Newburyport spaces being filled with antiques, food, businesses

NEWBURYPORT — An antiques shop owner is doubling the size of his store based on the busy autumn season he enjoyed in Newburyport, and restaurateurs are eyeing prime space at Market Square that used to house Orange Leaf Yogurt.

Newburyport native Peter Mack is expanding Olde Newbury Antiques on Pleasant Street after fall sales were encouraging.

Mack is a 1994 graduate of Newburyport High School. After serving in the Marines and working in several businesses, including landscaping, he opened an antiques shop in Ipswich about five years ago.

“I couldn’t afford Newburyport at the time,” said Mack. “But the climate in Ipswich wasn’t good, and since I am from the city, I kept looking here.”

He opened the 10 Pleasant St. store in September, in a venue once occupied by Eclectics.

The store next to him, Pandora’s Box, became vacant in early November, and he made arrangements to merge spaces. Now he is revamping the other side of his space, where Pandora’s Box once operated.

Mack, who sells everything from $15 collectibles to $25,000 furniture pieces, said he was happy with his move here.

The store will double in size, and there is storage room downstairs for inventory.

Mack does much of the buying himself, and describes himself as a busy fellow as he buys inventory and expands.

“The rent is a lot more,” he said, “but I like the location and the community. It’s get big or go home, and I decided to expand.”

Meanwhile, the windows of the highly visible storefront that held Orange Leaf Yogurt until last fall are papered over and the space still empty.

At least one local restaurateur walked through the space, but no deal transpired, one municipal source said. Another restaurant could soon move into the site, a commercial broker has reported.

Austin Spinelli, a commercial real estate broker, said the space will be leased by a food business that offers sit-down and takeout choices. No other details were available.

In a development outside the downtown business area, a structure designed for use by small businesses is nearing completion. The eight-unit industrial condominium project is at 23 Hale St.

Developer is Craig Pessina, who heads Chart House Development.

“There is not a lot of inventory like this,” said Spinelli, “so there should be good demand.”
Resource :http://www.salemnews.com/news/business/newburyport-spaces-being-filled-with-antiques-food-businesses/article_0a1792e0-86a6-55d2-a298-bbf64f05d383.html

Selma wrestling team improvises after $10,000 in equipment is stolen during fundraising event

Selma wrestlers, coaches and parents are in shock after thousands of dollars worth of equipment was stolen during their biggest fundraiser of the year at Selma High School on Sunday.

Coach Robert Sepulveda said organizers arrived at Selma High School to open Day 2 of their ninth-annual New Year’s Bash fundraiser when they noticed their computers, cables, a printer and the Selma High School public address system were gone. The thieves struck sometime between 6 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday.

Estimated at about a $10,000 loss, Sepulveda said that didn’t stop the fundraiser, which hosts 730 kids from all over the state and is touted as the “toughest youth tournament in California.”

Personal computers from home and old equipment such as scoreboards were brought out for the last day of the tournament. Sepulveda said it’s a devastating loss for the program which already struggles to pay $1,800 a month to rent an old furniture building in downtown Selma to practice. The organization is fully self-funded. It paid Selma High School to use the gym for the fundraiser, said Sepulveda, which was “jam-packed” through the weekend.

Police came to take a report and are supposed to be back to conduct an investigation, said Sepulveda. The youth program trains and competes for 10 months of the year and also uses the equipment for valley leagues they belong to, like the Central Valley Youth Wrestling League.

Selma won the tournament Sunday, earning the highest score in the fundraiser’s history. Sepulveda, who grew up in Selma wrestling, has two children on the team. He said all the kids took the loss of their equipment especially hard.

“They were really upset,” he said. “They took that aggression out on the mat.”

Sepulveda said the group will prevail.

“There’s a reason we’re the No. 1 youth program in the nation,” he said. “We’ll get back on our feet like we always do.”

Resource : http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article126787904.html

Faith guides refugee resettlement

On the drive back to Catholic Charities, Chris Kramer contemplated how he would find a three-bedroom home for a family of six refugees arriving in two days. He breathed deeply and prayed to the Lord for help.

His prayer was answered when he reached his desk and saw a voicemail message waiting. It was the landlord of a three-bedroom home who wanted to know if Kramer had a family in need. “Thank you, Lord,” he thought as he made arrangements with the landlord for the arriving refugee family.

“I’ve been in similar situations, said the same prayer four different times and without fail, the Lord has constantly provided what’s needed in the time frame of when it’s needed,” Kramer said.
Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement program has been blessed many times with volunteers and donors who made it possible for the small team to resettle 333 people – about 121 families – over 12 months. And the need for support increases each day as Catholic Charities is expecting to resettle more than 400 refugees this year.

Kramer just celebrated his first anniversary at Catholic Charities and the Fairfield native enjoys his work as a housing specialist. A Lee University graduate of intercultural studies, Kramer built a database of property management companies of all sizes who rent apartments and homes to refugees. Many of these landlords have worked with Catholic Charities for years.

“They are willing to take that leap of faith with us as we find first homes for families,” Kramer said. Refugee tenants are reliable and appreciative of having a place to call home.
Typically, Kramer learns of a family arriving four to five weeks in advance, which gives him time to find housing, organize volunteers, and move household items from the warehouse to the new home. The required furnishings and necessities are basic: one couch, a kitchen table with chairs, a bed and a blanket. In the past, new arrivals would have to spend up to $250 from their $1,000 living allowance to complete their homes. That’s a significant expense when the living allowance needs to stretch for 90 days –the expected time when Catholic Charities assists a refugee in landing his or her first job.

