Great Rental-Friendly Renovations

36% of Americans rent their homes. When someone wants to renovate or spruce up their rental property, there are often limitations. However, there are several easy renovation projects that are ideal for rentals.

Paint is usually out of the question in a rental property. Hope is not lost, however, if a renter desires to add some color to the walls. Removable peel and stick wallpaper goes on easily and can be taken down when it’s time to leave. There is also the option of covering the walls with lightweight fabric applied with liquid starch. When the renter is ready to move, they can peel off the fabric and wipe down the walls with a soapy sponge.

Another easy project that leaves a noticeable impact is changing the kitchen hardware. Replacing worn or outdated hardware on the drawers and cabinets can make a huge difference for little cost.

If they would like to hang curtains but no holes are allowed, there are a few choices. Hooks that can be put in place with an adhesive and then later pulled off are a great option to support light curtain rods. Tension or twist-to-fit rods, like those used for shower curtains, can also be used. Or they can try custom-made fabric compression blinds.

The kitchen is the heart of the home, so if the kitchen is ugly then the home suffers. Renters can dress up their kitchen in a few hours’ time with peel and stick tiles that can be removed with little trouble by heating with a blow-dryer. The tiles are easy to apply and durable. There are several design choices so renters will have no problem finding one to make their kitchen shine.

Ugly or damaged flooring can ruin the look of a home. Luckily there are a few options. Vinyl peel and stick flooring are quick and relatively easy to install, just make sure it is removable. Another alternative is wall-to-wall carpeting held down at the edges with double-sided carpet tape. Renters can also find carpet squares to mix and match across the floor area.

A little creativity and out-of-the-box thinking will allow renters to renovate and make their rental property their dream home while keeping their landlord happy.

This article was originally published on JasonCohenPittsburgh.org

Great Moving Tips

It seems as though moving day arrives before you’re actually ready. Fortunately, there are ways to simplify your move and avoid some of the common issues that tend to arise. The tips below will help make your move more efficient.

Have Extra Boxes Available

Running out of moving boxes can be a nightmare, especially when you have movers on the way. There are many places where you can get moving boxes for free, such as your local grocery store. If you know well in advance that you’ll be moving, you can start to collect boxes when you go shopping. You can also order them online.

Prepare a Bag of Moving Supplies

It’s important to ensure you have all of the moving supplies needed. This includes plenty of tape and packing paper. If you set aside a box with all of your moving supplies, you can more easily assess what you have and what you need. This is something that should happen long before you start to actually pack. It can also prevent you from having to repeatedly stop by the store for supplies.

Use Towels to Protect Fragile Items

One way to save money and improve the efficiency of your move is by using towels to wrap fragile items. For instance, you can use them to wrap plates and glassware instead of buying extra packing supplies.

Avoid Overfilling Boxes

Putting too many items in a box can make your move inefficient. Even if you have professional movers helping, you’ll want to make sure you don’t overfill boxes because they will become much more difficult to move. You also have a greater chance of damaging your belongings when the boxes too full.

Label All Boxes

To simplify moving and unpacking processes, it’s imperative that you label all of your boxes. This can help the movers put each box where it belongs in your new home. It’s also important because it will make unpacking a lot easier since the boxes will already be in the right room.

Moving usually isn’t fun, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. These tips can help make the process of moving more efficient.

This article was originally published on JasonCohenPittsburgh.org

The Gentrification Of Pittsburgh

Redevelopment of poor neighborhoods nationwide is displacing low-income people of all colors and attracting affluent people. This is easily done by razing low-income housing and replacing them with expensive versions, pricing the poor out of the neighborhood. The new residents have college degrees. The new homes they buy have a sharp increase in value over homes that had been there before. This process of replacing the poor with the rich in a neighborhood is called gentrification.

Twenty percent of the eligible census tracts in Pittsburgh were gentrified between 2000 and 2013. Washington, D.C. took first place at 40 percent. The national average was nine percent. A recent study performed by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania revealed that Pittsburgh is now the eighth-most gentrified city in America.

At number eight, the faces in Pittsburgh are changing as fast as they are in fast-growing cities like Seattle and Portland, Oregon. The thing is, Pittsburgh is not experiencing an economic boom like those cities are. Additionally, the neighborhoods that get bulldozed down don’t make sense to most people. Those areas include Polish Hill, downtown, Garfield, Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, and parts of Mount Washington and North Side. Blacks were displaced in St. Clair, the Mexican War Streets in North Side, and downtown.

According to the study, East Liberty did not experience gentrification, even though home prices had gone down between 2000 and 2010. The study also did not include black displacement in East Liberty. The loss thereof 600 African Americans during those ten years was considered insignificant when qualifying for displacement by NCRC metrics.

More neighborhoods are expected to qualify for gentrification in the future, according to Jason Richardson, who was one of the study’s authors. Some people like the University of Pittsburgh economist Chris Briem will document trends in East Liberty through the coming years, which NCRC is studying.

St. Clair residents were displaced in 2010 by the razing of the public housing they’d lived in. That does not concern people, but the displacement of low-income people in the city who had worked service jobs – waiters and waitresses, bartenders, retail clerks, and so on – raises some eyebrows. Richardson calls this phenomenon “a classic Downtown Rustbelt story.”

This article was originally published on JasonCohenPittsburgh.com

Common Mistakes College Students Make With Their First Apartment

It can be stressful for college students to try to rent their first apartment. There is a lot that they need to do in order to find the right apartment to fit their needs. If you are looking for your first apartment, avoid these common mistakes that many college students make.

Waiting Until The Last Minute

A lot of students will begin their apartment search even before they graduate from high school. This is because it can take some time to find the right apartment. It is not uncommon for inexpensive apartments or ones in a desirable area to get rented quickly. If you are wanting to find a decent apartment with reasonable rent, you shouldn’t wait until the last minute to begin your apartment search. Once you find an apartment that you want to rent, be prepared to put down a deposit. Don’t wait to do so as the apartment might not be available to rent when you are ready. Keep in mind that the landlord might want to do a credit check, make you or your parents provide pay-stubs and personal references.

Choosing An Apartment That’s Too Expensive

Since this is your first apartment, you probably want to live in a nice place. However, that generally comes at a higher cost. Young adults haven’t had a lot of experience budgeting before, and they often underestimate how much they will be spending on bills and living expenses. Before figuring out how much you can afford to spend on rent each month, have a parent or relative help you make a budget. They can help you determine how much a reasonable amount of rent would be for you to have to pay.

Falling For A Scam

Unfortunately, there are a lot of housing scams out there. College students often fall for them. If an apartment sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Don’t put down a deposit before you’ve seen a property. Make sure that they are willing to provide you with a lease. Research rates of comparable apartments in the same area. If the rent is a lot cheaper, then it probably is a scam.

This article was originally published on JasonCohenPittsburgh.net