Checking Account Archives - Background Check Verify

January 20, 2021

What to Expect in Apartment Living in 2020

As the Bob Dylan song goes, the times, they are a-changin’, and that couldn’t be truer than for apartment living.

Renting used to be a lower rung on the ladder as you climb toward the American dream â owning a single-family home in the suburbs. But as homes increase in cost and competition, renting is on the rise.

According to Harvard’s Joint Center on Housing Studies 2017 rental-market report, the number of high-income households (earning at least $100,000) renting their homes rose by 6 percent from 2005 to 2016. As a result of this increase, apartment complexes have added more amenities to appeal to the influx of renters. The same study found that in 2016, 89 percent of new apartments offered in-unit laundry and 86 percent provided swimming pool access.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Today’s apartment complexes are not what they used to be, and apartment living is significantly nicer and more desirable than it was just 10 years ago. Here’s what you can expect for modern apartment living in 2020.

1. High-end amenities

indoor pool

Forget the bare-bones coin-operated laundry room and trash dumpster in the back parking lot or basement. According to NMCH’s 2018 Consumer Housing Insights Survey, 83 percent of adult and millennial renters said it was important to have an apartment that offered convenience and flexibility. Additionally, fast internet access, technology, and green initiatives are now considered must-haves for modern apartments.

To keep up with the competitive rental market, apartment complexes are upping the ante when it comes to amenities. In-unit laundry and pool access are quickly becoming par for the course, while many luxury complexes offer trash collection and recycling programs, high-speed internet, fitness centers, eco-friendly rooftop gardens and communal spaces, such as BBQs and theater rooms. These amenities make it easier to enjoy life at home and to entertain friends and family, just as one would if they owned a single-family home.

2. Online communication with apartment management

Speaking of convenience, flexibility and technology, many modern apartment complexes simplify the tasks that were previously pain points of renting â namely, rent payments, maintenance requests and apartment management communication. A number of complexes are capitalizing on technology to streamline these tasks.

For example, rather than having to mail a check each month, platforms like RentPay allow renters to automate their rent payments and pay via credit card or electronic check. Even if a landlord doesn’t accept electronic payments, RentPay prints a physical check and mails it directly to the landlord each month.

Additionally, it’s becoming more common for larger apartment complexes to offer an online portal or website for easier communication with apartment management, from submitting maintenance requests and asking questions to renew leases and sign contracts. This saves renters significant time and money.

3. More emphasis on safety and security

keypad

In the past, one of the downsides of renting was security. With people constantly going in and out of the building or complex, it seemed as if anyone could walk in. With so many technology advances this past decade, in terms of access and price, it’s easier for complexes and renters to invest in security.

Many of today’s complexes offer gated access to the parking lot, codes for elevator access and security key fobs to all points of entrance. Some even offer enhanced security within the individual units, like video doorbells and camera security systems.

If your building doesn’t offer in-unit security features, there are multiple home security options available that are non-intrusive, as far as security deposits and installation are concerned. Simply plug in the device and monitor your apartment from your smartphone. Many systems are easy to pair with indoor security cameras and other alarms for additional safety.

4. Smaller space

While apartments are getting smaller in square footage due to space constraints and population growth, architects are getting smarter with layout designs to maximize every inch of a room. For instance, micro homes, the tiny house equivalent in apartment form, are as small as 350 square feet but make use of movable and folding furniture so it can serve as an entertaining space by day and bedroom by night.

Open floor plans are still popular and, while they can at first seem daunting to decorate, they offer the most options for room layouts. And thanks to more furniture companies starting to specialize in small home living, it’s much easier to find compact couches and dual-purpose furnishings that go beyond the futon.

Popular home stores like Pottery Barn, CB2 and IKEA offer couches, tables and other items designed specifically for small spaces. While it’s becoming harder to find spacious apartments, complexes are making up for it with communal spaces for entertaining.

Apartment living has changed for the better

If you’re looking for a place to call home, apartment living may be the perfect solution. The evolution of apartments in the past decade means they’re a favorable housing option for a variety of lifestyles â in both urban and suburban settings.

