Renter's Guide

While it can be packed with impulse buys and overpriced items, experts say your neighborhood dollar store is home to some of the best deals renters can find.

There are a few ways city slickers and multi-unit dwelling folks can take part in the quest for a gorgeous home exterior, too.

Let’s go Goodwill hunting, renter-style.

Why in 2k19, in the age of Al Gore's internet, is it so hard to find QUALITY photos of bed bugs in context?

Save money—and a little sanity, too.

Yes, some of it is the architecture, but the way we decorate is pretty regional, too.

You deserve a space fit for a queen—not "only enough space for a queen-size bed to fit."

If you’re about to search for a pet-friendly apartment, you might want to have one at the ready, along with your first month’s rent and deposit.

It may even end up being not only the more convenient option—but also the more cost-effective one, too.

In-house gyms, community screening rooms, and greenhouses? Oh my!

Up your vacation even further by staying in a truly unique homestay.

Looking to experience the high of using a Command Strip for the first time? Try one of these six AT-vetted products.

From small maintenance-related troubleshooting to money-saving tactics, here are the eight questions that Apartment Therapy staffers say will prove useful down the line.

Every sign has signature quirks, astrologists say. So, we asked them to share what you might come to know about your roommates, based on their zodiac signs.

Rates and availability vary by location, but even in New York City, there are pools available starting at $50 an hour.

It can almost pass as a one-bedroom.

According to attorneys and a property management expert.

Can't afford to pay a broker fee (or just don't want to?) Here are six solid resources for finding a no-fee apartment in NYC.

Experts say moving costs between four and five times your monthly rent. Here's why it's that expensive in the first place—and quick tips on how to defray those costs.

Though they're marketed as the end-all, be-all in luxury, penthouse apartments can actually be quite irksome to live in.

Every renter needs a basic tool kit, and, thankfully you can put it together on the cheap. Case in point? These seven must-have items can all be found at The Home Depot for under $5 each.

Used liberally by real estate agents, this term does not always mean updated, new, and renovated or evocative of Frank Lloyd Wright or "Mad Men."

Tucked away throughout the five boroughs lie 600 community gardens, providing residents space to plant food and flowers or just generally enjoy the greenery.

I asked several real estate agents for their must-haves.

Here's how experts say you can avoid dorm-life flashbacks.

If you’re willing to say goodbye to a major city, you can find some lovely towns where rent prices won’t leave you picking change out of the couch cushions.

I had certain expectations for where I'd be at the cusp of 30, and I thought they didn't involve still having to label my cheese.

These tips'll help you make sure you've actually found Apartment Right, not just Right Now.

Want to make sure your pet is really welcome in that new apartment? Experts say to ask these seven questions before signing a lease.

Start your day waking up to peaceful views of a lake, ocean, or river and end with gently rocking waves lulling you to sleep. What could be better?

While there are some definite upsides to being a renter (you’re free to move when you get bored with your space!)—there are some definite bummers, too. High on the list: Boring white walls, ugly lighting, not enough storage, and hideous finishes. But not to worry. That standard rental can feel a bit more glam with a quick Target shopping spree. I asked some trusted designers for favorite products from the store that also solve renter’s common decorating problems.

These will come in handy in the future.

Want to live like Southern royalty? From its Antebellum columns to its picture-perfect views of Old Hickory Lake, this expansive mansion in Lebanon, Tennessee, is a dream retreat. And to sweeten the deal, this elegant abode was once the home of Reba McEntire, the true Queen of Country.This 12,816-square-foot lakefront home (known as The Estate at Cherokee Dock) comes with a dock for lake access that’s perfect for summer fun.

If you’re not quite ready to take the plunge and live in a tiny home full-time, how about renting one out for a getaway?

Think the tiny home trend is adorable—but more so in an aspirational kind of way? Instead of committing to downsizing your life into 300 square feet (or less!), you can give the trend a test run at one of these tiny home hotels. These five resorts excel when it comes to cozy and quaint getaways. The best part? They’re pretty affordable, too, with rates starting at $75 a night. The newest tiny home hotel to make its grand (or petite?

