You have made the decision to rent a home, now comes the tricky part. What type of accommodations best suits your lifestyle? Should I rent a house or an apartment?

Things to consider when making that decision are the number of people living in the home, do you have pets, will you need to store seasonal recreational vehicles, and do you own more than one vehicle.

Budget is also a big consideration when deciding what to rent. Renting an apartment in most cases means you will need to budget for the base rent along with power. When renting a single family home you pay for your base rent plus full utilities. (power, water and heat) Paying full utilities will increase your monthly payment each month so you need to calculate that into your budget.

Pets are another big thing to consider when renting. Most companies are pet friendly with a pet deposit or a monthly pet fee. The private market varies with the acceptance of pets and are willing to consider the possibility of having a pet in the home. Larger management companies usually do not negotiate with pet policies as they have to be consistent and fair with all tenants.

Yellowknife winter’s are cold and single family homes need daily care in the winter months so if you find you travel a lot and your home will be empty then maybe apartment living is better suited for you. One common issue that arises in single family homes are freeze ups in the winter months. This can be quite costly and most landlords include a vacancy clause in the lease to protect themselves from costly repairs that result in homes being left unattended.

Parking can be really difficult anywhere in the City. Most apartments come with one powered parking stall. Single family homes sometimes offer multiple parking places and sometimes a garage. If you are the family that has sleds for in the winter months and boats and campers for the summer then an apartment may not suits your needs.