aptsherpa

Wish your apartment were in the big city? You no longer need to go to the big apple to get the latest fashion and decorating tips. Apartment Therapy is to the rescue. Beginning in New York, Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan the NY editor and cofounder, has successfully caught our attention with a high décor rating.

You have a lot of friends and relatives, but you also have a tiny apartment. How can you fit all your loved ones into a small space for holiday gatherings? Beyond simple space considerations, you may also need to handle the nuances of various family/friendly relationships, different age groups, and various seating or dietary needs. Here are a few tips for a successful, rather than a hectic, Thanksgiving experience.

Desperate times call for… desperate measures

Your apartment is so awful that you need to get out now. The management, however, really doesn’t want to let you go. Maybe it’s because you’re one of few renters left who actually pay rent and/or don’t sell drugs out of your apartment. Whatever the reason, you’ve gotta go—but it ain’t gonna be easy. Here are some highly unadvisable—wholly unadvisable, really—ways to get out of your apartment lease.

Your apartment at “Buena Vista Village” looks out on a junkyard, is infested with roaches, your next-door neighbors are running a meth lab, your upstairs neighbor is a professional tap-dancer, your carpeting still smells like the urine of the previous tenant’s cats (which she definitely wasn’t allowed to have), your car has been broken into three times in the past month, and there are bullet holes in one wall of the complex that haven’t been covered up in the whole time you’ve been there.

Is the bathroom in your apartment too small? Is your newspaper/magazine in the living room when you go into the bathroom to take care of business? Is your towel always on the floor? It’s time to pick it up and get a towel rack that goes above your toilet. This storage unit is easy to install, reasonably priced, and has many uses.

You think you have a bad roommate? My best gal pal lived with, what I consider, one of the worst roommates I have heard about. Within three months there were older men hanging around the apartment, her roommate was lying about the bills and stealing money right in front of my friend’s face.

Packing up all of your precious old school CDs? Need to pack your apartment on a budget? The worst place to try to get CHEAP moving boxes is from a moving company, like U-Haul. Moving companies graduate the prices much higher than market price. Here are the top 5 places to get cheap moving boxes.

Myth: Only people who rent a house need renters insurance.
Reality: FALSE. According to the Bureau of Insurance, “Renters insurance is for anyone who rents an apartment, condo or house, instead of owning the premises.” Renters insurance provides protection for your personal property from perils such as fire or theft, and liability protection if you accidentally hurt someone or damage their property.

Did you know… smoke detectors are required?
The installation of smoke detectors in your apartment is legally required and usually part of your lease. According to the New York Fire Department, “Landlords must install smoke detectors in multiple-dwelling apartment buildings.” Since most fire deaths occur at home with non working smoke detectors, it is important for you and your landlord to regularly check that your smoke detector works.

Whether this is the first time on your own or you are no stranger to the month-to-month rent, money is tough to come by these days. Too bad each of us don’t have a magic money tree growing in our apartments; however, I have some suggestions for you to save money when you go apartment hunting.