Apartment Blog

According to Wikipedia, a credit score “is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person’s credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of that person, which is the perceived likelihood that the person will pay debts in a timely manner.” Lenders typically assess the potential risk involved in lending money to consumers by using these scores to determine who is qualified and at what percentage rate. These lenders include banks and credit card companies. This number not only affects your ability to get a loan, but also influences insurance companies, potential employers and apartment communities. When you go to apply for an apartment, your credit score is going to be checked! Do you know what it’s going to say?

Everyone is entitled to one free credit report every 12 months. One of the major agencies that provide credit reports are Experian, which has it’s their own method of calculating your credit score. Finding out your credit score, which range between 300-850, will make you informed so you know when to correct errors or work on a better score in the future.

To get your Free Credit Score, visit ForRent.com. On our Relocation Page we offer the opportunity for you to check your credit score with freecreditreport.com. Take the first step to knowing where you stand and check your score today!

Children and Adults will enjoy doing the crafts this holiday. It’s a good way to add holiday spirit with fun activities that’ll instantly give your home a festive look! Just put your creative minds together and take a stab at one of these crafty ideas:

Pot of Gold Party Favor:
For this simple activity all you need is a few household items to create it. You can use a paper plate, a toilet paper or paper towel roll (or yogurt cup), glue and paint. Cut the toilet paper or paper towel roll in half and paint it black. Then take the arc of the paper plate and cut it (make sure the arc can fit into the hole in the painted toilet paper/paper towel roll). Then paint it the colors of the rainbow. After both the rainbow and black pot dry, glue them together! You can make them for all your guests or just for little decor all over the apartment.

Shamrocks and Flower Wreaths:
The materials for this wreath are really up to you. You can use the traditional shamrock theme or go for flowers which will be reusable for your doorway all of spring. Regardless, you’ll need about a small to medium sized plain wreath. Ribbon color/design is your choice, obviously depending on the style you want. If you’re going for a shamrock themed wreath, then you’ll need a green or white ribbon preferably with shamrocks on it. Thickness would depend on the actual wreath you have. For little decorations you can get shamrock confetti, green silk leaves/clovers, green pipe cleaners and maybe even a few white satin roses to add some color. Arrange the materials in an order you like and glue all into place! You’ll have a decor element for years to come!

Shamrock Mobile:
With three different hues/shades of green construction paper, scissors, trace of a shamrock, glue and yarn you can create this lovely idea! Perfect for decorating your home for St. Patrick’s Day parties! Cut out various shamrocks in the different color card stock. Save the leftover paper (with the shamrock cut out) and cut around the rim (leaving a couple centimeters). See picture. Then punch a hole at the top of each of the pieces and assemble together using ribbon, yarn or string. Viola! You’ve got yourself a handmade mobile!

And finally, this next idea is most appropriate if you have children. Making a Hand print Rainbow is best using multiple colors of green. (You are forewarned that this is a messy craft!) Use a large piece of poster board and have your child’s hand dipped in paint. Each child can be a different shade of green (or you can vary outside the traditional colors for St. Patrick’s Day and use the colors of the rainbow). Use a blow dryer to dry the paint in between colors so the colors won’t blend together and look messy! Have each child (member of the family) sign his/her name too! To keep this memento, have it laminated for future holidays!

Hope you enjoy all the crafty ideas. If you have any of your own, please feel free to add them!!

Source: amazingmoms.com, kinderart.com, 123greetings.com

Want to get your kids involved on this lovely holiday? Then get out some construction paper, glue, scissors and your creative flair because the following ideas require a bit of imagination on you and your kids part!

Make Valentine’s Day Card for your family & loved ones

○ Using construction paper, glue, scissors and whatever decorative element you can get your hands on, make a Valentine’s Day card! Doesn’t require much, just a bunch of love and time!

Make Someone a Coupon Book (help around the house, get out of jail free card,

whatever!)

○ I’m seriously contemplating doing this for my boyfriend. A bunch of coupons for ‘not doing the dishes tonight’ or ‘free night out with the guys’. Both inexpensive and exactly what he’d like! (permission from me to get out of doing chores)

○ You can get really creative & specific with this for the person you’re making it for! (i.e. If making it for mom, throw in a few ‘I’ll do the dishes’, ‘not make a mess’, ‘clean up after my own toys’, etc.)

