Personal Finance Daily: How to win in a landlord's market

Personal Finance Daily APRIL 02, 2012 Monday's Personal Finance Stories By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: How to win the battle for an apartment 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 7 tax audit red flags Credit-card breach 'contained' to 1.5 mln accounts With the vacancy rates for apartments dropping and rents increasing, it's a landlord's market. Amy Hoak writes in her Home Economics column today about ways would-be renters can find an edge in the competition for apartments, including how to be well-prepared for showings and when you should consider using a broker. Also on MarketWatch today, Andrea Coombes writes about seven tax audit red flags — and how you can avoid them. Plus, check out the April edition of Trading Strategies, where MarketWatch experts offer some tips for spring cleaning your portfolio. — Anne Stanley , Managing Editor, Personal Finance You're invited: MarketWatch ETF event If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area and you're interested in exchange-traded funds, we'd like to invited you to a free live event in April. Join us for an evening of cocktails and conversation about the risks and opportunities of trading ETFs. Our guest panelists will be Tom Lydon, president of Global Trends Investments and editor of ETFtrends.com; John Nyaradi, publisher of Wall Street Sector Selector; and Jim Wiandt, publisher and chief executive of IndexUniverse.com, Exchange-Traded Funds Report and Journal of Indexes. The event will be on the evening of Tuesday, April 17, in downtown San Francisco. To get more details and RSVP, send an email to MarketWatchevent@wsj.com by Tuesday, April 10. How to win the battle for an apartment Competition for apartments is fierce in some markets. And it's about to get worse. Here are some ways to help you get the rental you want when it's a landlord's market. Read more: How to win the battle for an apartment. Credit-card breach 'contained' to 1.5 mln accounts Visa, MasterCard middleman card processor says federal investigation continues. Read more: Credit-card breach 'contained' to 1.5 mln accounts. 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Hyundai has given its sporty coupe a front-to-back makeover and added power to make the Genesis a legitimate challenger to Ford's Mustang and Chevy's Camaro. Read more: 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe. TAXES 7 tax audit red flags An unexpected letter from the Internal Revenue Service can make your stomach drop, but you can take steps to reduce your audit risk. Read more: 7 tax audit red flags. Last-minute tax tips The tax filing deadline, April 17, is coming up soon—and experts say this year's returns are littered with potential land mines. Read more: Last-minute tax tips. INVESTING This investment could cost you A controversial new study contends that mutual fund sponsors are using a popular type of offering to prop up sibling funds that are struggling, at a cost to investors. Read more: This investment could cost you. Balancing your portfolio for spring Spring came early to the markets, most major stock market averages enjoyed one of their best first quarters ever, but many so-called experts are forecasting a turn for the worse. Read more: Balancing your portfolio for spring. How to invest in energy funds If you're considering buying an energy fund, chances are it's for one of two reasons: as a hedge or to play a long-term trend. Choosing exchange-traded funds or mutual funds depends on your outlook. Read more: How to invest in energy funds. Should you sell in April? April represents the end of the seasonally favorable six-month period that began last Halloween, and the fast approach of the time when many will "Sell in May and Go Away." Should you try to get a head start on those who mechanically wait until May Day to do their selling? Read more: Should you sell in April? 11 stocks to throw out during spring cleaning Pruning and culling the stocks in your trading portfolio is something you should be doing at any time of year. But it's amazing how rarely we go about this process in a careful and deliberate fashion. Read more: 11 stocks to throw out during spring cleaning. ECONOMY & POLITICS U.S. manufacturers pick up pace in March American manufacturers expanded at a somewhat faster pace in March and most industries experienced growth, according to a closely followed survey. Read more: U.S. manufacturers pick up pace in March. 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