Bedroom Design in a Home

A home is a place where we live, spend most of our lives,
with family members and our loved ones.

A bedroom design project includes a careful study of the
surrounding of the entire home. When an architect plans
a home, he takes into consideration many parameters for
the location of various spaces.

Example:

Deciding the location of the bedroom,

1. Wind direction.
2. Surrounding landscapes.
3. Path of the sun
4. Presence of other natural elements such as lake, flowing

river, seashore, etc.. which could be visible through

bedroom window.

landlords and tenants

Interviews are an important part of moving in to your future rental apartment or house. Landlords want to know about their tenants’ lifestyles, rental history and how long they’re staying.

Whether you’re the one applying to move into your next rental property, or you’re the landlord deciding which prospective tenant will get the keys, acing the interview is super important.

When I was renting out the other room in my condo, the interview was the number one most important part of deciding who would move in. Since I was sharing the space with the person, I had to be sure we’d be compatible.

For tenants:

Being truthful is key. Getting caught tweaking the truth once you've already moved it could put you in an awkward and potentially sticky situation.
Come prepared with references. This will let your future landlord easily check whether you've been a good tenant in the past, and will show that you’re OK with a background check without being asked.
Just like at a job interview, come with questions of your own. What will be the length of the lease to sign (six months? one year?)? What are the other tenants in the building like, and especially your immediate neighbors’ lifestyles? Are there services nearby like a grocery store and a cafe?

For landlords:

Have a list of questions ready for when you meet or call the applying tenant, and make your questions the same for all applicants. This will make the interview process more fair and will make it easier to decide who to choose in the end.

Here are some questions you should be sure to ask:

• How long do you plan on renting here? How long did you stay at your last rental?
• Where do you study or work? For how long?
• How many people will be moving in?
• Will there be pets moving in? What type and size?

Also ask lifestyle questions, even if, unlike me, you won’t be living with the tenant. Here are some examples.

• Are you a smoker? How often? Will you be smoking inside/on the balcony?
• Will you be having house parties in the apartment or having guests stay over often?
• What is your cleaning ritual? How often do you tidy up and do more involved cleaning work, such as cleaning the windows, washing out the fridge and scrubbing the shower?
• Do you cook often or prefer to eat out?
• What are your hobbies?

These questions should give both parties a pretty good idea of what to expect in each other. Naturally, the landlord should diligently check the tenants’ references before any lease is signed to be sure the tenant is really the right choice. In the end, both sides will likely have an excellent renting experience!

Craigslist loses in Court. Public wins.

Federal Court Dismisses Craigslist Claims to Exclusive Rights and Copyright in User Generated Postings

From 3taps.com:

Craigslist has threatened scores of startups and established firms with copyright claims over user content posted to its site. But, on April 30, 2013, Justice Charles R. Breyer, speaking for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, put an end to further sham litigation by dismissing Craigslist assertions that it held exclusive licenses and copyright over user generated postings submitted to its site.

Furthermore, the fact that 3taps syndicates user generated content to 3rd parties such as Padmapper was also dismissed as a baseless accusation of criminal conspiracy. Startups creating new search options for users for data from multiple sites can more confidently continue to focus on innovation rather than litigation.

Still remaining as an issue in the case is how 3taps accesses the data in question. At the start of the litigation between the parties, 3taps sourced the publicly available data through third party sources such as Google. Once Craigslist began blocking Google, 3taps accessed Craigslist directly, which resulted in a subsequent cause of action by Craigslist under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (the CFAA). The statute is the same anti-hacking cause of action leveled against the late Aaron Swartz over his high volume downloading of JSTOR academic articles from the MIT campus. The difference here is that Craigslist has leveled these charges of unauthorized access for data that is already publicly available, not copyrighted by Craigslist, and already in the hands of third parties such as Google. At issue is whether Craigslist restraints exist to “protect” its community or are actually thinly disguised tactics to deter competition and innovation at the expense of, rather than defense of, users.

Third party developers who have previously been threatened or harassed by Craigslist with sham copyright threats are encouraged to contact the Open Access Coalition at http://openaccesscoalition.org/. The Order is available at http://bit.ly/157OwQk.

Alternate source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/derekkhanna/2013/04/30/craigslists-allegations-of-copyright-violations-thrown-out/

Moving Tips For Renters

If you’ve found the perfect house to rent (or apartment to rent), it’s time to pack. It’s a big job and doing it right can save you a lot of time, effort and stress. So here are some tips for moving to hopefully make the process easier for you.

You have more stuff than you think. When it’s all put away in your house, it looks manageable, but once you start hauling all your belongings out, the stuff all adds up. Get lots of boxes – more than you think you’ll need. More on boxes a few paragraphs down.

Tidy up first. I don’t mean completely clean your house – you’ll have to do that once everything’s packed anyway. But for example, packing up your clothes is easier if they’re all in your bedroom, rather than spread out over the laundry room, hanging on dining room chairs and tossed on the livingroom floor. Same goes for things like books, music and decorations. Having them bundled together before you start will make it easier to unpack when you arrive in your new home.

If you’re taking your furniture with you, save time and space by leaving your clothes in the dresser. But be careful: this will make your dresser heavier!

Pack stuff you won’t need right away first. It’s probably going to take more than a day to pack up your whole life into boxes and you’ll need to use some of your belongings, such as kitchen tools, in the meantime. On that note, I recommend packing your kitchen last.

