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Get a Move on

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A while back we brought you our best tips for making your move as easy as possible, you can read it here. Aside from packing up your stuff, what else should you take care of when you’re moving out of your home?

Make sure you clean up. Clean bathrooms, bedrooms, floors; basically everything. If your place was furnished, make sure clean furniture too. Aside from not wanting to leave the property trashed for your landlord, cleaning up can also help you avoid being fined once you move out. Typically lease agreements require that you leave the home as you found it (clean), so if you don’t you’ll be going against it. If there’s a stain in your carpet, steam it so that you’re not responsible for paying way more for it later. Same goes with things like tiles and floorboards. Do it now, or it’ll cost you more later.

Part of leaving your hopaint me just as you first got it involves making sure the walls and floors are in good condition. Seeing as the walls probably have holes from having had pictures or shelves, it’s up to you to patch them up. This sounds more complicated than it actually is; you can buy quick dry plaster and primer and have it all fixed up in no time. Once you’ve patched up the holes and little imperfections, find out what paint color the walls were first painted and touch up the color. This way the wall looks even and your landlord won’t charge you for any repairs.

The Kids Are All Right

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kids

For an adult, moving to a new home may not seem like such a huge deal; but for a child, this isn’t always the case. You won’t really be able to enjoy your new home if your kids aren’t happy with the move, so it’s important to make sure that they’re comfortable and happy in your new place.

As far as finding a good area, try to look in neighborhoods that have parks or community centers nearby. Your kids will be excited knowing that they won’t have to spend time locked up at home and that they have a fun place to go that’s close to them, with others their age. It also helps to find a neighborhood where you know a lot of children live because they’ll be able to make friends and adjust to living in a new place. This will also probably help you feel more welcome too since you’ll be able to befriend the parents of your kids’ friends. Everyone wins!

When it comes down to finding the specific home, keep your kids in mind. If it’s within your budget, try finding a home that has a fenced in yard; your kids will be happy that you thought 0f them when picking a home, and they’ll feel better about the moving process. Another great idea is allowing your kids to paint their rooms a different color than what the house came from, or completely change up their rooms from your previous home. This lets them add their own personal touch to the room so that they won’t feel that they’re in a strange new place.

 

The Lease Application

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When you’re first starting to look for a new rental home, you’ll most likely be viewing all kinds of properties and talking to tons of different landlords; once you’ve found the right home, you’ll start the process of applying to rent the home. Rental applications are pretty easy to fill out, but that doesn’t mean you should take them lightly!

Basically, rental applications are what landlords require possible tenants to complete to see whether or not the property is a good fit for them. What does this mean for you? As far as the information you’ll have to provide, your possible landlord will need basic information from you, as well as a few more specific things. You’ll have to give your contact information (how else will they tell you that you’re approved?!), information about your current and/or previous place of residence, proof of employment, proof of income, and maybe a recommendation or a personal reference number, among other things. Aside from the proof of employment and proof of income, a lease application isn’t too different from a job application. Your landlord requires those other pieces of information in order to be able to determine whether or not you’ll be able to pay for the property, and whether or not you have a history of being a good (or bad) tenant. As far as the other things that you may be asked on the application, be prepared to disclose the balance of your bank account, and your social security (to perform credit checks). Again, these are required so that your possible landlord can guarantee that you’ll be able to pay your rent.

credit report

 

You Can’t Rush Perfection

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If you’re in the market for a new rental home, it’s important to give yourself an adequate amount of time for your search. Before picking the first property you see, spend some time doing some research about the property and look at all of your available options.

Ask current residents what they think! Since they’re currently living there, they know the current state of the community and how management is currently doing things. If you have a friend who lives in the property, ask them what they like and dislike about the property and whether or not they recommend it to you. You’ll probably get a wayyy more honest answer from them than from someone who is trying to get you to sign a lease.

