With the season turning some of you may be looking for a new home. Owning the fact that we put the "Y" in YP - I know a ton of you are still renting (like me!). & man! Is that renter's market a competitive one! With hot neighborhoods like OTR, Mt. Adams, Hyde Park, Oakley, Mt. Lookout etc. it's a miracle to even get a showing in your dream apartment!

Here's one secret tip for you awesome Magical Simplicity readers that will help set you ahead of the crowd. Around the time I was looking at a studio apartment on Jackson Street in OTR [Correction: around the time I was about to look], I called my sister in San Francisco where housing is super cut throat. Annie, she said, you need to go with a renter's resume + a blank check. I had never heard of a renter's resume, so she gave me the details & I got busy: [PS you can click the photo to enlarge]

Tips:

You can get a free credit report from Equifax if you sign up & (oh you must remember to) cancel in seven days. They also have your 3 digit credit score.
The summary & preferences, that's all you :)
In addition to the resume, bring with you: a copy of your ID, the full credit report + the blank check in case you have to make a deposit on the spot.
If you don't use checks (like me) the bank can print you a set of three blank one for about $2.

So, as you know, The Studio is not in OTR. Which leads me to my biggest tip of all: if you know you really want it, offer to pay a year in advance without ever seeing the space. I didn't do that. But someone at the Jackson St. Apt. did.

It was a bummer, but later that day I found my Studio & it was love at first sight. I handed over my Renter's Resume + packet to my current landlord & she said the place was mine if I wanted. Note: She had never seen a Renter's Resume before! I guess we're beating the trend here in Cincy ;)