Lush amenities, online communication, security measures and optimized floorplans have helped renting become a more comparable alternative to buying. You can enjoy the in-unit laundry, entertainment amenities and peace of mind without worrying about the costs or inconvenience of maintenance tasks.

The post What to Expect in Apartment Living in 2020 appeared first on Apartment Living Tips – Apartment Tips from ApartmentGuide.com.

January 14, 2021

Cities With the Best Work-Life Balance â 2021 Edition

Image shows a person taking a break from work; they are sitting by a window and a potted plant, with a mug in one hand and a notebook and pen in the other. SmartAsset analyzed data to find the best cities for work-life balance.

For most people, working is inevitable: You need a job to afford your lifestyle. The trick, of course, is to find a balance where you can earn the money you need without spending all of your time in the workplace. Some of that depends on what the work culture is like in your city, how much you need to earn to pay for housing and how long you have to spend getting to work. To that end, SmartAsset analyzed 100 of the biggest cities in the country to find the best cities for work-life balance for 2021.

To do so, we considered data on the following metrics: walk score; arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments; restaurants as a percentage of all establishments; housing costs as a percentage of income; average weeks worked per year; average hours worked per week; average commute time; percentage of workers with a commute longer than 60 minutes; October 2020 unemployment rate and labor force participation rate. For details on our data sources and how we put all the information together to create our final rankings, check out the Data and Methodology section below.

This is SmartAssetâs fourth study on the cities with the best work-life balance. Read the 2020 version here.

Key Findings

Big city commuting blues. On average in our study, just 7.2% of commuters spend more than 60 minutes getting to and from work. In the biggest U.S. cities, though, that number can be much higher. For instance, 15.7% of commuters have a commute of at least an hour in San Francisco. In Boston, that figure is 11.9%. The city where the most commuters spend at least an hour on the go? New York City, where relatively packed subways and busy streets mean 27.2% of commuters spend at least an hour on travel alone, leaving even less time for recreation. New York also has the longest 2019 average commute time, at 41.7 minutes.
Midwest consistency up top. Four Midwestern cities â Madison, Wisconsin; Lincoln, Nebraska; Omaha, Nebraska; and Columbus, Ohio â also made the top 10 in this study last year. Three of these cities â Madison, Lincoln and Omaha â excel because of their low unemployment rate, finishing in the top 10 this year. Columbus finishes a bit lower (20^th) in that metric, but it does particularly well in terms of low housing costs as a percentage of income, ranking sixth.

1. Madison, WI

For the second year in a row, Madison, Wisconsin is the best city in America for work-life balance. Madison doesnât lead in any categories, but it does finish in the top 10% of the study for six out of 10 metrics. This includes coming in second-lowest for average hours worked per week (36.4), third-lowest for October 2020 unemployment rate (3.9%) and sixth-highest for labor force participation rate (73.2%).

2. Virginia Beach, VA

Virginia Beach, Virginia ranks in the top 10% of this study for two metrics: fourth-highest for restaurants as a percentage of all establishments (10.10%) and sixth-lowest for October 2020 unemployment rate (4.7%). The beach town also ranks in the top 20% of the study for two other metrics: 14^th-best for labor force participation rate (71.9%) and 17^th-best for arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments (1.88%).

3. Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis is the first Minnesota city to make this list, and it does so on the back of finishing in the top five for two different metrics: third for a strong labor force participation rate (74.9%) and fifth for a low October 2020 unemployment rate (4.5%). Minneapolis also places 12^th-best in terms of housing costs as a percentage of income at 29.43%.

4. Lincoln, NE

Lincoln, Nebraska has the lowest October 2020 unemployment rate in the study, just 2.7%. Lincoln also finishes second for the best commute time, an average of just 18.4 minutes, and places sixth-lowest for the percentage of commuters with a commute of longer than 60 minutes, just 2.7%. Lincoln finishes near the bottom of the study, though, in terms of the average weeks worked per year, at 39.65.