Create Beaded Jewelry Crafts

○ Go to your local craft store and pick up a variety of beads and string. You and your kids can create one of a kind jewelry pieces for each other or their friends!

Handprint Poems

○ When you come up with enough creative writing to write a poem for your loved one, make sure you display it properly by putting it on a hand printed cut-out! (trace your own hand to make it personal)

Bake Valentine’s Day Cookies

○ You can use the store bought ones, or create your own. Regardless this activity with kids will be super fun and very yummy!!!

Personalized Valentine’s Day Candy Jar

○ This will be super fun for your kids to create. Get various sizes of jar/containers, ink/paint & stamps. (This will get messy so make sure you have a cleaning station prepared and newspaper down on your surface)

○ Let their imagination run wild!! After its dried, fill the jar with all sorts of little candy treats!

These crafts allow you and your kids to get in the spirit for this lovely day! Let us know your fun craft ideas!?

Everyone has experienced road rage. Whether you’ve been on the receiving end or directing it towards a fellow driver, it’s not fun. Larger metropolitan areas tend to have the majority of traffic therefore they have some of the most aggressive drivers. The number one city that topped the list for most aggressive drivers (for the second year in a row) is……….Miami, followed by New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington.

The most courteous cities, regarding hostile drivers, are Portland, Pittsburg, Seattle, St. Louis and Dallas.

Do you live in a city with high road rage?? The AAA website offers a three-step plan to avoid being a victim of aggressive driving.

1. ‘Don’t Offend’ which simply means do not cut off other drivers, don’t drive slowly in the left lane, don’t tailgate and DO NOT gesture to other drivers.

2. ‘Don’t engage’ other drivers, which basically means do not cause trouble. Don’t look the other driver in the eyes (stare them down) and call 911 should you feel that you are in a dangerous situation.

3. ‘Forget Winning’ If someone has done #1 or #2 to you, let it go. Don’t let it frustrate you till you become angry. Try to put yourself in the other driver’s shoes and free yourself from any aggravation.

I know on my daily commute to work I sometimes feel the need to bang on the steering wheel to alleviate my frustrations, but what about you? Do you have any constructive methods to help you release your frustrations while you are on the road?

Source: AOL AUTOS, ‘Road Rage and Aggressive Driving’ by Craig Howie

Recognized by their easy to use insurance resources, ForRent.com makes shopping for all your insurance needs a breeze. A great deal of apartment hunters will need to find renters insurance before they can sign a lease. I know that while I’m shopping for apartments there are many communities that informed me I needed renters insurance-some even offered me a few business cards to find quotes!

But visiting ForRent.com is truly a one stop shop. Now, you’ve heard me talk about all the wonderful resources our Relocation Center offers, but one thing I haven’t spoken about is our FREE Insurance Quotes. Follow these easy steps and you’ll find the right insurance to meet your needs:

1. Visit ForRent.com’s website
2. Click on Relocation Center on the top menu bar
3. Under the Finance Center (middle of the screen) click on FREE Insurance Quotes
4. Start comparing and finding quotes for your area TODAY!!
5. Or of course you can be brought to the Insurance Quotes page by simply clicking on the links provided within this blog!! J

And if you are not in the market for renter’s insurance, ForRent.com also offers quotes on health, auto and life insurance too!

Hope this helps all of you!

We often feel that we need to go overboard with the holiday season in order to show how much we care. Decorations need to be plentiful; gifts need to be expensive, etc. It’s no wonder so many are going into debt during the holiday season!

If you’re like me and hate the idea of going broke in the next few weeks, take a look at some of these ‘frugal’ tips to help you with the added expenses.

Reducing, reusing and recycling are definitely the motto here. If you don’t like the idea of re-gifting because you think it’s impersonal or tacky, just think of it like this: you have received a gift that is not your taste (a glass vase for example), however your best friend LOVES vases and would kill to have the ‘stunning’ piece you’ve received. Should you really keep the gift in a box to collect dust or should you give your friend joy by offering it to her? Other economical gifts would be to make coupon books for your loved ones. Include activities such as breakfast in bed, dog walking, shoulder/foot massages, etc. Everyone gets what they want!! And while you are already shopping for extra groceries during this time of year, why not pick up a couple extras of what you’re buying to make a holiday gift basket. For example, a baking basket can include, cake mix, spatula, vegetable oil, icing and a $5 gift card to your local grocery store for items such as milk and eggs-total cost less than $20!

