That’s pretty much all it takes. Just be a nice and fair person and as generous as possible. Tenants appreciate such behaviour in their landlords and if you are willing to take one step, you can be sure that your tenant will take at least three, figuratively speaking. So here are just a couple of pointers on being the best landlord you can be.

1. Go the extra mile
As already noted; if you want your tenants to be happy and satisfied (after all, that’s your main objective) you have to get out of your way in order to please them. Inevitably, you will see that they will respond you with the same attitude. The main reason for that is that each tenant knows s/he is not at his/her own home and that every favor the landlord makes needs be rewarded and thanked for with good behavior.

2. Set a reasonable price for the accommodation
Don’t be mean and try to rip your tenants off. The rent needs to be fair. Provided that the property is a quite luxurious one, or at least above the average quality and size, you can allow yourself to set a higher price. Otherwise – don’t do it. Also, try not to raise the price during your tenant’s stay unless you are really forced to do so out of personal financial problems. If you don’t have such, keep the rent at the same price or you will risk building resentment in your tenant.

3. Reward
If your tenant is loyal in the sense that s/he always manages to pay the rent on time (or even earlier) as well as behaves well and keeps the place in order, it would be good if you could let your appreciation show. Do this by presenting small gifts like movie tickets, complimentary sweets, store vouchers, etc. It’s not the actual gift that matters but rather the gesture.

4. Get personal
Avoid ‘strictly professional’ relations. Try being more personal with your tenant – learn a thing or two about him/her and his/her life. This way, you will be able to have short and easy going conversations when it is time for the payment instead of just keeping it business. It would be even better if you manage to become friends. This will make your ‘business’ appointments pleasant instead of tedious.

5. Be available
Make sure you leave a phone number you can always be reached at. This will manifest a sense of care, in a way telling that you are always there to solve all sorts of problems that might occur. The most annoying thing is a landlord that never answers his or her phone, leaving the tenant to deal with the problems, which might even be out of his/her competence.

6. Communicate and strive for win-win situations
For instance, if the door handle has to be replaced, offer to pay for it, provided that the tenant installs it. Or, if a certain room is too hot, you can suggest installing a fan for an additional couple of pounds a month.

This is a guest post by Grace. Read more by visiting Moving Services Removals. 

It is obvious that living an eco-friendly way can be connected with every part of our life but if you are wondering where to start, the best place will be your own place – apartment or house.

An energy-efficient home that consumes less electricity and holds the warmth or the cool air inside is the best way to save the resources of our planet. Here are some simple tips for every room which can get you closer to living the eco-friendly way.

The bathroom is a good place to start from. You probably have your shower and bath there. Be sure you do not use the last one so often, because on average a quick shower can save up to twenty percent of the energy which you will use to fill the bathtub. And the result from the shower and the hot tub is the same at the end – you will come clean and refreshed. Remember to turn off the water when you brush your teeth and fix any tap that is dripping.

The kitchen is normally the place with the most appliances, so a few tips to save power can be very important. When you use the dishwasher, you should do it only when it is fully loaded. When you change the equipment buy only A class ones. They will cost more now, but will save you money in time for sure.

Home insulation is hard and takes up a lot of money and effort, but when you do that you will be able to save up to thirty percent of the energy you use to warm your home. This will consequently reduce the bills yet still have a warm house.

You can make some changes in your living room as well. You can avoid leaving mobile phones, laptops and others charging for the whole night. Switch them off the moment they are ready. Do not leave the heating on too high a temperature. It is not that well known that just one degree down can reduce your heating bill by ten percent. Put reflective foils behind the radiators. You will prevent the heat from going out and it will all come back inside the room. For your lamps you have to use energy-saving bulbs and make sure you turn off each one of them when you are not in the room for long time.

This is a guest post by Grace. She is an expert in the field of green cleaning and organising.  Enjoy her tips here or visit her at Cleanerscarpet.

Your smartphone is the key to managing your trip and staying organised without the bulk of guidebooks and paperwork. You can use apps to do everything from organise your daily itinerary to checking in on your house with apps for security systems, as well as find local restaurants and share photos with friends back home.