Here’s a great tip I came across about boxes. Lots of people use apple boxes from the grocery store, but in my experience, they’re not always easy to get your hands on. Instead, try the hospital. In my old town, I approached the shipping/receiving dock at the hospital and asked if they had any spare boxes. Not only did they have WAY more than I ever could have gotten from the grocery store, but they were cleaner, sturdier and had a bigger variety of shapes and sizes to fit all the different stuff I had to pack up.

Oh and here’s a really important one that you cannot forget. After a hard day of packing and unpacking, loading and unloading, sweat and tears and hopefully not too much blood, you’ll want to hit the hay … easily. I ALWAYS pack an overnight-style bag for myself with a change of clothes, pyjamas and toiletries to at least make going to bed an uncomplicated task. Make sure you put your cell phone and charger in there too for easy access.

Rental scam on Craigslist

A warning to those looking for a place to rent: scammers have hit Craigslist while targeting an Anaconda landlord’s rental property that’s already rented.

When real estate agent Ed Silverstein of Clearwater Properties alerted landlord Susan Lock that her rental house at 2011 Hamburg in Anaconda was listed on Craigslist, Lock was seriously taken aback because she personally handpicks renters face-to-face. It was a surprise because she never placed a For Rent ad on the popular online site, she said.

So she asked her son-in-law, Ben Courtney, to respond to the strange ad on Craigslist that listed her rental house — despite the fact that it’s been rented for the past 18 months to “stellar” tenants — according to Lock.

The unusually long reply from the scammers was rife with broken English phrases, desperate capitalizations and repeated references to the owner and family having gone overseas “to West Africa for a program called Family Life and HIV Education and the HIV Prevention For Rural Youth Program, … ” written in upper case.

“I guess it’s a fairly common scam that we want to warn people about because Montanans aren’t so used to scammers,” said Lock.

“It’s not hurt me per se, but it could really rip somebody off. The big cities can get away with that. I just don’t want anybody to get stung.”

Lock’s current tenants report that there’s been increased traffic driving past the house and down the alley, so the Craigslist ad has drawn unsuspecting lookers. Duplicate scam ads ran in the Great Falls, Bozeman and Billings versions of Craigslist, as well.

Scammers make money when gullible house hunters looking online send security deposits and rent to blind addresses listed in the postings. This particular ad doesn’t include a blind mailbox, but it features a long specific questionnaire.

Lock’s advice to renters?

“If you can’t actually see the property in person or get a legitimate phone number,” then be skeptical. She prefers to find her renters via word-of-mouth.

Lock flagged the ad on Craigslist to no avail, as the ad remains posted. She also sent a complaint to the website with no response.

Consequently, Lock filed a complaint with the “Scam Alerts” division of the Montana Department of Justice, which is investigating the case.

To report such a scam with state Office of Consumer Protection, go to: https://app.doj.mt. gov/apps/Oscar/reportascam.aspx

For general information about scams (and the latest trending scams), see:https://doj.mt.gov/consumer/scam-alerts/

Problems for tenant

A Calgary woman is being harassed by would-be renters after an ad for her property was posted on a popular online classified site.

Criminals post phony property rental ads in online classifieds fairly often and then wait for unsuspecting renters to wire them money.

Amber LaFrance leases a home that con artists recently posted on Craigslist for rent.

Since then, she has had people peering in her windows, walking through her front door and around her backyard.

One couple even showed up ready to move in and LaFrance had to tell them that they had wired their $1600 to criminals.

LaFrance and the property management company that handles the house emailed Craigslist for more than a week telling them to remove the ad.

"If they had taken this ad down this wouldn't have happened to those people and i'm furious that companies can get away with that and there's no accountability and it's not right, they're helping these scammers pull off their scam, they're facilitating it,” said Amber LaFrance.

The property management company knows this rental scam all too well and getting online classified companies to take down fraudulent versions of their ads has become a routine part of Ronna Black's day.

"It can take up to a week and in that week we have tenants whose privacy is being invaded, their houses are being invaded," said Black.

Black says she is surprised at how long it takes Craigslist to remove a fraudulent ad. 

"It just makes me feel like Craigslist doesn't care about the end consumer and doesn't care about who gets hurt in the process, they hide behind the buyer beware,” said Black

CTV Calgary’s Consumer Watch Specialist, Lea Williams-Doherty emailed Craigslist and they did not get back to her with a comment.

Lea says that in terms of liability, Craigslist has terms of use which contain tons of disclaimers stating users do so at their own risk.

The company is not liable for anything including damages caused by illegal postings.

Lea has some advice for those who do use online classifieds and says that if you can't meet the person and do the deal in person, don't do it.

Oye! News from Canada: Halifax police warn public regarding recent Apartment Rental Scam

Halifax Regional Police is warning the public about an apartment rental scam.

Over the last week, the HRP/RCMP Integrated Financial Crime Unit has received numerous complaints from citizens who were defrauded after replying to an online classified ad. The citizens responded to a post advertising an apartment for rent or sublet. The person advertising the apartment replied that they were out of the country and asked the victims to wire money overseas to secure the apartment. They advised that when they received the money, the keys to the apartment would be delivered by courier. Once the money was transferred, the “landlord” stopped all communication and the victims discovered that the apartment didn’t exist.

This type of fraud becomes more prevalent when students are seeking to rent apartments or at the end of term when they are attempting to sublet their apartments. To avoid becoming a victim:

- Be cautious when dealing with someone you only have contact with via the Internet.

- Exercise extreme caution before wiring deposits or rent payments to foreign countries. Sending money overseas in any form could result in losing all of it. Instant money transfers are very popular for online scams because the funds are available instantly, difficult to trace and accessible worldwide.

- When doing business with an overseas landlord, verify their identity and confirm that they actually own the apartment advertised before entering into a rental agreement.