You could also reuse some items for your holiday parties this year. Instead of purchasing something for everyone, play secret Santa or holiday gift exchange. That way you’ll save money not buying multiple gifts and everyone can dedicate more effort into getting one person a gift they’ll like. Another idea that is more of a multifunctional party idea is a gift wrapping party. Have each person bring wrapping supplies (i.e. gift wrap, tape, ribbons, etc.) and let the conversation flow while whittling down your checklist. (You could also have it be a pot-luck so everyone can eat while working!)

Decorating your home doesn’t have to be costly either. There are many inexpensive ideas you can use to add holiday spirit. Just check out our blog ‘Cheap and Easy ways to add Christmas Spirit to your Apartment’.

Here’s wishing you and me a debt free holiday season this year!!

After 55 Housing & Resource Guide is owned and operated by For Rent Media Solutions, a division of Dominion Enterprises. As a one-stop source for the adult age 55 and beyond, After 55 Housing & Resource Guide serves all the housing needs of this vast demographic. The publication is geared towards baby boomers planning their retirement, aging adults, and adult children who are researching housing options for their parents. The publication complements SeniorOutlook.com, the online housing and resource guide, and can be found in various locations throughout Florida, as well as major cities across the nation including Atlanta, Columbus, Minneapolis, Phoenix, San Diego and Sacramento.

If you live in these areas, pick up one of our free publications, or go online to view our apartments for rent at SeniorOutlook.com

Don’t know about you, but I ALWAYS have to have my apartment ’straightened’ up before I leave for work. Nothing is worse than coming home from a long day at work and seeing the apartment a mess. So I usually try and do a few simple things in the morning that literally take 5 minutes, that way when I come home it’ll be clean for me. Here are my secrets:

1. Always make the bed in the morning. I know that you’re tired when you first wake up, but take two seconds to smooth down the sheets and blanket and adjust the pillows. If a room has a messy bed, the room appears messy and unorganized. But if the bed is straightened and the pillows are upright, then the room looks clean and in order.

2. The next stop is the bathroom. If you’re like me, you’ll get your hair brush, toothpaste and toothbrush out to use and then hop in the shower. But, before you leave the bathroom, make sure you put away those items you just put on the counter. Although it may seem like a waste of time, having a clean counter in a bathroom makes the bathroom look less messy.

3. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? So after you prepare your breakfast, make sure you pick up after yourself. To have your kitchen looking clutter free, put the dishes away (either by cleaning them or hiding them in the dishwasher). Keeping your sink free & clear of dishes will help your kitchen appear neat and tidy.

4. Put any clothes or shoes that are lying on the floor in a certain spot. Whether your clothes need to be hung up in the closet or put in the laundry hamper or shoes go on a shoe rack. If you start to make a habit of putting your clothes up when you take them off, you’ll save precious time by not having to clean it up later!

5. And finally, make sure that any lose papers (i.e. newspapers, bills, etc.) are straightened up and put in a specific area (preferably one that you already have organized so you can find those items again later). This will help clear up the floors, coffee and dining room tables.

While it may seem like doing all this in the morning takes longer than 5 minutes, doing it daily will eliminate some of the clutter that has started pilling up. Day by day, the pile will dwindle down and it will take you less than five minutes. Next time you come home from work, you’ll walk into a nice, clean house-leaving you time to relax!

ForRent.com makes apartment searching easy. Browse through thousands of apartments for rent all over the United States. ForRent.com will help you to search for your next apartment, townhouse, condo, duplex, efficiency, studio or loft. We also offers apartments for rent in Spanish and have wide variety of corporate housing and senior housing. ForRent provides a free customized rental search from over 50,000 listings of property management companies and private property owners. View photos, streaming videos, virtual tours, floorplans, price, detailed descriptions and have instant contact with the apartment community.

If you have any questions or comments please post your comment on our Web Blog or e-mail us at ForRent.com.