There are so many things you need when it comes to renting your apartment or home, but one of the most important things is making sure you have renter's insurance! It’s a non-negotiable, especially with how cheap it is. It’s the type of insurance you purchase with the hope of never needing it. On the off chance you end up needing it, it's is a huge relief knowing you thought ahead!  

Along with renter's insurance, it’s important to also think ahead to what needs to go into your fireproof box, especially in California. Wildfires have been so prevalent in our state that making sure your important documents are safe is a no-brainer.

Let’s talk renter's insurance first, then we’ll cover where to purchase a fireproof box and what you should place inside it!

As we’ve said many times, the entire process of moving can be overwhelming and stressful. Because of this, we do all we can to help lower your stress with tips and tricks in every area of the moving process.

Moving to a new address can be so exciting yet exhausting at the same time. There are so many different things you have to remember in addition to just packing up your old place and physically moving it to your new place. 

We want to help you make sure you don’t miss any details in the midst of your move! Part of those details is making sure you've notified everyone who needs to be notified of your change in address. With everything else you have to accomplish within your move, it's one that can easily slip through the cracks.

That’s why we found the best article that lists out all the places you need to notify when you have a change of address! We also created a handy printable checklist for you. 

Working from home has its ups and downs. The upside is that your commute time has decreased to being non-existent and your boss isn’t getting upset with you for wearing the same sweatpants 5 days in a row. You also get your full 30 minutes or an hour lunch time without having to factor in any drive time.

However, the downside is the energy and utilities your company was paying for now adds to your home monthly utility bills. You may not have thought much about it until you saw your utility bills for the month. Yet, you have to work and currently you can only work from home so what can you do?  

Everyone wants an adorable pet that is fluffy and cuddly! They are loyal, offer unconditional love, and always ready to spend time with you. They become a large part of our lives and we can’t imagine living without them.

That’s why if you’re thinking about getting a pet while living in an apartment, or already have a pet and thinking about moving into a new apartment, you need to know about apartment friendly breeds.

Important Note: For Hignell Rentals apartments that accept pets, you are only allowed a dog, cat, fish, or bird and they should weigh 30lbs or under.

Outside of Hignell Rentals, each apartment complex will have their own pet policies. Make sure you talk with the apartment or rental manager before getting a pet to ensure you’ll be able to move in with your pet or get the pet you desire!

Here's a list of just some of the pets that are good for apartment living!

Living with good roommates can be tricky but living with bad roommates can cause all sorts of tension and take a toll. Which is why we find it important to interview your potential roommate before signing a lease with them.

But even if you did interview them before becoming official roommates, things have changed. With everyone suddenly working from home, roommate etiquette isn't as cut and dry as it once was. 

You no longer just have to see them in the morning when you're both on your way to work or in the evenings when you cross paths in the hallway. Now you see each other all day every day and on top of all the normal roommate things, you're now having to deal with making sure both of you are staying COVID safe. 

While we all hoped to be back in the office by this point in time, it doesn’t look like we're going to be anytime soon. Therefore, having a workday plan that makes working from home effective and efficient is important as ever!

It can be hard when you don’t leave your house to get out of “home” mode and into “office” mode. Which is why we put together a list of eight things to do that help make it seem as if you left home and are in the office (if only mentally!).

Maintain Regular Work Hours

When working from home, it’s important that you do everything you can to keep your regular office hours. This will help you keep your mind and body on track of when you are at “work” and when you are at “home.” While the idea of sleeping in till 10am sounds great, it means you have to work till 7pm when others are off work and wanting to catch up on the latest Netflix binge.

You’re doing all you can to not get COVID. You keep your distance when you go out. You wear your mask every time you come in contact with someone you don’t live with. When you hear someone has a “cold” but is still game for hanging out you shut them down.

Unfortunately, all your hard work hasn’t stopped your roommate from contracting COVID. Even though you don’t COVID, what does it mean for you? People have said that if someone you live with has COVID you essentially have it as well, but is that true? Is there a way to avoid contracting it as well? Do you have to stay home and be quarantined just like them? How do you navigate shared spaces?

The National Public Radio wrote an entire article that answers all the questions above and more! Read below to get your questions answered.

We see this question a lot in our Contact Us forms,

“Can I rent from you with bad credit?”

Ideally, when you're on the lookout for a new place to call home do all you can to raise your credit score, bettering your chance at getting a rental. Yet sometimes circumstances don’t line up and you require a new place before you can improve your credit. When that happens, what can you do?

We found a great resource on Business Insider that outlines the nine things you can try when you are looking to rent an apartment, but have bad credit. You’ll also find (at the end) what credit score you need to have to be eligible to rent from Hignell Rentals as well as a way to rent from us if you don’t meet the credit requirement!

When dreaming of owning a home, it’s easy to get lost in all the benefits that buying and owning a home gives you. Yet, do you ever dream about renting and the benefits it can give you?  

Let’s face it, renting doesn’t hold the same curb appeal that buying a home does. However, renting does have a lot of benefits and perks that buying a home does not. For example, the deposit on a rental is going to be cheaper than a down payment on a house. 

Here’s an article that goes into details on 9 of the most beneficial reasons renting is better than buying! Spoiler Alert: not all of them have to do with money!