#livevivere

With so many options out there for what kind of a home to choose, it goes without saying that some due diligence should be done ahead of time to make sure you choose the best one for you. Whether you're considering a single-family home, a townhouse, duplex, loft, condo, or a flat, you'll find many benefits to each. Here, we'll focus on some of the reasons why you may want to consider a flat apartment living space:

Inclusive Amenities Abound Depending on the specific neighborhood, flats usually surround an array of community amenities that are in high demand. Unlike single family homes and many duplexes, apartments offer things like gyms, laundry facilities, swimming pools, playgrounds, and more right on the property for residents. It is these amenities that create a convenient, enjoyable living environment.

Monthly Costs can be Lower Renting is generally cheaper than payments on a mortgage, so it makes up perhaps the single biggest advantage of apartment living. In addition to the lower monthly rental payment, other financial pieces are lower as well including things like utilities and upkeep costs because the renter is not responsible for some of these.

Maintenance is Not Your Worry The omission of many maintenance costs is in itself a financial blessing with a flat apartment, since expenses of this type are the responsibility of the landlord. In addition to the financial aspect, maintenance is something that you don't have to keep on your own “To Do” list – it's up to the owner to schedule repairs and all. This also includes snow shoveling, salting walks, mowing the lawn, landscaping, and more – it's just not something that is a renter's concern.

Short-Term Commitment Choosing to purchase a single-family home, a townhouse, or a condo is a life-long decision; however, when you rent, you can live there for a year, a couple of years, or for some other length of time that will allow you to move more often as needed. This is especially convenient if you are perhaps working on improving your credit before purchasing a home, you need a place to live while you are having a home built, or you will only be living in a location for a little bit.

Accessibility and Safety One of the great things about the location of many flat apartments is that they are usually conveniently in close proximity to anything you need from shopping centers, gyms and medical facilities to grocery markets, entertainment venues, and more. Safety is another benefit: Residents of flats are surrounded by close neighbors, and neighborhoods often offer security cameras and even courtesy patrols to maintain safe environments.

Things to Consider Before Upgrading Your Living Situation If you're an apartment renter, you're probably always thinking about your next move. Never settling down, renters have the freedom to live where they please. There's just one problem: packing up all your possessions and moving them into your new apartment can quite expensive. You'll also have to put a down payment on your new pad, usually first and last month's rent and a security deposit. So, if you're fed up with your current living situation, you might want to consider a few things before you jump the gun and move to a new apartment.

Hunting for the Right Place If you're thinking about getting rid of your current apartment, you'll need to find a few alternatives before you can seriously consider uprooting your life. Spend some time exploring what other kinds of apartments are in your area. Once you've found a few good options, you can start thinking about how much it will cost to move. You should know how much more you'll be paying in rent, what kind of deposit is required, and how much it will cost to get there. Having your eye on a specific apartment will make the decision-making process much easier.

The Hassles of Moving Now that you have a destination in mind, you can start tallying up the costs of your big move. If you can afford to make the move and you feel that this new apartment will have a significant positive impact on your life, moving might make a lot of sense. On the other hand, if you just barely have enough money to facilitate the move, you might be better off staying where you are.

You can use this equation as a way of simplifying your thought process:

New apartment ≥ current apartment + hassle and expense of moving

You'll have to decide whether the new apartment will be equal to, less than or greater than your old place plus the added hassle and expense of moving.

Important Upgrades There might be a lot of benefits to moving to a new apartment such as some included amenities, living closer to your job, or having more room for projects and guests. If by moving to a new apartment on the other side of town, you can cut an hour out of your morning commute, packing your bags might be a good idea. But if you just really like the idea of living in an apartment with a walk-in closet, moving might not be as much of a priority as you might think.

Where there are lovers of open concepts, contemporary design, and unique living spaces, there are also loft apartments. Some of the most desirable and most impressive homes in the world are lofts, which means that loft living strikes a chord with those who are at the forefront of the latest and greatest fashions in home trends. There are so many advantages of living in a loft apartment; following are just a few of the biggest:

Unusual Materials Many of the best lofts are in buildings that were originally built to house something other than people; you'll find many loft buildings once were old factories, old business buildings, and more. As such, they offer a unique twist on materials and designs used, which many people find attractive aspects of loft living. In contrast, properties built with the intent to house people are almost always “cookie cutter” in style – that is, they are all the same. Lofts offer raw industrial properties that bring rare facets like exposed brick, large pipes, vents, and more to full display.

