Renter’s Advice and Resources

Saving money is always welcome, but it’s especially essential to the tenant of an apartment. If you’re looking to save money, you can try cutting back on your electric bill and your gas bill by following a few easy tips: 1 – Make Suggestions to Your Landlord One of the drawbacks of not owning your […]

Anyone who has had the misfortune of dealing with a bad landlord can attest to the fact that it is not a good situation. It can lead to difficulties ranging from the inability to get repairs done when needed to suffering additional and unexpected expenses. Tips for Avoiding a Bad Landlord Find landlords through family […]

If you’ve been living in your current apartment for a while now, odds are that your lease has you locked in on a rent that really doesn’t reflect the market in your area. You and your landlord may have signed off on an amount much higher than the monthly price he’s offering to bring in […]

As the holidays roll around, you may be thinking about what you can do for the people that make your life easier year round. Maybe you’re considering a larger tip for your hairdresser or cards for your co-workers. Have the apartment management staff made that list? They work hard to make sure that the property is maintained and your apartment is comfortable, even if things are not always perfect. Here are four ways to show your appreciation for them:

When it comes to renting an apartment, there are more than a few landlords willing to do whatever it takes to get an apartment rented — even to the point of attempting to scam unwary renters.

Brittany Espy attempted to rent an apartment in New York City and wound up in a credit card dispute. As part of her paperwork with a broker, Espy was asked for her credit card information: “They told me nothing would be charged to me. They just needed the info to do my credit checks.” The broker went ahead and charged her card, though, telling her that she had the apartment and had to take it.

It’s the worst thing that can happen when you’re living in an apartment: the landlord — the person you pay for shelter — is responsible for damage to your possessions. Maybe the management is at fault for a burst pipe, or perhaps for a fire. If you don’t have renter’s insurance, it may seem as if you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.

It’s a horrible situation–you’ve lost your keys. You’ve got to get into your apartment, but there are other things to worry about as well. Will your keys show up? Do you need to have a new key made? Do you need to have your apartment re-keyed?

Whether leaving a job or a community where you have built a positive reputation it is never a bad idea to get a reference. Even if you think that you may not need it, you never know when you are in a situation when you wish you had it, and management may have turned over by then. Hindsight is 20/20, so have the foresight to prepare for the future.

As a general rule, landlords aren’t exactly in favor of rent controls. There are plenty of tactics they use to work around rent controls, including trying to force out current tenants so that the landlord can adjust the rent to market rates, thereby leasing to higher-paying renters.