Tips For Traveling With Rover by Ron Swerdfiger Wether it be on a vacation to your favorite resort, or just visiting the in-laws for the weekend, many people are choosing to take their dogs with them when traveling. Land or air, there are many things to take into consideration. The best advice is simply, be prepared. Below are some great tips for traveling by air and land. Tips on preparing rover for air travel Unless your dog is a frequent flyer, air travel is likely to be a very stressful experience, so you might want think twice about su ... Grocery Shopping On a Budget by Amy Allen Clark Grocery shopping is one of the first places you can learn how to be frugal. I am amazed when I go to the grocery store how many times people are spending so much more money than myself and getting half the amount of stuff I have within my cart. Here are just a few ways you can learn to cut back on your grocery bill. Cut and Organize Your Coupons: There are many people who take the time to cut their coupons, but there are few who have them organized in such a way that they get used. Here are a fe ... Summer Survival by Amy Allen Clark Summer Survival The summer season is here and along with it comes summer vacation for the school-aged kids. Moms are now responsible for coming up with the ideas and curriculum for their children and I am the first to admit that by the summer my creative juices have just about run out. How can you make summer another time of fun and enjoyment rather than boredom? And just how do you do this on a budget? There are lots of great things that you can do this summer and ways to keep organized when do ... Saving On Utility Bills by Amy Allen Clark Some of our bills can be eliminated as being “extras”, but utilities is just not one of these. If you are noticing an increase in your utility bills it is time to review what you may/may not be doing to cause this increase. Here are some helpful tips for ways to decrease your utility bills. Water Check to make sure none of the faucets in your household are leaking/dripping. A slow dripping faucet can accumulate over two gallons per hour. When watering the garden, set a schedule and try to wate ... First Time Renter? You Need Credit by Dan The Roommate Man Planning to move out of your parents' house and into an apartment is a difficult process. In order to avoid adding additional stress to that which inevitably comes along with planning, preparing and packing, you should consider establishing good credit. Without it, some apartment complexes will give first time renters the option to have a guarantor. However, every complex has it's own rules and some refuse applications from people without a good credit history. In order to make sure that your ap ... Back To School by Amy Allen Clark It is hard to believe that summer is coming to a close, but the fall and school season is fast approaching. Our son will be beginning his first year of preschool this year and we are both excited and nervous. How nice it has been to not be on a schedule and to be able to lounge around in our pajamas, yet at the same time I am looking forward to having some time on my hands to tackle those projects that have been looming before me all summer long. I remember the hectic mornings of my youth with ... Spring Cleaning For Today's Mom by Amy Allen Clark With spring comes all of the beauty of the changing season. We finally began to see our grass; we enjoy seeing the new buds on our trees, and the sweet smell of a good April shower. What also comes along is the dreaded ritual of spring cleaning. Maybe you went through this awful experience as a child. Your mother would be pulling all the linens, washing the drapes, deep cleaning every nook and cranny of your home and then collapse after a full day of cleaning. I don’t remember this as being a fu ... Understanding Your Lease by Dan The Roommate Man Leasing agents working on behalf of multifamily housing developers are so accustomed to signing deals with veteran renters these days that when it comes time to sign the lease, you're often just directed to the line that waits for your signature. After all, who wants to read all of that fine print? You've been through the process before. Do you really have to take out your magnifying glass and analyze the text line by line? Sorry, folks. Yes, you do. Just because you've signed a lease before doe ... Price Book 101 by Amy Allen Clark Several months ago, I thought I knew it all on how to save money when grocery shopping. I have found, however, that there is always more to learn as months later I am beginning to address this topic again. I know I am not the only one who thinks that we are playing a game when we go to the grocery store. Educated consumers walk away with loads of goodies for minimal money and others of us fork over the big bucks for the same exact thing. What sets one shopper apart from another? How do you beat ... In My House, If It's Broken I Bought It by Rev. James L. Snyder Often a store has a sign with the warning, You break it, you bought it. This is to keep people from carelessly handling the merchandise. I'm thinking of another sign, which should be posted all through my house. If it's broken, I bought it. This is not to say everything in my house is broken, but to point out that everything has a breaking point. And, it's not to say I can't fix anything. I just can't fix anything that is broken. A case in point; my easy chair. A man's easy chair, especially min ... The Triple Play: How To Tackle Tough Vacancy Problems by Dan The Roommate Man Every property manager knows apartment vacancy rates are a little bit like the weather: everybody talks about them, but no one ever seems to do anything. Sometimes the usual combination of advertising and tenant incentives doesn't work and something more is needed to give the properties with vacancies an immediate and sustainable booster shot. After months of struggling to find the right formula to attract renters, we came up with what might be called a Triple Play for owners. Here's how it work ... No Dogs or Cats Allowed! by Dan The Roommate Man The lease says specifically that no dogs or cats are allowed in your apartment... but the animal kingdom has lots of choices, including one which may be acceptable to landlords and other owners. Face it, animal lovers can find it difficult to live without a faithful companion. Don't think that dogs and cats are your only options for pets. Many apartment complexes do allow some caged animals. There are many small, apartment friendly pets that will provide you with just as much love as any dog or ... Rent Late? Don't Jump to Conclusions by Dan The Roommate Man As a landlord, you are financially dependent on your tenants. When a tenant fails to turn in their rent payment on time, you have to worry about making your own mortgage, rent and utility payments. Being put in this situation is frustrating and sometimes angering, but before you take legal action, evaluate the situation. Perhaps your tenant is going through some hard times. Don't want to jump to conclusions, offend