5. Omaha, NE

Another Nebraska locale is next â Omaha. The unemployment rate there in October 2020 was 3.3%, the second-lowest in the study â giving the top two spots in that metric to Nebraskan cities. Omaha also places eighth-best in terms of average commute time. The average commuter in Omaha spends just 20.1 minutes in transit, a far cry from the traffic-packed streets of some bigger cities. Omaha residents do work much of the year, finishing in the bottom quartile with 38.47 weeks worked per year.

6. Arlington, VA

Arlington, Virginia is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and it has the highest labor force participation rate in this study, 78.0%. Arlington also ranks second-lowest in the study for housing costs as a percentage of income â housing costs make up just 26.14% of income on average. People do work a lot in the town, though. Arlington ranks dead last in both the metrics measuring how much people work â an average of 41.3 hours per week and 41.80 weeks per year.

7. St. Paul, MN

St. Paul, Minnesota joins its twin city, Minneapolis, on this list and ranks in the top 10% percent of this study for three different metrics:

Fourth for average hours worked per week (36.8).
Sixth for October 2020 unemployment rate (4.7%).
10^th for arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments (2.04%).

8. Columbus, OH

Columbus, Ohio comes in sixth for housing costs as a percentage of income, at 27.53%. That is the only metric for which Columbus places in the top 10, but it does finish 11^th-best for labor force participation rate (72.4%) and 20^th-best for October 2020 unemployment rate (5.4%). Columbus finishes in the bottom quartile of this study for the metric measuring how many weeks per year people work on average, at 38.16.

9. Durham, NC

In Durham, North Carolina, just 2.7% of workers have a commute of at least an hour, the sixth-lowest total for this metric in the study. The average commute in Durham is 22.6 minutes, the 25^th-lowest time spent traveling to work that we observed overall. Durham is not a particularly walkable city, however, finishing in the bottom 10% of the study in terms of walk score.

10. Lexington-Fayette, KY

Lexington-Fayette is the final entry into our top 10, and it finishes in the top 15% for three metrics:

14^th for arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments (1.95%)
14^th for average commute time (21 minutes)
15^th for housing costs as a percentage of income (29.66%)

Lexington suffers when it comes to walkability, though, finishing in the bottom quartile of the study in terms of walk score.

Data and Methodology

To find the best cities for work-life balance, we compared 100 of the largest cities in America across the following metrics:

Walk score. Data comes from walkscore.com and is for 2020.
Concentration of arts, entertainment and recreation establishments. This is the number of arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments. Data comes from the Census Bureauâs 2018 County Business Patterns Survey.
Concentration of restaurants. This is the number of restaurants as a percentage of all establishments. Data comes from the Census Bureauâs 2018 County Business Patterns Survey.
Housing costs as a percentage of income. This is the median housing costs as a percentage of income for full-time workers. Data comes from the Census Bureauâs 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Average number of weeks worked per year. This is how many weeks per year local employees work. Data comes from the Census Bureauâs 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Average number of hours worked per week. This is the average number of hours a worker works in a week. Data comes from the Census Bureauâs 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Average commute time. This is the average number of minutes it takes for a worker to commute to work. Data comes from the Census Bureauâs 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Percentage of workers with a commute longer than 60 minutes. Data comes from the Census Bureauâs 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Unemployment rate. Data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is for October 2020.
Labor force participation rate. Data comes from the Census Bureauâs 2019 1-year American Community Survey.

First, we ranked each city in each metric. We then found the average ranking for each city. Walk score, concentration of arts and entertainment establishments, concentration of restaurants, housing costs as a percentage of income and labor force participation rate received a full weight. Weeks worked per year, hours worked per week, average commute time and percentage of workers with a commute of more than an hour each received a half weight. Unemployment rate received a double weight. We then ranked the cities based on this average. The top city received an index score of 100 and the bottom city received an index score of 0.

Tips for Finding a Healthy Financial Balance

Itâs easier to find balance if you can find support first. Once you have money, making sure it works for you can help you tip the scales of work-life balance in favor of life. A financial advisor can help with that. Finding the right financial advisor doesnât have to be hard. SmartAssetâs free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in five minutes. If youâre ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Budgeting is key. A budget can take care of your money decisions in advance and leave you with more time to actually enjoy life.
Save now if possible. When you retire, youâll likely be hoping to really live life without worrying about work for the first time. Make sure you use a workplace retirement plan like a 401(k) if it is available to you, as thatâs the best way to save for retirement and allow for travel and other leisure in your golden years.