But through the generosity of the community at large, Kramer has a small warehouse of household items to also provide a coffee table or night stand, a mop or broom and even toiletries, cleaning supplies and artwork. A picture here or there makes a rental apartment or house feel like home. Donations of welcome baskets and gently used furniture enable refugees to use their allowance for groceries and utilities.

“Some donors hear a story about a refugee family on the news and ask themselves what do I have in excess? They’re moved by compassion as they recognize these families are a lot like their own families. They see it as their Christian duty to see others’ circumstances improve,” Kramer said.

Another way the community is making a difference is by volunteering during the bi-monthly warehouse days. Volunteers sort, organize and prepare items for moves. Twelve to 50 volunteers on Saturdays make Kramer’s job easier. He usually shares a story about one of the recently resettled refugee families so volunteers understand the impact of their work. Volunteers often share their experience with others which has resulted in more companies donating household items and more volunteers getting involved.
“I believe they’re divine connections,” Kramer said. “We couldn’t do this without the support of friends.”

Household items can be scheduled for drop off at Catholic Charities offices at 7162 Reading Road, Suite 600 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., or at the Catholic Charities warehouse most first and third Saturdays of every month. Contact Kramer in advance at 513-672-3723 or ckramer@ccswoh.org to schedule and confirm item drop offs.

Large items such as couches and tables can be picked up as capacity allows. Catholic Charities is unable to accept large household items such as refrigerators, washing machines, dryers or stoves.
To learn more about the warehouse days or how to donate items, visit www.ccswoh.org and click on “refugee resettlement.”
Resource : http://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/faith-guides-refugee-resettlement/38180

Ring in the New Year With Rental Furniture

Can you believe that it is already 2017? As we get older, the years really fly by don’t they? While I’m sure that you are still (hopefully) enjoying your holiday break, reality is going to hit you before you know it, and you want to make sure that you are ready for it.

The New Year might mean a new you in terms of where you are going to live for the next quarter/semester and all the stress that that comes with. To make one aspect of your new move simpler, why not rent your furniture instead of buying it? This is the year to try new things, so why not do something that will really benefit you in the long run, especially if you are only going to need the furniture for a short while?

This article will help give you an idea as to why rental furniture is the route to go this New Year!

Less Stress

When you go out to purchase furniture, you are in for a headache, and probably, a dent in your wallet. Furniture is expensive, even if you are looking into stuff at garage sales, so why go through all that trouble when you can just rent? Renting from a company means that you can easily select cute matching furniture online for all the spaces that you want to fill, compare with your roommates to make sure they like it as well, and then order it.

You end up saving money, especially if you are only going to need the furniture for a few months, and you don’t have to go to a billion stores to furnish your whole place. The furniture looks brand new and won’t have any wear and tear (it’s showroom worthy after all), making your place feel fresh and more like a home than just a place you are squatting in until you can go back to your parent’s house for the summer.

Less Hassle

A handful of people enjoy putting IKEA furniture together and moving heavy furniture up a bunch of stairs, but the majority of us don’t, so why not just skip that part? Renting furniture means that you don’t have to deal with moving anything in or out of your place since the rental companies can usually help you with those annoying bits. This is a really nice service, especially if you are moving somewhere far and your family can’t come help you.

You can sit back and relax while your furniture gets delivered to you and assembled how you want it, where you want it! I wish I had known about this before spending four hours trying to put a bed frame together that had the worst diagram in existence to “help” direct me. Having a service help you move the big annoying items gives you more time to focus on how you want to spruce up the place and decorate — AKA the fun part of moving.

Flexibility

When you buy furniture, you are going to be stuck with it when it’s time to move out. At that point you have two options: 1) sell the furniture to other students for a little bit of money, or 2) rent a storage unit until you know where you are moving next.

The problem with buying furniture is that you don’t know where you are going to be living five years from now, and your miss-matched college furniture is probably not going to match the look you want to go for, so why force yourself to be stuck with furniture you won’t need? Renting furniture for your college apartment means that you’ll be getting furniture for that designated space, allowing it all to flow and fit, and then you can get rid of it when you move so you aren’t stuck with anything.

The flexibility is key for this stage in our lives when we are constantly moving around depending on roommates and what we can afford, so go for the renting options that give you the most freedom to live your life how you need to.

Less awkwardness

You and your roommates are obviously going to have to split things in your place to make everything more affordable, but how exactly does that go down with furniture? If all four of you chip in to buy a dining room table, let’s say, who gets to keep it at the end? What happens if one of you damages it? Or what if someone doesn’t want to pay as much as the table costs?

Buying furniture together can get awkward, especially if you aren’t sure how long you’ll stay roommates, so this is where renting can really help you out. You can all split the cost, making it more affordable and fair, and the renting part takes away the awkwardness of what has to be done with the furniture when you are all ready to move out.

These are just a few reasons why you should consider renting furniture for the New Year instead of buying it. Happy renting!

Resource: http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/224212/Ring-in-the-New-Year-With-Rental-Furniture-

Sadness as Norwich City Council decides to close Mile Cross Business Centre - but what next for the site?

Businesses are looking for new homes after City Hall bosses decided to close a business centre created on a former council depot But it remains unclear what the future holds for the site once businesses leave at the end of March, with Norwich City Council yet to reveal the options it is considering.

In 2011, the council announced it wanted to turn its former City Works depot, off Mile Cross Road, into the Mile Cross Business Centre.

