Renter's Guide

Time to spruce up your rental.

And possibly avoid lease-breaking fees.

Some can be downright duds.

It’s a not-so-uncommon arrangement these days.

A new apartment almost never feels like "home sweet home" right away.

There's nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned sink, right?

Yes, really.

The key? Thinking ahead.

All nine personality types, explained.

Here's what to clean first.

It's pretty darn scary—but totally doable.

White noise machines are key.

For one, it's complicated.

It's more secure, convenient, and you could see some savings.

Vodka isn't just for your bar cart.

Getting to know your fellow renters can be mutually beneficial.

Because you won't be buying a whole house full of furniture in one fell swoop — and really, where's the fun in that anyway?

Turns out, $1,125 actually goes a pretty long way in most states: In the top ten cheapest cities, you can score the average one-bedroom for $754 or less.

Avoid some of these mistakes and pitfalls and you could win the grand prize jackpot: Your full deposit back!

It wasn’t until I nearly LOST A TOE that I discovered that, with your landlord’s permission, you can make more updates than you might have thought.

You know what they say when you assume: You make... well, you know.

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.

Save money—and a little sanity, too.

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

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!

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

Before you sign a lease, you need to do your due diligence. Two attorneys with real estate and tenant law experience share their insights about red flags to clear before signing.

It can almost pass as a one-bedroom.

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.

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

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.

Many times, if you petition to your landlord that these changes will allow them to lease out the apartment at a higher cost after you leave, they'll usually let you do it.

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.

You don’t have to wait until the stressful days before a big move to feel that freedom. Here's how to declutter like you're moving without actually doing it.

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

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.

I needed clever storage solutions or the spacious apartment I dreamed about would turn into a cluttered reality. Luckily, I found random solutions that helped me store everything.

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

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

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.

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.

I’d like to start by saying: I hate moving. I am known to be extremely dramatic when it comes to getting organized, packing up my belongings, and essentially living in a real-life obstacle course (dodging suitcases, stepping over boxes) while I await my move. But there was one aspect of my recent relocation—only 20 blocks, but in New York City that still feels like an undertaking—that was justifiably overwhelming: The Purging Of The Bookshelf. Sounds like a horror movie, right?

Despite being a writer, I’m not a natural over-sharer. The words flow freely enough when I’m talking about design, but I’m much more guarded in my own life. But I realized that most advice is inherently personal and comes from experience, so once I overcame the icky feeling, I knew it was time to write about being robbed. Becoming a statistic isn’t so bad, I figure, if I can help someone else avoid it.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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’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.