Unless you’ve gotten incredibly lucky with your new apartment, you will likely have to deal with noisy neighbors at least once over the next few months. How you do this will often directly impact the final results, so let’s take a look at a few essential do’s and don’ts when it comes to dealing with noisy neighbors.

The first thing every person should keep in mind is the golden rule: treat others as you would want to be treated. That means using common (sense) courtesy in your day to day life. Don’t blare loud music past a certain hour; try not to have loud fights that others could hear and other basic things like this. If you aren’t getting the same level of courtesy back from your neighbors, a good place to start is with a simple knock on the door. It could be that your neighbors simply don’t realize that their behavior is being heard outside of their four walls. Simply knock on their door and politely ask them if they realize that others can hear what their doing. Even if you’re angry, be as polite and kind as possible. If the behavior continues, than it is time to involve your land lord or building manager.

Try to keep a record of the disruptive behavior or even a videotape that shows the noise or disturbance. Present the evidence to those in charge and see if that stops the noise. As a last resort, the police can be called, but make sure that this is absolutely the last option.

It is no secret that living in an apartment, especially if you live by yourself, can be a bit lonely. We work every day and come home to an apartment that is devoid of life, with the exception of a few plants. The problem is that fewer and fewer apartment complexes are allowing pets these days, and the ones that do only allow things like fish, and not birds or cats. Here are a few tips for getting the right pet for your apartment.

First, don’t try to sneak pets into your apartment if they don’t take them. You are running the risk of developing a bond with an animal and then having to toss the pet away. Second, it isn’t a good idea to adopt a pet that is used to going outside every day. It isn’t impossible to have an outdoor cat if you live in an apartment, but unless your door opens right up to the outside world, it becomes a logistical nightmare. Besides, do you really want to risk losing your pet in the concrete jungle outside? Adopt a cat that is either a kitten who will adjust to living indoors or adopt a cat that is already an indoor cat.

Birds and fish can make good apartment pets, but make sure you know how to take care of them before you adopt them. Fish are a lot of work, and birds can be very noisy and ill tempered. Read up on proper care techniques before you make the big decision.

If you have a student going off to college and you’ve decided against the overpriced on-campus dorms, you are likely going to be living in a college apartment. While an off -campus apartment may be a cheaper alternative to living on campus, they can be fraught with problems. Here are some pitfalls you need to watch out for when you start apartment hunting with your soon to be college student.

The stereotypical college apartment is small, unkept and very noisy. While there is nothing that mom and dad can do about partying in the adjoining units, they can make sure that they stay in a building or complex that has on-site security and administration so that when parties go to 2 am and your son or daughter has a test the next day, all it takes is a single phone call and things can get back to normal.

Another common perception of college apartments is that they aren’t made very well. Since these types of apartments are significantly more likely to have reckless and even dangerous occupants, you often see holes in the walls or patches that show serious signs of wear and tear. Try not to rent from a place that looks like it has had wars waged inside of it. It shows poor judgment from the people running the building.

Finally, try to sign a short, six month lease so that if the place turns out to be horrible, you don’t have long to wait until you can find someplace better.

As we age, we begin to go through a series of changes that can directly affect our quality of living. Most of us will own a home some day, but we will eventually decide that cleaning and keeping up that home is too much hassle and we will start to look for other accommodation. Many people would rather die than live in a nursing home, so an apartment becomes a natural choice, but how can we tell if our moms and dads will be happy in their new digs? Let’s take a look at some things we should look for when apartment hunting with mom and dad.

First of all, handicapped accessibility is paramount, even if our parent isn’t in a wheelchair or disabled yet. There is always the chance that an accident could change all that quickly and you don’t want to have to move again once it happens. Living on your own is all about mobility and you need to make sure they can get around with ease.

Finding a quiet apartment is probably the second most important thing, which is why it is probably a good idea to find a complex that has quite a few older residents. Since they will likely be on the same schedule, you won’t have to worry about loud music or rowdy parties. Plus, they will have a better chance to make friends.

Finally, try to choose a place that’s bright and cheery. This transition isn’t the end of the road, it is a new beginning and shouldn’t be treated as a negative if at all possible.

There is no denying that apartment hunting can be one of the most stressful and most bothersome of tasks we undertake on a semi-regular basis. There are a million things that the average apartment hunter has to keep in mind as they browse every new place. There is rent, square feet, location, amenities, the age of the apartment, neighbors and a thousand and one other concerns. So how can you get a good idea of an apartment complex before you even stay there for a night? Here are a few tips.

When you approach the rental office, check out how the other residents behave. If there is a line of people waiting to lodge complaints, you might want to think twice about moving into that particular complex. If, on the other hand, you see happy folks with smiles on their faces, it might be a complex worthy of a second look.

When you are being walked to your possible new home, take a close look at the upkeep of the grounds. If the management company has put a little tender loving care into the appearance of the place, then they are likely to help you when you run into problems faster. If they are neglectful of the grounds, they will likely be neglectful of you.

Finally, keep your ears open as you tour your new apartment complex. If all you can hear is music blaring, people arguing and other loud distractions, you might want to think twice. If everything is peaceful and quiet, it is a good omen for the future.