About 30 small to medium sized and expanding businesses moved onto the 10.5-acre site, with the council offering short term leases for five years.

However, that period has come to an end and the council has given notice to tenants. Some of them have already moved while others are looking to continue elsewhere.

Carol McCafferty, from Martin’s Driver Training, which is based at Mile Cross Business Centre, said her business was in the process of finding a new home.

She said: “This place has been terrific for us. We were a fledgling business operating from home and renting space for driver training when we started.

“We came here and the space we’ve had has been perfect for what we needed. The council did always say they were not planning to refurbish it and that the leases would be short-term. Some of the businesses have gone already and we are in negotiations over a new location.”

Businesses which have been based at the centre include alcohol delivery service Unibooze, furniture store Zebra Finch and the Fully Pumped Gym. A Norwich City Council spokesman said: “Tenants’ leases were due to expire at the end of December, but we extended these to the end of the financial year to give them plenty of notice of our intention to empty the site.

“Buildings on the site are now generally in need of fairly substantial repairs.

“Money generated through rent alone will not be sufficient to continue with this approach, because necessary future repairs and maintenance would outstrip the rental income. As a result this has forced our hand to explore other options for the centre.

“Our next move is to carefully consider all the possible options so we are in a position to make an informed decision about the longer term future of the site.”

When asked what the future options for the site might be, the council said they could not yet reveal details because of commercial sensitivity.  

Resource:http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/politics/sadness_as_norwich_city_council_decides_to_close_mile_cross_business_centre_but_what_next_for_the_site_1_4845764

    

Amazon – Warning Aussie Stores will Struggle to Compete

With Amazon’s speculated expansion into Australia in September this year, the US warns that online retail will be disrupted and bricks and mortar chains adversely affected.

A top US retail analyst says that when Amazon comes to Australia, we can expect some second tier shopping centres to become “white elephants,” as commercial property falls, according to The Financial Review.

In addition to this, a recent Citi report says the likely arrival of Amazon in Australia could see the earning potential of some of our top traders, including Myer and JB Hi-Fi, drop by 23 percent.

A good reason for this major disruption is that Australia has huge profit margins. Amazon plans to come in and take advantage of that. And if retailers are planning to compete on price alone, it’s unlikely they will survive. They need to think along the lines of offering consumers more than “just cheap.”

So, what can companies do now to prepare for Amazon’s arrival later?

Myer has already begun reacting by offering its consumers a more personalised shopping experience. Retailers need to offer its consumers more than just price slashing. They need to compete online and give consumers more, because let’s face it, Australians do shop a lot.

Gerry Harvey of Harvey Norman recently came out saying that furniture retail won’t be affected too much if Amazon comes to Australia, because people don’t shop for furniture that much online, but rather it’s the electrical goods that are really going to take a thrashing. However, I beg to differ. More than half of my peers shop for furniture online. I moved house 12 months ago and 80 percent of all my furniture was purchased online.

The good news of the possible arrival of Amazon in Australia is pricing, well for the consumer anyhow, and in the short term. The bad news is, if the commercial property marketing is falling, then it’s going to spread across other sectors, including investments and super funds that invest in these areas, so there will be a ripple effect and huge ramifications along the line.

With overseas online retailers now having to implement the GST for purchases under $1,000, consumers will now find that cross-border online shopping may not be as cheap as they thought.

However, getting back to our huge profit margins in Australia, this is what Amazon looks to take advantage of if they come here. Our retail market is estimated to be worth $221 billion. Even if Amazon takes a third of this, that’s going to have a huge impact.

So the bottom line: retailers are going to have to adapt to survive the Amazon disruption if they come to our shores in September, step up their game in online retail, pricing, and offer consumers more than “just cheap”.

Resource: http://www.powerretail.com.au/uncategorized/amazon-australia-retail-disruption/

Furniture and Home Appliances available on Rent in Delhi and Gurgaon

For professionals in any industry, the idea of taking a short-term assignment away from home is a worrisome thought. Maybe you’re a consultant, a project manager, or a lawyer working on a short-term project away from your home city, or perhaps you’re a visiting medical professional or professor working for a few months onsite.  If you’re moving because of work, you will probably be wondering how to move all of your furniture and if you need to sell any of it.

You may also wonder if you should just store it somewhere and buy new furniture for the move, especially if its only a temporary thing. This means postings ads, having potential buyers come by to look at your pieces and fielding phone calls or emails. Moving furniture means hiring a company to transport it for you and buying new furniture means spending more money. Living in a hotel room for a long period of time gets very uncomfortable.

To help ensure you’re comfortable during your stay, Short term furniture rental for apartments, homes, and other dwellings designed to appeal to your tastes and make your new living space exactly what you need to be happy.

Rather than sending a delegate to furnish the employee’s temporary home or hiring a costly interior designer, a company can easily order furniture these furniture rental companies, schedule the delivery date, and have everything set up before the employee arrives. When the employee contract or apartment lease is up, the furniture goes right back.

These companies  help to  quickly get you comfortable in your temporary living or working quarters so that you can focus on your other work priorities, and they do so by offering a wide selection of home furniture rental sets, bedroom rental furniture, and apartment furniture rental packages, which include everything from rugs, shower curtains, and bed linens to home electronics, hangers, and kitchen appliances.

They provide an assortment of different furniture styles ranging from traditional to contemporary and everything in between.