Original Furnishings Loft apartments offer spacious living areas, which present a fantastic creative liberty with furnishings. Ample floor space and extremely high ceilings mean that you can enjoy almost no limitation in size and shape for furnishings, so you can fill rooms with many small and large items that suit your tastes. Life-size statues, oversized furniture, and more can offer truly one-of-a-kind contemporary design that would be impossible to pull off in more traditional, conventional apartments.

Vast Walls Ceilings and walls in lofts are, in one word, huge. This offers ample blank canvases for apartment dwellers to curate to create a dramatic presence for guests! Lovers of design and art flock to these types of homes often for this very reason: The amount of space and surface available for personalization is enormous, and the impressionable space is just waiting to be featured as part of a beloved apartment home.

Open Living Space Loft living is synonymous with open space, and apartment dwellers take advantage of the opportunity to embrace the full size of their homes. Even lofts that are smaller in square footage can appear larger than life because of more than ample oversized windows and doors, along with colossal high ceilings.

The aesthetic possibilities are endless with loft apartments; residents can change the unique look and style of their homes time and time again, giving them their own idiosyncratic and unique styles. Lofts adapt to every type of style scheme, too, from the traditional to the bold to the more contemporary.

Make the Most of Your Space with These Organizational Tips

Living in an apartment usually means being creative with the space around you. If you leave items strewn about the kitchen, living room, or your bedroom, you can drive your roommates nuts or contribute to your own anxiety. Clutter, especially in tight spaces, can leave you feeling stressed out as you frantically search for your favorite pair of jeans or your house keys. If you want to be happier at home, try using these decluttering tips to keep your apartment neat and organized.

Keep All Those Everyday Items in the Same Spot Everyone has items that they need or use every day. It's the last thing you do before you walk out the door and the first thing you do when you come home after a long day. You toss your keys down on the first available surface you see, kick off your shoes, and put down your bag. If you want to save time, try keeping all these everyday items in the same spot. You can use an entry table, a shelf or maybe the desk in your bedroom. When you come home, remember to put your stuff in the same spot and you'll never have to search for your keys, shoes, or sunglasses again.

Do a Clean Sweep Once a Week Trash piles up, especially if you have a busy schedule. We tend to keep empty plastic containers, old wrappers and scrap pieces of paper way longer than we should. Make cleaning up trash a part of your weekly routine. Depending on the size of your apartment, this should only take 15 minutes or so. Every Sunday afternoon, walk through the apartment and throw away everything you don't need or use. You'll be amazed at the results. While it's best to stay on top of your trash collection daily, coming up with a routine will give you some peace of mind.

Turn Nooks and Crannies into Storage Space If you need more space at home, try turning every piece of furniture into a storage unit. You can try storing large items under your bed, couch, or the desk in your bedroom. This is a great tip if you're just moving into a new apartment, but you can also modify your existing furniture to make more room for storage. You can buy some risers for your bed or the couch, giving you more room for all those old textbooks you've been clinging to.

Keeping your apartment organized can be a daily struggle, but if you spend a little time each day cleaning up here and there, you'll feel happier and less stressed.

Things to Consider Before Upgrading Your Living Situation If you're an apartment renter, you're probably always thinking about your next move. Never settling down, renters have the freedom to live where they please. There's just one problem: packing up all your possessions and moving them into your new apartment can quite expensive. You'll also have to put a down payment on your new pad, usually first and last month's rent and a security deposit. So, if you're fed up with your current living situation, you might want to consider a few things before you jump the gun and move to a new apartment.

Hunting for the Right Place If you're thinking about getting rid of your current apartment, you'll need to find a few alternatives before you can seriously consider uprooting your life. Spend some time exploring what other kinds of apartments are in your area. Once you've found a few good options, you can start thinking about how much it will cost to move. You should know how much more you'll be paying in rent, what kind of deposit is required, and how much it will cost to get there. Having your eye on a specific apartment will make the decision-making process much easier.

The Hassles of Moving Now that you have a destination in mind, you can start tallying up the costs of your big move. If you can afford to make the move and you feel that this new apartment will have a significant positive impact on your life, moving might make a lot of sense. On the other hand, if you just barely have enough money to facilitate the move, you might be better off staying where you are.

