How to Survive Winter in Your Apartment

Winter can be an incredibly trying time of year, with its sub-zero temperatures, salt stains, and frozen fingers.  However, winter also gives you the chance to get outside and embrace the snow, or to say in and really enjoy your space.  By following these simple guidelines you can ensure that whether you are cuddled up on the couch, or dashing through the snow, you and your apartment will survive winter.    

Prepare Yourself

One way to ready yourself for the cold is to ensure that your outdoor space is winter-ready.  Stack and stow all of your outdoor furniture, bikes, and barbecue, and, if you can, wrap them in a tarpaulin.  Also, have a sturdy shovel, salt or kitty litter handy, to ensure your outdoor space is free from ice and snow.  By keeping your outdoor space clear, little tasks, like taking out the garbage, or popping outside for a nip of fresh winter air, are less bothersome, and make you feel like less of a shut-in.  Another way to keep the winter blues at bay is to embrace the weather through skiing, sledding, or skating.  In order to make this easier, clear some space at your entrance to accommodate the bulky outdoor equipment you might need.  It is also worth your while to invest in a good floor mat for your entrance to catch dripping snow from your skates, skis, or boots.

Stay Cozy

If the cold is too much for you, then cozy up indoors.  Winter can be a wonderful time to have friends and family over, or to flake out on the couch with a good book or movie.  To better facilitate this, dust off your cookbooks and harness your inner chef.  There is no better time of year to make soups, and stews, or to bake bread or sweets than the winter.  Nothing warms you up more than homemade food, and the heat from the oven is an added bonus.  It also helps to make your living space cozy with blankets or throws, low lighting or candles.

Beat the Cold (or the Heat)

Depending on your unit or building, your apartment can either be extremely cold or unbearably hot in the winter.  If your place gets chilly in the winter, be sure to spend some time finding and blocking drafts.  There are window-sealing kits that can be quite effective, but thick curtains do the trick, and give your apartment a wonderfully cozy feeling.  Another option is to pick up a small space heater.  These little heaters, some of which come as imitation fireplaces, can really do a lot to warm your body and your heart on those frigid days.  If you have radiators, there is a good chance you might be too warm.  If your unit is too hot, and you do not have a thermostat, talk to your property owner about turning down the heat slightly, if your radiators are too old and stubborn for you to turn them down on your own.

How to Find the Perfect Roommate

As the cost of living continues to rise, more and more single people are opting for roommates and housemates to make renting more manageable.  Not only do roommates allow you to find a more spacious and amenity-rich apartment, by sharing out the costs, they also provide you with someone to share your space and time.  However, selecting the wrong roommate can be a real nightmare.  Here are some tips to help you ensure that you make the right pick when you sign your next lease.

Know What You Want

The first tip to finding an awesome roommate is determining what sort of living arrangement best suits your needs.  Do you require a more formal agreement governed by clear guidelines and house rules? Or, are you looking for a looser, and more social and shared living arrangement?  Remember, this goes both ways, so be honest as you figure this out.  Your tuba practicing, messy bathroom habits, or slightly obnoxious friend who drops by a little too often, are all things to consider in establishing your own best-case roommate scenario.

Proceed with Clarity (and Caution)

Once you know what kind of living situation you require, you need to be sure that you ask the right questions to prospective roommates.  Be sure to ask: what their work situation is, what their credit situation is, what their social life is like, what their thoughts on overnight guests are, what their standards for cleanliness are, what their cooking and kitchen habits are, and what their TV and music habits are. These questions might seem overly personal, and might be difficult to ask, but a good, frank conversation ahead of time can save you both a lot of headaches down the road.

Read Between the Lines

After you verify that your prospective roommate’s expectations are in sync with yours, you need to make sure they are telling the truth!  Sometimes people cannot own up to their own shortcomings, so you need to be a bit ruthless in vetting them.  Did they drop any stories about leaving a job, friend, or old roommate in the lurch?  Did they mention any strained relationships, or any issues from their past that might come back to haunt you?  In spite of what they say, do they seem as if they are always out partying, or generally messy?  Crosscheck what they have told you, and listen to your gut.