They also provide home appliances on rent. Home appliances like refrigerator are available on short as well long term rental plans. They provide branded appliances. So you can use these without any worry.

They provide doorstep delivery after you choose your piece of furniture/appliance for rent.

Resource :
https://furniturerentalnews.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/furniture-and-home-appliances-available-on-rent-in-delhi-and-gurgaon/

Short Term Apartment Furniture Rental In Delhi

If you’re moving because of work, you will probably be wondering how to move all of your furniture and if you need to sell any of it. You may also wonder if you should just store it somewhere and buy new furniture for the move, especially if its only a temporary thing. This means postings ads, having potential buyers come by to look at your pieces and fielding phone calls or emails. Moving furniture means hiring a company to transport it for you and buying new furniture means spending more money. Living in a hotel room for a long period of time gets very uncomfortable.

Rather than sending a delegate to furnish the employee’s temporary home or hiring a costly interior designer, a company can easily order furniture these furniture rental companies, schedule the delivery date, and have everything set up before the employee arrives. When the employee contract or apartment lease is up, the furniture goes right back.

Furniture can set the mood of a room or home. Traveling executives may need furniture that welcomes clients and makes them feel at home instead of feeling like they’re in a hotel room. Traveling nurses want to relax at the end of their long days and they need comfortable furniture to rest. Anyone who finds themselves in a temporary living situation deserves great furniture.

To help ensure you’re comfortable during your stay, short-term rental furniture for apartments, homes, and other dwellings designed to appeal to your tastes and make your new living space exactly what you need to be happy.

These companies  help to  quickly get you comfortable in your temporary living or working quarters so that you can focus on your other work priorities, and they do so by offering a wide selection of home furniture rental sets, bedroom rental furniture, and apartment furniture rental packages, which include everything from rugs, shower curtains, and bed linens to home electronics, hangers, and kitchen appliances.

They provide an assortment of different furniture styles ranging from traditional to contemporary and everything in between.

They also provide home appliances on rent. Home appliances like refrigerator are available on short as well long term rental plans. They provide branded appliances. So you can use these without any worry.

They provide doorstep delivery after you choose your piece of furniture/appliance for rent.

Resource :  https://furniturerentalnews.wordpress.com/2016/12/23/short-term-apartment-furniture-rental-in-delhi/

Oakland fire: Warehouse owner Chor Ng elusive

This photo taken from video provided by @Oaklandfirelive shows the scene of the fire on Dec. 3.

It was the deadliest structure fire in the United States in 13 years.

On Dec. 2, up to 100 people were at a dance party at an Oakland, Calif. warehouse — known as the “Ghost Ship” — when the fire broke out, killing 36 people.

The warehouse had been turned into artists’ studios and illegal living spaces.

Investigators haven’t identified the cause of the fire, but they said it started around 11:30 p.m. in the rear of the building. They ruled out a refrigerator as the cause, but were still looking at electrical systems as possible sources.

There were no fire alarms, no sprinklers, and the two stairways from the second-floor party did not lead to the building’s only two exits.

The building, owned by Chor N. Ng, was permitted only as a warehouse and the city had opened an investigation last month after neighbors complained about trash piling up and people living inside of it. An investigation into the fire could lead to criminal charges as serious as murder, prosecutors said.

Property records show Ng owns several properties in Oakland’s Chinatown. She bought the building that burned in 1988, as well as an adjacent lot to the south and an adjacent building to the north.

The city has spent years fining Ng for what it calls “nuisance or substandard or hazardous or injurious” conditions at the lot south of the warehouse and at the building to the north.

Between 2005 and 2014, Ng paid $26,570.20 in “code enforcement” fees for the lot next to the Ghost Ship.

A beauty salon owner, Griselda Ceja, rented space from the Ng family for 20 years and had numerous problems relating to electricity in the building, which is adjacent to the Ghost Ship. “She never took care of the building,” Ms. Ceja told the New York Times. “We were scared. We were all scared.” She also says the salon had a blocked emergency exit that was never addressed, and she has since moved her business.

Other tenants, including an owner at Sum Yee Pastry in Chinatown, said he had no troubles with his building or the Ngs.

Neither Ng, nor her daughter Eva, who is known to help her mother manage these properties, have spoken publicly since Eva Ng gave a statement the day after the fire saying that as far as they were concerned, no one was living in the Ghost Ship space.

Questions have arisen, however, regarding how much the Ngs were aware of the construction that occurred inside the warehouse between 2013 and 2016, and whether they had set foot inside to see the substandard wiring and staircase made of wooden pallets.

The San Francisco Chronicle visited several other properties around Chinatown that are owned by the Ngs.
Those tenants describe Chor Ng as an unobtrusive landlady, who came to collect rent in a white Mercedes-Benz, and was generally “hands-off” otherwise.

One tenant who runs a clothing store in a warehouse next door to the Ghost Ship said the Ng family got in touch right after the fire to say they would help them deal with water damage to their property and help them reopen.

That tenant, Lorena Dominguez, told the Chronicle, “We’ve been here 25 years, and if they were bad landlords, we would have known.”

Resource :  http://nwasianweekly.com/2016/12/oakland-fire-warehouse-owner-chor-ng-elusive/

Castle Furniture Rental Announces Programs for Snowbirds Visiting Arizona

The team at Castle Furniture Rental is pleased to announce the launch of a brand new program exclusively for snowbirds.

Arizona has long been a popular destination for snowbirds escaping cold winter weather for warm getaways. Castle Furniture Rental is leveraging decades of short term furniture rental expertise to seamlessly cater to the needs of snowbirds.

