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Getting ready to move away from home and into your first apartment is super exciting. However, it can also be incredibly intimidating. After all, renting an apartment is a pretty big deal, and there are a lot of things to consider. Even people who have rented before can get caught up in the process of finding a new place – when it’s your first time, there can be enough new information to make your head spin. Here are 11 things to think about during your apartment-hunting process that will, hopefully, make the whole thing much easier: 1. Upfront Costs Even first-time renters know they’re going to be responsible for their monthly rent, but it’s easy to forget about the upfront costs of renting an apartment if you’ve never done it before. In addition to the monthly costs of apartment living, you’ll almost always have to pay up before you move in – often, before you can even sign the lease. Plan ahead to avoid new-place sticker shock. Nearly all apartment companies will require that you pay a security deposit before you move in. This protects the landlord in case you trash your apartment and skip town. As long as you don’t do that, you should get it back once your lease is up. In addition to the deposit, you may have to pay application fees, or even one month’s rent, before you can get settled into your new place. 2. Long-Term Costs Rent isn’t the only thing you’ll have to pay month-to-month, either. You’ll also have to pay for utilities like heat, gas and electricity. Different buildings have different rules about what you’re expected to pay and what is covered in your rent. If you need to pay for it, you’ll also need to set it up – be ready to reach out to utilities companies to get the services put in your name. Don’t forget renter’s insurance! Some landlords actually require tenants to get a renter’s policy, but you should whether it’s mandated or not. Insurance policies protect you in the case of accidental damage, theft, and disaster. It usually doesn’t cost all that much per month, so you should definitely fit safety net into your budget. 3. What You Need Furnishing a brand-new apartment is super exciting, and you’re probably full of ideas about how you want your new place to look. Before you go wild with your decoration schemes, however, you must make sure you have the basic furniture you’ll need to live. Eating take-out on the floor feels very cool and devil-may-care … for about a day. After that, you’ll wish you had a table. Here’s a quick list of the basic furniture you’ll have to bring in: A bed, a couch, a table, and some chairs. In addition, there are little around the house items you probably won’t have, but will definitely want. These include things like towels, shower curtains, and utensils. Cookware is a must, as well, unless you want to be perpetually tied to delivery and carry-out food. 4. What You Don’t Need You might be tempted to take every little knickknack and item you’ve ever collected with you to your new place. Although this might make your apartment feel well-stocked early on, you’re sure to regret it once you start actually decorating. All the junk you’re packing up now will feel like a complete pain when it gets in the way of having a tidy, put-together place. Instead of moving everything from back home with you when you head into your first apartment, use moving as a chance to purge. Have an honest conversation with yourself about whether you’re holding on to items because they’re useful, or because you’re reluctant to let go. Donate, throw away, or recycle anything you don’t really need – you’ll be glad you did down the line. 5. Lease Terms A lease is often the first legal document a young adult encounters. Although this does make the process a little bit stressful, it also makes it great practice for other contracts later on in life. Learning how to read complicated legal text is a valuable skill, and skimming your lease is an awful idea. Carefully read the entire document, and don’t be afraid to ask questions if there’s something you don’t understand. If you want to be extra certain about the lease before you sign it, ask the landlord if you can have a few days to look it over. Then ask someone you trust, like a family member or experienced friend, if he or she can look it over with you. If anyone in your life is experienced with legal matters (particularly housing issues), they should be able to help you fully understand any confusing clauses. 6. Roommate Worries If you’re moving in with roommates, make sure everyone you’re going to be living with is signing the lease. One or more roommates avoiding the lease spells out bad news later on – if they stop paying rent or decide to up and leave, there’s nothing you can do except pay on their behalf. If you’re thinking of living with someone who refuses to get on the lease, pick a different roommate. 7. Pets Bringing a furry friend with you to your new place? Make sure you talk to your landlord about your pet – or pets – before you sign the lease or move in. Even if you know your building allows pets, it might have restrictions about weight or breed. In addition, most pet-friendly buildings require you to pay a pet deposit, or add an extra pet fee onto your rent. In addition, make sure your apartment has plenty of room for Fido or Felix. If you’re bringing in a dog with lots of energy, it will need plenty of room to run around, and to be exercised outside regularly. Even cats call for extra space – have a plan for where you’ll put things like food, water, and the litter box before you decide on a unit. 8. Location, Location, Location Before you pick an apartment building, make sure you’ve given real thought to where it’s located. Ideally, you’ll be close to all of the essential shops and services you’ll need, like grocery stores and restaurants. How close depends on your lifestyle. If you’re comfortable driving most places, within a couple of miles should do. If you’d rather walk, try to make sure you’re no more than a mile away from the important stuff. 