San Francisco Real Estate - Janice Lee

If you’ve decided crowded restaurants or bars aren’t the way you want to spend the last day of 2014, having your family and friends over to your house to ring in the new year may be a better option. Check out these party planning tips in order to plan a fun and memorable occasion with minimal stress. Set a limit for the amount of people you invite, and stick to it It can be tempting to invite your friends, neighbors, gym buddies, and everyone else you see on a regular basis, but keeping the party on the smaller side will not only make your event more intimate, but it will also be less stressful! Make a “to-do” list To avoid feeling overwhelmed with party-planning tasks, make a list of everything that needs to get done. Prioritize and enlist the help of a significant other, family member, or close friend so you don’t feel like all responsibilities fall on your shoulders. Ask everyone to bring a food or drink item Providing all of food and drinks for your guests can get ...

Don’t expect any rent breaks (or cheesecake) from your landlord this year. Alex Thornton, 34, a video producer based in Fort Greene, a hip enclave of Brooklyn, N.Y., is looking for an apartment to rent in neighborhoods across the borough. What he’s found: Prices are up considerably over last year and, on at least one occasion, the rent even went up after he and his fiancé Christopher expressed interest in a property. “The rent is increasing faster than people’s salaries,” he says. “Landlords want you to make 40 times the monthly rent per year and want tenants to have an unrealistically high credit score,” he says. “Even those who have a decent salary can’t find a place that would match their financial status.” And it’s not just in New York. The majority of property managers are planning on showing little mercy to their tenants this year. Some 88% of property managers raised their rent in the last 12 months and 68% predict that rental rates will continue to rise in the next ye...