You can use this equation as a way of simplifying your thought process:

New apartment ≥ current apartment + hassle and expense of moving

You'll have to decide whether the new apartment will be equal to, less than or greater than your old place plus the added hassle and expense of moving.

Important Upgrades There might be a lot of benefits to moving to a new apartment such as some included amenities, living closer to your job, or having more room for projects and guests. If by moving to a new apartment on the other side of town, you can cut an hour out of your morning commute, packing your bags might be a good idea. But if you just really like the idea of living in an apartment with a walk-in closet, moving might not be as much of a priority as you might think.

Things to Consider Before Upgrading Your Living Situation If you're an apartment renter, you're probably always thinking about your next move. Never settling down, renters have the freedom to live where they please. There's just one problem: packing up all your possessions and moving them into your new apartment can quite expensive. You'll also have to put a down payment on your new pad, usually first and last month's rent and a security deposit. So, if you're fed up with your current living situation, you might want to consider a few things before you jump the gun and move to a new apartment.

Hunting for the Right Place If you're thinking about getting rid of your current apartment, you'll need to find a few alternatives before you can seriously consider uprooting your life. Spend some time exploring what other kinds of apartments are in your area. Once you've found a few good options, you can start thinking about how much it will cost to move. You should know how much more you'll be paying in rent, what kind of deposit is required, and how much it will cost to get there. Having your eye on a specific apartment will make the decision-making process much easier.

The Hassles of Moving Now that you have a destination in mind, you can start tallying up the costs of your big move. If you can afford to make the move and you feel that this new apartment will have a significant positive impact on your life, moving might make a lot of sense. On the other hand, if you just barely have enough money to facilitate the move, you might be better off staying where you are.

You can use this equation as a way of simplifying your thought process:

New apartment ≥ current apartment + hassle and expense of moving

You'll have to decide whether the new apartment will be equal to, less than or greater than your old place plus the added hassle and expense of moving.

Important Upgrades There might be a lot of benefits to moving to a new apartment such as some included amenities, living closer to your job, or having more room for projects and guests. If by moving to a new apartment on the other side of town, you can cut an hour out of your morning commute, packing your bags might be a good idea. But if you just really like the idea of living in an apartment with a walk-in closet, moving might not be as much of a priority as you might think.

Make the Most of Your Space with These Organizational Tips Living in an apartment usually means being creative with the space around you. If you leave items strewn about the kitchen, living room, or your bedroom, you can drive your roommates nuts or contribute to your own anxiety. Clutter, especially in tight spaces, can leave you feeling stressed out as you frantically search for your favorite pair of jeans or your house keys. If you want to be happier at home, try using these decluttering tips to keep your apartment neat and organized.

Keep All Those Everyday Items in the Same Spot Everyone has items that they need or use every day. It's the last thing you do before you walk out the door and the first thing you do when you come home after a long day. You toss your keys down on the first available surface you see, kick off your shoes, and put down your bag. If you want to save time, try keeping all these everyday items in the same spot. You can use an entry table, a shelf or maybe the desk in your bedroom. When you come home, remember to put your stuff in the same spot and you'll never have to search for your keys, shoes, or sunglasses again.

Do a Clean Sweep Once a Week Trash piles up, especially if you have a busy schedule. We tend to keep empty plastic containers, old wrappers and scrap pieces of paper way longer than we should. Make cleaning up trash a part of your weekly routine. Depending on the size of your apartment, this should only take 15 minutes or so. Every Sunday afternoon, walk through the apartment and throw away everything you don't need or use. You'll be amazed at the results. While it's best to stay on top of your trash collection daily, coming up with a routine will give you some peace of mind.

Turn Nooks and Crannies into Storage Space If you need more space at home, try turning every piece of furniture into a storage unit. You can try storing large items under your bed, couch, or the desk in your bedroom. This is a great tip if you're just moving into a new apartment, but you can also modify your existing furniture to make more room for storage. You can buy some risers for your bed or the couch, giving you more room for all those old textbooks you've been clinging to.

Keeping your apartment organized can be a daily struggle, but if you spend a little time each day cleaning up here and there, you'll feel happier and less stressed.