Some of the our most-recommended apps for those travelling to Paris include:

Le Fooding

Created as a mobile version of the website, Le Fooding is masterminded by a group of Parisian culinary devotees who wanted to create a more modern way to rank and recommend restaurants in France, according to the New Yorker. Le Fooding’s authors aim to help users find the best restaurants in town whether money is no object or they’re on a shoestring budget. Le Fooding has something for everyone who appreciates gastronomy.

Price: $3.99

Wallpaper City Guide Paris

Created by British design magazine Wallpaper and published by Phaidon, this Paris city guide highlights all of the must-see attractions, shops, hotels and restaurants in Paris for enthusiasts of fashion, architecture and design. This app comes with maps that can be used offline to navigate the city, as well as a 24-hour guide for those who want to pack as much as possible into a quick trip.

Price: £1.99

Evernote

This note-taking app is essential for creating an itinerary and keeping track of everything you want to see and do in the City of Light. Evernote automatically syncs across all platforms (there is a web app, as well) for access anywhere.

Price: Free

Instagram

Instead of uploading photos of your trip on Facebook and advertising to everyone that you’re not at home (which can be a major security risk), use Instagram to share photos with a select group of friends and family. Use the app’s built-in filters to transform average snapshots into unique and artful photos. Instagram gives everyone the ability to take pictures like a pro.

Price: Free

Kindle

Use the Kindle app on your Android, iPhone or iPad to view digital versions of your favourite guidebooks and save precious space in your luggage for French fashions and  beauty products. Rick Steves and Lonely Planet have comprehensive guides available as eBooks for less than the print versions of the same guides.

Price: Free

Larousse French-English Dictionary

Featuring more than 250,000 words and phrases, as well as more than 400,000 translations with nuances of meaning in each language, this app has everything you need to know to communicate with the locals when your high school French isn’t cutting it.

Price: £5.00

This is a guest post written by Marie Dumas. Originally from France, Marie enjoys and appreciates the opportunity to be a freelance writer living in Connecticut.

Ofcom have announced a series of changes they have planned regarding phone charges.

There are so many different prefixes to phone numbers that incur lots of different charges for consumers. We have local calls, national as well as those starting with 08, 09 and of course 118 service calls, its no wonder customers are confused over their phone bills.

Who really knows what they will be charged when making a call?

Ofcom understand that it can be difficult and receive several enquires and complaints over confusing and difficult to work out charges.

They plan to implement a single “access charge” for calls to number that begin with 08, 09 or 118 that is made to the consumer’s phone company plus a new “service charge” that is paid to the company or helpline they are calling.

There is also some great news for mobile users too. For too long mobile customers have had to pay for calling Freephone numbers which would be free from a landline.

Ofcom plans to make all Freephone calls free for all users, mobile or landline.

They state that the final details will be decided upon this summer and will confirm when the changes will be introduced later this year.

Make sure that when you are planning your kitchen, you have left room for a walk-in pantry. It will let you have the best access there is for the food that is inside. The shallow shelves will give you perfect visibility and you will get everything you need in seconds.

There are special accessories that can be put in your pantry which will make it more useful and organised. Dividers and baskets can be some of them. The dividers will let you use the space better and the basket is good for everything that cannot stand up or be put elsewhere. Glass fronts here and there are also nice solution for this situation, because they will add sophisticated look to the place.

In case you are short of space you have to make sure you used it the best way possible. You can even install shelves on the back of the doors of large cabinets. Make them slim, so you can still close the door.

Another suggestion for small places is the built-in pantry design. It has several very strong advantages and keeping everything behind the doors is one of them.

The design of your pantry may not be unique but the looks of the doors can be. Use glass that seems like frosted for your cabinets and pantries. It gives a stylish finish to even the simplest of designs.

If the space you have only allows for a cubby-style pantry, then you will probably not be able to see all the things you have in there. Here is when the time for using labels comes. Be sure you have placed them on nice spots and then you will find anything you need.

