Housing in Atlantic Canada. Types of Houses.

Source: Nane

Looking for a home can be a very exciting experience that can be both rewarding and challenging.

One of your first needs after arriving here is a temporary place to stay until you find your home. 

You can go to a friend´s or family´s house but another option is to stay in a hostel or a hotel. If that is the case, you should book it several weeks before flying to Canada. Booking in advance, will save you money and you will have a better chance of finding rooms available. 

An alternative to this is to contact an immigrant-serving organization in the city or town where you want to settle down.  You can find contact information at: www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/map/services.asp

If you are a refugee, you will receive assistance finding temporary acccommodation as part of the Resettlement Assistance Program.

Types of Housing in Canada:

Condominiums (condos): "Condominium" is a legal term used in the United States and in most provinces of Canada.  In Quebec, the term "divided co-property" (French: copropriété divisée) is used, although the colloquial name remains "condominium". 

Usually, condos exist in buildings with many units. The owner pays monthly fees to a condo corporation that handles maintenance and repairs as required. Condominiums can be a good choice for first time homebuyers because they are usually one of the less expensive options

Rental Apartments: ("flats" in British English). An Apartment is a unit in a building or a house. Most apartments have one/two/three bedrooms. 

But, if you see an advertisement and it says something about "Bachelor"units, it refeers to a single room that can be used as a living area and bedroom. 

The difference between an "apartment" complex and a condominium is purely legal and there is no way that you can say which is which by simply looking at the building.  When we talk about apartments, they are in a building owned by the same person. However if we talk about "condos" we are talking about units owned by different people sharing common areas.

Rental Rooms: Large homes are sometimes divided into several private bedrooms that are rented to individuals who share a kitchen and bathroom. That is the kind of house students usually have. They are cheaper than the rest of the options. 

Houses: There are detached houses with surrounding property as well as semi-detached and townhouses where each house shares a wall with another. 

Which one do you like most? ¿Which one suits your neccesities? ¿Central located and close to public transportation or do you prefeer one in the country? It is your choice!

In next posts, we will talk about renting and about buying your first home in Canada. 

Enjoy!