If you don’t have any friends or family who have experience with that property, don’t worry! In this day and age, we have one of the most wonderful research tools available to us: Google. Doing a Google search of the name of a community or property management company you’re consideringresearch signing a lease with can give you crucial information that you wouldn’t otherwise know. Sites like Google Reviews and Yelp have comments and reviews from people that have lived in that place, or dealt with that property management company. You have to consider that if someone took the time to write a review, they probably feel very strongly about what they wrote.  The property management company you’re about to sign a lease with may have horrible reviews because of their lack of care for residents; this is something you wouldn’t know just by talking to someone at the lease office. Don’t rush your search and sign with the first property you see just because it’s a great price, or nicely maintained. Sometimes these things mask the reality of the property and by the time you realize it, it’ll be too late.

 

Safety First

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Moving to a new place can be a bit scary (and also super exciting), and that’s why it’s up to you to make sure that you create a safe environment for yourself to make your move as easy as possible. Safety goes hand in hand with feeling comfortable where you are, don’t overlook it!

A good place to start is with safety in the home. Always make sure your windows and doors are locked when you leave your home. No matter where you live and how long you’ve lived there, it’s never okay to leave doors and windows unlocked. If you’re scared that you may lock yourself out one day, so  for that reason you always leave a hidden window unlocked, just carry a spare key. Keep a copy of your key in your wallet or purse so that you’ll always have one on you. Leaving a door or window unlocked just makes your home an easier target for crime, and you definitely don’t want that.

An alarm system is a really good investment to consider when you move into your new home. You don’t have to find a super fancy and expensive system, there are simple ones available that are not expensive and get the job done. If and when you decide to install an alarm system, be sure that you put some kind of notice on your home (alarms come with decals or signs of some sort) to let others know that you are being protected and to deter break-ins. If you have children, it’s imperative that they are also well aware of staying safe in their new home. Make sure that they have the necessary emergency contact numbers, and know how to determine when there is an emergesafetyncy.

Don’t forget to talk to your neighbors! We covered this recently, check it out here, and it really is so important. You and your neighbors are the people that make up your immediate community so it’s up to all of you to keep it safe. If it doesn’t already exist, you all may want to consider setting up a neighborhood watch program. The National Crime Prevention Council is a great resource for learning the steps to take to establish a neighborhood watch program in your community. A program like this is extremely effective in keeping your neighborhood safe and crime free. This is also a great way for you to become more involved in your community and feel more at home in your new place.

 

Should you sublease?

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Subleasing is pretty much when you, the initial tenant, rent your property out to another tenant. The new tenant is then required to pay rent and follow the terms of the lease, but you still hold the overall responsibility of the property. A huuuuge part of subleasing is making sure that you find a good lessee. Because the responsibility of the property still falls on you, you want someone who will take care of the property and make sure nothing goes wrong.

So, how do you go about subleasing?

You’ll almost always need to get your landlord’s consent first and make sure that they are fine with having a new tenant in your place. Having someone sublease your property without your landlord knowing will most likely go against the terms of your lease, landing you in deep trouble. Once you’ve gotten the okay from your landlord, a contract can be drawn up to outline the terms of the lease and what your new tenant will be responsible for. Depending on your property manager or landlord, you may be charged a fee to sublease your property.

subleaseConsidering all the properties available for rent everywhere, you may need to negotiate and charge your lessee lower rent than what you originally pay as an incentive to sublease your place. Would you want to be paying the exact same amount to sublease a home as you would to just rent it yourself? Probably not, and neither will your lessee. Though it kinda sucks, the difference is a small price to pay in case where you need to move out of your property.  Subleasing is a great option if you plan on leaving your town for a few months and don’t want to pay rent for an empty apartment. It also works if you need to leave your property but your lease isn’t ending and you can’t terminate it.

 

Baby Love

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Some parents (or expecting parents)  may seem concerned about the process of baby proofing a home that isn’t theirs, but if done correctly, it isn’t difficult at all.