You can create a great space for sitting between two high pantries in your kitchen. Connect them with a piece of wood with the same colour or type, installed on the wall. Use the rest of the space to create a place to sit. Add some pillows in matching shades and you will have a place for dining plus a store cupboard.

If you have not seen a particular design that suits your kitchen, feel free to customise one of the above ideas.

This is a guest post written by Grace. Read more tips on how to organize and clean your home for the upcoming spring. She writes on a behalf of E1 cleaning company that can assist you to de-clutter your house.

Britain has some of the most exciting, traditional and imaginative holiday homes ready for you to enjoy. To make your search simpler we’ve compiled a list of our favourites from across Britain.

Medley Court, Hever Castle, Kent

A traditional property which is a wing of this magnificent castle itself, this is much more than a holiday home, it’s a unique and intriguing piece of history beautifully restored and renovated to provide a luxurious home from home with original features. This wing has been part of Hever Castle since 1903 and doesn’t fail to impress with a traditional and historic appearance. Hever Castle was the childhood home of the infamous Anne Boleyn and this holiday home is a double moated experience suitable for families and couples. The luxuriously opulent interior will is within easy access of tours round the castle as well as situated in acres of regal grounds to explore and enjoy. Sumptuous four poster beds and majestic chandeliers decorate this three bedroom home whilst flat screen TVs and a fully fitted modern kitchen provide you with everything you could need for a relaxing retreat in the grounds of such a stunning castle.

The 1450 Barn, Winkleigh, Devon

A fantastic option for groups and large families, especially Children, the 1450 Barn is located in Winkleigh, a small village in the beautifully green and tranquil region of Devon. The 1450 Barn is a grade ll listed barn atop a fully functioning organic farm for a unique holiday experience, the grounds features a petting zoo, farm animals and a play area for kids, whilst a hot tub awaits for the adults. This quaint barn has all the mod cons on offer to make your stay as comfortable as possible with the added bonus of original beams, windows and doors for a unique stay in a stunning home. A local village is easily accessible if getting absorbed into the acre upon acre of land isn’t for you. A traditional English village has plenty of history, attractions and rustic charm to entertain and delight visitors, whilst Dartmoor and Exmoor are a short drive away. The 1450 Barn makes for a perfect relaxing retreat, sit back and relax next to wood fires, get out and explore the farm and ample scenery and enjoy an evening enjoying local produce and fresh drinks in the nearby villages.

The Lighthouse, Mathon, Worcestershire

Despite its name, this holiday home is not actually a lighthouse, it is however, the perfect getaway for eco-warriors and those keen to holiday without leaving too much of a carbon footprint. The Old House is a stunning and majestic country cottage which has been a family home for over 600 years, now a beautiful hotel, The Lighthouse is a modern accompaniment to the traditional grounds. A much more modern and contemporary self-catering apartment with natural timber frames and natural light will give you a taste of nature in a modern and eco-friendly lodge. Here you have the best of contemporary design and history as residents of The Lighthouse are free to explore the ample grounds and gardens decorating the traditional country home. A firm favourite with many artists and writers over the year this is a unique experience to enjoy nature at its best in the gorgeous region of Worcestershire.

This is a guest post written by Grace who is a writer, keen on sharing tips and tricks of travelling to London and around UK.

Some of the most popular children’s films were released over the summer, according to direct.tv. Movies released during the warm weather are always good, but 2013 is turning out to be especially ripe with some family classics.

‘Monsters University’ (Disney/Pixar)

A prequel to 2001′s “Monsters, Inc.,” Pixar follows Sulley and Mike back to their wild college days where they learned to be the best in the scaring business. To help promote the new movie, Disney re-released “Monsters, Inc” in 3-D and did an impressive job with the eye-popping reanimation, earning it a 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. John Goodman and Billy Crystal will return to voice the main characters, so expect all the charm and humor from the original in this one.

