Renting a house for yourself? Many costs are incurred, one of which is the security deposit, which is usually equal to the monthly rental amount. Now when you move out, you will at least want some of this back. This does not always happen because if any damage occurs while you live in the unit, the costs are taken out from this security deposit, which implies that you will not get it back.
The problem is that in some cases, the deposit alone is not enough and even greater costs are incurred in fixing the repairs. Should this happen, your financial situation could become quite difficult. Is there any way out? The only situation in which landlords will not charge you or charge you only a fraction of the expenses is when it is due to wear and tear.
With every property manager, wear and tear holds a different concept. In most instances, walking patterns on the carpet is wear and tear. Same is the case if the furniture rubs off the wall paint.
What about situations that were not the fault of wear and tear such as your kids drawing on the wall or your pet chewing the carpet? Even though you did not do any of this, your landlord can hold you responsible since you could have prevented it.
When damage occurs, should you wait for your landlord to find out or do something about it by yourself? Go through your lease; your landlord might have mentioned something relevant when it comes to this. If this is not the case, you can deal with the situation as you wish. If there is any chance the problem can get worse, address it now before the repairs become even more expensive. What about stains in your carpet? They will always be there and hopefully not worsen; for these things, you can easily wait for as long as you want to.
To protect yourself, you should take pictures when you move in and when you move out. Also note down the details in the form of a written document – most landlords should provide a move-in/move-out form. This will serve as proof if your landlord wants to charge you for something which was the fault of the previous tenant.
What if you do have to pay? Ignoring the charge is no solution because your landlord can hire a collection agency to get the money from you. This will negatively impact your credit score. The only good solution is to prevent damages from the start.
Source: realestate.aol.com