Questions about our study? Contact press@smartasset.com.

Photo credit: Â©iStock.com/MundusImages

The post Cities With the Best Work-Life Balance â 2021 Edition appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.

Source: smartasset.com

January 13, 2021

6 Tips to Survive Tandem Parking

Tandem parking is probably the least enjoyable âtandem thing to do.” There’s tandem skydiving, tandem bikes, but tandem parking â¦ doesn’t that sound like a hassle?

What is tandem parking?

Tandem parking means you have to essentially share one large spot with the person you live with.

If you live in an urban area where street parking is difficult to find, you’re probably lucky to have a parking spot at all. Many big cities and multifamily developers have reduced the number of parking in new complexes. Multifamily developers are seeing less of a need to build parking lots simply because city dwellers now have the option to hop on city bikes, scooters, ride-share or take public transportation.

In Seattle, for example, 30 percent of new buildings proposed in the past several years don’t include any parking at all. Some designers have advocated for parking garages to be built as flex space that can be converted. Additionally, it’s pretty common now for building management for newer developments to charge tenants for parking.

Despite the cost, some renters are still willing to pay 5 percent more for parking.

parking garage

How does tandem parking work?

Tandem parking is a very long parking spot in which two cars could park â one in front of the other. Technically, it’s two parking spots in either a covered or open lot, but if you were on the inside, the car behind you would need to back out in order for you to get out.

It may be one step above having to circle your block for a street parking spot, but if you and your household have busy schedules, it may pose an issue.

Why do some apartment buildings have tandem parking?

Apartment buildings have tandem parking mostly because space is limited. Older developments tend to have tandem parking, but new buildings also offer this kind of parking structure, as well. Buildings that use tandem spots may often be able to squeeze in more spots.

Here are six tips for managing and dealing with tandem parking with neighbors.

1. Consider a rotation

If the area outside your apartment isn’t all that crowded for street parking, try a rotation from month to month with your roommate. Flip a coin or negotiate to decide who gets to park in the spot. This could also be contingent on who has a busier work or travel schedule.

Perhaps it can change based on the season, as well. For example, in the colder winter months, you can make the rotation week to week since it’s not ideal to park outside in the harsh winter weather with snow on the ground.

empty parking spot

2. Pay extra to permanently claim the spot as yours

Depending on how much you covet your parking spot, perhaps you can negotiate to pay a little more each month to make the on-site spot yours.

Of course, this would only work if both parties agreed. However, it could be worth a shot, especially if your roommate wants to save a little cash each month.

If your roommate is not on board with this idea, perhaps you can look into nearby garages and find out how much they cost to rent each month.

There are also free apps such as SpotAngels and SpotHero to help you find parking spots in urban cities. You can set filters to show you garages or parking meters.

3. Understand your schedules

Because the cars are positioned one in front of the other, the most efficient first step is to understand your tandem partner’s daily schedule. This is probably the most important part of sharing a tandem spot, especially if the previous two tips aren’t an option. If you have similar working hours, a month-to-month swapping of who gets to park on the inside vs. outside may work out.

Whoever tends to leave first in the morning should park last, but schedules may change frequently, too. If that’s the case, communicate frequently about these changes. Also, consider getting a whiteboard to place near the door in your apartment that gives the latest update on when you need to leave in the morning or when you’ll arrive home in the evening.

4. Get a key

If you’ve ever seen a solo valet worker hustle to move cars to bring your car from the depths of the endless rows of cars, you know moving cars is time-consuming. While backing out your roommate’s car isn’t nearly as much work, it can definitely cause delays and isn’t ideal if you’re in a hurry.

In the event of an emergency or if you need to leave and they’re not home or still sleeping, you could give each other a spare car key.

Whether you keep the keys inside of a lockbox in the garage or on your keyring, having a plan for this will give both vehicle owners peace of mind.

girl on phone

5. Communicate often

If you both work sporadic schedules, send a text reminder of when you’ll be home and if you need to leave early in the morning. Having this plan could help you get in and out faster.

