Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Rise of the Panama Apartment Rental Industry

With a progression from the late 1990’s into early 2000, the Republic of Panama began to realize it’s potential for tourism and real estate as viable economically sustainable industries. Up until that point, Panama had relied, unswervingly albeit, on trade, banking and agriculture: but with the rush of a new century and timely changes in international investment and travel patterns, Panamanians found themselves sitting on a proverbial goldmine.
The first real thrust was the real estate boom which anchored itself in Panama City and the rural eco-town of Boquete. This boom came to be symbolized by radical changes in skylines, giant increases in building materials and labor, as well as a need to draw people to the isthmus.
Enter the resulting tourism roar, characterized by the nation’s tourism board (IPAT), spending millions of dollars throughout the world to promote Panama as a tropical vacation destination. This campaign saw TV commercials, magazine ads, and an overall buzz about a Panama, which so few people even knew.
The original goal in Panama, as was in similar destinations like Costa Rica and Mexico, was to use tourism to drive real estate sales. But with the investment sector already so well underway in 2007, tourists found themselves arriving in Panama to an oversupply of real estate and an undersupply of hotels, especially in the capital city.
The obvious way to cope with this imbalance was to utilize that which Panama City had plenty of (condominiums) and use them to fill the void (hotel rooms). As a result a number of property management companies arose, offering both short and long term stays to tourists in apartments.
Fully furnished apartments were welcomed warmly by tourists, who truthfully preferred living like a local as opposed to the generic hotel room they’d become accustomed to over the years. Condo hotspots like Punta Pacifica, Avenida Balboa, El Cangrejo, and Casco Viejo (the old quarter) began to see clients flock to their product, offering maid service, cable TV, wireless internet, and full kitchens: all the luxuries of a hotel but more space and more privacy.
In 2008, a record number of new hotels were announced to fill the supposed void. But many tourists found themselves liking too much the lifestyle that Panama apartments for rent provided. Further, businessmen and businesswomen in town for weeks to months at a time, decided to stick with the model of rental apartments, thus keeping the industry healthy and alive.
What the future will bring to Panama no one knows. But over the past decade, trends and voids have seemed to even themselves out impressively, allowing the now-booming tourism industry to do what it does best: show off a beautiful country.

The Rise of the Panama Apartment Rental Industry

With a progression from the late 1990’s into early 2000, the Republic of Panama began to realize it’s potential for tourism and real estate as viable economically sustainable industries. Up until that point, Panama had relied, unswervingly albeit, on trade, banking and agriculture: but with the rush of a new century and timely changes in international investment and travel patterns, Panamanians found themselves sitting on a proverbial goldmine.
The first real thrust was the real estate boom which anchored itself in Panama City and the rural eco-town of Boquete. This boom came to be symbolized by radical changes in skylines, giant increases in building materials and labor, as well as a need to draw people to the isthmus.
Enter the resulting tourism roar, characterized by the nation’s tourism board (IPAT), spending millions of dollars throughout the world to promote Panama as a tropical vacation destination. This campaign saw TV commercials, magazine ads, and an overall buzz about a Panama, which so few people even knew.
The original goal in Panama, as was in similar destinations like Costa Rica and Mexico, was to use tourism to drive real estate sales. But with the investment sector already so well underway in 2007, tourists found themselves arriving in Panama to an oversupply of real estate and an undersupply of hotels, especially in the capital city.
The obvious way to cope with this imbalance was to utilize that which Panama City had plenty of (condominiums) and use them to fill the void (hotel rooms). As a result a number of property management companies arose, offering both short and long term stays to tourists in apartments.
Fully furnished apartments were welcomed warmly by tourists, who truthfully preferred living like a local as opposed to the generic hotel room they’d become accustomed to over the years. Condo hotspots like Punta Pacifica, Avenida Balboa, El Cangrejo, and Casco Viejo (the old quarter) began to see clients flock to their product, offering maid service, cable TV, wireless internet, and full kitchens: all the luxuries of a hotel but more space and more privacy.
In 2008, a record number of new hotels were announced to fill the supposed void. But many tourists found themselves liking too much the lifestyle that Panama apartments for rent provided. Further, businessmen and businesswomen in town for weeks to months at a time, decided to stick with the model of rental apartments, thus keeping the industry healthy and alive.
What the future will bring to Panama no one knows. But over the past decade, trends and voids have seemed to even themselves out impressively, allowing the now-booming tourism industry to do what it does best: show off a beautiful country.
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Single Room Living

Single Room Living
How to make small studio apartments look – and feel – more spaciousBy Lisa Mortillaro
A tiny studio apartment can function as well – and look as good – as a much larger home. Multipurpose furniture and a mimimum of clutter are key. Photo courtesy of Use What You Have Decorating.When interior decorator Miles Reed closes the lid on his bathtub, located in the bathroom, it suddenly becomes a chopping block, now located in the kitchen.Miles decorated his 550-square-foot New York studio apartment by concealing, elevating and stacking – three essentials of living comfortably in a small single space.There are definite challenges of living in one room. But with the correct balance of storage, dividers, furniture, color and lighting, a tiny studio apartment can resemble a four-room apartment. "Whether you rent or buy your living space," explains Lauri Ward, author of "Use What You Have Decorating" (Perigee, 1998; 226 pages, $15.95), "the quieter and more peaceful it is for you visually, the larger your space will feel."Cut clutter "No matter how creative you are with your décor," says Anne Wait, interior designer and owner of Los Angeles, Calif.-based AW Design Inc., "the key to single-room living is organization – removing every morsel of clutter." If it's not a piece of furniture or an important or usable accessory, it has no business in your home.
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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Some Cleaning Tips For Your Apartment