9. Moving Plans Moving is hard work, and you’re probably not going to be able to do it on your own. If you have a lot of friends who are free on your move-in date, ask them if they’d be willing to help you haul your stuff into your new place. This is going to be your cheapest option – traditional friend payment is pizza and beer, and the promise to help out next time they move. If your friends are busy, you may want to look into hiring a moving company. The great thing about these services is that the movers are professionals who have done this a thousand times before, so they’ll know exactly how to load the truck and handle the boxes. These may seem like small details, but they’ll dramatically reduce the time it takes to pack up your stuff and get it into the new apartment. 10. Organization Unless you’re moving into an apartment with an abundance of closet space, you’re probably going to need to come up with your own storage solutions. One of the very best things you can get is under-bed storage bins. As the name suggests, these slide neatly beneath your box springs and live totally out of sight. This is the perfect place to store out-of-season clothes and other small items. If the storage can’t be hidden away, try to find things that look good. One cool way you can sneak storage into your decor is to use on old trunk for your coffee table. It will look totally cool, and you can use it to store away infrequently used items. Bookshelves work well for storing things that are decorative on their own, like figurines, ornaments, and, of course, books. 11. Decoration Scheme The earlier you decide what you want to do, decoration-wise, the easier the process will be. There’s no better time to decorate an apartment than when you first move in – all of your stuff is already out of the way, and you still have all the freedom to sort your items the way you’d like. Unpacking things into their proper place is way easier than moving them later on. Take a look at different design schemes to build some inspiration for your new place. Do you want something rustic and earthy, or sleek and modern? Make lease-friendly changes before you unpack all of your stuff, so you don’t have to deal with a bunch of little items while you’re decorating. This way, your place will look like home as soon as you’re done unpacking.

The bed is one of the most important spots in your home, and spending time making it look a bit more luxurious is a benefit to both your bedroom decor and your mental health. That said, buying beautiful sheets, comforters and pillows can add up and might feel like something you should skip when you are on a tight budget. But, your bed doesn’t have to be basic. Here are some thrifty shopping and design tricks to help you dress a bed on a dime. Look for printed sheets and pillowcases when you thrift I’ve always loved the retro patterns and floral prints that only an eagle-eyed vintage store shopper can find. Many thrift stores don’t often carry a lot of bedding, so you might have to take the time to dig in a little deeper, but you can sometimes stumble on some surprisingly cool designs that will be just the unique detail your bed needs. Or, you could find good quality secondhand plain sheets and pillow cases to experiment with the next suggestion. Add a DIY detail You don’t necessarily have to learn how to monogram to customize your bedding. There are a lot of creative small things you can do to make your bedding unique and luxurious. You can add ribbon or other trim to the edges and surfaces of sheets, blankets and pillow cases to give them a personal touch. Try your hand at simple embroidered motifs or stamped designs. Stitch on tassels or pompoms. No matter which style direction you take, you can add a lot without spending a lot. Focus on the top layer while bulking up with basics Sometimes when a bed feels a little naked and less than luxurious, it’s just too flat or skimpy. You can easily fix that by layering in more basic elements, some that you might already own. Use extra older or inexpensive filler pillows to prop up newer, fresher prettier pillows to add structure and better show off the attractive ones. Fold and layer less decorative blankets and comforters under the prettiest topper to give your bed some bulk. Let the headboard be the show Sometimes a well-dressed bed is one of simplicity when you’ve got a statement-making headboard, which is often just a quick, affordable DIY away. Shop sales with an eye to alter If you know how to sew, shop bedding sales online and in stores with an eye to potentially alter them. For example: two or three different color twin size clearance sale bargain blankets could be cut up and restitched together to create a custom, color-blocked cover for your king size bed.a

