Category: Lighter Side

Lists, quizzes, memes, etc.

Blog Idea Generation Part 1: Scope and Tone

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Recently I've started to get a bunch of comments on these articles from friends. This is fantastic, as every blog author hopes to receive some sort of feedback on their work. However, the comments of late have centered around a theme of "I have no idea how you keep coming up with topics for an apartment blog." Some established bloggers would take this as a sign that they've stayed on one topic too long. Those seeking to establish their professional cred would blather on about how easy it is to generate topic after topic, week after week. Well I'm neither of these things, so here's the upshot: it's tough, it requires consistent effort, and I really have no choice in the matter when it comes to topics given that this is a corporate marketing effort. However. I will take the hint.

For the next month I will set the apartments aside for a four part series on how to create and maintain a longterm single topic blog. Today we'll be focusing on the initial planning process that I went through before I created a single article, back in 2014. We'll then take what I did and expand upon it so that you can hopefully apply it to your own blogs. Continue reading Blog Idea Generation Part 1: Scope and Tone

Published by

Kay Cleaves

Distrust and Mistrust

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There has been a lot said in recent news about various elements of society, both local and global, acting to create an atmosphere of suspicion and aggression within U.S. society. The Russians are currently the focus of much collective wrath based on testimony that there was a Russian government-sponsored effort to create "news" items, memes and posts on popular social media sites, riling up certain elements of the U.S. population in an effort to spread misinformation and mistrust. This is something that has actually been occurring for some time, and it certainly isn't the exclusive province of the Russians. Propaganda is a weapon in the arsenal of any small group looking to affect the momentum of a larger population, and not one to be discounted or underestimated.

As the owner of a company that admittedly makes money because people have trust issues, I wanted to take a moment to mention that there is a slight but important difference between distrust and mistrust. Both have the same end result: a mindset of distrust or mistrust means encounters with others cannot begin with the assumption that they are acting in good faith. Every interaction spurs the instinctive fight-or-flight reflex. However, distrust is earned, while mistrust is assumed. Continue reading Distrust and Mistrust

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Kay Cleaves

On Candles and Spotlights: A Parable of Real Estate

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Marta and James Chandler grew up with their mother Simone in Carbonville, a neighborhood on the west side of a big city in the US. Candles were the lighting source of choice in Carbonville. Every night as Marta walked home from school she could see candle after candle in the windows of her neighbors, lighting her way back to her own candlelit home.

Candles had their drawbacks. They were temporary and fragile. They slowly vanished as they were used. The slightest gust of wind or clumsy handling would extinguish them. Sometimes someone would get a little crazy and knock over a candle, setting a whole building on fire. If you didn't know how to light them properly you could burn yourself. Outsiders thought the Carbonville residents to be a bit peculiar. "Always setting their houses on fire. Such a pity." Continue reading On Candles and Spotlights: A Parable of Real Estate

Published by

Kay Cleaves

[Quiz] Magic Numbers for Chicago Apartments

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If you're a Chicago landlord there's a whole lot of numbers that you need to keep in your head, and most of them have nothing to do with your bank account. Chicago apartment laws are a mess of days, weeks, numbers, feet, pounds and hours.

It's been a while since we've done a quiz, so today we're checking to see how well you'd do as a landlord if you had to keep all of those facts and figures straight in your head. For our quiz a wrong answer will just be between you and the computer, but for a landlord a mistake could well cost them a massive lawsuit!

[slickquiz id=3]

RentConfident is a Chicago startup that provides renters with the in-depth information they need to choose safe apartments. Help us reach more renters! Like, Share and Retweet us!

Published by

Kay Cleaves

Dear RentConfident: Renting in the Digital Age

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Every once in a while we get questions from our readers about the finer details of renting. Some are from tenants, others from landlords, and still others from parents, attorneys and agents. Today we’re back with more questions from the mailbag!

Dear RentConfident: My mom is a landlord with a few buildings on the West Side. She still goes door to door every month to collect rent payments. She tracks repairs with post-its and does her accounting in Excel. Her "office" is a crammed with old leases and papers, a firetrap waiting for a match. I worry about her safety every month. How can I convince her to join us in the 21st century? - Paperless in Portage Park

Dear PPP: You may not be able to convince her. It all depends on her business model and portfolio. Continue reading Dear RentConfident: Renting in the Digital Age

Published by

Kay Cleaves