Finding a great roommate demands honesty, clarity, and scrutiny.  It is great if you can ultimately become friends, but that can only happen after you’ve established a mutually beneficial living arrangement.

How to give a notice to your landlord?

How to give landlord Notice?

To move out of your rental unit you need to notify the landlord that you will be terminating the lease and moving out. The notice time and form is different from province to another in

Ontario,

In Ontario, the noticed is called N9 Tenant's Notice to End the Tenancy. The notice should including the following information:

• Your name and full rental unit address.
• The exact date you are moving out. 
• Date and sign the notice.

Click here to download N9 from
http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/documents/ltb/Notices%20of%20Termination%20&%20Instructions/N9.pdf

The notice is not legal unless you give it to your landlord at the right time and determine your proper move out date. In Ontario, you must give the landlord 60 days notice before you move out. You have by then completed your annual or 1 year lease rent or have already switched to a month to month lease. If you have moved in a rental unit on Jan 1st and wanted to move out after 1 year of the lease is up. You need to notify your landlord by no later than Oct 30 that you will be moving out on Dec 31st.


In 

Alberta,

it is called Notice to End a Periodic Tenancy. So now when do you give this notice and how? For short term weekly rental, you give the landlord one week notice

For monthly or month to month lease you give the landlord 30 days minimum or 1 month notice. 

Example if you rent ends on March 31st you have to give notice on the last day of the prior month Feb 28.

How do you deliver the notice?

- Personally 

- By Fax

- You can't deliver it by email. It has to result in a printed copy on the landlord side.

Tips for Renting with Pets

Pets can be a wonderful addition to your home.  Whether it is a dog or cat, goldfish or parakeet, pets offer companionship and keep you connected to what is most important in life.  However, living in an apartment or condo can pose challenges for pet-owners.  Limited space and close proximity to neighbours means renters need to take extra care when considering whether or not to get a pet.  By keeping a few things in mind you can enjoy the benefits of pet-ownership, and dodge the pitfalls.    

Choose Wisely

The first thing to consider is what pet best fits your life, and your space.  Fish are a wonderful and lower-maintenance pet option.  They bring both colour and a soothing sense of calm to your space.  Other less-hands-on pet options are birds, and small rodents, such as guinea pigs, hamsters, or gerbils.  These more independent creatures give you a little more interaction than fish, but mostly keep to themselves. Cats and dogs are, of course, delightful companions, but they demand more care and attention.  Cats and dogs love to spend time with their owners and eagerly await your return, but be sure to pick a cat or dog that suits your space.  Cats, for the most part, are pretty conducive to apartment living, but some are a little more rambunctious than others, so it might help to do a bit of research.  Dogs, on the other hand vary significantly between breeds.  When selecting a dog, choose a breed that is better matched to smaller, less active living, such as Pugs, French Bulldogs, Chihuahuas, or Shih Tzus.

Be Responsible

Once you have chosen the right pet, be sure to consider whether or not you are up for the responsibility.  First, be sure you are able to keep the noise your pet makes down to a minimum.  Dogs, cats, and some birds can make quite a racket, so opt for quieter animals or breeds, and do your best to train and discourage loud calls.  Secondly, be sure to keep it clean.  Aquariums, cat litter boxes, bird and rodent cages can become quite smelly if you do not actively clean them, so stay on top of their daily maintenance.  The same goes for dog waste outside—remember to clean up after your dog, so as not to become the building litterbug.  Also, be sure to give your pet the care it needs.  Behaviour problems usually result from insufficient exercise and inattention, so remember to play with your pets as often as you can, and be sure to give dogs the walks and exercise they need.  Last, if you opt for a dog, ensure that it behaves properly in the building’s shared space.  Not everyone loves dogs, so keep yours well behaved, heeled, and on a leash when in the elevator and hallways.

Remember, it is crucial that you verify that pet ownership is authorized in your building, and be sure that you follow the guidelines set out by the property owners regarding pets.  With clearance from the property owner, and by taking the proper responsibility, pet-ownership in an apartment can be tremendously rewarding.