“Can you hear me?” “Can you hear me now?” If most of your cellphone conversations begin this way — or if you’ve taken to hanging out a window just to get a signal — you’re not alone. Spotty cellphone service can be especially frustrating when you have full bars in your building’s lobby or hallway but one measly bar as soon as you set foot inside your home. It turns out, there are good explanations for why this occurs (no, the cellphone gods aren’t trying to punish you for posting too many selfies) and solutions that renters can easily implement. Here’s how. Cause #1: The position of your building’s cellphone antenna “Cell carriers in all major cities position their cell sites close to the ground because that’s where most of the people are,” says Graham Caparulo, principal consultant for Diligex, a New York, NY–based managed IT services provider. “On the corners of buildings, you’ll see them 20 to 30 feet up, and they’re angled toward the street.” That doesn’t do you much good, especially if you live on the 30th floor of a high-rise. Cause #2: Building materials can block radio signals Tinted windows (especially the ones found on “green buildings”), concrete, and metal all interfere with cellphone reception — which is why you can often get more bars if you hold your phone out your window or step onto a balcony. Cause #3: You live in a densely populated area Have you ever noticed that your service is slower at night or on weekends, or when you attend a packed basketball game? The more people using a network, the slower it runs. (Kind of like the lines at your favorite coffee joint now that word about their croughnuts has gotten out.) “Each cell tower only has limited radio channels it can use,” says Caparulo. “When it’s full, you’ll have bars but can’t make a call or use data.” Solution #1: Invest in a cellphone booster “Invest” is the right word here, because a cell signal booster will typically set you back between $400 and $1,000. (WeBoost is a popular option.) “A traditional cell signal booster takes in a signal on one end, amplifies it, and spits it out on the other end,” says Caparulo, who cautions that you have to have a good signal to work with in the first place, which may mean putting the booster’s antenna outside your window — a no-no insome apartment buildings. Also, cellphone boosters need to be registered with your cellphone carrier, and the company has the right to withhold its consent for usage, especially if you live in a heavily populated area. Solution #2: Enlist a femtocell “A femtocell, also called a microcell, basically uses your Internet connection to back up your cellphone,” says Caparulo. The device plugs right into your modem or router and uses your Internet connection as a cell signal booster. The only drawback is that typically you have to buy the device directly from your cellular provider, and they cost around $150 to $200. (Note: Some consumers claim to have gotten one for free after lots of complaining.) Also, femtocells work only with your specific provider, so if you have AT&T and your roommate has Verizon, their phone may still struggle to get a signal in your apartment. Solution #3: Enable Wi-Fi calling on your smartphone This feature, available on the iPhone 6 series and many Android phones, allows your phone to use your in-home Wi-Fi connection to make calls. (On the iPhone 6, go to “Settings,” then “Phone,” and it should be the first option.) AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile all support Wi-Fi calling — and Verizon has recently begun rolling it out. Not all phones can use Wi-Fi calling, however, so you’ll need to check with your carrier to find out which devices are compatible. Source: Forbes.com ~ By: Trulia

Renting a home can be highly beneficial for anyone seeking a short-term housing option or a lower commitment than a home purchase. However, this option can lead to uncomfortable issues in the event a landlord is lax in following the terms of the lease agreement — or otherwise forgets that renters have legal rights. Here are some of the more common issues that arise between renters and landlords. If you think your landlord is acting outside the bounds of state and federal housing laws, be sure you have a little legal ammo to make your argument. Security deposits Security deposits for leasers are highly regulated in most states, and lease agreements must clearly and unambiguously detail the specific instances in which a landlord may withhold all or some of a deposit. First, the deposit must be in a sensible amount (such as the sum of two months’ rent). Second, a landlord may only keep the deposit if there is a definitive reason that falls within the terms of the lease. Wrongful withholding is undoubtedly fodder for a claim against the landlord for the return of the money, as well as for costs and fees associated with bringing the issue to court. Accommodations All renters have a right to reasonable accommodations for a disability. In the context of apartment complexes, a landlord must set aside a certain number of units that are accessible to people with a physical handicap. This means rooms must be accessible from the ground floor, fitted with accommodating bathroom and/or kitchen fixtures, and generally compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Also, all landlords must accommodate renters who rely on specially trained service animals, even if the building as a whole maintains a no-pets policy. Repairs Renters have the right to timely, competent repairs to major appliances and fixtures — provided the damage occurred as a result of normal wear and tear or other forces outside the renter’s control. By contrast, damage that the renter causes is generally not the landlord’s responsibility to repair. If a landlord is taking an unreasonably long time to fix the problem, a renter may usually arrange for the repair himself and withhold rent in the amount of the repair. Be sure to save your receipts as proof. Privacy and safety Renters have a right to both privacy and safety in their leased unit. This means that a landlord is not permitted to enter a renter’s private unit unannounced. Further, a