Whether you’ve just signed your first lease (yay!) or you’ve been renting for a while, you know that home decor updates can be limited. Not all landlords will allow you to paint a room a brilliant poppy red or knock out a wall for more natural light.

If you and your partner are looking for a quiet getaway with a chic ’70s twist, take a page out of Sonny and Cher’s songbook, and rent their former home on Vrbo. The airy, modern pad is great for a retreat close to the glamorous Hollywood scene. But Sonny and Cher’s classic L.A.

Here's what you can do if (and when) your landlord raises your rent.

Now that the weather is finally getting nice (sorry, friends and family in Chicago), you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Hmm, it’s been quite awhile since I’ve gone on vacation.” (And if you’re not, wow, lucky you!) If you’re like the average American, you’ll probably let this thought pass by and go back to your day-to-day (or that growing pile of work that’s been landing on your desk.) But I am here to tell you: Take that time off!

If you’re an artist, or you just want a dose of inspiration and French country je ne sais quoi, you don’t have to become an expat to do it. This quiet rental in Normandy offers a retreat for backpackers and families alike. Oh, and the house was once owned by the Impressionist painter Claude Monet. He’s kind of a big deal. The owners call this picturesque rental The Blue House, because the shutters are a striking shade of robin’s egg blue.

Driving to work can eat up your time, stress you out, and pollute the air. Worse, owning a car gets expensive. But in many cities across the U.S., you don’t have much of a choice—but some places allow you to sit back and let a bus, train, subway, or streetcar take you where you need to go. Some of the best places for those that don’t want to drive? New York, New York; Union City, New Jersey; and San Francisco, California, says Redfin’s 2019 Transit Score report.

Tired of telling your niece you can’t come to her birthday party out in the ‘burbs because you have to get some work done this weekend? Or maybe it’s more that you have too much time—like you’re underemployed and can’t partake in all the amazing opportunities your city offers? It may be time to move to a city with a better work-life balance. Might I suggest Provo-Orem, Utah?

So you’re moving into a new place—how exciting! Sure, the whole packing and unpacking routine gets old quick, but few things can fill you with a sense of renewal more than rolling out a fresh welcome mat. What’s not nearly as fun, of course, is getting an irate phone call from your landlord somewhere down the line. Or, worse yet, being evicted. Most of us file such a dramatic possibility under the “that could never happen to me” column.

Like millions of Americans who graduated with more than $50,000 in student loan debt, I knew it’d be a serious challenge to start my career living in pricey Washington D.C. and pay off my loans. Recent stats show the District’s median rental cost for a one-bedroom apartment is an eye-popping $2,121. At the time, I was only earning $12/hour as a radio station assistant and an unreliable-but-similar rate nannying in the afternoon.

How does moving to a brand new city sound? For some zodiac sun signs, like Cancers, it might sound terrible, as they’re prone to staying close to their family and are nostalgic for the “old neighborhood.” (Though, it might be a great experience for them to get out of their shells a bit!) “They are the homebodies of the zodiac,” explains Jenna Smith of My Stars! Horoscopes. “Once they get nestled into a place, they don’t want to leave.

On the fence about homeownership? There are many factors that should go into your decision to rent or buy property—and not all of them are purely financial. Perhaps you’re not sure if you’re going to stay in your current city long-term. And, hey, it’s pretty nice to be able to call your landlord when something needs fixing. But for many, the ultimate decision comes down to dollars and cents.

It’s one thing to check into a hotel, like at the Hotel Nikko San Francisco, where Buster, the hotel’s “Canine Operating Officer” is available 24/7 for an on-demand cuddle. But to get to live in a rental building with an on-site dog who lives in the lobby during the day? That’s a building I want to move into right now. To that end, meet Daisy the 12-year-old ‘House Dog’ at NEXT Apartments in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.

