Renter’s Advice and Resources

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.

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.