Is it your landlord's responsibility to exterminate for ants in your apartment?

Ants! Homeowners and renters alike often encounter these common, unwelcome visitors, especially during the summertime. Whether you've noticed a stray ant or two or you're battling a full-scale sudden infestation of ants, here is some advice for ridding your apartment of these ordinary household pests -- starting with informing your landlord about the problem.

Should My Landlord Exterminate My Apartment for Ants? takes you through the steps of informing your landlord about your ant problem, battling these pests inexpensively all on your own and following up with your landlord if an ant infestation is severe enough to make your apartment "unfit and uninhabitable," at which point it would, certainly, be your landlord's responsibility to address. See the article, too, for some options you have if you have a severe ant infestation in your apartment and your landlord refuses to act.



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Your first apartment -- can you afford it?

Are you financially ready to leave home and rent your very first apartment?

You'll need a good job, good credit and some cash on hand in order to be able to prove to a prospective landlord that you can afford to pay rent. To find out what else you need, and what questions you should ask yourself before taking this big step, read Can I Afford My First Apartment? Self Assessment.

For other good advice related to your first apartment, visit http://www.myfirstapartment.com/.




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A new Renter's Repair Guide for newbie tenants: What to do when the power goes out in your apartment

When the power goes out in your apartment, there's a good chance that you've simply overloaded a circuit and tripped a breaker. Most experienced apartment dwellers have probably come up against this room-darkening, appliance-quieting nuisance a time or two before, and they know exactly how to locate their circuit breaker panels and flip a tripped breaker back on.

But if you've never done it, it can be a little intimidating. Even worse: You know it's supposed to be easy, so you might feel a little silly asking for help.

So I've written a new Renter's Repair Guide how-to especially for newbie tenants. "Help! My Power Went Out" features step-by-step guidance on fixing an isolated electrical outage for those who have never done it before.

It also includes tips on how to decide if your power outage really is something you can handle or if you'll need to call your apartment manager and schedule maintenance to come take a look.

Good luck! Follow the link above to my latest Renter's Repair Guide and I promise you'll do fine.




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