Living in New York City brings its fair share of rewards and challenges. For me, the biggest continuous struggle—even after almost a decade in NYC—was doing laundry (#blessed, I know). When I lived in Brooklyn, my building had a basement laundry room, but it was creepy down there and I learned the hard way that the super locked the room at 9 p.m.—with my wet clothes trapped overnight in a washing machine.

So you found the perfect apartment—everything seems to check out, from the desirable neighborhood to the amazing rent. But is it really as wonderful as it seems? Before you start shifting those extra dollars from your rent fund to your coffee budget, double check your new home to make sure none of these hidden expenses are going to end up emptying your wallet.

To live in New York City is to crack your wallet way open every month to pay for a roof over your head. And while once upon a time $2,300 per month could yield a perfectly reasonable place to call home, these days it takes some sleuthing to find something in this price range.

By offering travelers easy access to desirable destinations at a more affordable price, homeowners in these areas stand to make a great return on their investment.

Even if you read your lease line-by-line (you deserve a juris doctorate!) when you signed, you’d probably like clarification on some policies and have some questions about your rental—whether you’ve resigned twice or just moved in. Have there ever been bed bugs? Ghosts? If my lease ends at the end of the month, what’s the absolute latest time I can move out? What’s my best option for pizza delivery?! Speaking of deliveries, where do my Amazon Prime packages go?

If you’ve been patting yourself on the back for living minimally in a studio apartment in the hopes of squirreling away a couple of hundreds of dollars every month for a down payment sometime in the future, brace yourself: I hate to break it to you, but you might actually be losing money. At least according to a new analysis from HotPads, a Zillow company that focuses on apartment searches, the median price for a one-bedroom apartment in most cities is actually cheaper than a studio.

In almost all circumstances, a landlord or property manager will run your credit before renting out a place to you. But, what credit score is ideal for tenants and what’s the lowest three-digit number landlords deem acceptable? The truth is, there’s some mystery shrouding this question. Unlike the home-buying process, where formal charts will help you figure out what rates you’ll qualify for based, in large part, on your credit score, landlords operate at their own discretion.

Think Home Depot is just for suburbanites working on DIY projects or shopping for a washer/dryer? Ask long-time urbanites-who-rent and they’ll tell you that there are so many gems in this big-box store. In fact, many of the things you’d order from Amazon or pick up at Target for your place can be found at Home Depot—and with a better selection (and sometimes better prices).

If you had to guess where the most expensive neighborhood in the country is, what would you say? The answer probably won’t surprise you (it has taken the top spot two years in a row!) According to a recent report from RentCafe, the zip code with the highest average rent is 10282—AKA the upper part of Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan—right by the water, and just north of the World Trade Center. The rent there? A whopping $5,657.

Were there an Apartment Therapy Magic 8 Ball, I bet it would get sick of answering the question “Is is better if I rent or buy?” The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. The decision comes down to a few oft-cited things, like the market where you live and your personal financial situation. But there is one big piece of the puzzle that doesn’t get its due. Tip: This years-old New York Times “Is it Better to Rent or Buy?

If you’re in the market for a small apartment—whether it’s your choice or not!—rest easy. Small living is trending and, anyway, who needs all that extra space? More room, more collected clutter! That said, there are a few fundamental attributes of a space that, while small in size, can actually feel larger than a floor plan can make it appear. We asked the experts for what to look for when shopping small.

We’ve all seen the ads: Rent a unit in our building and you’ll get access to amazing common areas! Dog spas! Bike storage! Real estate companies and landlords will toss in freebies until the cows come home to ensure you sign a lease. However, nothing lures prospective renters in as much as the appearance of a serious dent in their rent. But “appears” is the key word here.

You need a little creativity to make ends meet these days. With wages stagnating and housing prices skyrocketing, people are looking for ways to cut expenses and boost their income. And that’s especially true for anyone trying to save for a down payment on a house. This was all top of mind several years ago when Sam (my now-husband, then-boyfriend) and I decided to move in together.

