If you’ve just moved to Dallas from a far away city, you likely only have a working knowledge of what parts of the city are “rich” and which ones aren’t. Upon closer examination, you can break down individual neighborhoods into sections that are better off than others. We all value our safety and want to live in nice areas, but most of us can’t afford to live in the most expensive areas in the city, so how can we tell what’s where? Here are a few good tips.

If you already live in a big city, most major libraries have copies of national newspapers, so head to your local library and check out the latest issue of the Dallas paper. Head to the apartment and house listings and see what parts of town have the most expensive places to live. If you are computer savvy, you can do this at home with the top apartment hunting websites and with a mapping website like Maps.Google.com. Use the two sites together to plot out the expensive parts of the city so you can live as close to them as possible without having to live in the middle of them and pay the extra cost.

The same can be done with crime statistics, so you can see what areas of the city to avoid. Even the richest neighborhoods have crime, so don’t expect to see it disappear once you reach a rich area, but I think we would all agree that the less crime in your area, the better!

While more and more people rent apartments from established management companies that have time tested, lawyer-approved leases for people to sign, there is still a large number of people renting from individuals that try, and often fail, to write up their own leases that they expect you to sign and follow. We often put our ‘John Hancock’ on these leases because we are running out of time to find a place before our current lease expires, or we assume that our landlord-to-be is a nice person and we won’t have any problems. All too often, however, we run into issues, so here is what we can do to solve them.

First, bring a copy of your lease to a local renter’s rights group and have an expert there look it over. These groups often consult people for free and while the volunteers there may not have a law degree, they do have extensive experience and they can often point you in the right direction.

If you can find a lawyer in your area that offers free consultations, you can also go to see a lawyer. They will be able to tell you how legally binding this lease is and what you have to do to get out of it. Often times, even an inexperienced lawyer will be able to tell you how you can get out of a hand-written lease with little to no trouble, but it might end up costing you a pretty penny.

Ask a room full of first time apartment renters about rental insurance, and you are likely going to receive more blank stares than knowing nods. Renter’s insurance is like a big secret that only a few people know about, but it can be an absolute savior for you if you run into trouble. Let’s take a look at some renter’s insurance basics and see if it is right for you.

In short, renter’s insurance protects you against loss of property no matter where you rent from. You can be in your first apartment or even living in a dorm room at your local college or university. If your belongings are damaged, usually due to a fire or theft, you can get reimbursed.

One of the biggest myths that surround renter’s insurance is the idea that you don’t need it because your landlord has insurance over the space in which you are living. Don’t believe it! Your landlord’s insurance only covers the apartment, it doesn’t cover a single thing that belong to you that is inside of it. Even if your landlord tells you their insurance covers things, they don’t. The only way to protect your belongings is with renter’s insurance.

Finally, some people decline renter’s insurance because they have moved in with a roommate that already has it. This is a bit of a grey area as some policies protect both people, while others don’t. Ask your roommate if you can call his insurance company and ask. If it does cover you, make sure you document everything you own for evidence.

If you are like millions of Americans, you are likely on a tight budget each and every month. Moving to and from a new apartment can be costly, which stretches your monthly budget even tighter than it is normally. Here are a few helpful tips to keep your heating and cooling bills down now that you’ve found a new apartment.

Try to time the sun during the day with the times that you have your blinds open. This is especially important in the summertime, as direct sunlight into your apartment can raise the temperature several degrees in an instant. If you are in a home that faces west, you’ll have the sun in the afternoons, so make sure your blinds are open in the morning and closed later on. You will notice a significant improvement in your heating and cooling bills.

During the wintertime, try to turn down your thermostat a few degrees and, instead, wear a sweater around the house. It may take a little bit of adjustment and getting use to, but that five degree difference in heat can translate to big money saved on your heating bill over the course of a winter.

Finally, try turning your air conditioning down a little bit when you sleep at night. If you normally have it set to 72 during the day, turn it down to 75 or even 80 at night when you won’t notice it as much. You’ll save a lot of cash over the summer by changing the way you live just a tiny bit.

Perhaps the biggest complaint from people who live with roommates is the fact that they don’t seem to have any real privacy. Most apartments are a bit on the small side and it can be frustrating living with a person who you have to share everything with fifty-fifty. There are a few simple things you can do, however, to help keep your privacy secure. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

The best place to start with privacy is at the beginning. As soon as you and your roommate move in together, try to set some basic ground rules for the apartment. These rules can apply to everything from how you designate whose food is whose in the fridge to how you share the common spaces in your place.