Now, when snowbirds are looking for furniture in Phoenix and the surrounding areas, they’ll have an exciting opportunity to rent furniture.

Castle Furniture Rental is one of Arizona’s leading furniture rental companies. Launched in 1992, the company has grown extensively, yet still operates as a small business working fervently to provide high quality, customized options for clients. By providing options for snowbirds, the Castle Furniture Rental team has again demonstrated their ability to offer tailor-fit options for clients.

The team at Castle Furniture Rental offers an array of corporate and vacation furniture rental options, as well as student furniture rentals. The company’s services include professional, delivery, and set-up. Snowbirds are always happy to know that their vacation rental will be completely ready for occupancy. Not only does the company provide the essentials, but Castle Furniture Rental will provide and put away kitchen items, provide linens, and make the beds, provide and hang towels, provide televisions set the channels, supply artwork and hang pictures. If customers need a recliner or two, Castle has them ready and waiting. With the “Snowbird Getaway Package” all travelers need to do is bring their toothbrush.

Castle Furniture Rental serves all of Arizona with its short term furniture rental options.

Through the new program, snowbirds visiting Arizona as a winter getaway will have access to custom furniture lines created in partnership with American furniture makers. Each piece has been created with quality, comfort, and durability in mind.

According to Castle Furniture Rental, their long-standing relationships with various furniture makers has made it possible for the company to create various combinations of furniture at low prices.

Manager Diane Steigert said, “We are very excited about furniture acquisitions this year. We bring in truckloads of new furniture every year, but this year looks to be our best year ever. Each season we have more and more snowbirds coming to our beautiful state and giving us the opportunity to show them what real quality and customer service is all about.”

More information can be found at http://castlerents.com/.

About Castle Furniture Rental

Since 1992, Castle Furniture Rental has served customers in Arizona with premier, custom, and flexible short term furniture rental options.

Resource :  http://www.prunderground.com/castle-furniture-rental-announces-programs-for-snowbirds-visiting-arizona/0083461/

Owning assets no longer sign of prosperity and businesses are making most of the rental economy, writes Kunal Doley

Online rental start-ups like FunStation and Eves24 are giving a renewed push to a market that was, till about a few years ago, confined only to products such as cars and electronic items.

MUMBAI-BASED Kashyap Shah, a self-confessed Lego enthusiast, was once wandering in a toy store in the city to buy a set of the cult interlocking plastic construction kits when he realised that despite their global appeal and acceptability, Lego sets have become more and more expensive over time—today, a Lego set can sell for anywhere between R7,000 and R40,000 in India. After considerable research, the 31-year-old entrepreneur found out that there wasn’t one online toy library in the country that exclusively stocks Lego kits.

That was in 2014. A year later, Shah launched FunStation, a unique Lego-renting website that allows one to rent small and large Lego sets for a monthly membership fee and a fixed refundable deposit. “FunStation was born out of an idea to do something different related to children’s education and toys, and Lego is the best learning tool for kids,” says Shah, an engineer by education.

Currently, FunStation has close to 500 registered users. “It’s a new concept and people need time to understand it. But it’s slowly and gradually picking up. Till date, we have shipped over 400 Lego sets,” Shah adds.

Similar is the story of Eves24, a start-up offering unique jewellery solutions that enable women, among others, to rent out authentic gold and diamond jewellery against a security deposit. Sometime back, when Rahul Banka, its founder, was getting ready for a cousin’s wedding reception, he heard his aunt lamenting the fact that she would have to wear her emerald and pearl set once again, having worn it three weeks earlier for another wedding. “The desire of women to look their best is nothing but natural, especially at social events, festive occasions, weddings and parties,” says the Mumbai-based Banka, a chartered accountant by qualification. Thus was born the idea of providing a one-stop jewellery solution to Indian women—one that doesn’t cost much. Banka founded the website in July last year after quitting his job with Centrum Capital in 2013, where he was vice-president, investment banking. He also bootstrapped the venture.

Not just cars, electronics

Online rental start-ups like FunStation and Eves24 are giving a renewed push to a market that was, till about a few years ago, confined only to products such as cars and electronic items. Digitisation and the e-commerce boom have fuelled rental e-commerce and turned it into a mature market. The affordable availability of short-term utility, as well as luxury items, has helped in creating more acceptance for rented goods among Netizens.

In March this year, auto major Mahindra & Mahindra launched an online platform called Trringo, aiming to do for the tractor market what Ola and Uber have done in the car rental segment. The company has set up this venture as a start-up for farmers to rent tractors and equipment and in which it will invest upwards of R10 crore. “The drive to do this came from the fact that 80% of farmers in India are small and marginal, and for many, owning a tractor is a dream. So the question was how to reach out to these small farmers. That’s when we started uncovering the realities of informal renting practices in India,” says Arvind Kumar, CEO, Trringo.

Trringo works on a physical-digital model. Through the physical model, it has set up franchisee-owned rental centres, where tractors and a range of equipment are available. There is also the facility of training drivers on the correct usage of tractors and equipment. “As for the digital model, we have a call centre and an app-based order generation mechanism, making it convenient for the farmer to order from anywhere. A back-end system tracks orders, collects data, gives reporting and analytics on usage, and optimises utilisation of machinery,” explains Kumar.