Every now and then I pick up some great tips and ideas to help give my place that clean, gleaming feel with as little stress as possible. Cleaning and keeping your apartment in tip-top guest shape can be an overwhelming thought when you are limited for time. Then, sometimes, no matter how hard you clean and try to keep your place in shape, it just gets out of shape again...
Here are a couple of tips to help you keep your place suited for visitors and keep them from going "Ewww."
Sparkling Mirrors - I used to get so frustrated that every time I cleaned my mirror, it always ended up spotty. Turns out I was doing a major thing wrong. I was spraying the mirror directly with Windex rather than on a clean lint-free cloth. To get sparkling results in your mirror cleaning spray commercial window cleaner on a lintless cloth like an old T-shirt and wipe down the mirror. Dry immediately with another clean lintless cloth to prevent streaking. Do this once every couple of weeks and you'll be sure to impress when your guests are glancing back at themselves.
Handle the Wobblemeister - Have a wobbly chair or table? Don't pull the restaurant fix and shove a folded napkin or sugar packets underneath. A much better solution is to re-use old corks. Just take an old wine cork, cut a horizontal slice, and place it underneath the leg of the chair or table that is doing the wobble-wobble.
Fresh Flowers - Don't receive flowers as often as you'd like? Let your man know he needs to pick up his game and then try extending the life of the ones you do get. A common solution for this is to make sure and cut the stem of the flower at an angle rather than straight across , but for even better results and a longer lasting flower, add a little bit of sugar and a small amount of an acidic ingredient like Sprite, which allows for better water absorption. But...you should still get on your man about stepping up his game...
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Friday, November 7, 2008

How To Get Out Of Your Apartment Lease

Negotiate a lease-break agreement. If your lease doesn't already have a lease-break clause which specifies what you must do in order to break the lease, then you'll have to work this out with the landlord. Some negotiation points:
Offer up part or all of your security deposit Offer to continue paying rent for 1-2 months after you vacate Volunteer to find the next tenant to sign a new lease (you shoulder the costs of placing ads, costs of any screening, and showing the unit to prospective tenants) This is the best way to get out of a lease because you won't burn bridges and taint your rental history. The remainder of these steps will only work under laws which vary from place to place, and you may end up needing to hire a lawyer. Even then, sometimes the law will only require the landlord to address the issue, not let you out of your lease. Find something in your apartment that is dangerous. Your landlord is required to repair conditions that materially affect the physical health and safety of an ordinary tenant.[1] You have to specify this condition in a notice certified return receipt to the place of which rent is normally paid, and you can’t owe any rent. In most cases, you must give the landlord time to make the repair, and send another written notice before you can take legal action.[2] Also, you as the tenant or any of your friends can’t cause this condition so don’t take a sledge hammer to your smoke detector. Examples of these conditions might be:
mold broken smoke detectors severely loose railing on your balcony holes in carpeting that could trip someone security issues (e.g. broken lock or doorknob) Does your apartment look like the model they showed you when you leased? This one works a lot better when you have only lived in your apartment a short period of time. Most states have a Deceptive Trade Practices Act that prevents businesses from employing a "bait and switch" sales tactic. A lot of cases have recently come out against apartments that show you a ridiculously nice model that in no way is representative of the unit they gave you the keys to when you moved in. The repercussions in most Deceptive Trade Practices Acts are severe, and your apartment community will probably offer to pay you to move out once they get wind of a Deceptive Trade Practices Act suit against them. But, you may only be entitled to up to three times your damages plus any court costs and attorney’s fees involved[3] which doesn't necessarily mean you can terminate your lease.

For apartments in New Jersey go to Raritan Crossing. They are pet friendly apartments and New Brunswick NJ apartments. Rentals near Metropark and apartments in Middlesex county. For apartments in central NJ this is the place for you with Apartments in Middlesex County NJ. Raritan Crossing has apartments near metropark, apartments near Rutgers and apartments near Robert Wood Johnson

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

How to conduct your home inventory

Now that you know what you need, here’s how to get started:
Systematically go through your house or apartment one room at a time*. List down each item in the room, including the contents of desks, drawers, closets, etc. Describe each item as completely as possible, recording all the details as discussed in the previous section. When you’ve finished all the rooms in your house, don’t forget the garage, patio, outside buildings, etc. *You might be tempted to skip from one room to the next recording the “high dollar” items only. But, while this is better than nothing, remember that the “little items” can really add up also, and in the event of a disaster, these items might be the most difficult to remember.
For apartments in New Jersey go to Raritan Crossing. They are pet friendly apartments and New Brunswick NJ apartments. Rentals near Metropark and apartments in Middlesex county. For apartments in central NJ this is the place for you with Apartments in Middlesex County NJ. Raritan Crossing has apartments near metropark, apartments near Rutgers and apartments near Robert Wood Johnson