Real Estate Flipping

For many tenants the purpose of deposit is a bit of a touchy subject. Most renters assume they should receive their deposit in its entirety as long as there is no significant damage to the apartment. However, this is rarely true that there are many factors that contribute or not the deposit or part of the deposit will be refunded to the tenant when they leave.

Admittedly, doing extensive damage to the apartment, such as making holes in walls, break appliances or tear the flooring may warrant the security deposit being held, but even in these cases, the agent leasing must justify these costs. In other words, the leasing agent can not use a damaged element to justify the retention of full deposit. Rather the leasing agent is required to determine the cost of repairing the item. If this estimate is large enough to justify not returning the deposit, the tenant must be informed of the estimated cost of repairs to the apartment.

All apartments must be thoroughly cleaned before the tenant vacates the property. This should include a thorough cleaning of all rooms of the apartment, including bedrooms, bathrooms and all common areas. Cleaning should also include the cleaning of all blinds in the apartment. The blinds can be quite difficult to clean and many rental agencies charge about $ 10 per blind if they deem it necessary to clean these items. This can add up quickly if a number of windows in the apartment.

Many rental agents also perform a number of standard functions of cleaning when a resident leaves the facility. This may include items such as cleaning the fridge, shampoo the carpet or repaint the walls. When these elements are necessary, there is usually a fee associated with each object. In many cases, the sum of these costs required results in a number that is probably the sum of the bond. In addition, the leasing agents often do an hour of cleaning services to prepare an apartment for residents to come. This is rarely enough time to finish the job and therefore tenants are eventually pay extra at an hourly rate.

Have you read your contract documents?

Tenants who want to have the best chance of having much of their security deposit refunded to them should be very familiar with their specifications. This is important while living in the apartment and while preparing to leave the apartment. It is important to become familiar with the terms of the contract while living in the apartment because it may prevent the tenant to make choices of decoration that are explicitly prohibited by the lease. These types of decisions can be costly in the long run because they can cause the tenant being assessed for damage received by the dealer.

Renters should also carefully review the contract documents as they prepare to leave the property. This is important because it can help tenants to clean and repair the apartment, according to the guidelines set forth by the leasing agent. In doing so, it will be much more likely that the tenant will not be considered exorbitant fees at the conclusion of the lease.