the tenant and then needlessly lose their tenancy. It's important that you unders ... Dealing With Noisy Neighbors the Pacifist Way by Dan The Roommate Man Joe Landlord just received a phone call about a busted water pipe in apartment 3c, an overflowing washing machine in 2d and a broken window in 4a, so Suzy Tenant’s complaint about the “noisy neighbors” will remain low on his list of things to attend to. Perhaps, at a better time, Joe Landlord will be happy to help Suzy with her noisy neighbor dilemma. Sometimes, though, there just never is a “better time.” So what can she do in the meantime? Because the duties as a landlord can become a bit over ... Making Room for Two: How to Adjust to Life with a Roommate by Dan The Roommate Man Because downsizing is a fact of life these days, many renters and homeowners can, at a moment's notice, find themselves unable to pay the rent or the mortgage. It suddenly becomes necessary to find a roommate - and fast. In previous articles, we've discussed the screening process and what kinds of questions you should ask before moving anyone into your home, whether he or she is a close friend or complete stranger. In the rush to simply find a roommate we can trust, however, we often overlook th ... Rental Maintenance and Repairs: Who Pays The Bills? by Dan The Roommate Man Renting property is an arrangement where the needs of owners and tenants generally overlap: The tenant wants a clean and safe home and the landlord wants rent and someone who will care for the property. All in all, a good trade for everyone -- until it comes time to make repairs. So if the sink leaks, a light-bulb is out, or the oven burner is shot, who pays? The answer depends on several factors. Is there a health and safety issue? If yes, look to the landlord for repairs. Is the item something ... The Minefields in Your Lease by Dan The Roommate Man In some markets across the country -- San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C., for example -- the renters' market is so hot that properties are snatched up the same day they become available. In fact, many landlords in these markets find themselves negotiating among multiple offers. In climates like these, propsective tenants often feel pressured to sign on the dotted line. The reality is that if they opt to take home the lease, read it carefully and return to the property the next day, the ... Rent Collections Via The Internet? They're Not Far Awayllections Via The Internet? They're Not Far Away by Dan The Roommate Man Since the first rental units were built there have been property managers, a profession which requires both real estate expertise as well as a keen understanding of the human psyche. Property managers not only collect the rent and undertake repairs, they are also the bridge between owners and tenants -- two groups often in conflict. But have modern times changed property management? How does management today differ from 10 or 20 years ago when there weren't electronic credit checks, computerized ... Your Responsibility To Promptly Submit Repair Requests To Your Landlord by Dan The Roommate Man As a tenant in a rental community, you have some advantages over homeowners. For example, you don’t need to worry about making simple maintenance repairs. What you DO need to worry about is submitting repair requests in a timely fashion. If you wait too long, YOU could be responsible for costly repairs. Let’s visit Suzy Shmoe - a resident of Hypothetical Apartments. Suzy has a leaky washer. When her clothes hit the spin cycle, some of the water inside ends up on the floor. Since Suzy is a busy w ... Fire Safety Begins in Your Own Apartment by Dan The Roommate Man The risks associated with fire should be one of the chief concerns of any apartment-dweller. You can be as responsible as ever, but who's to say your neighbor is as conscientious as you are? He might walk away from a stove or a candle, leave a stationary heater too close to the drapes ... a million scenarios could keep you awake at night. Anonymity doesn't have to be a fact of life in apartment communities, but let's face it: It often is. Apartment complexes attract residents that often are more ... To Buy or Rent For Your College Student by Dan The Roommate Man September always means Back To School, and for thousands of families it also signals Off To College. In addition, more and more young people are opting to continue their education with post-graduate studies. Once a student is past the Mandatory - Freshman - Year - In - The - Dorm Policy that many colleges have, parents face an interesting dilemma: should they continue to shell out rent, or considering buying a property for their children to occupy while attending school? Here is a TRUE Story. In ... Marketplace Overtaking Rent Control, by Dan The Roommate Man Rent control is one of those concepts that seems like a good idea, at least until you think about it for more than 60 seconds -- an unusual event in an era of bumper-sticker philosophies and instant analysis. The modern rent control era began with the federal Emergency Price Control Act of 1942. Such legislation was enacted while the country was at war both in Europe and Asia, and there was a need to prevent profiteering at home. Once the war was over, the need for price controls went away -- ex ... Apartment Living: The Need for Fire Insurance by Dan The Roommate Man If your apartment catches on fire due to the negligence of a neighbor, it could cost you thousands of dollars. It doesn’t seem fair that someone else’s carelessness could cost you your prized possessions - but without fire insurance, it can. Late for an appointment, Suzan squished her cigarette into a bottle and tossed it under the sink. A few hours later she returned to see the charred remains of what used to be building C in her apartment complex. Apparently, the cigarette wasn’t completely ou ... Do I Need Renter's Insurance? by Dan The Roommate Man If you are moving into an apartment you may want to consider investing in insurance. Along with the first month's rent, chances are you will be asked to pay a security deposit. This is a type of insurance for your landlord. The landlord can use this deposit to pay for any damages caused during your residency. For you, security comes in the form of renter's insurance. Most renters use the homeowner's form of insurance known as the HO4 policy. This policy will typically cover furniture, clothing, ... Apartment Locators: How Do They Make Their Money? by Dan The Roommate Man If you're looking for an apartment in a hurry, apartment location services are a convenient, efficient route to your next home. The vast majority of these services are free, and if you happen to live in a high-growth metropolitan area, you're likely to find them everywhere. In North Dallas, for example, where apartment community developers are keeping plenty busy these days, you'll find as many as two or even three apartment locator services at the same intersection. Locators tout their services ... |
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