The Shared Wall

Rent.com Finds that Nearly 1/3 of Americans would Choose their Dream Apartment over Perfect Love.

There’s truly nothing better than a committed and loving relationship, complete with trust, chemistry, and a fantastic apartment to make lifelong memories. Until you break up. So how important is the perfect pad in the making or breaking of a romantic relationship? Can a really great apartment be the glue that patches the hole of a broken heart? Rent.com, the nation’s #1 Internet listing site in the rental housing industry, recently surveyed the nation about dating and apartments and found that nearly one-third of Americans would choose their dream home over their dream significant other.

The Love Shack

Seriously – twenty-two percent of renters would date someone because they liked his or her home. No wonder Americans are cynical about Valentine’s Day! Finding the ideal home may be just as important as finding true love. Fourteen percent of renters consider the appearance of their partner’s home to be “really important,” and 57 percent consider it “sort of important.” And for “twenty-somethings,” renters aged 18-24; thirty-two percent would date someone because they liked his or her home.

It’s Not Your Apartment, It’s You

A dream apartment may be our one true love in life. Nearly one in four Americans (24 percent) have delayed a break-up with someone they were living with because they didn’t want to look for a new place to live. Men are even more likely to stay in a relationship to avoid moving – 28 percent admitted to delaying a break-up to keep their housing. Again, the younger crowd, those aged 18-34, is even more desperate for apartment romance, with nearly 40 percent delaying a break-up to keep their living situation.

Lease on Love

Not only would many Americans delay breaking up to avoid finding a new place to live, but 37 percent of those who delayed a break-up waited one year or more to end ties with their significant other. Considering that 30 percent of Americans would choose their dream home over their dream significant other, perhaps it is really no surprise that some couples will stay in a failed relationship for apartment’s sake.

Breaking Up (with an Apartment) is Hard to Do

When you’re faced with the end of a relationship, it’s often overwhelming and the apartment search is just one more emotional juggernaut to tackle. But, as they say, there are plenty of fish (and apartments) in the sea. Mr. or Miss Perfect is out there and so is your next great apartment!  Here are some quick tips for the next time you find yourself in a break-up with your significant other and the apartment you share together:

1.  Talk it Through: After you’ve buried your tears in gallons of ice cream or worked it out on the basketball court, make time to talk to your partner about moving. Talk through the transition and make a plan and a time line for moving out that works for both sides financially and logistically. This will give both of you the information needed to figure out your next step and being open about it will make the break-up more amicable.

2.  Look for a New Love: Find a new apartment and make a fresh start. Sometimes a new space that you love is just what the doctor ordered to help mend that broken heart; especially if neither of you can afford to keep the apartment you’ve been living in on their own. Searching online at Rent.com is a free and easy way to find apartment rentals that match your particular idea of the perfect place to live.

3.  Get Together: Just this one last time; join forces to help each other out. Even if quarters feel tight and you’re on your last nerve, offer to share your apartment hunting sources and tips on available rentals you have spotted that don’t work for you. This will only help you both move out and move on faster.

4.  Let it Go: It may be hard in the heat of the moment but causing war over material objects on packing day is rarely worth the emotional energy. A little retail therapy at your local home store is a much better solution than holding onto that old lamp or carpet.  While you’re getting that new haircut to signal that you are moving on and embracing a big change in your life, ponder all of the old things in your apartment you can live without!

5.  Move Forward: While you may no longer have that one trusted person at your beck and call to help you do everything from grocery shopping to moving heavy furniture, there are plenty of other people who can help you move. Aside from friends and family, you can always hire a moving company to help as much or a little as you need or your budget can afford. Check out the Rent.com Moving Center for checklists, tips and resources to help you through this stressful transition.  

If the prospect of cooking a huge holiday meal in your tiny apartment kitchen has you frustrated, you’re not alone. Many of us who live in rental apartments, especially in large urban cities, suffer from lack of space and not just in the kitchen! But during the holidays it’s easier to let the pinch of too little counter space, oven space, breathing space get to you.  If you dive into meal prep head first without planning you will inevitably hit the wall before your guests ever arrive.  Avoid a holiday meltdown in your kitchen by orchestrating your celebration in advance with these tips in mind: Read full story

When the Dr. Phil show called Rent.com about Debbie we jumped at the chance to help her through an extremely tough situation. A mother of four, Debbie struggles with the same thing every mother does, taking the best possible care of her children. With her job on the line, an unsafe housing situation and the increasing cost of living on a single income with special need kids, the pressure was mounting on Debbie. Feeling like a failure as a parent, she reached out to Dr. Phil for advice and guidance as a parent. Read full story