In this day and age of computers, televisions, stereos and surround sound systems, the biggest enemy of the apartment is the cord. While more and more products come out with wireless alternatives to current hardwired products, most people can’t afford these cord free alternatives yet, so we are stuck trying to come up with inventive ways to cover our cords without causing an eyesore. Here are a few helpful tips.

The first thing that you can do to ensure that you don’t have a hornet’s nest of cords infesting your apartment is to bundle your cords. Use twist ties or their harder, plastic relatives, to tightly bind cords as much as you can. This won’t prevent people from tripping over them, but it will help with keeping everything neat if you need to disconnect and reconnect things on a regular basis.

Perhaps the most common way most of us cover cords is to get a throw rug to lay over spots where cords need to run the length of a room. An alternative that many of us don’t think of is to ask our landlord or management company if they have any carpet samples or throw-away pieces that are similar, or even exactly the same, as the carpet we have in our apartment. That way, you aren’t messing with trying to match colors or patterns.

Finally, try running cords against the wall and underneath radiators to hide them. Yes, this will take longer and require a lot of cord, but it is the easiest way to hide them completely.

Of all of the various types of insurance out there, renter’s insurance is probably the least used and the most misunderstood. Even people who are aware of it sometimes think that they don’t need it because they don’t own enough nice things or that the chances of something happening (fire, robbery) are so remote, that the insurance is a waste of money. Here are a few essential do’s and don’ts you can follow if you are thinking about getting renter’s insurance.

DO – Make a complete list of everything you just moved into your new apartment and assign an approximate dollar value to each item. This will give you an honest appraisal of how much your belongings are worth and, that way, you can make an informed decision about getting insurance or not.

DON’T – Assume that your landlord’s or even your parent’s insurance covers you. Under almost every circumstance, these fallback options don’t work out. If your landlord has insurance on your apartment, it is to cover the apartment itself, not any of your possessions that were inside of it. There is a slightly better chance of you being covered by your parent’s insurance policy, but make sure you are before you decline getting renter’s insurance on your own.

DO – Take pictures of everything you own before you get a plan. Just like photographic proof can help you with your home owners insurance claims, the same can be true for renter’s insurance, and with the advent of digital cameras, documenting your belongings is even easier.

When it comes to resolving landlord or roommate disputes, knowing the laws in your area is absolutely vital, but what most people don’t realize is that laws concerning renter’s rights vary widely from place to place and from state to state. If you have recently moved to a new area and are thinking about renting an apartment, there are a few necessary things you should do to update yourself on the laws and rules in your area.

Your first stop should be online. The internet age has ushered in a slew of consumer protection websites that can assist you in leaning what the laws are in your new state as far as renting goes. Most major cities have renter’s rights groups that have their own website, and sometimes they even have a free 1-800 number you can call to learn about specific problems you are experiencing. Bookmark any sites you find like this for your area since you never know when you might need them in the future.

If you can’t find any up to date websites in your area that have this information, check out your copy of the Yellow Pages. They often have lists of non profit groups in your area that might be of use to you.

Finally, if all else fails, contact a lawyer in your new state, and they will likely point you in the general direction. The electronic age has afforded us significant leaps in communication so don’t get caught flat footed if you need to know your rental rights in your new state.

If you are thinking about moving into a new apartment, but you can’t afford the rent by yourself, you are likely considering getting a roommate. In most cases, roommates are a welcome addition to a household since they not only pay half the bills, but they usually help with cleaning and even cooking, but sometimes, conflicts arise and living with a roommate can be a hellish experience. One way that most people try to mitigate that problem is by choosing to live with someone they already know. Most times, choosing a roommate from someone you already know works better, but it can also be a friendship ender. Let’s look at both sides of the coin.

The main advantages of choosing a roommate from someone you know is that you know right off the bat that you will be compatible with that person. You likely already know that you both enjoy the same kind of music and the same kind of movies or television shows. You may already know if your friend is a night person or a morning person so there may be one less conflict in that department. In essence, choosing a roommate from someone you know is “going with the devil you know instead of the devil you don’t.”

On the flip side, you may realize that your friend isn’t all he or she is cracked up to be. They may end up having a whole host of annoying habits you don’t know about and you can see your friendship declining rapidly. It is a risk that many people take, and sometimes, it proves to be a big mistake.

If you have never lived on your own before, the knowledge that you now have domain over an entire apartment can be a bit of a power trip. Many novice decorators will immediately make all rooms of their new apartment appear like a dorm room gone wrong, while others simply become overwhelmed by the prospect and live with bare white walls for months on end. Here are a few basic decorating tips for the first timers out there.

While it can be almost impossible to make things match when you are decorating from online classifieds and the local thrift store, try to not have pieces in your home clash. It is acceptable to have a natural stained desk and a white painted bookshelf next to each other, but try to avoid dark stained woods next to light stained woods and back and forth throughout your entire apartment. Try to pick a theme or style and stick to it.

One common mistake that many novices make is to try to fill up every square inch of space they have with stuff, which is not only impractical but it destroys the flow of your apartment. Having enough room to walk around in is very important. If you plan on entertaining on a regular basis, you don’t want guests to feel claustrophobic when they visit you, so having enough room for people to stand and walk around is vital.

Decorating for the first time can be a bit stressful, but don’t give up!