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‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: 6 Apartment Trends I Want to See
Sometimes trends take hold of an industry, and it seems like everyone gets on the bandwagon. (Except for “fetch.” Stop trying to make “fetch” happen. It’s not going to happen!) Same goes, of course, for apartments. I recently read an interesting blog on RentCafe called “Changing Trends in Apartment Living.” The blog listed some projected trends in the apartment industry, such as apartments going green and being near transportation, units getting smaller and communities offering free wireless. That’s all well and good, and those changes are sure to benefit both developers and renters. But it certainly doesn’t include everything on…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: 5 Ways Finding a New Apartment is Like Dating
I recently came across a press release where Prudential Preferred Realty introduced a new feature on their website that helps match prospective buyers with compatible Prudential agents, similar to how a dating service works (check it out here). Interesting concept. And why not? After all, finding a house or even an apartment to rent is very similar to dating in that both experiences can be very rewarding. Or terrible. 5 Ways Finding a New Apartment is Like Dating You only get one first impression. Which is why on first dates people get all gussied up, and apartments are cleaned up and…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: The 5 Worst Things a Landlord Can Find When a Renter Moves Out
Though you might love your renters—they do pay their rents on time, after all—at some point, they’re likely to leave you. It’s the nature of the beast, and to every season, turn, turn, turn. All that. And sometimes, whether intentionally or not, your former residents leave items behind. When I moved out of my last apartment, I think I accidently left my pile of take-out menus that I meant to throw out and a never-opened bottle of mudslide mix. If you found it, sláinte, former landlord! Of course, what residents leave behind is often not as glamorous. It’s never a…
‘Gimme Shelter’ with Daniel Gehman: Debating LEED? Bring It
To start this post, I’m going to trot out that old chestnut of a story of my mom, the depression-era, Mennonite-raised, single working mother of at least three children, who taught me something about thrift. I assure you that when she required us to rinse out and re-use our Ziploc bags, it had nothing to do with saving the planet. It had everything to do with saving a buck, as they were in short supply. She also re-used stuff, perhaps to a fault, as our cupboards overflowed with washed and re-purposed margarine tubs. Even in the ‘70s, an era more…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Let’s Talk About Pets, Baby
Who could resist a little puppy or kitten? I can, for one. I’m not an animal person. (Although growing up I did have a couple of gerbils named Nancy Drew and Nancy Drew II, and a tamagotchi. The ’90s were a scary, awesome time.) And, apparently, so can a lot of property managers, who designate some buildings to be pet-free. Fair enough. Pets can bark or meow or chirp, which could be very disturbing to the other residents in the building. Plus their little paws or claws can scratch up a floor. But on the other hand, some people consider…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Does [Apartment] Size Matter?
Size, convenience, convenience, size? (Oprah, Uma, Uma Oprah?) Would you sacrifice size for convenience? A lot of renters are faced with this question, especially when it comes to city dwellers. The choice is usually move to the outskirts of the city and have a big apartment (and usually a lower rent), or stay in the city and have a smaller apartment, but be closer to all the action. And pay more for the privilege. (Thank you sir, may I have another?) On paper, of course the bigger apartment sounds like the better deal. You get more closet space. You probably…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: The Suite Life
It seems like recently a lot of fancy hotels, such as The Plaza in NYC, are converting some of their rooms into apartments. And why not? Who wouldn’t want to be given the opportunity to live like Eloise, or, to a lesser extent, like a Kardashian. Hotels can be glamorous. They’re located in convenient areas. And, when they’re converted to apartments, one of the amenities usually offered is maid service. Can you imagine? It’s like living back at mom’s, except without the judgment. (Plus, you’d get no, “What do you think I am, your maid?” because, well, they are.) No…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: Rent Gains Signal a Storm?
“You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking.” —L. Frank Baum, Author, Wizard of Oz, (c) MGM 1939 Rent gains have become the darling of the economy. Executives and investors are showing up at cocktail parties, clinking glasses in joyous abandon as talk turns to happy days are here again as pricing gains are now heralding renter nation. If I’ve learned anything it’s that once just about everyone agrees on a trend in the multifamily industry, they get it wrong. I’ve been forecasting rent results for a lot of years now, but this is the first time I’ve seen the…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Would You Want Kramer as a Neighbor?
Are you friendly with your neighbors? New Yorkers, for better or worse, are stereotyped as being very un-neighborly—most would be categorized as not being able to pick out their next-door neighbor in a lineup. (Actually, for me this is pretty true. I know my neighbors as “Woman who takes her kid to school the same time I’m leaving for work,” “Guy who yelled at my husband for building our Ikea furniture too loudly” and several variations of “Person who looks vaguely familiar so I assume lives here and isn’t some murderer I just held the front door open for.”) But what…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Apartments with Secrets
When I was younger—probably due to the influence of too many Nancy Drew mysteries—I was convinced there was a secret passage in my bedroom. Of course, I was living in a relatively new raised ranch-style house, and my room was on the second floor, sharing one wall with my little brother’s room and another with my parents’ master bedroom (I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed that when I was a teenager). Obviously, there was not even a possibility of a secret passage. But that didn’t stop me from knocking on all the walls to hear…