Moving...eventually

Keith has been living in this apartment since February of 1999.

In rental terms, that essentially means "a really, really REALLY long ass time."

Actually, in rental terms, it means this place is now a dump.

(A bit of background history: In Ontario, rental increases are set yearly by The Landlord & Tenant board. This year, the rental increase was set at .07%. This means we pay below market rent since they can only increase it so much every year.)

While the guideline was set at .07%, we received a notice from the rental company that they've applied for an increase above the guideline - they want to increase the rent by 3.5%.
I felt sucker punched when I received that notice. It would raise our rent to something I'm not comfortable paying, for what this apartment is. There have been absolutely no upgrades to this apartment, except for the toilet (which they replaced in every unit about a year ago) and our oven - and that's only because the heating coils caught on fire, rendering it unusable. And, after 12 years, this apartment needs some work.

(Actually, it needs a LOT of work, but I'm trying to be nice. Basically, the only things keeping us in this apartment? The size - it's 713 sq ft - and the low rent).

Finally, the rental company doesn't allow you to move between units of the same bedroom size, and has a income threshold for the two bedrooms - which Keith definitely doesn't make (and it has to be one income, not combined).

We're starting to seriously think about moving.

I'm tired of dealing with corporation-based landlords, where you're just a rent cheque, and I'm tired of living in a high rise with no outside living space (this apartment doesn't have a balcony. It feels .... very odd). Keith hates change (ya think?! 12 years in the same apartment doesn't give you a clue?) so it's time to look for a 2 or even 3 bedroom house or townhouse so we can stay for a good number of years, even when it's time for us to start a family.

I have a few things that have made it onto the 'must have' list; mainly, 2-3 (or more!) bedrooms, no high rises (multi-unit home/townhouse/house, etc), no rental companies, hardwood floors, some sort of outside green space, parking, dishwasher/washer/dryer. And, ideally, no credit check.

Keith just has two: no basement apartments and no Quebexico.

We can't really start looking until the wedding is over - there's no way I want to undertake the task of finding a new home right now, and there's no way we could come up with first and last either.

But, it's going to happen.
Before 2012 is finished.
Pinky swear.

Did you move while planning a wedding, or did you wait until after? How did it go?