If you’re dealing with multiple people in your household who share two tandem spots, you may want to create a WhatsApp channel dedicated to schedule updates. There are also GPS apps that show in real-time when you’ll arrive home, in case your roommate needs to move their car before you get home.

6. Talk to your landlord

Perhaps you live in a building where you sometimes see empty parking spots.

Talk to your landlord, and see if you could pay a little extra to take one of the empty spots, even if it’s just temporary.

There’s no harm in asking your landlord about the options, especially if you and your roommate are having a hard time managing the tandem spot.

Tandem parking is manageable

While most apartment dwellers would rather have individual parking spaces rather than tandem spots, the way you manage it can make your lives easier.

Of course, tandem parking is a lot easier if you generally get along with your roommate(s). If you’re swapping extra car keys, it’s important to have trust and believe they won’t be careless with your car in case they need to move it.

Know each other’s schedules and communicate frequently about any changes or emergencies that may arise.

The post 6 Tips to Survive Tandem Parking appeared first on Apartment Living Tips – Apartment Tips from ApartmentGuide.com.

January 9, 2021

Employment Trends Among Seniors â 2020 Study

Image shows a senior employee standing in the doorway of his workplace. SmartAsset analyzed BLS data to find recent employment trends among seniors.

Older American workers have been disproportionately impacted by not only the health impacts of COVID-19, but also its corresponding economic shock, which has deeply affected their ability to budget and save for their retirement. In fact, workers 65 and older have seen some of the highest recent unemployment rates. A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of April 2020 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the unemployment rate was highest among workers in the youngest age cohort (ages 16 to 24) â at 27.4% â and next highest among workers in the oldest age cohort (ages 65 and older) â at 15.6%.

The BLS has not yet published data on how senior employment within specific occupations has changed during COVID-19, so this study investigated the employment trends among seniors leading up to 2020. Specifically, we looked at the most popular jobs as well as fastest-growing jobs for seniors. For details on our data sources and how we put all the information together to establish our findings, check out the Data and Methodology section below.

Key Findings

Lawyers, chief executives and real estate brokers & sales agents stand out as popular jobs. In all three occupations, there is a high gross number of senior employees. BLS data from 2019 shows that more than 160,000 seniors are employed in each of them. Furthermore, seniors make up a large percentage of the workforce in these occupations. Individuals who are 65 years and older make up more than 15% of lawyers, more than 13% of chief executives and almost 15% of real estate brokers and sales agents.
Between 2015 and 2019, senior employment doubled in two occupations. In 2015, about 34,000 and 25,000 seniors were employed as construction managers and applications and system software developers, respectively. Those figures doubled over the following four-year period. BLS figures from 2019 show that there are roughly 77,000 construction managers and 56,000 applications and system software developers who are 65 and older.

Most Popular Jobs for Seniors

More than one in 10 of all employed seniors work in five occupations: retail salespersons (281,000 senior workers), sales and truck drivers (279,000 senior workers), secretaries and administrative assistants (249,000 senior workers), first-line supervisors of retail sales workers (232,000 senior workers) and chief executives (219,000 senior workers).

Though those occupations employ the highest gross number of seniors, seniors make up larger percentage of the workforce in a different set of jobs. BLS data shows that more than a third of models, demonstrators and product promoters are 65 or older. Specifically, of the total roughly 62,000 people employed in this occupation in 2019, about 21,000 were seniors. Average earnings for those working in this field are modest. Nationally, the average annual wage for demonstrators and product promoters in 2019 was about $35,300.

Seniors make up more than 20% of employed workers in five other jobs:

Crossing guards
Tailors, dressmakers and sewers
Tax preparers
Clergy
Musicians, singers and related workers

Across those five occupations, the highest gross number of employed seniors work in the clergy. In 2019, there was a total of roughly 86,000 workers in the clergy who were 65 and older. The table below ranks occupations according to the percentage of seniors employed in 2019.

