Renter’s Advice and Resources

With moving season just around the corner, we wanted to point out a few sites which have (we think) great info about moving and renting.

Is your living room looking a little, oh, I don’t know, drab? Does it somehow feel incomplete? Or perhaps your dining room table just isn’t doing the room justice on its own? Your apartment could be suffering from a rare condition known as Lackofrugitis. It’s okay if you’ve never heard of it; the main thing is that you are now aware of it.

Remember that horrific tune, sung(?) by none other than Eddie Murphy called “Party All the Time?” Yeah I know, it does bring back some images we’d rather not remember. However, why is it that some of our neighbors seem to use that song as their mantra? You know the ones. The frat boys who come home close to three in the morning and party from the car to their apartment, leaving beer bottles strewn along the way; the three guys in Apartment 3C who are trying to form the next power-rock trio; the Hugh Hefner-wannabe whose friends take over the pool area, and the half-deaf woman living above you who gets a hankering for Neil Diamond when the sun goes down. Ah, the joys of apartment living.

Do you live in an apartment where a dishtowel can double as an area rug? Is it impossible for you to have a television larger than 13″ because you’re already sitting too close to it? When you go to purchase new living room furniture, do you find yourself looking in the toy section? It can be a sad state of affairs when the only chair you can fit into your living room is a child’s Spongebob Squarepants chair!

In case you didn’t hear it, that no-good, good for nothing Punxsutawney Phil has called for six more weeks of winter! That’s dour news to those of us wishing for Spring’s blossoms to bloom, though as least March is here. But it’s even tougher news for those fighting the urge to plant their vegetable and herb gardens.

With the holidays behind us, there are thousands of people cramming the Internet, gift cards in hand, buying the gifts that they really wanted. As a matter of fact, I went online this morning and discovered that the leopard fur foot massager I ordered is due to be delivered today, and not a moment too soon–those bunions have been killing me!

Remember the good old days, when finding an apartment was as easy as walking up to the landlord and asking if there were any vacancies? Today, apartment hunting is a bit more involved, leaving renters with many things to consider before choosing a place to live. For instance, it’s no longer the noisy neighbor–you know, the one who plays Molly Hatchet CDs until two in the morning who is the big problem. The real concern is the kindly neighbor in Apartment 12, who just happens to be a registered sex offender. In this day and age, the old hippie with the love for southern rock may just turn out to be your favorite neighbor.

Undertaking a long-distance move can be a real hassle–especially if your move-out and move-in dates don’t coincide. Movers can find themselves in between apartment leases anywhere from few days to a few months for a variety of reasons. Some are unable to find an apartment in a new city before their old lease ends. Others leave a gap in between rentals to travel. Still others find themselves stuck between an old lease that ends on the first of the month and a new one that begins on the fifteenth. Renters faced with any of these situations need to figure out what to what to do with their stuff in the meantime.

You’ve moved into a new apartment, your stuff is unpacked and you’re finally settled in- and that’s when you notice it. It might be the neighbor’s insufferably loud music, a broken security gate, a clear fire hazard or water that smells like sewage running down the only set of stairs to get to and from your apartment. Get ready to file a complaint with your landlord or management company, because little will get fixed if you don’t. But first, you’ll need to take some steps to make sure you come out on top. Keep these five tips in mind to ensure that your complaint will not only be read, but that some action will be taken.