Air conditioning bills are, to many, a necessary evil. However, with some clever workarounds and an ability to resist the urge to leap for that thermostat, there are ways to minimize the financial impact it will make. Here are some ways you can easily save money on your air conditioning and energy bills this summer.

Interior Renovations

By choosing a landlord that has renovated the interior of their home, including increased insulation efficiency and more, you’ll be able to more easily control and maintain temperatures inside. Upgrading windows, doors, ventilation, seals, and wall insulation will make it far less of an expense to operate your air conditioning system during warmer weather, as less usage will be required to maintain a comfortable interior temperature. Take the time to inspect the quality of your home’s insulation, as even making a few adjustments could help to cut back on air conditioner usage.

Pay Attention To The Thermostat

Air conditioning systems are known to operate most efficiently at full speed during longer periods of time. Setting it to a lower temperature when you get home will be more financially beneficial than leaving it to cycle on and off throughout the entire day. Investing in a programmable thermostat is a crucial step you can take towards regulating your system’s minimum operating temperature. Try programming it to operate at higher temperatures while you’re away, cooling down just before you’re scheduled to arrive home. Being conscientious and perceptive is an important part of air conditioner ownership, unless if you want to be stuck with high bills.

Fire Up The Grill

It’s obvious that cooking indoors produces heat, so why not take advantage of the temporarily beautiful weather and barbeque outside? Cooking outdoors prevents heat and pollutants from being trapped inside your home, therefore keeping your air cleaner, fresher, and cooler. This means that your air conditioner won’t have to go through extra hoops to regulate a set temperature.

Exterior Protection

What do reflective roofs, trees, window and door awnings, bright-coloured exterior finishes, and ample shrubbery have in common? Well, they all are excellent ways to dissipate heat from your home. Choosing a rental with even a few of these recommended features would surely drastically cut back the amount of heat your home absorbs. Plants help create oxygen and clean the air, lowering humidity and helping to filter fresh air throughout your property. Awnings and protective covers prevent direct sunlight and heat from being sucked through windows and doors and inside, and a reflective roof is the equivalent of slapping a highly effective “return to sender” stamp on the heat being directed at your home. All of these features will enable you to cut back on air conditioner usage, as the interior temperature will be less impacted by the conditions outside.

If you are able to acquire a rental with even a few of these highlights, and implement good energy use habits, your bills will be significantly lower over time with each day of less-intensive usage. If you do start to see spikes in your bill with no obvious reasoning, be sure to contact your landlord as you may require HVAC maintenance.

Hunting for the ideal apartment can be a daunting and overwhelming task. With so many choices of units to select from, some including special amenities and unique features, it’s understandable to feel lost and frustrated. However, with these key tips, you’ll be able to find the perfect apartment for rent in no time.

Get To Know The Landlord

A landlord is responsible for the maintenance, upkeep, and general health of your unit and the property it is a part of. Try to get a feel for their attitude and personality, and be sure to ask some straightforward questions when meeting to view a unit. Gauge their response to queries or concerns — if they dodge questions and refuse to give straightforward answers, don’t bother with them or the unit in question. Often, this behaviour is a sign that they are willing to overlook important repairs or upgrades in order to save money, which means that you as a tenant are of secondary importance to them.

Speak With Tenants

If you finished viewing a unit and all appears to be well and good, don’t just head back home to think it over. Instead, see if you can find tenants around the property and stop to chat with them if they’re comfortable with it. Obtaining an insider’s view into the day-to-day life in one of the units will provide you with deep insight into the inner workings of the place. You’ll be able to easily pick up whether or not the landlord makes an effort to be helpful and legitimately care for tenants. If living there really isn’t all it seems to be, tenants who are fed up with their living conditions may be courteous enough to advise you to stay away. If this is hinted at in any way then take their advice, as it’s better to not take unnecessary risks when apartment-hunting.

Narrow Your Search to Convenient Areas

Living in an apartment is all about convenience, and sticking to neighbourhoods that appeal to you because of their suitability is a great way to narrow down your list of units. Factor in transportation needs, ease of access to important services and amenities such as hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies, and post offices. By focusing on areas that make sense to you, less time will be wasted and you’ll likely be able to snap up an ideal unit that would have been claimed by someone else if you had looked elsewhere.