landlord must contact the renter prior to sending repair technicians or inspectors — and must respect the renter’s schedule when scheduling maintenance. With regard to safety, a landlord must maintain the premises to control known dangers or hazards — which may include extensive locks, deadbolts, or special entrance codes as well as the presence of security personnel and surveillance cameras. Rent and eviction Of course, renters are obligated to pay rent each month. However, as mentioned above, the payment of rent may be premised on the dwelling’s habitability — and renters may be within their rights to withhold rent if the landlord fails to attend to certain major repairs. Additionally, renters have the right to fulfill the terms of the lease agreement, and may not be evicted arbitrarily without cause during the rental term. If a landlord attempts to evict a tenant prior to the conclusion of the lease, the renter may initiate a lawsuit against the landlord for the costs — both direct and incidental — associated with finding a new place to live on unreasonably short notice. Moreover, a landlord who is believed to be evicting tenants for discriminatory or fraudulent reasons could face criminal culpability in many jurisdictions, if proven guilty. Renters enjoy a long list of rights pursuant to the lease agreement and state and federal laws. Any violations of these rights can lead to a lawsuit by the renter, as well as bad publicity for the landlord. So renters take heed: You’re covered. Source: zillow.com ~ By: Stephanie Reid

Renters often feel like their homes can never be as Pinterest-worthy as a space they own, but food stylist Hannah Messinger challenges that notion. Messinger and her husband, Dan, live in East Nashville, where the front room of their 750-square-foot rental doubles as her food photography studio. “Your home should be somewhere where you can relax and put your mind at ease,” Messinger said. “If your hobby is something that relaxes you, then it should be incorporated into your space.” But making room for her love of food and photography wasn’t easy. “When I first moved in I thought, this is never going to work,” she said. For photographing food, a house ideally would have a kitchen or dining room that faces north, with large windows on two adjacent walls. The lack of “ideal” light — not to mention a dining space — meant Messinger had to look at the entire space differently.

Everyone I run into lately has brought up their desire to slow things down this year. The always on, always connected, always sharing what’s new, what’s next, where I am right this second seems to be weighing on people. I think we’re hitting a tipping point to change our collective approach to the rat race and I’m all for it. Anything that makes the day’s pace slow is alright by me. Luckily, there are pretty easy ways to bring some semblance of sanity into daily life. I’ve decided to try four things to add an air of calm to my world this year. CLEAR THE CLUTTER The art of tidying was all the rage in 2015 and it’s certainly not going anywhere. The concepts are pretty straight forward. Set a bar for what you surround yourself with.Keep things that bring you joy, that are useful or are just extra special. Things that don’t make the cut? Anything that’s sat in a drawer for a year, stuff that needs to be fixed, something you’re saving “just in case,” or anything you’re just sick of looking at. I’m definitely taking a “out with the old” approach to decorating in 2016. Notice there was no “in with the new” at the end of that cliché. I’ve been having a ball getting rid of stuff and firmly believe if you purge the physical things clogging up your life, it will spill over to your mental and emotional life as well. You quite literally have space to breathe. Design books that I haven’t revisited in the last year? Buh-bye. The magazines I keep thinking I’ll reread? Oh no. My coffee table is now a blissfully open expanse, punctuated by a tray to set my daily cup of blisscoffee – but nothing more. Thankfully, our pending move is going to help facilitate an even deeper mass exodus, but you don’t have to move to do your own version of decluttering. Here’s how I try to tackle it: take one hour per week to address a specific area in your house that feels stuck, but won’t overwhelm you. That might be the junk drawers, under the bathroom sink, the box of unsorted paperwork. Then you can block out an afternoon for major projects like the closet clean out. I promise, you’ll slowly but surely chip away at the overflow. REFRESH YOUR ARRANGEMENTS With all those things that do bring you joy – display them! Put them within arm’s reach. Set them out in high trafficked areas that you’ll see daily. I’m a big fan of using picture rails to not only display art or personal photos, but also books, magazines and even a candle or air plant for some texture. They add a ton of interest without taking up a lot of real estate. They’re perfect for small spaces or a hallway. Any time you need a mood booster – rearrange. It’s my form of meditation and I swear by it. TAKE A TIMEOUT All too often I grab a coffee on the go, chugging it while I’m racing to from point A, 15 minutes late to the point B. This year I’m committing myself to sitting down and fully enjoying a cup of fresh coffee and a little time to myself everyday. Thankfully, I’ve fallen in love with my VertuoLine Evoluo from Nespresso. I’ve been partnering with Nespresso as part of their “A Cup Above” campaign. (You may have spied this post or this post). Having a Nespresso at home makes taking a few minutes to myself really easy. A push of a button and I have a beautiful