Check it out—all of it As in, don’t sign a lease on an apartment you’ve never seen, no matter how tempting the description may sound. (Actually, the more amazing it sounds, the more you should question if it’s too good to be true.) Likewise, don’t sign for a place that you’ve only seen the model [...]

If you’re planning to relocate without the promise of a job waiting on the other end, you’re probably well aware that it’s a tricky and scary move. That doesn’t, however, mean it’s a bad one! Consider the following points to maximize success, and minimize disaster. Research the job market, especially for your field As in, [...]

Are you advertising apartments, and want to capture the younger crowd? Then it’s time to get web-savvy. As John Kerrigan reported recently in the Multifamily Insider blog, college students increasingly eschew “traditional advertising” and turn instead to online searches when it comes time to find a new place. A nationwide survey of over 500 college [...]

We’re going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that “post-college” means “graduated.” Congrats! Actually, congrats either way; you’re done with sketchy dorm food, sketchy dorm carpeting, and hopefully sketchy college kids. Ah, but now you have to face the Real World, you know, the One They’ve Been Throwing In Your Face [...]

1. Absentee Landlord While it’s important for a new tenant to know that they’ll get plenty of privacy from their landlord, it’s also important to make sure your future landlord takes the time to check in on the properties every once in a while. “I had no idea it was in this condition,” isn’t a [...]

America’s economic problems haven’t only hit homeowners, they’ve hit renters, too. As the Huffington Post reported recently, renters of modest income are finding it “incredibly difficult” to find affordable housing; foreclosures have forced former homeowners to rent, and people who might have bought homes are reluctant to do so until the buyer’s market improves, and [...]

Slightly different from last Friday’s post on whether to rent TO family members, this one’s for those of you looking for an ideal place, and wondering if it belongs to Uncle Frank. If you’re considering moving into an apartment run or owned by a relative, consider the following points first. Make sure they can say [...]

If you’ve looked for an apartment lately, you’ve probably had this experience: you find what sounds like the perfect place online, but when you show up, the thing has literally burnt down from a meth lab explosion. Or, you know, the kitchen is grosser than you imagined—either way, a misleading ad can be a huge [...]

Although good credit comes in handy, it’s not the only factor that landlords use to decide whether or not to rent to you.  To understand how to beat a bad credit rap, you need to understand why landlords check credit in the first place:  they want to know if you will pay your rent in [...]

Resident retention is of utmost concern to property managers, now more than ever.  But how do you actually retain residents?  Property Management Insider has identified the following myths, based on resident feedback, about how landlords keep tenants.  Before you institute any expensive or time-consuming policies, read the following to make sure you’re not barking up [...]