Fastest-Growing Jobs for Seniors

Between 2015 and 2019, construction managers and applications and systems software developers were the fastest-growing jobs for seniors. Similar occupations also rank high on our list. Specifically, a growing number of seniors have become employed as construction laborers and computer programmers in recent years. In 2015, about 41,000 construction laborers were 65 and older while in 2019, there were about 65,000 in this age group. Similarly, senior employment of computer programmers grew by about 60% over this time. In 2015, about 15,000 computer programmers were 65 and older while the BLS estimates more recently estimates that 24,000 computer programmers are seniors.

Beyond construction and computer occupations, the number of workers 65 and older grew by more than 50% in six additional occupations:

Hand packers and packagers
Psychologists
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs
Counselors
General and operations managers
Human resource workers

Of those occupations, taxi drivers and chauffeurs saw the largest gross increase in employed seniors. Roughly 57,000 taxi drivers were 65 and older in 2015 relative to about 102,000 in 2019. The table below shows the 20 fastest-growing jobs for seniors between 2015 and 2019.

Data and Methodology

Data for this report comes from the Bureau of Labor Statisticsâ Current Population Survey. In both sections, we filtered out any occupation that employed fewer than 15,000 seniors in 2015. We also filtered out any occupation with âotherâ or âmiscellaneousâ in the title due to lack of occupational specificity. In the first section, we ranked occupations based on the percentage of workers who were 65 and older in 2019. In the second section, we looked at the four-year percentage change in seniors employed in each occupation from 2015 to 2019, ranking the occupations from highest to lowest change.

Tips for Ensuring a Comfortable Retirement

Know how much you will need. Perhaps the most important data point when planning for your retirement is to know how much money in total you must have saved up to sustain yourself in your post-work life. From there, you can figure out how long you should stay in the workforce based on your savings rate. Our retirement calculator can help with this.
Catch-up contributions. If you did not save enough for retirement as a young adult, catch-up contributions may help. Catch-up contributions allow people ages 50 and older to make additional deferrals to their 401(k) or IRAs after they reach the annual contribution limits set by the IRS. For more information, take a look at our guide here.
Consider a financial advisor. Another great way to plan for retirement is through a financial advisor. A financial advisor can help you make smarter financial decisions to be in better control of your money and keep you on track in terms of your saving. Finding the right financial advisor doesnât have to be hard though. SmartAssetâs free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in five minutes. If youâre ready to be matched with local advisors who will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Questions about our study? Contact us at press@smartasset.com.

The post Employment Trends Among Seniors â 2020 Study appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.

Source: smartasset.com

January 9, 2021

What is a Storage Unit?

A storage unit is a space, usually in the interior of an enclosed structure, that’s used solely for â you guessed it â storage.

A storage unit isn’t equipped with the same types of amenities needed to constitute a residence suitable for living but may be climate controlled in some cases. Other storage units are very rudimentary structures that fluctuate in temperature fairly drastically and are commonly made of sheet metal.

Who needs a storage unit?

A storage unit can be beneficial to a couple of categories of people. Anyone who has excess belongings that can’t fit in their home can benefit from a storage unit. Storage units are also often frequently used during a move.

Short-term and long-term storage

Some renters use a storage unit for a short stint of time while others utilize one long term. There are some reasons for using storage units like this.

Short-term uses

Decluttering your home
Storing your items during a move/apartment hunting
If you move away seasonally (like a college student during the summer)

Long-term uses

Permanent downsizing
To maintain a home business
If your apartment complex offers one

Where can you find a storage unit?

storage unit

Storage units are a common occurrence in cities across America, so you can almost always find one for rent nearby. However, many apartment communities offer a storage unit as an included amenity with some or all rental units.

These included storage units may be on-site at the actual apartment community or offsite somewhere else. This is especially common in urban areas where rental apartments tend to be smaller.

Additional resources

Does Renting a Storage Unit Make Sense?
What is an Amenity?
5 Tips for Finding a Self-Storage Unit Before a Deployment
Bike Storage in a Small Apartment: 5 Freewheeling Solutions
8 Ingenious Storage Ideas for Clothes, Shoes and More

The post What is a Storage Unit? appeared first on Apartment Living Tips – Apartment Tips from ApartmentGuide.com.