Renter’s Advice and Resources

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.

So you decided to hire movers. Congratulations! You’ve saved your back, eliminated about 80% of the stress of moving, and have avoided annoying your friends with the old, “hey man can you help me move next Saturday” bit.

Imagine you’re at a friend’s barbeque and everyone’s standing around talking about how much money they made from buying their homes 5 years ago. It’s common to feel pressure to buy a house. Everyone talks about how much their home has appreciated, renting is perceived to be the equivalent of throwing money away, and mortgage companies advertise insanely low rates and no money down mortgages.

When you move into an apartment, your landlord will ask for a deposit of some sort. All states allow landlords to legitimately ask for a security deposit to accompany the first month’s rent. A security deposit is money given to a landlord to provide protection against damage to the rented premises or for some other failure of a tenant.