1rios e o que for preciso para conseguir a confian\u00e7a do propriet\u00e1rio ao ponto de aceitar alugar o apartamento para voc\u00ea.<\/p>\n

O Servi\u00e7o da VFS funciona da seguinte maneira. Preenchendo todos os 3 formul\u00e1rios que eles ir\u00e3o te disponibilizar – The Service Agreement, Profile Questions e Application for Tenancy<\/em> – eles ir\u00e3o tra\u00e7ar exatamente que tipo de lugar voc\u00ea quer morar, a localiza\u00e7\u00e3o, pre\u00e7o que voc\u00ea pode pagar, se o apartamento \u00e9 mobiliado ou n\u00e3o etc. Junto a esses 3 formul\u00e1rios tamb\u00e9m ser\u00e1 solicitado de voc\u00ea a sua Carta de Aceita\u00e7\u00e3o<\/em> da escola, uma c\u00f3pia do seu passport<\/em> e do seu Study Permit<\/em>, al\u00e9m de informa\u00e7\u00f5es financeiras<\/em> suas ou de seus pais, provando possuirem fundos suficientes para sustent\u00e1-lo em Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Com todos esses documentos em m\u00e3os, o Servi\u00e7o da VFS procura pela melhor op\u00e7\u00e3o de moradia, fotografa o local, entra em contato com o propriet\u00e1rio, te apresenta as melhores op\u00e7\u00f5es e, se tudo der certo, voc\u00ea pode se mudar para o apartamento escolhido.<\/p>\n

A id\u00e9ia de todo esse servi\u00e7o da escola \u00e9 poder conseguir para voc\u00ea tudo que for necess\u00e1rio para que voc\u00ea consiga ser aceito como um bom locat\u00e1rio para o lugar que voc\u00ea quer morar. Sendo assim intervindo em todo esse processo e provando sua moralidade e capacidade de arcar pelos seus custos.<\/p>\n

Se tratando das taxas cobradas pelo Servi\u00e7o, eu prefiro n\u00e3o citar as mesmas, j\u00e1 que elas podem se alterar com o tempo. Para tal, pe\u00e7o que entre em contato diretamente com a escola, atrav\u00e9s de e-mail ou telefone.<\/p>\n

Por fim, vale tamb\u00e9m lembrar que caso voc\u00ea opte pelos Servi\u00e7os da VFS, o ideal \u00e9 solicit\u00e1-los com pelo menos 40 dias de anteced\u00eancia<\/strong> se poss\u00edvel. Dessa forma eles poder\u00e3o achar o melhor lugar para acomodar voc\u00ea. \ud83d\ude42<\/p><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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Hey Folks, how are you? This post is extremely important for those who want to live in a good place, with better conditions and with a good price. I think one of the things I’m having more difficulty with in this whole process of moving to another country and request documents, is the leasing of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[56,57,30,53,49,23,51,54,55,52,46,50],"class_list":["post-515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-at-vfs","tag-basement","tag-blair-robertson","tag-canada","tag-craigslist","tag-housing-service","tag-matheus-pitillo","tag-prices","tag-private-accommodation","tag-studio","tag-tenants","tag-vancouver-film-school","tag-vfs-housing-service"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1VrXU-8j","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":548,"href":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515\/revisions\/548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matheuspitillo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}