Being a renter is hard enough right now if you don’t already have a lease on a house or apartment.
There’s a housing shortage that spurred higher rates at least a year before our historic inflation levels took effect last summer. Even if you have the money for an increased monthly rent, it can be particularly hard finding a place that accepts pets. I searched far and wide for a pet-friendly apartment complex only to discover that my dog is slightly above the weight limit. I don’t have a labrador or retriever, but my pup isn’t tiny either. After so much time elapsed and I wasn’t able to find a suitable apartment, I bit the bullet and signed the lease on a house rental that was technically out of my budget at the time. I had to eat ramen noodles for a few months until I could pick up a part time job on top of my day job, but at least I had a home for my dog and I. It’s a large family home so we have plenty of room to stretch out in. However, I want to protect the carpets in the rental so I just invested in a quality floor and carpet cleaner. My dog is housebroken, but he’s not perfect and sometimes has an accident. I could just get angry about it or I could clean the mess with a carpet cleaner before it stains the floor and the odor settles into the pad below the carpet. Cleaning the floors regularly makes me feel better about my home, especially since my dog walks in a lot of dirt from outside. I don’t want to ruin these carpets by the time we’re ready to move onto a different rental home.