Start off by talking to your landlord about the property. If your landlord has lived in the home before, they may be able to tell you which room would be best suited for the baby (i.e. if a room is too cold, or too noisy); this way, you’ll know which room you should focus on most. Though it’s really only an issue in older homes, find out what type of paint your landlord used to paint the walls in the home because lead paint has been proven to be harmful to babies. If your landlord did use a paint brand that contains lead, paint over it with a newer paint that won’t harm the baby.

Take a look at common household things that may pose a risk and fix them up so that your baby won’t be harmed. The cords on blinds can be extremely dangerous for babies (and young children) because they can easily get tangled in them and be strangled. An easy baby proofing fix for this is to tie and secure the cords high up so that there is absolutely no risk of the baby being able to reach them. If you use something like Command Hooks, you won’t have any wall damage leftover once the cords can be let down. As far as wall sockets, you can purchase covers that can’t be removed by babies at places like Home Depot, or even Target. For cabinets, buy locks that only you or other adults in your home can open. A lot of these are made of strong magnets or adhesive, so you won’t need to worry about repairing the cabinet when you move out. You may also want to consider snap on locks for cabinets; they cause no damage and are easy for you to install. These kinds of locks can also be installed on refrigerators and toilets.

Don’t think that because your home is a rental you can’t make it safe for your baby! Follow the right steps and safety will be ensured.

baby proof

Hurricane Help

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Seeing as we’re almost two months into the official hurricane season, it’s important to know what kind of steps you need to take to stay safe.

First off, know exactly how big of an impact hurricanes have had in your area in the past. If you live in an area that has felt the wrath of hurricanes strongly in the past, keep yourself stocked up in case a hurricane decides to come through. Make sure you have lots of water, emergency food, flashlights, batteries, and things like radios, to keep you safe. Once the hurricane starts you can’t be leaving your home so you really need to be prepared at all times. You should also look into what emergency center is nearest to you, because you may need to end up leaving your home to seek shelter there, either before or after the storm.

Chances are, if you live in area prone to hurricanes, your landlord probably has some kind of shutters for your property. If this is the case, you’re set as far as windows and doors. If not, consider using plywood to board up your windows and doors to prevent the wind from breaking them and causing big damage.  Also, make sure you secure all items that are outside; bring in the things that you can, and securely tie down whatever cannot be brought inside. If you have covers your for cars, put them on! Things are going to be flying all around so you don’t want your car to be feeling the impact, too.

A lot of times your landlord may have lived in your home before renting it out to you; if so, ask them how they went about hurricane prep! They’ve lived in the home so they know how the impact will be and how to go about the situation.

hurricane

Love Thy Neighbors

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When you move, aside from getting a new home you also get a new vicinity, and with that comes new neighbors. Your neighbors are the people you’ll have closest to your home at all times, so it’s important to have a good relationship with them. If you think about it, neighbors are like distant roommates…

Don’t think we’re saying that you need to be the best of friends with your neighbor (though this may happen); you should just try to get along as best as you can. Be mindful of the fact that you have your space that you’re entitled to, and they have theirs. You wouldn’t like it if their dog messed up your lawn, or if they left their lawnmower blocking your driveway, would you? So don’t let it happen to them! Treat your neighbor as you would like to be treated.

 

Just like with roommates, there’s a chance you and your neighbor(s) may have some issues with each other at some point or another. Most likely this will just be something silly, like one of you had muneighborssic on too loud, or something along those lines. Before complaining to your property manager or a higher authority, talk to your neighbor, first! Your neighbor isn’t going to know that the music was bothering you unless you tell them; once they know that it’s bothering you, they can lower it. This same thing goes for you, too! Respect when your neighbors have a complaint and don’t let it happen again.

Neighbors are especially helpful if you’re moving to a completely new place and don’t know anyone. They can tell you all about the neighborhood and what you need to know, making the move a lot easier for you. Make it a point to introduce yourself whenever new neighbors move into your neighborhood, remember- you’ve been there too!