One for the parents: To co-sign or not to co-sign, that is the question!

Has your child asked you to co-sign an apartment lease for him or her?

It's not uncommon for a landlord to require a co-signer for young tenants who don't have much of a rental history. And usually parents are the most apt to sign on. But before you co-sign the lease, make sure to read "Should I Co-Sign an Apartment Lease for My Child?"

The article lets you know what your obligations will be as an apartment lease co-signer and what pitfalls you'll have to avoid.

What apartment maintenance tasks are you responsible for?

Some leases -- particularly if you're renting a house or a duplex -- make certain home maintenance tasks the responsibility of the tenant rather than the landlord.

For example, duplex and single-family home renters sometimes must shovel their own sidewalks in the wintertime and mow their own lawns in the summer. Aside from that, almost every tenant must occasionally change a light bulb or replace the batteries in their smoke detectors. And, unfortunately, some tenants take on more of their fair share of rental home maintenance tasks simply because they have landlords who aren't prompt about doing it or outright refuse.

For tenants who fit the descriptions above, check out the Top 10 Best Buys for Easier Home Maintenance. If you're looking to get the most bang out of your buck when purchasing home maintenance tools or supplies, this Top 10 list is a good guide for choosing essential home maintenance products that will make tasks easier and faster and, in some cases, will save you money.



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Impress the landlord if you want to be approved for the apartment of your dreams

Lots of experienced apartment hunters have, at one time or another, applied for the apartment of their dreams only to find out they were too late -- the apartment was already rented to someone else.

There are a few strategies you can employ to avoid this happening to you, even in a competitive apartment market with low vacancy rates. One strategy is to impress the landlord or leasing agent. But how?

The trick is in appearing as the ideal tenant. But you need to do this in very real, concrete ways. Landlords are bound by ethical guidelines that don't allow them to rent an apartment to one tenant over another simply because one tenant is more likeable. So, really, you need to actually BE an ideal tenant, not just act like one.

For a leg up on the competition, read "Competitive Apartment Hunting: How to Impress the Landlord." It includes credit, application and apartment viewing tips designed to make you stand apart from other apartment hunters.

Happy hunting and good luck out there!




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Spring Apartment Hunting Advice

Spring has sprung! And although my sinuses protest (yours, too?), spring is a time of action for many of us, including those who are in search of a new apartment.

Many apartment leases end in spring and early summer, so right now is when a lot of tenants are choosing whether to renew their leases or find new digs. If you choose the latter, you may want to read Spring Apartment Hunting Reveals an Apartment's Secrets: Beware the Subtle Signs of a Bad Apartment, published just this week.

You'll discover how to assess an apartment's landscaping, how to look at the gutters for signs of poor building maintenance and how to survey the common areas for signs of inconsiderate neighbors. Don't view any apartments this spring until you've read this article and learned how to sleuth out the secrets of your prospective new place.




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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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