Locks are a good way to ensure security, so you might want to think about getting a good lock on your bedroom or private areas if you can. Some apartments have strict rules about adding security features to an already existing apartment, so make sure you check with your landlords first.

If you use a computer that you keep private information on, make sure you password and lock down your computer when you aren’t there. Not only will this help keep your private information private, but it helps to set boundaries between you and your roommate.

Finally, make sure you have some kind of understanding if you are entertaining someone special so that there aren’t any awkward moments.

It wasn’t that long ago that hunting for a new apartment meant buying every newspaper in town and searching the classified ads for the best apartment deals you could find. For those people who didn’t subscribe to the newspaper method, there was always the, “drive around for hours and hopefully stumble upon some for sale signs” method. Today, we have the Internet as the biggest and best apartment finding tool in human history. Here are a few tips on how you can harness this magnificent power to help you find a place faster.

There are basically two different kinds of online search engines for apartments: ones based nationally that have pages for every major city and state and other ones that are local, usually based on the webpage for the local newspaper for that city or town. Both search engines have lots of matches to offer, so make sure you check both kinds when you are looking for a new place.

Another great place to look for a new apartment is on free classified ad websites like CraigsList. You will find thousands of apartment listings for your city or town here, and since the ads can be placed for free, you don’t have to worry about buying anything or paying a finder’s fee like some other ad websites charge. Even though CraigsList is a free website, it offers many search options you can choose from, such as narrowing down your search by rent price and by location.

Depending on what part of the country you call home, you might or might not have problems with crime in your area. Even if you live in a fairly rural area, you should think twice about flinging open your front door every time someone knocks. Here are a few safety valves you can use the next time a stranger comes knocking and you are home alone.

First off, use the peephole in your door every time someone knocks. Granted, they don’t let you see much, but you can see if the person on the other side is who they say they are.

Second, get a chain installed on your door if you don’t already have one. Make sure you check with your apartment complex to make sure it is okay, but in most cases, installing a chain is a no-brainer.

Most people don’t realize how versatile and useful a chain is until they have one installed. Often times, you can speak to someone such as a delivery man or a police officer just fine through the crack in your door that the chain allows. You can sign for a package and have the delivery man leave it on your stoop or you can identify a picture from a police officer with the chain intact if you don’t feel safe.

Finally, make sure you have the numbers for your local police department, as well as 911, on speed dial in case you ever need them.

It is the ultimate fear of any dallas apartment dweller: dealing with neighbors that have no respect for the people that live around them. Even in professionally managed apartment buildings, problem tenants can hang around for months past when most people would assume they need to be evicted. So how do you handle living next to folks like these? Here are a few tips.

Try talking things out before you take any other action. Sometimes, it can be a case of people simply not understanding that they are being rude or inconsiderate. They may be new to apartment living and not realize how thin the walls at your particular complex are. Before we assume the worst about people, let’s make sure we give them a chance to fix their behavior.

So, as is turns out, talking didn’t work and you are simply living next to an inconsiderate meanie. Your next step is to have a sit down conversation with your landlord or the management company that runs your complex to find out what your rights are. If you can’t get anywhere there, it is time to take things to the next level and either speak to your local police force or to a lawyer about getting out of your lease. Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t have the right to a quiet and secure place to live and if your landlord refuses to honor that, you have the right to seek an end to your lease.

When most people go to look for an apartment in Dallas for the first time, they have a mental list in their heads of what is the most important factor. For some people it is rent, while others have location at the top of the list. A smaller percentage of people have perks like a swimming pool, a workout room or a sauna at the top of the list, but should those perks really help you to decide where you will be calling home? Let’s take a closer look.

When you are trying to decide where to live, you need to sit down and make a list of priorities so you will be able to decide what spot is right for you. If you feel that having a pool or a workout room is a perk that you will use on a regular basis, than go ahead and move that higher on your list, but you need to realize that the more perks an apartment complex has, the more expensive it will likely be. You also need to take into consideration the fact that if you place perks higher than location, you will likely be spending more on gas every month getting to and from work, and you might end up paying more in car insurance, as well, since your commute will be longer.

Deciding on a new place to call home is a hard enough decision as it is and when you factor into apartment complex perks, it can be even harder. Make sure you take everything into account before making your decision.