‘Turbo’ (DreamWorks)

Voiced by Ryan Reynolds, Turbo is a snail who dreams of winning the Indy 500. The only problem is, well he’s a snail who can’t travel more than a foot in less than 15 minutes. But a freak accident gives Turbo the speed he needs to accomplish his dream. In the battle between Pixar and DreamWorks, DreamWorks seems always to be a step behind, but “Turbo” looks very promising. If your kids like this movie, and I have a feeling they will, Amazon is creating a follow-up series on their streaming service to compliment the movie.

‘The Smurfs 2′ (Sony)

Nothing wrong with sequels and prequels when the hilarious Neil Patrick Harris is involved. “Smurfs 2″ follows the small, blue gang to rescue Smurfette (Katy Parry) who was kidnapped by the evil Gargamel (Hank Azaria). Smurfette knows a secret spell that would allow the evil human to turn his newest creation into Smurfs, so the gang has to get her back before it’s too late. If your kid saw the first film in 2011, plan on getting tickets for this one.

‘The Little Mermaid’ (Disney)

Re-releases of older Disney animated movies are great because it’s something new for the kids and something nostalgic for us. “The Little Mermaid” was one of my favourite movies growing up. I dressed up as Ariel for Halloween several times, and the chance to share this movie with my kids is very exciting.

This is a guest post written by Diane Loughlin. She is a single mom and freelance writer who lives in North Carolina.

Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, during Lent, all Christians don’t consume any animal products. This includes not only meat, but also eggs and any dairy products like milk, cheese, butter, etc. On Palm Sunday, which is the first day of the Holy Week, people tend to put on headbands as well as rings, made out of palm leaves. They also put crosses on them.

On the first day of Easter the service starts at 20:00 on Saturday and for a whole seven hours, until 3:00 at night on Sunday morning. A lot of people sit through the entire service and they also wear the best clothes they have. Most folks wear white clothes, called ‘Yabesha Libs’. They also carry wax and cotton made candles, called ‘twaf’.
When the service is over, families go home and have breakfast that consists of sour-dough bread in order to mark the end of Lent. The bread is usually cut either by a priest or by the head of the family.

The main meal on Easter is eaten in the afternoon. It consists of ‘injera’, a type of pancake plus lamb or mutton stew called ‘beg wot’.

Mexico

Easter in Mexico consists of two weeks and is basically two different festivals. The first one is Semana Santa or the Holy Week, which is from Palm Sunday to Easter Saturday. The second one is Pascua – the period Resurrection Sunday until the next Saturday. During this period, a lot of people tend to visit their family in different parts of the country. Semana Santa is usually the more celebrated part of Easter.

During that week, a lot of villages and towns re-enact the Holy Week’s events using Passion Plays. It is considered great honor to be chosen for the part of Jesus, and the person that does, has to start preparing for the role a whole year prior to Easter. The most famous play takes place in Iztapalapa. In one way or another, all people of the town are involved in the play.

Greece

Majority of Greeks are part of the Orthodox Church. In the centre of the church there is a tomb put for the service on Good Friday. People go to the service as if they attend a funeral, with small and slow steps.

Just before midnight, on Easter Saturday, there is a Service held. People are given candles, which they lit at midnight. Sometimes, there are even fireworks in order to signal the start of Easter Day The traditional Easter meal consists of soup, made of lamb’s stomach, that is eaten on breakfast and roasted lamb meat for lunch and dinner. There is also a traditional Easter cake served, made with oranges and almonds and spicy sauce poured over it.

Spain

In Spain, Easter is regarded as a very important celebration. The whole Holy Week is a celebration. Many Spanish Catholics fast on Good Friday and on Ash Wednesday. On the latter, they put crosses on their foreheads, made of ash. For them, this is a way to say ‘sorry’ to God.

Most people attend a mass on Palm Sunday. Kids bring palm branches and leaves to be blessed by the vicar.

On Maundy Thursday  men dressed like skeletons and other scary creatures, take part in a special celebration in Verges, called ‘Dance of Death’. The biggest and most famous processions are held in Seville.

This is a guest post written by Grace. Celebrate the holiday with your family after moving to a new home in Wandsworth.