Pay Attention to Leases

There are several different kinds of leases available, and the perfect apartment is one that is attached to one that makes sense in relation to your lifestyle. If you only plan to rent for a few months, be sure to select from apartments incorporating periodic leases. These allow you to pay and renew on a monthly basis, only requiring you to give 30 days notice when leaving. Fixed-term leases are common, usually tied to periods ranging from several months to several years. They are sometimes renewable, but be sure you fulfill any agreements to avoid penalties. Subleases are for existing tenants seeking to fill in a vacancy, so be absolutely sure to deal directly with the landlord when considering one, as it needs to be approved by them.

With these helpful tips in mind, it should be easier and quicker than ever to streamline your quest for the perfect apartment. Utilize common sense and pay close attention to the inner workings and documentation associated with the unit you’re interested in, and with a little effort you’ll have a home ideal for your needs.

Our decisions are powered by a variety of different forces in our life; the decision of where to rent a home is no exception. With many different options available to potential renters, such as condos, apartments or houses, it is necessary to evaluate what you need out of a rental unit.

In order to do this you need to assess where you see yourself in the future. For the single dweller with the active social life, perhaps a downtown apartment is suitable. However for the young working couple, perhaps more space in a quieter community is preferable.

Consider Your Lifestyle and Wants

Consider this scenario: A young couple grows tired of living in the hustle and bustle of the downtown noise and is looking for a quieter location in which to have ample space to entertain family and friends. As we mature and our relationships change, the desire for peace and quiet at the end of a long work day outweighs the desire to live where the action constantly is. It is at this time that the move to a house rental seems most ideal. For close to the same price as renting a small apartment in the downtown area, it is possible to rent a very cozy townhouse not too far off in the suburbs.

Benefits of Renting a Detached House or Townhome

The benefits of renting a house are plentiful. For the young couple who wished to get their feet into house rentals, they are in the best situation for which to set up their future. They can take their time accumulating enough furniture to furnish an entire house rather than a small apartment and not break the bank in doing so. With the slow accumulation over time the task will not seem so cumbersome.

Now imagine this same couple decide to start a family of their own. The idea of starting a family while living in an apartment does not seem overly appealing, however if this couple already has a furnished house they are in a much better position to comfortably bring a new baby home from the hospital.

Later down the line the small family may consider purchasing their first home and move away from renting. In this case they already have everything they require in order to move into and furnish a house which will make that transition easier and more cost effective than had they stayed in an apartment.

House rentership isn’t necessarily for everyone, but knowing when it is the right time to make the switch from apartment rental to house rental could prove to be very beneficial in the long run.

Do you find your home a bit darker than you’d like? Do you wish you could capture more of the limited winter daylight? If so, choose a rental unit with large windows and plenty of natural light. Consider these benefits:

Health Effects

Natural sunlight is extremely important for the human mind and body. Our bodies use sunlight to gain focus, feel positive, stave off disease, and as a source of vitamin D. We use sunlight to regulate our sleep patterns. If you find yourself struggling to fall asleep at night or rise in the morning without a blaring alarm, a lack of natural sunlight may be a contributing factor. People with more exposure to natural sunlight are happier and more productive.

Enjoying the View

Does your city and neighbourhood have beautiful views? Windows don’t just improve your health by bringing in natural light, they also expose you to the beautiful views. When looking for an apartment, seeking the million-dollar view can cost nearly that much! Instead, try to find the beauty in the simple things. Like finding an apartment with a view of a quaint, quiet park.

Reduce Energy Bills

If your home does not receive enough natural light, you are more likely to turn on artificial lights earlier and longer. If you find yourself routinely turning on artificial lights during the day, it’s time to make a change. Not only does artificial light not have the same health effects as natural light, it adds up on your energy bill each month. On average, artificial lights contribute around ten percent to your home’s energy bill. Choosing a property with new vinyl windows will pay large dividends down the road as you are able to significantly cut down your energy consumption each month.