cup of coffee and a good ten minutes of sanity-returning quiet time. And the fact that Nespresso’s coffee capsules are made of 100% aluminum and recyclable means no additional clutter. I’m currently obsessed with the Limited Edition Swiss Chocolate variation that was available during the holiday season. That little whiff of chocolate makes mama very happy. You can also try the Intenso variation that is a permanent addition. SET AN INTENTION (OR 2!) There are just too many things coming at us all the time to remember them all. And we can all agree there aren’t enough hours in the day to get through your entire to-do list, so this year I’m committing myself to serious prioritization. And to hold myself accountable, I’m writing it all down. There’s something about putting pen to paper that adds a whole new level of gravitas to a goal. This is something you can do while enjoying said cup of Nespresso and revel in your tidy minimalized space. There you have it. Just a few simple changes to your daily routine and updates to your environment will help you get 2016 off to a positive start. I’m going to do my best to keep the momentum going long after January has passed. Who else is with me?! Source: apartment34.com

It’s December 31st and you have written goals for the upcoming year. You have ambition, plans, and so much motivation. It’s the day before the new year and there is no way you can fail with your list of goals happily tucked away in your jacket pocket as you clink champagne glasses with your friends, enjoying your last night before hitting the gym, eating healthier and reading more books. January 1st you feel great — you’ve got this — but a couple months later you’re starting to have doubts. Your grandiose plans and goals somehow seem much less attainable than they once were and eating nothing but carrots and waking up at 5 a.m. for morning yoga and shopping less have all become really difficult. Maybe you should just give up — there’s always next year, right? New Year’s Resolutions have their place, a new year is a fresh start, but it is actually possible to fail at your goals if you aren’t prepared for reality.

Your kids are off to college, and their bedrooms house nothing but the memories of days gone by. Your muscles may not be what they used to be, and you really, really don’t want to keep mowing the lawn or replacing shingles on the roof. And that commute to work just gets longer and longer. You’re an empty-nester, and you wonder whether you should downsize – sell the suburban house and rent an apartment in one of those shiny, amenity-laden new properties near downtown. You wouldn’t be the only one. The younger generation may be poised to take over the apartment industry in the next 10-15 years, as my colleague KC Sanjay wrote in this space last week , but baby-boomers and older Generation Xers accounted for the largest share of renters as of 2014, according to Axiometrics’ analysis of U.S. Census data. As the chart above shows, the age demographics of renters has changed from 10 years ago. Back then, renters ages 45-64 comprised 25.8% of the market. They’re 30.2% of the market today, and when you add in renters ages 65 and older, that percentage grows to 44.4%. Meanwhile, youngsters ages 25 and younger make up 9.1% of all renter householders today, compared to the 13.4% of 2005. These older renters like the reduction of responsibilities that come with homeownership, and they enjoy the benefits of urban-core living. Being in town reduces their commute to work – they may not even have to drive if solid public transportation is nearby – and they can enjoy the nearby restaurants, shopping, sporting and cultural arts events. Though apartment demographics have changed, the 2005 rental market was pretty healthy, especially coming just a few years after the tech-bust recession of the early 2000s. The table below shows some crucial data points related to the apartment market in 2005 and 2014.

Over the past few years we’ve seen tons of innovation in the home security marketplace; smaller, smarter cameras have made it easier than ever to keep an eye on things at home while you’re away – but with a hefty price tag. Enter: Blink , the simple, chic answer to affordably monitoring your whole home. We Think You’ll Like Blink, Here’s Why: Pin it Blink is a new wire-free HD home surveillance system that offers serious battery longevity and a super simple setup. The cameras themselves are really straightforward; since they’re battery-operated and connect to a central hub over WiFi, you can place them just about anywhere. There’s no installation required beyond finding a space on your bookshelf or using the included wall mount to swivel and tilt the camera into the ideal position. Best of all, the batteries only need to be replaced once a year! Other wire-free home monitoring cameras need a recharge about every two weeks, so that’s kind of a big deal. Pin it The whole Blink system works with your smartphone via the Blink app. As soon as motion is detected by a Blink camera, a short video is captured and an alert is sent to your device so you can log on and see what’s happening. Live View mode lets you access a live camera feed anytime—perfect if you’ve ever wondered what your dog gets up to while you’re at work. (Spoiler: He’s probably sleeping… on your bed… where you told him not to. Good luck with that.) Pin it Initially funded on Kickstarter , Blink is now entering production! For a limited time, you can pre-order a one-camera system for just $79. A three-camera system is only $189, which is about what you’d pay for a single camera from most other video surveillance systems these days.