Apartment Blog

We posted a blog in August of last year, about how to ‘Find the Right Dog for Your Apartment Living‘. In it we provided some tips on what to consider before getting a dog, such as daily schedule, children, environment, etc. We cannot stress enough how important it is to be completely aware of all the information before deciding to care for an animal. So here are a few more tips before you bring Beethoven home.

Tip 1: Are there any size or weight restrictions on dogs within your apartment community? A majority of apartment homes allow dogs between 30-50 lbs. Very few allow those above the 50 lb. marker. So you need to take that into account before you go searching for your animal. I’ve also heard that in many communities prefer heavier dogs live on the first floor. So be sure to read your lease.

Tip 2: How much exercise does the dog need? This goes hand in hand with your daily lifestyle as we mentioned in our previous blog. Are you able to give a high energy dog the necessary attention and physical exercise it requires? Or would you prefer a low energy dog that could make due with exercise inside an apartment? Research various dog breeds to find out which would be most suitable for you.

Tip 3: Is the breed’s temperament a good match for you? The level of energy is an element in the breed’s temperament. A Chihuahua, for example, has a high level of energy and enjoys activities with its owner. However, other breeds are more mellow and would require less on your part to entertain. Again, research would need to be done to determine which breed is best for you.

Tip 4: Are you prepared for the costs of dog ownership? We touched on this in ‘Find the Right Dog for Your Apartment Living‘ but it deserves to be mentioned again because I cannot stress enough how important it is to be informed. Assume the bare minimum for owning a dog is around a $1 a day. So figure about $365 a year worth of expenses with food, vet visits, shots, toys, hygiene care, etc. that you would have to pay.

Tip 5: Have you considered what happens to your dog if you can’t care for him/her? A dog is a responsibility. He or she is going to be around for up to 15 years. Before you take on that responsibility, think about what would happen if you suddenly find you can’t take care of him/her. What would you do? Go to the shelter, find someone to adopt, what? If you know that taking on a dog is a responsibility and not something you can give back, then maybe you’ll be more aware of what’s in store.

The main reason why animals are brought to shelters is because people are not informed of the lifestyle change that comes with caring for an animal. They will require exercise, money, time, patience, etc. So do the research. You will be a lot happier loving a dog you’re ready for than saying good-bye to one you’re not.

ForRent.com^®, announced the grand prize winner and the top 10 finalists of its “If Only Your Apartment Furniture Could Talk” video contest.

Drum roll please…………………………………………………….

The grand prize winner is Brendan Walsh of “Furniture Talk.” Brendan is a 20 year-old student from Steubenville, Ohio, majoring in digital media production at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. His video gives viewers a “fly on the wall” point of view of the conversations their apartment furniture has when they’re not around. One couch tells the story of his lazy owners and why they should win $10,000 to add more furniture to their apartment. Watch this video at http://www.winapartmentfurniture.com/video/view/26.

“Social media is my life,” says Walsh. “In fact, I even created a Facebook group for my video submission to gain more views and votes. It’s like a chain reaction. I tell 10 people, they tell 10 people, and it spirals.”

The winning videos on WinApartmentFurniture.com were selected from more than 50 submissions created by ForRent.com enthusiasts from around the country. Each responded to the challenge to create a short video creatively telling ForRent.com, through the eyes and voice of their apartment furniture, why they should win $10,000. In addition to Walsh’s $10,000 grand prize, the top 10 finalists will receive iPod Shuffles. These videos can be viewed at http://www.winapartmentfurniture.com/pages/finalists.

The finalists includes great videos such as ‘Small Apartment Sickness’, submitted by Dane Boedigheimer of Riverside, CA, which was a great parody of Pee Wee Herman’s Play House. The musical melodies of ‘Help Me Out Bro’, submitted by Tyler Poppe & Leland Grant, and British sounding suicidal sofas in ‘Couch Talk’, submitted by Alex Farnham, were among the top ten. Creatively speaking, ‘College Bound’ by Michael Marencik, ‘Mikey’ by Nick Kanellis and ‘Tiffany needs a dream house’ by Jana Dowling really showed off their skills. And who could forget the ForRent.com lovers ‘Me and my mattress’ by Ryder Darcy in San Francisco, CA, ‘I need my own place’, ‘Get Discovered’ and ‘ForRent.com-Redcat Film’. “I love it when a plan comes together.”

“This contest provided a unique way for us to reach out to our brand community, allowing them to express their creativity and appreciation for ForRent.com and For Rent Magazine,” said Terry Slattery, vice president and general manager of For Rent Media Solutions^TM. “We want to thank everyone who participated in the contest, for helping make it such a success.”

‘Super Stoaked’ grand prize winner Brendan Walsh said, when asked what he was going to do with the $10,000, “First I have to pay out to my roommate and 2 friends that helped make it. We are poor hungry college students so we’ll head over to the grocery store so we can eat real food and no more Ramen noodles!” Congratulations to all the winners!

Community Theater^TM, created by ForRent.com, is a professionally produced streaming video that highlights the features of apartment communities. This is important to consumers because it showcases the apartment communities you look at so you can make an informed decision about where you want to live. Community Theater was launched in September of 2006; now, less than two years later, there are more than 1,000 streaming videos available on ForRent.com for apartment seekers to use as resources!