Air View, simply hover your finger over the touchscreen and additional display information can be previewed.

Smart Pause/Smart Scroll, intuitively moving along with you and if you happen to look away it automatically pauses whatever you are currently watching before starting again once you look back.

It also now features S Health for monitoring your health including calorie intake, amount burnt off, weight and lots more…even your blood glucose.

The new phone boasts a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 Full HD Super AMOLED Display with 441 ppi pixel density giving users a crystal clear view. It also has an impressive sounding 13 megapixel rear camera putting this phone in line with many compact cameras.

Samsung call their new gadget a “Life Companion”

Make your life richer, simpler, and more fun.
As a real life companion, the new Samsung GALAXY S4 helps bring us
closer and captures those fun moments when we are together.
Each feature was designed to simplify our daily lives.
Furthermore, it cares enough to monitor our health and well-being.
To put it simply, the Samsung GALAXY S4 is there for you.

Take a look yourself and let us know what you think.

Designers today need to rely on intuition and emotion, creating warm environments while doing their best to stray from the cold corporate designs practised far too much today. Today architecture is becoming more and more disconnected from the way humanity sees the inside of a home.

For the most part interior designers see their field as a combination of concepts, colours forms and light patterns which are capable of creating the perfect solution. This is art in its own way, taking the intellectual approach to a building and its entirety. The majority of humanity however sees these creations through the eyes of emotion rather than logic and pure intellect. This disconnection has been encountered not only typical architecture, but also in interior design throughout the decades past.

What some designers might see as beautiful can indeed be so, however it can still invoke unpleasant feelings from those living or working within that space. This can be seen quite a bit in the cold and austere environments of corporate offices, many offices and even shopping malls around the world. Buildings should be environments working toward reducing stress levels through clever, yet touching solutions that solve this issue. We are often faced with low levels of constant stress both at work and at home as our business lives intersect with the quiet, alone time we need to survive. These levels of stress can be significantly reduced or even removed by using creative decisions in design that go beyond the scope of what we see today, beyond traditions and boundaries. As long as these solutions still stay within what the human emotions desire of an environment interior design will be a wonderful solution.

Interior design should follow the natural world in its look as humans feel most comfortable with colours that emulate what we see outside. Many cultures around the globe have their own forms of environmental psychology developed over the centuries. Feng Shui is a good example of how the Chinese have paid close attention to this link with nature that comforts and soothes the psyche of those living in accordance with it. Geomancy has been also prevalent in Roman, Druidic, Native American and Aboriginal societies as well, designing structures that fit in with the environment around them. The same is possible today thanks to the rise of biophilic design, environmental psychology and more. Why is it everyone loves hardwood floors or earthly, warm tones for what we have beneath our feet? Because it closely emulates the natural world and that has a positive effect on the psyche, productiveness and stress levels of anyone living or working in such a building.

Everyone wants a window and a good view and the reason for that is the fact that is once again the psychology of the human mind. The recovery time of patients in hospitals is said to improve if they are placed in a cheerful environment with natural colours and a good view. There is a correlation between the emotional condition and the physical body and the environment has a great deal of influence in this aspect. Even simulated environments of forests, natural sounds and more can reduce the stress levels of human beings exposed to them. Green, brown and other colours often seen in spring are signs of renewal, bringing with them the desired effects. This is the nature of biophilic design – green roofs covered with grass, plants or AstroTurf as well as wooden surfaces where its feasible.

Think of your favourite mountain cabin with its stone walls, wooden beams, warm fireplace and earthly tones, sunlight streaming languidly through the glass windows and the tree tops. Does this not bring an instant sense or relaxation, security and comfort? The more we escape from the cold, antiseptic design of the modern corporate world and we try to get closer to nature, the more we will enjoy a positive return from such design solutions.

Discover which DIY tools can help you on your way to redesigning your home and creating a space of peace and harmony in your life.

This is a guest post written by Grace. She is a passionate  writer, devoted mum and housewife. She enjoys writing about  home decoration, organizing and Harringay moving house.