Trringo’s current reach extends to Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat, where it has around 13 operational centres. “In Karnataka, we also have an MoU with the state government that allows franchisees 75% subsidy on purchase of equipment worth R50 lakh. We are in talks with the governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh too. We have served around 3,000 farmers so far and plan to reach 20,000 farmers by the end of the year with 165 hubs,” adds Kumar.

Why own when you can rent?

The idea is more about accessibility as opposed to ownership. “The majority of Gen-Y is not sure about where they are going to be in the next one year or so. When the future is not certain, it makes sense to rent rather than buy, as there is no commitment involved and you can return the products when you no longer need them,” says Harshwardhan Raikwar, co-founder and CEO of Guarented, an online marketplace for renting consumer durables based in Bengaluru.

“Today’s generation of consumers do not want to invest in assets, but like to invest in experiences. They are frequently shifting jobs and moving cities. So it becomes increasingly difficult for them to own and transfer assets. We are essentially trying to solve this problem by giving them a reliable and affordable option of renting the best-quality home appliances,” says Raikwar, who, along with former IIT-Kharagpur batchmates Abhimanyu Dikshit and Prateek Agarwal, launched Guarented in November last year after they found themselves in a soup when one of their flatmates had to leave the house, which they had furnished themselves. “This gave us the idea to build an ‘AirBnB’ for the stuff that makes a house a home,” he adds.

Ajith Mohan Karimpana, founder-CEO of Furlenco, an online furniture rental start-up based in Bengaluru, had a similar predicament. “I was working as the VP for Goldman Sachs in the US and while moving back to Bengaluru, I had to sell my furniture worth $5,000 for little over $300 on sale. That’s when I first experienced the perils of relocation—having to sell furniture,” says the former employee of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

“And to my dismay, I had to once again go through the harrowing experience of buying furniture from local vendors in Bengaluru. This is when it became clear to me that there is an opportunity to introduce a ‘rental furniture’ concept in India,” adds Karimpana. As a result, Rent Ur Duniya was born (later rebranded to Furlenco) in 2012.

As part of its services, Furlenco rents out premium furniture with matching furnishings and decor on a monthly subscription fee. The service also includes free doorstep delivery and installation, making it extremely convenient and hassle-free to furnish your home. It promises delivery within 72 hours of an order being placed with the flexibility to swap/return furniture annually based on need. The start-up has shipped $20 million worth of furniture till date to over 15,000 homes. Furlenco recently closed a large fund raise consisting of $15 million of equity led by Lightbox Ventures and Axis Capital, and $15 million of debt from banks, NBFCs, individuals and family offices for a total haul of $30 million.

As in e-commerce, fashion is a much sought after category in rentals as well. Sahyujyah Shrinivas, founder and CEO of online fashion rental platform LibeRent, says her start-up has been growing at 20% month-on-month since it launched in August 2014. “Our business model is simple: we source outfits, both western and ethnic, with accessories from designers and boutiques, among others, and rent them at just 10% of the retail price,” says Shrinivas, who is a metallurgical engineer by qualification.

Elaborating on her business model, Shrinivas says there is no deposit. The start-up delivers in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. “In Bengaluru, we have same-day deliveries. We also custom-fit every outfit that goes to the customer to fit their measurements,” she says, adding, “Our USP is that we don’t have sizes like ‘small’, ‘medium’ or ‘large’. We have bust, waist and hip measurements. You just filter the options, using your bust measurement, and while booking, tell us your other two measurements. When we deliver, it will fit you perfectly. We also have an option of back-up dress, where you book two outfits, pay for the higher-priced one, try both at home, and wear the one you like.”

Another fashion rental platform, Stage3, is letting young millennials experience the glamour and style of superstars and celebrities. “Our customers can play dress-up with curated, authentic outfits from top designers that have been paired with accessories by our in-house styling team. Our mission is to make higher-end outfits accessible to our members and leverage technology to help them choose what would look best on them for different occasions,” says co-founder and CEO Sabena Puri, who started the platform with fashion designer Rina Dhaka and Sanchit Baweja in January this year.

As per Puri, Stage3 has grown 8x over the past 10 months and has raised a seed round from a core group of investors that include Nisha Kumar, the ex-CFO of Rent the Runway and AOL; Puneet Dalmia of the Dalmia Bharat Group (in his personal capacity); and Balaji Prabhakar, professor of computer science at Stanford University and chief scientist at Urban Engines.

Resource :  http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/owning-assets-no-longer-sign-of-prosperity-and-businesses-are-making-most-of-the-rental-economy-writes-kunal-doley/477710/

Brisbane apartments: renters’ in ‘flight to quality’ amid unit slump

Brisbane’s apartment construction boom has spurred a “flight to quality” as renters move from old suburban flats into new apartments, in a phenomenon set to be watched by the Reserve Bank.

Brisbane renters are exploiting the more than 5200 new apartments built in the first nine months of the year to vacate suburbs between 5km and 15km from the central business district.

Vacancies in the middle suburbs jumped to 4.5 per cent, from 2.3 per cent in the last quarter, while unoccupied units within 5km of the city centre rose marginally from 3.4 per cent to 3.7 per cent, according to Real Estate Institute of Queensland figures.

REIQ spokeswoman Felicity Moore said it was a surprise to see the vacancy jump in the suburbs.

“We were expecting the inner ring to be where we saw that (higher) result,” Ms Moore said.

“We are expecting go see the inner rise in the next year.”

She said there were some large developments that added to the rental pool across the suburbs, and tipped a stabilisation in coming months.