Why should you care? Because when you’re searching for your new apartment to rent it’s important to go to a website that provides you with the best possible representation of where you’ll be living. Statistics also show that consumers are watching more and more online videos every month. According to comScore, nearly 135 million U.S. Internet users viewed 11 billion online videos during the month of April 2008.

“Interactive advertising is evolving rapidly and online video has emerged as a major factor in the culture of communication,” says Terry Slattery, vice president and general manager of For Rent Media Solutions. “Our videos have received more than 3.9 million views, and in June 2008 alone our videos averaged over 19,900 views per day.” That’s impressive! In just under two years the ForRent.com Community Theater product has reached this amazing milestone.

Besides airing on ForRent.com and the property’s management company Web site, these videos can also been seen on a variety of websites that you visit daily, such as major search engines like Google^TM and Yahoo!^®, social networking sites like MySpace^®, video sharing sites including YouTube^TM and many more.

So whether you’re in the market for a new apartment, or just moved into your new space, remember ForRent.com is the ultimate place to find an apartment and provide resources for apartment renters. ForRent.com strives above all others to put the consumer’s wants first.

When people search online they usually search for ‘best of’ lists. Such as ‘Best Restaurants’, ‘Best Nightclubs’, ‘Best Movie Theaters’, etc. You get my point. So I’ve stumbled on this website and would like all of our readers to submit their ‘best of’ lists for the city of Denver. Whether you’re a resident or a frequent visitor, let us know the hot spots you’ve heard about. Topics include various ethnic restaurants (Italian, Mexican, Asian, etc.), sports bars, place to meet singles, etc. Or, if you’d rather not visit the site and vote, let us know right here on our blog.

For those who might be taking a trip there soon, having a few ‘resident recommended’ places to visit would sure give them a good overview of the city.

And don’t forget, if you live in the city you can always get more information and search tips on Denver Apartments, or view all Apartments for Rent in Denver, CO. pick up our For Rent Magazine at many local retail and public locations in the Denver, Colorado area.

Consumers are constantly using mobile devices to look up restaurants, directions, movie times, etc. Apartment hunters looking to find apartments for rent on-the-go can rest easy. ForRent.com is keeping up with these mobile trends by providing consumers the with capability to search for apartments on their cell phones.

“With mobile devices growing more sophisticated, multifunctional and high-speed, consumers are relying on their phones to accomplish every day tasks from shopping to finding directions,” said Brock MacLean, vice president of national sales and development, For Rent Media Solutions.

So how does it work? On the ForRent.com Mobile Website, apartment seekers can find the same basic search information that’s on ForRent.com, including address, city, state and zip code. After the search information is entered, the apartment seeker will be directed to a search results page that features a property photo as well as contact information. Once an apartment has been selected from the search results, the apartment seeker will then be directed to a more detailed page for the property, where they will find a property description, additional photos, contact information and driving directions.

Imagine that you’re driving down the road and see a nice looking apartment community with a sign that says ‘Move-In Special’. You can use your cellular device to go on the ForRent.com Mobile Web site to check out the community. With the contact information at your finger tips, you can call to set up a walk-through appointment for later that day. Just like that, you’re on your way to finding the apartment you’ve been dreaming of!

With more than 25 million mobile phone users in the United States, going mobile is the next logical step by For Rent Media Solutions in the evolution of the technologically savvy products to provide for consumers. What will they think of next?

The ForRent.com mobile Web site is accessible to all cell phones with Internet capability. So let us know your thoughts. Would you use your mobile phone to search for apartments?

I saw this link on MSN.com which provides you with the best viewing spots Fourth of July fireworks and it got me thinking……. most of the lists that you see online will give you the guides to the major cities, like Atlanta, Chicago, New York, etc. But what about in your hometown? Where is the best place to be for fireworks?? For example, if you live in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, the best places to go would definitely be the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Waterside and Mt. Trashmore. (Yes, for all the non-locals, it is a mountain that was once a landfill but has now become a city park in Virginia Beach.)

Don’t get me wrong, this site does allow you to click and see some of the viewing spots in your state. But for instance, when you click Virginia on this site it will only show you three locations in the entire state. I just mentioned three in the area of Hampton Roads alone. That doesn’t include Northern Virginia, the Peninsula or the western part of the state. So let’s say you live in Wisconsin… MSN.com only shows one location for the entire state. I know that can’t be true. Obviously this was all the information they collected regarding the ‘hot spots’ to be at for Fourth of July fireworks in each state and given that they can’t have an entire research team dedicated to this specific topic, there are bound to be areas that are bare.

So I’m curious, is there a way that we could get information on the ‘hot spots’ in certain areas that wouldn’t normally be highlighted on these lists? Wouldn’t it be great for readers in Mobile, AL, Louisville, CO, or Chaska, MN to know where to go to watch fireworks?? Umm…….I think I’ve got it! Readers should comment and let everyone know where they’ll be going or where they’d recommend locals go.

ForRent.com wants to hear from you and get real comments, from real residents, about the ‘hot spots’ to go to this Fourth of July!