Here’s some interesting/entertaining info for those unfamiliar with the pleasures and potentially hellish moments associated with living with a roomate.. though the apartment search functionality of this site is questionable:)
Per my post last month deciding whether to rent or buy is a tough decision involving many factors, a large part of which are unique to each person. There is no real formula that has no exceptions, but here is a vid making the case for renting (keep in mind this was from about a year ago, and housing prices have continued to trends downward… ).
We want even more folks to check out our site, and take part in the apartment search experience that we’ve worked hard to build based on your feedback.
Check out our site and join our mailing list (we promise to not spam you and only send valuable apartment info!!!) and win a $500, $250 or $150 Visa Gift Card! Like our page on Facebook Or Tweet this contest to your friends on Twitter and receive 5 extra entries! Contest ends July 16th.
I promise not to tell you anything that you don’t already know in this post, if you promise to never underestimate the power of documented common sense.
My room was a perpetual disaster zone. Every couple months I’d work up the motivation to tidy it up, but after weeks or two there would be stuff everywhere. The only thing organized about my room was what I hid where when I had a guest over and needed to do some makeshift “cleaning”.
I’d have a routine procedure to throw clothes into my closet, mail under my bed, random stuff behind my desk and would then freshen the air by spraying two squirts of Banana Republic cologne on my fan and turning it on. Things were bad.
I’ve always considered myself a reasonably organized person outside the confines of my room and never thought would I find myself researching tactics for keeping my room clean. But I did, and found some tips that worked for me, and might work for you.
The key as you might expect is consistency and getting in a habit. What I’ve found that in order to get into the habit of keeping my room tidy, I needed to get into a secondary, related habit that was tangible and easy: doing my laundry once a week.
I found that forcing myself to do laundry once a week was easier than the seemingly daunting task of “cleaning my room” once a week and thus easier to stick to. Once I got in the laundry habit (not just doing it but putting my clothes away, hanging up shirts, etc.) other tasks associated with keeping my room clean fell into place, as I was already in my room taking care of the initial easy task.
Whether its laundry or another cleaning task, pick something easy and at a bare minimum make sure you do this task EVERY week, and see what happens.
Here are some more tips on keeping your room and the other areas of your place clean.
There are a number of factors involved in making that difficult decision that many of us spend countless hours stressing over (and for good reason! It’s not an easy one to make). In a teetering economy like today’s, where people jump for joy and spill their lattes when the Nasdaq has an up week, this decision becomes even more important. In fact it might turn out to be the most important decision you’ll make in your lifetime…..
As I type these last words out I think back to when the housing market in Seattle was booming and I purchased my first home. I had big dreams of selling the property after three to four years, cashing out and using the money to travel the globe… man what I would give to have held out a couple years and rented!
A couple things to consider:
How long are you planning to stay in your home?
In a stable economy it usually takes a year or two to make buying a better deal than renting. If you’re not ready for the commitment, don’t buy (yet). Things tend to pan out this way because there are some capital costs associated with buying, and your monthly payments with a mortage and HOA dues will generally be higher than rent. However, those payments (after you get past the interest payments, which can last many years depending on your financing situation) are building equity in your home — so you’re “keeping” some of what you’re paying. Also, while you make your payments, your home generally appreciates in value – at least in a good economy!
Another thing to consider is how fast prices and rent prices are going up and down in your market? What’s happening around the country? As with any investment of your money it’s important to know the climate. Ask around, visit reliable news sources and most importantly take your time and don’t be afraid to rent if you are not ready, or if the market isn’t prime.
These are a few tips to start with. Here is also a cool little calculator I found in the NY Times to help you with your decision.
Ever had to look for a new place to rent? Chances are you are one of the millions of people in America that look for a new place to rent each year. We at Spottago.com have been there and trying to find a place to rent wasn’t a pleasant experience at all. (and that’s putting it lightly) That’s why we created Spottago.com. Our goal with Spottago.com is to simplify finding a place to rent.
We hated the fact that you had to search several different websites just to find a place. And why do so many websites require you to register first before searching? (We’re looking at you Rent.com and MyNewPlace.com.) Yes, the one thing we all need more of in our inbox is more spam. It’s also annoying to see other websites listing homes for sale or mortgage information, we just want to see places available for rent! And although we love using craigslist to find great deals when we need to buy something, it’s a little iffy for finding a place to rent. We’re tired of running into creepy, shady landlords or landlords pulling the bait and switch, advertising a lower price then saying it’s been filled but they have something more expensive.
So we created Spottago.com to solve all these problems with the rental search process. We’re going to make finding a place to rent simpler, safer and smarter.
The Spottago website is still in Beta and we are continually working to improve Spottago.com for renters everywhere. Your feedback is invaluable to us at this stage, so let us know what you think about the site, things we can improve or things we should remove.
Thanks for checking out Spottago.com and happy renting!
-The Spottago.com Team