The rollout of an expected 13,000 more apartments over the next 18 months in inner-city Brisbane, along with 16,000 more in Melbourne’s inner suburbs in two years, is being monitored by the Reserve Bank as the key areas for potential future oversupply.

In the apartment and construction hotspot of South ­Brisbane, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment has remained $500 for three years. Another suburb in focus is Newstead, where the average rent fell $5 in the past year. Existing apartments are also offering deals including weeks of free rent to entice ­tenants.

Jenna and Derek Munkley moved into a two-bedroom unit with a 65sq m deck at the newly built Hopscotch Apartment building in Newstead in August, negotiating the advertised rent down from $650 to $570 a week.

For them, it was as much for a lifestyle change, with Ms Munkley, 31, now walking to work instead of commuting to her job at a bank in Newstead from the northern Brisbane suburb of Strathpine. “We looked at a lot of different units, and it’s definitely the renters’ market at the moment in this area,” she said.

In order to keep up sales and rents, developers are offering a range of incentives to get people into their apartments.

Increasingly, short-term rental guarantees of up to 5 per cent gross are being advertised, while others will throw in furniture packages, pay body corporate rates or shell out for furnishings.

A completed four-townhouse development in Morningside offered a Kia Picanto car to the first buyer to go unconditional. Ray White Bulimba agent Jared Candlin said the bonus car promotion was “a way to get people’s attention” in the crowded marketplace.

“They are a really good product, a very nice townhouse,” he said. “But with what is going on with the amount (of units) available, people might just miss them because they are looking at so many.”

Brisbane has come onto the Reserve Bank radar because of the concentrated geographical spread of the new apartments and the sheer number.

CoreLogic notes in a report to the bank that if the 49,000 apartments approved for development actually go ahead it will boost stock in the city by 25 per cent.

In Melbourne and Sydney, about 96,000 apartments have been approved but this is a relative increase of 16 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

Property firm JLL reported 5169 units completed from January to September this year in Brisbane, with another 13,022 being built. Another 6422 are on the market.

It reported the median apartment price had fallen 1.2 per cent, counter to the five-year average of 1.1 per cent growth.

“Sales rates have reverted to normalised levels following a spike during 2025,” the Residential Commentary Brisbane Apartment Market report says.

Analysts and developers have pointed to the sharp decline in development and building approvals as a sign any oversupply will be short-lived.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded a 28 per cent drop in monthly unit approvals to September and the yesterday the Housing Industry Association said apartment building was expected to fall 40 per cent by 2018-2019. Place Advisory estimates about 8000 apartments ­approved for development in Brisbane will not go ahead.
Resource :  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/property/brisbane-apartments-renters-in-flight-to-quality-amid-unit-slump/news-story/3d9de0463a5a4b33578e35c797667607

The hell of finding a home to rent in the Netherlands

Attempting to rent a home in the Netherlands turned Julia Corbett into a paranoid spammer with stalker tendencies thrown in. She explains how the rot set in. After not one, two or three, but four properties slipped from my fingers I can safely say I have experienced the housing hell in the Netherlands. Our adventure began when my Dutch partner returned home after some years in England and I became a student in the Netherlands. It has been a more bumpy start than expected after experiencing a lack of suitable housing options. From Hilversum to Leerdam and Den Bosch to Busson, I have learnt that luck and timing has more to do with finding a place to rent than most people will feel comfortable with. My Dutch boyfriend of nearly five years took eagerly to the rental sections of housing websites and arranged a day crammed full of viewings of apartments, houses and loft conversions. Having donned a smart outfit and brushed my hair for the encounter with our future landlords, I found myself being scolded for turning up five minutes late to an appointment that lasted no longer than 30 seconds. We dashed in and out of the four rooms in a supermarket sweep-style daze, wondering where our furniture would fit, before we were ushered out and abandoned in the street as our suited agent sped off on his company moped. ‘Where is the carpet?!’ we cried at our next viewing only to be informed that carpets, paint and exposed piping were a luxury we must solve on our own. Dream evaporates Things seemed to be looking up when we met a new potential landlord, a 94-year-old retired businessman who rowed for 30 minutes every day and had a garden that was more perfectly manicured than the lawns of royalty. Would I like to live in the grounds of a mansion boasting nine deer, six chickens three dogs, a cat and six small caged birds? Yes, absolutely, sign me up! After my partner negotiated an agreement and I chatted to his wife in broken Dutch while being fed home-grown tomatoes, we skipped away from the viewing giddy with excitement.


A home, within our budget, complete with lovely landlord. Success! However, our property bubble was swiftly deflated when we tried to initiate the contract process, only for the estate agent to claim our new landlords no longer wanted us as tenants. Our upset turned to anger and paranoia: what was wrong with us? Why were we unworthy of their out-house? Deciding to carry out the somewhat stalkerish task of returning to the owners for answers, we learned that they had been told by the estate agents we were not interested and rented the property to someone else. Saturated market Though I try not to sound bitter about my experience, I have learned that our tale is not at all unusual for those who cannot yet afford to buy but must live independently. The average rental property in Amsterdam now costs €2,000 a month and businesses have claimed the city is unable to accept more growth because there is not enough suitable rented housing.


