Whether you own a condominium, duplex, single-family home, or a huge purpose-built apartment complex, all landlords share the same goal: to keep your units full and maximize profits. But finding the right mix of cost minimization while increasing resale value and growing rents isn’t easy. One of the more obvious ways to achieve this goal is to make a few rental property updates.Â
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Prior to popup testing centers, business closures, and mask mandates – one of the most pivotal changes to occur in response to the coronavirus pandemic was universities transitioning to remote learning late in the Spring 2020 semester. Many students held out hope that the coronavirus would be gone by the following semester and things would go back to normal.
Things did not go back to normal.
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5 Reasons Thanksgiving Is The Actual Worst
For some students, Thanksgiving break is thought to be a time to enjoy family, catch up with old friends, and enjoy some free food. While the idea of going home to celebrate the holiday with family sounds like a good idea at first, with the way everything is nowadays, it may be a good idea to skip traveling and have a small Thanksgiving feast with your roommates.
If you need another reason to stay home this year other than the pandemic, here are 5 reasons that Thanksgiving break is the actual worst.
Why Pictures Of Your Listings Are So Important
When you think about it, getting a prospective student tenant’s attention comes down to just a few seconds. Today’s world is a quite hectic one, and in the world of smartphones and the internet, students are scrolling and sifting through rental listings in just a matter of moments. Just as quickly as someone can stumble upon your listing, they can stop looking at an even quicker pace. When students have the power to search through hundreds of listings with the swipe of one finger, it’s important to make a good first impression. As the old adage goes, pictures really do say a thousand words, and whether or not you realize it, including quality photos of your rental property can really make or break your odds of leasing it out.
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FAQ’s For First-Time Renters
Renting an apartment or house for the first time is an exciting milestone on the way to adulthood. The freedom from your parents and the restrictions of the dorms can be liberating, but it’s not all fun and games. For first-time renters, it’s important to prepare yourself before entering into a year-long lease. To help you out, we came up with a list of Frequently Asked Questions you should be asking yourselves—and your landlord—before signing your name on the dotted line.
Continue readingWhether it’s your first time, or you’ve done it like a thousand times before (no judgment), you should know that it’s totally normal to not know what you’re doing. Sure, you may have a general idea of what’s supposed to go where, but if you aren’t careful, everyone involved is going to end up tired, sweaty, and disappointed.
Lucky for you, we have just the tips to help make your next move easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Without further adieu, here are our tips for things you can do to make moving into your place easier (*if you don’t have one yet, check out this post about what to look for in your first apartment).
Whether you consider yourself a “neat freak” or your friends/family members have submitted you to the show Hoarders, you need to clean up your current situation. Until you start trying to deep clean your current place, you won’t realize how much junk you’ve accumulated in the last few months. Do yourself a favor and start your cleaning early. Not only will this help make your move easier, but it’ll also help reduce the chances of losing a chunk of your security deposit for a cleaning fee. For more tips on how to save your security deposit, click here.
Pro tip: If you haven’t worn or used the item in question, donate it, sell it, or toss it.
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First Apartment Checklist For New Renters
When you move into your first apartment, there are so many items to remember that you are bound to forget something small or large, yet essential. A good way to avoid having to head back to the store three or four times that first weekend you move in? Make a new apartment checklist. Or, just use ours! Our first apartment checklist has everything you need, sorted out by the rooms you’ll need to be populating with new stuff.
Download our first apartment checklist image above and print it out when you head to the store this August.
Congrats; you did it! You’ve been accepted to more than one college, but now comes the hard part. Choosing where you’re going to go attend college is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in your lifetime, and choosing where you’re going to live during those unforgettable four (maybe five) years comes in at a close second. While a lot of freshmen go for the dorm life their first year, the majority of students who have done their time living on campus anxiously anticipate the day when they can live in their very first off-campus apartment or house. Sure, staying on campus has its (slim) advantages, but a place off-campus comes with some unbeatable perks and, for the most part, is cheaper than living on campus in the dorms. Time to say goodbye to restrictions and rules and hello to your new-found freedom!
