Moving Out of Your Apartment? Here’s What to Do Before the Lease Ends
When you’re relocating out of your current apartment, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by everything you have to do. There are a few essential things to make sure you take care of and do to prepare for your next move. To get your security deposit back and make for a smooth transition into your new place, follow these steps.
Give At Least a 30-Day Notice
The majority of leases require the tenant give the landlord at-least a thirty-day written notice before moving. Make this a priority and take it seriously. Waiting too long may result in a lease renew or you may be required to pay a significant amount of money in order to break the lease. If the lease agreement renews due to a late lease cancellation notice, it is likely the apartment management may withhold your deposit.
Change Your Home Address
Pick up a change of address form at the local post office, or complete one online at USPS. This document will allow you to tell the post office when to begin forwarding your mail, based on your expected move-in date. Ideally, you would have everything set up two weeks in advance. Also, contact your credit bureaus, doctor’s office, employer, and other important and let them know of your address change.
If you haven’t done so already, this is the time to notify your Renters Insurance agent that your address will be changing, and you may need a different amount of coverage.
Shut Off or Transfer Utilities
Any utilities not handled by the management company will need to be either shut off or transferred to your new place before moving out. The most common utilities that must be taken care of are electricity, water and gas. Call your provider with questions regarding starting, stopping or transferring service.
Do a Deep Cleaning
To get your full deposit back, the apartment must be in the exact condition as when you moved in. Normal wear and tear is expected, but you you’ll need to do a thorough deep cleaning of the apartment. Give everything a good scrub, and consider renting a carpet cleaner for the floors. You may also need to remove any staples or nails from the walls, and fill in the holes with putty. You can ask your community manager for their own checklist.
Plan a Final Walk-Through
Schedule your walk-through the day you know everything will have already been moved out. Make sure you are present for the inspection to deal with any discrepancies on the spot and see that all notes/comments are accurately recorded. Upon moving in, you should have documented any existing problems with the unit (preferably with photos), so if your property manager tries to claim that you are liable for damages, you will be prepared to fight these claims.
Before you’re officially gone, you will be required to return all community/apartment keys and passcodes. These include badges, apartment keys, mail room keys, gate cards, and more.
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info@byrnesagency.com
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Tags: Ending Your Lease, Moving Out, Moving Out Checklist, Renters Insurance, Renters Insurance in Connecticut, renters insurance in CT