 For the first time the University of Amsterdam has been unable to match the demand for student accommodation and in other cities students are having similar experiences. ‘Just buy a house!’ has been a solution put forward by family, friends and colleagues, both who are expats themselves and those who were born and raised in the Netherlands. But that’s not the easiest thing to do either. The Dutch phrase Van ‘t kastje naar de muur – being sent from the closet to the wall – best sums up the experience of being forced to hunt down estate agents and demand answers and information, to discover only bad news. Meanwhile,

 our search for a home to rent and make our own, like many others in the same situation, continues.
Resource :  http://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2016/12/renting-in-the-netherlands-the-dutch-housing-hell/

Questions to Ask When Selecting Rental Furniture

Renting furniture is a great way to go when decorating and filling a new home. For students in particular, renting furniture is a great choice because they are often moving between homes between school years and do not have the budget to purchase all new furniture. It can also help students to afford the kind of furniture that they want so they are not forced to settle and only get the furniture they can afford, not furniture they like.

But there are questions that every student should ask in order to have the best rental experience possible. Read on to learn some important questions to ask when selecting rental furniture!

Environment

When you are choosing furniture to rent, you need to contemplate the environment you are bringing the furniture into. Is your home a quiet place? Are you barely home? Is your house the party house where everyone brings their own beers? Do you have pets like cats and dogs that run loose around your apartment?

These are all questions that will help you to determine the environment of your home and thus the environment that you will be bringing your rental furniture into. You have to remember that this is rental furniture and thus you will need to be able to return it in the same condition that you rented it in or you might have to pay some extra fees.

If you know you eat a lot on your couch, it might be best to get one from a material that does not stain easily. If your roommate never remembers to use a coaster, it might be best to get a dining table that will not get water stains. You know your own life best so remember the effects your life will have on the furniture that you rent.

Number of People in Home

Another question to address when choosing furniture to rent is how many people you have living in your home. You want to get furniture that can accommodate everyone that has to live there. Or perhaps you have a lot of guests that come over and you want to accommodate them as well. There is nothing less welcoming than not having enough seating for everyone you have invited over.

Perhaps that little yellow couch is adorable and would look great with the coffee table you already have. But if it is really only a loveseat that holds two or three people and you have guests over all of the time, you might need a bigger couch that can seat a lot more people.

Maybe you think that the 12-person dining room table is fabulous but if it is only you and your roommate living in your house, you might want to focus your attentions on a smaller table that will be more suited for your actual needs. Renting gives you the ability to get the kind of furniture to suit your own lifestyle that also fits within your budget. a

Length of Rental

Renting furniture can be great for students because your ownership of the furniture is only temporary. Once you graduate and leave your college town, you do not have to worry about what to do with the furniture in your apartment because it already has a place to go back to!

In order to make renting furniture really worth your while, you want to make sure that the length of renting meets your needs. If you are going to stay in one place the entire time you are in college without moving around or subletting, then you can rent the furniture for all four years. If you are going to be leaving to study abroad in the middle of your time in college or leaving during summers or staying in a home for only one semester at a time before hopping, you need to plan your rental lengths accordingly.

You need the furniture available for the whole time you will be in town and not to pay extra for the furniture when you will not be able to keep it for as long as you are paying to do so. Be sure to get a rental length that fits your college experience.

Payment Plans

As college students, one of the best benefits of renting furniture is the affordability factor. However, money is tight for most college students all around so you need to check and see what the payment plans are like when you are renting furniture to make sure that you can afford it.

You might not be able to afford paying the whole amount upfront so check to see if the company offers monthly or bi-monthly payment plans and that the payment amount is something you can afford.


Resource : http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/220865/Questions-to-Ask-When-Selecting-Rental-Furniture

7 Reasons Why You Should Start Renting Furniture Of Your Choice Rather Than Buying It

Great. You bought an expensive, exquisite furniture for your newly rented apartment. But just after few months, you had to shift your place because your job demands it. Then, you look at the same furniture with the feeling of guilt and ask yourself,  Why did I buy this? Will it fit well in my new apartment? Should I just sell it now?

And eventually, because of not being able to rearrange it in your new apartment, you had to sell it at a price less than its market price. Within a moment, both your dream furniture and money swept away. Bad luck!

Well, to escape such a defeated situation, you can rely on ‘Cityfurnish‘ which offers a wide range of stylish, elegant and modern furniture on rent online. Yes, you can rent the furniture and major appliances for the required time period and then return it when your tenure is over.

Sounds cool, right? Well, there are many more reasons why renting a furniture is useful:
 1. As millennials are constantly switching their places and jobs, so, why buy a furniture for a place where we ourselves are not sure about the duration of the stay?

2. Renting a furniture is cost-effective.

When we buy a fully-furnished furniture, we have to pay the entire purchase at once. In renting, we can pay in affordable installments as per our financial situation. 

3. With the wide variety of snazzy furniture designs, renting gives us the opportunity to experiment with all the choices that suit us.

In case you feel bored with your current interiors, you can experiment a new look for a month’s time or more.

You can select suitable designs from here.

4. Gracing your home with different suave furniture packages will make your home look more vibrant.

5. On special gatherings and festive occasions, who doesn’t want to light up the dining room with 

exclusive furnishing at a low price?

Then, why buy a brand-new furniture when renting can give us the same comfort? 

 6. Renting a furniture is so hassle-free because you need not find a buyer to sell it.

 7.  If the piece of furniture you’ve rented does not work for your lifestyle anymore, you can rent another design.

 

These good reasons would have motivated you to opt for renting a furniture online. If you are thinking where to do it, then, ‘City Furnish’ is your reliable stop. You can explore their packages and products right here. To order the furniture online, click here and follow the procedure.  

Resource : http://topyaps.com/renting-furniture-of-your-choice