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Off-campus student housing isn’t quite like it used to be, and these top ten companies on our list are prime examples of how this growing industry is taking off-campus student living to a whole new level. Hundreds of luxurious off-campus student oases have been popping up at college campuses nationwide over the years. These extravagant student abodes often draw in their residents with impressive amenities, like high-end furnished apartments with utilities, rooftop resort-style pools, cyber study lounges equipped with Macbooks, indoor and outdoor sports courts, movie theaters, and beyond!
Continue readingIf you’re coming off your freshman year, chances are you’ve learned how to survive the communal living experience (nightmare) they call the dorms. From loud neighbors, clingy roommates, and overcrowded bathrooms, you’ll have some of your best and worst times in the dorms.
Hopefully you’ve made it past that and you’re ready for your first taste of freedom living off campus. Whatever year you’re in, keep in mind the struggle is still real when you live off campus… it’s just different. You’ll have to learn how to fend for yourself for things like food, laundry, and there’s no longer staff to clean your bathroom. We at College Pads have lived it all, from dorms to dingy houses and even “high class” student apartments, so we put together some tips on how to survive your first year living off campus.
Pick the right place
Granted, the typical college housing charm is inevitable to come with almost every student rental unit in existence, but make sure this is the right place for you. We’ve laid it all out in place, so why not set up showings at multiple places? Pick the area you want to live, whether that’s close to campus or within stumbling distance from your favorite bar. Make sure to get a walkthrough and make your decision after you’ve seen a few places that you like. That being said, remember that no place will be perfect… it’s just got to be perfect for you. Â
Document everything before you move in
You’ll thank me when you get your security deposit back. Take photos and write down absolutely everything that you don’t want to get charged for when your lease is up. As long as you’ve taken care of this in the beginning, you won’t have to pay for any damage you didn’t create. Also, try not to burn the place down. This might be your apartment for your entire college career, or only a year, but treat it like it’s your own.
Pre-plan with your upcoming roommates
As cool as it may seem to have 4 TVs in the living room, and 3 couches, and 3 coffee tables… space will be limited. Make a checklist (or just use ours) to ensure you have all the appliances and furnishings you need without duplicates. Moving stuff is a hassle, so you should try to only do it once.
For advice on moving, check out our moving tips post.
A clean home is a happy home
Your parents will probably buy you a ton of cleaning supplies at the beginning of the year, try to actually use those. Keeping a clean house might not be the most fun thing to do on a Sunday afternoon, but it will minimize the amount of time you spend sick in bed. And make sure you always have a clean pair of underwear.
Find a perfect balance for food in the fridge
Buy food in advance so you’re not overdoing it on Chik-Fil-A and McDonalds every night, sure you might love it now but your body will thank you later. Make several meals at once and freeze them, it’s like the fast food you can keep in your home. Of course, you can’t buy too much and hog all the room in the fridge, so work together with your roommates to find a healthy balance.
Pay your rent on time
Late fees are real, and nobody likes paying extra money the didn’t have to. Same goes for utilities, if you let these slide they will come back and haunt you one day.
Don’t be afraid of the maintenance man
That apartment of yours doesn’t come cheap. Don’t be afraid to call the landlord whenever necessary to make sure everything is in working order.
Keep the peace
Whether you end up liking it or not, you’ll have to live with those roommates of yours until at least the end of the year. Keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to speak up when you have an issue. Passive aggressive notes will only get you so far and an open line of communication will help make sure everyone is on the same page. Don’t be afraid of conflict, but don’t create it just for fun. Be mindful of your roommates and expect them to be mindful of you.
Be responsible
Those all night ragers are fun, I can’t lie to you. But keep in mind why you’re paying so much money to be in school and live in your totally awesome off campus apartment. Go to class, study hard, take care of your mental and physical health, but remember it’s okay to take breaks, sleep in, and have fun safe and responsibly. You won’t have an RA keeping you in check every night, so enjoy your freedom, but enjoy it wisely.