Tip of the Week: Happy Thanksgiving

Written by Moveforfree on November 24, 2010 – 10:00 am -

Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, and good food. It’s a time to gather together with the ones you care about and give thanks. It’s such a wonderful time to sit around a big table with everyone.

But what if you don’t have a big table or a table at all.  No need to fear.  Hosting a Thanksgiving dinner in your small space is easier than you might think.

Watch the video for some tips on hosting a fabulous dinner.

On behalf of everyone at Moveforfree; have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Tags: Apartment Locating, apartments, moveforfree, small space, Thanksgiving
Posted in Apartment Living, Entertaining, Events, Videos | No Comments »

Which floor is best?

Written by Moveforfree on November 17, 2010 – 10:00 am -

One question that an apartment leasing agent usually asks you when apply to lease with their property is “What floor do you prefer to live on.”  If you have rented an apartment in the past you probably know what you like and for what reason.  If you have never rented you may feel like singing “eeny meeny minnie moe.”  Before you catch a tiger by its toe you may want to consider a few factors first.

Safety

Living on the ground floor of an apartment building could potential be a security risk.  If a thief wanted to get into an apartment it could possibly be easier for them since they would not have to climb stories.  But in the same respect I’ve heard of robberies happening on second and third floors apartments as well.  If you do choose to live on the ground floor there are security measures that would be wise to take into consideration.  If you have a sliding glass door to your patio, you should make sure you can lock it as well put the safety bar down.  It’s also important to close your blinds and shades when you aren’t home or asleep.  If thieves can look inside your apartment and see what you have they are more likely to take your flat screen TV or laptop.  In my personal opinion the same should go for any floor.  Thieves no matter how low life they may be, are smart and could figure out a way to get inside your home.  In any event, be smart no matter which floor you choose to live on.

Moving

When choosing which floor you are going to live on you might want to consider the moving process.  Of course moving in to any story but the first floor might mean a lot more work.  Adding in stories makes the stressful process all the more… stressful.  BUT there are ways around this.  With companies like us, Moveforfree.com, you leave the moving process up to us.  We don’t care if you are moving from a third floor apartment to another third floor apartment.  We will move you for free!  If you don’t live in Texas you can check your local areas to see if they have apartment locators that have a free move offer.  If not, you can always hire movers, which may be worth it for you or bribe your friends with beer and pizza.

View/ Money

If you choose to live in a high rise building the view from the top may be an option for you.  Imagine going to bed at night to a gorgeous view like this…

You might want to be aware though as the apartments get higher up the rent may go up.  Consider a view an additional amenity.

Noise

I believe noise will always be an issue in an apartment building.  You may want to decide what you would prefer; noise above you or below you.  Personally, I would prefer noise below me.  There is nothing worse then heavy footsteps above you.  Just in case you might want to start polishing up the old broom handle.  There are precautions, however, you can take even before you move in.  Ask your leasing agent if they have the apartment above/ below the model apartment vacant.  Since no one ever lives in the models you will have nothing to worry about.  If that isn’t an option you can ask your leasing agent about the neighbors around the vacant apartments.  Usually single people or couples without kids are the quietest.  Just do some research beforehand and I think your choice will be just fine.

Reference: http://apartments.about.com/od/apartmenthunting/a/whichapartmentfloor.htm

Tags: apartment, apartment locators, floor, leasing, moveforfree, texas
Posted in Apartment Living, Moving | 1 Comment »

Moveforfree.com through the years

Written by Moveforfree on November 10, 2010 – 2:49 pm -

Since it is history week here at moveforfree I thought it would be fun to see what moveforfree.com has looked like through the years.  Thanks to a really cool site called the Way Back When Machine, it’s possible to see what websites have looked like over the years.  It’s a huge archive of websites from 1996 to just a few months ago.

Here is what Moveforfree.com looked like just a few months after the site went live in October of 2000.

And here is what moveforfree.com looked like in November of 2001.  Click on the picture to see the full size version.

Now, of course, you know what our site looks like.

New things are always happening here at moveforfree.  You never know what’s going to happen next!

Tags: apartment locators, history, moveforfree, texas, webpage
Posted in Apartment Locating, website | 1 Comment »

Roommates and Politics

Written by Moveforfree on November 3, 2010 – 2:23 pm -

In lieu of the recent midterm elections held yesterday, I thought it appropriate that we talk today about roommates and politics.  Not necessarily roommates and their political beliefs, but that of roommates and how to make your household a place of social equality.  Not a place where you are constantly fighting about the temperature of the thermostat or who’s turn it is to take out the trash or even shutting yourself up in your room because you just don’t feel comfortable in your own home.  That is not a place where anyone wants to live.  But, there is hope!  With just a little bit of pre planning and ground rules set you can make your roommate experience something you will never forget… for the good.

Here are a few suggestions on how to make your living situation work

• Agree on equal chore responsibilities

Chores are one of the most argued about issues amongst roommates.  Different people can have different perceptions of cleanliness or what their definition of messy is.  What has worked best for me is to agree that the main, common areas of the apartment should stay clean and are both person’s responsibility to keep clean.  Decide the very first day or even before you move in who is responsible for each chore.  If one person is responsible for vacuuming then the other person should mop the kitchen floor.  Also, come up with a time frame to get the chores done.  Some people think 10 minutes is too long to leave dirty dishes in the sink while others could leave them there for days without noticing.  Come up with a compromise, somewhere in the middle.  I would write all of this down in some sort of contract and have each roommate sign it.  This will avoid any confusion later.  If any argument arises all you have to do is point to the signed contract.  You can find a pretty good contract template here.  Lastly, I highly recommend that you get separate bathrooms.  I’m only saying from personal experience.  This will save a lot of headaches.

• Money issues

Money is always a struggle in any relationship.  Friends, marriages, friendships and roommates all feel the strain that money issues can bring.  When you split household bills with another person it is VERY important to set up a system before your first month’s bills are due.  I’ve seen different things when it comes to paying bills with a roommate.  I’ve seen friends who were responsible for one utility while the other was responsible for the cable bill.  I’ve also seen people who split every single bill down the middle.  The important thing to remember is that you decide right away and agree to something.  Who’s name is the bill going to be in?  How will the other person pay, if it’s in the other person’s name?  Nowadays with bill payment online it makes this method quite easy.  Check to see when each bill is due each month and write it on a communal calendar that you both can see.  Choose two days a month where both of you can sit down at the computer and pay bills.  Write these days down on the calendar as well.  Some apartment properties even allow you to pay rent online.  This is a wonderful tool at your disposal and allows you to pay with your credit or debit card instead of writing a check or getting a money order.  As with the chores it is also very important to sign some sort of contract to make sure that the bills are paid on time, especially the rent.

• Confront issues before the lease is signed

Whether you are best friends or a potential roommate you met on roommates.com, it is critical that you sit down and talk about any issues that may arise while living together; things besides money and chores.  Things like: what noise level is appropriate for music/ TV, how late are guests allowed over, how long are guests allowed to stay, what temperature is reasonable for the thermostat to be set, what is the mutual food that can be eaten by either roommate and are pets allowed in the apartment?  While you might disagree on some issues; it is important to work and compromise on them before your lease is signed and not when the problem arises.

Tags: Apartment Locating, contract, issues, moveforfree, politics, problems, roommate, texas
Posted in Apartment Living, Roommates | No Comments »