Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Which Energy-Saving Appliances Should You Consider for Your Rental Apartment?



When renting an apartment, it's vital to try to keep your costs minimal. The rent is always a big part of your monthly income, and it's fixed, so it's best to try to save money on other things.

Instead of eating less or buying less of the things you want and need, you can also save on bills. Sometimes, this solution is much better, as you'll be consistently saving every month.

With that in mind, we wanted to give you a list of energy-saving appliances you should consider getting if you're going to save money in the long run. Let's take a look:

LED, CFL, or Halogen Incandescent Lightbulbs


On average, most households spend around 5% of their energy on lighting. It sounds small, but it adds up when you combine it with other energy-saving methods. Plus, it's not really a problem to get any of these energy-saving lightbulbs. Yes, they are more expensive than regular ones, but they last much longer and consume less electricity.

If you opt for the best option, which is LED lightbulbs, you'll spend 75% less energy on your lighting needs than you usually do!

Energy-Saving Kitchen and Bathroom Appliances


The kitchen is usually packed with appliances that suck up a lot of your monthly energy usage. If you cook a lot, you're probably spending even more than you think. The same goes for the bathroom.

Instead of doing a minimal amount of cooking and washing, you can get new energy-saving appliances. Some of the appliances you can swap for their energy-saving counterparts are:

        Clothes washers

        Clothes dryers

        Refrigerators

        Freezers

        Dishwashers

Each of these spends from 10% to as much as 50% less than their non-energy-saving counterparts. When all of that is combined, you can see a drastic decrease in your monthly expenses.

You can even get air purifiers and dehumidifiers that are energy-saving and save even more on your bills.

Energy-Saving Electronics


Consumer electronics amount to as much as 15% of the total household electricity use. What’s more, that number is only growing as we are all increasingly using these devices (smartphones, laptops, desktop computers, TVs, etc.).

When buying any of these devices, it's essential to take a look at the amount of electricity they use. Then you can opt for the version that sucks up less energy.

Key Takeaways


If you manage to get all of these appliances, or at least as many as you can, you'll end up saving thousands of dollars each year on your energy bills. That's, without a doubt, a very significant amount of money, so it ends up being entirely worth it.

You don’t have to get all of the appliances listed here right away. That will probably end up costing you more than you will eventually save. The key is to always opt for an energy-saving appliance or device whenever you have to buy a new one. Eventually, most of your appliances will be energy-saving ones, and you’ll be saving a lot every month.

How to Increase the Chances of Your Rental Application Getting Picked by the Landlord?



If you're searching for a rental apartment, you're bound to run into a well-known situation that begins with finding the perfect place. Everything is in order, and you want to move in immediately.

There’s just one problem: there are other applicants as well. You know you'll be devastated if the landlord eventually picks someone else, and you know there's nothing you can do to change the outcome.

However, there are ways of increasing your chances. That’s precisely what we wanted to discuss in today’s piece. Let’s see what you need to do to increase your chances of the landlord picking your application.
 

Know What the Landlord Wants from the Tenant


If you want to increase your chances, you need to provide what the landlord is looking for in a tenant. In our many years of experience, we've noticed that landlords always want three things:

  1. To know that the tenant will treat the property as if it was their own and call the landlord when any issues occur.
  2. To be sure that the tenant will make their rent payments on time.
  3. To be certain that the tenant will fulfill the term of the lease.

Now, we know that you will say that you can definitely do all three. We know that, but the landlord doesn't. You need to find a way to assure them that they can expect these three important things from you.

What landlords care about is stability, as all of these three things point out. It doesn't matter what your application looks like and what it says. What matters is that they can see that you will provide them with the stability they want. It's far easier for them to find a single tenant who will pay their rent on time, take care of the place, and be a stable source of income for the landlord for a long time, rather than running from tenant to tenant.

Be Financially Responsible and Be Able to Prove It


Naturally, they will want to see that you are stable in financial terms as well:

        You need to have a good and stable job.

        Your salary needs to be at least three times bigger than the rent – it shows the landlord that you are applying for a place and a lease you can genuinely afford with your income.

        You need to have a perfect credit history and good employment records – it all further proves that you are financially responsible.

Additionally, if you have recommendation letters from previous landlords, you’ll have a massive plus on your side.

If you are a student without a job, for now, you still have big chances. All you need to do is prove to the landlord that you will be able to pay your rent. By getting a suitable guarantor who is willing to show their income to the landlord, it will be almost the same as having that income yourself.

At the end of the day, all the landlord wants is to feel safe and happy with the tenant. If you show them that they will feel like that with you, then the rental is as good as yours.