Oh the ‘L’ word: For renters, a landlord can be (hopefully) an awesome resource or, in other situations, a thorn in your side. Either way, when you move into a new place, you’re going to have to deal with your landlord at some point. “When you move into a new rental, you’re also embarking on a new business relationship with the apartment’s owner,” says Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats in New York City.

If you’re budget-conscious, you might think purchasing renters insurance is a luxury you can’t afford—especially if your landlord doesn’t require you to hold it. But like most insurance, it can pay dividends when the unexpected occurs and your valuables are lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed–and much more besides.

Feel like, as a renter, the world swings in favor of homeowners? Well, it just might. A new study by Apartment List found that renters are vastly underrepresented in American politics on both the local and national levels. Though some of it is systematic, some also comes from being disengaged. In the 2016 presidential election, while 67 percent of homeowners voted, only 49 percent of renters did.

Some words have different meanings depending on where you are. A “biscuit” in England is a “cookie” in America. “Pop” in the South is something balloons do, while in the Midwest, it’s soda. And worst of all, the standards for what constitutes a “small apartment” vary wildly based on location. In New York City, a “small” apartment may be 300 square feet. In Atlanta 300 square feet is practically unlivable.

We all know someone with an objectively amazing apartment. It’s light and airy, remarkably spacious for its size, in a great location, and somehow costs less than your dark, cramped, inconvenient shoebox. Though you may think your friend is just incredible lucky at real estate, here’s the hard truth: Chances are, they just did a better job during the apartment search than you did.

Feeling like it’s time to size up your space? By all means, do it. But know that it’s going to likely require a bigger investment month-to-month, and probably drain your change right now as you scramble to pay for moving costs and the other expenses that inevitably creep up when you decide to pick up your roots and settle down in a new spot.

There are generally three categories of agents who list and show apartments: brokers to whom renters pay a fee, no-fee brokers, and apartment owners who take care of the job themselves. You probably know that the best deals are usually found in owner-listed situations. Since there’s no broker to middleman the process and demand tribute, both owner and renter can save money.

A couple years back, the New York Times published an article about the 13 questions you should always ask someone before getting married. Which got me thinking about another kind of relationship, one possibly even more fraught than marriage, and one that people enter into with perhaps even more unwarranted optimism: that between roommates. Here are a list of 11 questions you really ought to be asking your potential roommate, before you move in.

So—you’re searching for an apartment on Craigslist. You click on “housing” and enter your search criteria: min bedrooms, max price, X miles from your zip code of choice, only show ads with pictures—GO! Aaaaaand you’ve already made a huge mistake. Not only did I do an annual housing hunt every five years while living in Brooklyn (I’m now in L.A.), I also worked as a real estate agent in Brooklyn for two years. I know the deal.

I have had some bonkers roommate experiences in my short 25 years of life. From waking up to a roommate watching me sleep repeatedly for months in a small dorm space, to another roommate going on a three-day blackout drinking binge, I’ve grown accustomed to compiling my own personal list of “roommate horror stories.” Hence, when I was able to find an affordable micro-studio in Seattle for the last few months of my undergraduate studies, I jumped on the opportunity.

Before I moved into my current apartment, I thought I did a good amount of research: I’d cranked out the numbers for my budget, called around to multiple agents and buildings, and went on plenty of apartment tours. Despite all this, I was shocked at what the market held for me—though Omaha, Nebraska, has been named one of the most affordable cities in the country, most of the townhomes and apartments I’d loved so much were still out of my budget.

If you’ve been searching for a new house or apartment, you’ve likely already encountered some exaggerated listings. Whether it’s ad copy that stresses the home’s soaring city views or sneakily staged photos, some listings look better on the MLS than they are IRL. But you can cut through the clutter if you know what to ignore. Read on for seven listing red flags you should know about, according to real estate experts.