South-Facing Windows

Assuming they are not obstructed by large trees or other buildings, your home’s south-facing windows will have the most access to natural sunlight throughout the day. If possible, see if rental units have south-side-facing windows! While this is likely not going to be your deciding factor, it is a factor to consider!

Ultimately, find the right apartment is about finding the most items on your “wish list” as possible in one place. While you will likely need to make sacrifices, by taking in all the factors and following your gut, you will surely find the new home of your dreams!

Sometimes, bigger isn’t always better. Especially when your kids have finally left home and suddenly it feels like the amount of space that you’re occupying (and having to clean and maintain) seems completely unnecessary. As life moves along, you want to be able to enjoy it without having to spend the majority of your time just trying to keep up with maintaining your home.

Knowing when it’s time to downsize isn’t always so crystal clear. But if you’ve reached a point where you can relate to each of these signs, you should feel confident that it’s time to make the change.

You Feel Isolated

If you’ve been living in your home for years since the kids first learned how to walk, it can be extremely difficult to let those memories go and move on to something new. But when your children have grown into adults with homes and families of their own, life can quickly become lonely. If your home is located extremely far from your family and grandchildren, or the neighbourhood no longer serves you well, it’s worth the move to avoid those feelings of isolation and be close to loved ones.

You Have Rooms That You Never Use

If you have a room or maybe three that you never use anymore and barely enter aside from dusting or to store away some items, then that’s just a waste of space and money. Big homes that end up becoming unused homes still end up costing you just as much, if not more to heat and cool them.

You Spend Too Much Time Just to Maintain It

When you reach a certain phase in life, you really want to make the most out of your time and enjoy it. Having the burden of cleaning and performing extra maintenance on your home so frequently doesn’t contribute to that goal of R&R. When your come ends up feeling more like a burden, it’s not worth staying.

You Want To Embrace Retirement

As many people move through the waves of retirement it usually means it’s time to really try and make the most out their dollars. Making your savings stretch farther is important, and one of the main reasons why many people decide to downsize.

So take the time to really consider whether your big home is serving you well in life here and now. If your home is becoming more of burden and less of a pleasure to live in then you should take the leap and make a change to enhance your life.

So you’ve finally found your new dream home and the moving date is set – now what? Where do you begin so that you can avoid having a chaotic and stressful move? Here we break down some simple, yet important tasks for you to follow to avoid falling into moving mayhem.

Make a Moving To-Do Checklist

In order to avoid leaving everything to the last stressful minute, start by making a designated moving checklist. This should break everything down into a general timeline to help organize your time. This will differ for everyone, but by writing down tasks, you can help stay on track and ahead of the big day.

It is good to give yourself at least two months prior to the big move, categorizing tasks spaced out over this timeframe. Tasks should include, for example, figuring out if you’re going to use a moving company or renting a truck yourself. Research quotes from at least a few different moving companies to compare. Go through each week thereafter and create a priority list like this.

Once you hit the one-week mark, you should have most of your items organized and packed away, nicely labelled according to room so that it is easier on moving day. You should also begin the cleaning process of your current home, and contact your moving company to confirm once again about the details of the moving day.

Avoid Common Packing Mistakes

There are many common packing mistakes that you can easily avoid once you are aware of them. These are some of the most common:

• Don’t over-pack boxes with heavy items– consider using plastic bins to pack away heavy items such as books or fragile kitchenware. This can avoid the risk of boxes breaking.
• Don’t waste box space with linens – toss in plastic bags.
• Don’t be stingy with the tape – seal those boxes well!

Create a File for Documents

Don’t cause any unnecessary stress during the move by tearing your house apart to try and find important documents. Create a designated file right from the beginning to contain any moving related items, such as contracts, insurance and even contact information for cancelling or setting up services like Internet and cable.

Ask for Help

What are good friends and family for if not to help you on moving day? Don’t be afraid to enlist some help. You can have a packing party, and supply the pizza and refreshments to show your gratitude. Of course, always offer to return the favor in the future.

Moving can actually be a simple, stress-free process. Start your moving process nice and early by creating a master list. Follow through these other simple steps and you’ll be set and ready when moving day arrives.