If you’re a renter you can’t assume that your landlord’s insurance will cover your property if the place is robbed, flooded or burned. In fact you can pretty much count that situation out. So to protect yourself and your property you’ll need a renter?s insurance policy.

Renter’s insurance should really be required for all renters as its really quite inexpensive, most likely provides you with the only coverage you’ll have for your valuables, and damage to a shared property may be caused by someone else so it is a good way to hedge your bets.

Basic renter’s insurance covers any loss or damage to your personal property, family liability protection in the case of legal disputes, guest medical protection for anyone injured at your home, and additional living expenses if you’re forced out of your home due to a catastrophe.

Check with your insurance agent to see what sort of coverage they recommend for you and remember you can up the bill a bit by getting replacement coverage which will cover the full purchase price of your lost items and you could add high value item coverage for items not typically covered under insurance, like expensive jewelry or work valuables.

Let?s face it, times are financially tough for people all over the country, the world in fact. So any break you can get financially is a good one, at least until everyone gets back on their feet. If you?re having a hard time making ends meet you may want to try to figure out a way to get a discount on your rent. There are several ways to attempt this but none of them are foolproof.

Ask for It

Explain your situation to your landlord and ask if he or she is willing to give you a discounted rent rate temporarily. It may not work but it can?t help to ask. And your landlord might be more interested in keeping you as a tenant than losing you.

Work for It

See if your current landlord needs a property manager or a caretaker to help with the other tenants and the odds and ends around the property. If your current landlord doesn?t need help look for someone who does, you may be able to find a place that will let you live rent free for work you do around the unit.

Barter for It

If you have a professional talent that can be of use to your landlord then see if they?re willing to take you up on that offer. If, for instance, you?re a hair stylist maybe you can cut the entire family?s hair for free and in turn get a discount on your rent. If you?re a painter maybe you can paint units when old tenants mover out. Be creative and see what works.

Reasonable rent is determined by what people are willing to pay to live in your rental units. During the current financial crisis some landlords have found that their current tenants cannot or will not pay the previously established rent while others are finding that former homeowners who have lost their homes can pay a bit more than their tenants previously. So it?s time to reevaluate your rent prices and determine what better suits the financial environment.

Begin by evaluating your current tenants and the rent they pay. Are they having a hard time making the payments or do they seem to be handling them just fine? If you have open units look at what is driving people away, do they think the price is too high or do they see a low price and assume the property isn?t up to their standards. Carefully examine your neighborhood and the prices comparable units are charging for rent.

Then, when it comes to making a change in the rent make, small incremental changes regularly. If you?re raising the rent regularly on an annual basis you?ll keep your property in line with the current economy in most situations. If you have to drop the rent to keep tenants then you may want to work out a temporary situation where the rent will decrease for a set period of time and then bounce back up to the previous rate. Remember to look at individual rental agreements so you?re not breaking a lease with your price change. If you have to change it during the lease term you?ll have to have an amendment created and agreed upon and signed by all tenants.