Hey, it’s only money. You probably only work to alleviate the boredom anyway. Learn these handy money-saving tips before moving into your new Delavan apartment. Rather than throw your money away on frivolous recreation, here are 10 Ways to Lose Your Security Deposit:
1. Don’t give the landlord your forwarding address.
This should be obvious, but if you don’t tell the landlord where you went, then the landlord has no choice but to send your refund to the last known address, which is the apartment you just moved out of.
2. Don’t file a forwarding address at the post office.
At least if you forgot to tell your landlord where you moved to, that forwarding order you filed will help your refund to catch up to you eventually. You did file the forwarding order, didn’t you?
3. Don’t instruct your landlord about how to split the refund between roommates.
That way, the landlord will just send a two party check payable to the both of you, and no doubt send it to your former roommate and not to you. And now you’re really beginning to regret having set fire to your old roommate’s car.
4. Don’t leave the place clean.
Surely a little elbow grease, TLC and a few hundred dollars should be enough for your landlord to get the old place presentable again. You would be surprised by how long it takes to really detail clean an apartment. At Decker Properties, the first hour of cleaning is free and then the meter starts to run.
5. Leave some of your old furniture behind.
Better still, abandon an old car. Let’s see, that’s two maintenance men to get that couch down to the dumpster, a little more time to break it up and get it into the dumpster and a special pickup. I’m sure the balance you’ll owe from all that won’t be too much more than your security deposit.
6. Use your security deposit as last month’s rent on your Delavan apartment.
Obviously, you won’t be getting it back now, but it seems like you’re ahead of the game. But the tenants that do this are the same ones that don’t clean or leave a forwarding address. So those cleaning charges wind up as part of a court action and the means of serving you the legal notice of the charges is an obscure classified ad in the Legal Notifications classification. Judgment for the plaintiff!
7. Don’t take any pictures of your place after you clean it.
You put in the work. Don’t leave it to chance that the landlord will see it the same way, particularly when snapping a few shots is so easy. Get some close ups of the oven, appliances, bathroom etc. so there can be no doubt. Then send them to the landlord.
8. Pay your rent late all the time.
Hey, the Delavan apartment landlord didn’t say anything about a late fee, so maybe it’s OK. Or maybe the landlord has better things to do with their time so they don’t call every delinquent tenant because they figure that the tenant already knows. In addition, the landlord can always settle up on all of those late fees as charges against the security deposit when you move out.
9. Bounce plenty of checks.
Probably in addition to an NSF charge, your rent might be regarded as late as well. The landlord never said anything? But it’s in the lease? Say goodbye to your deposit or at least a big chunk of it.
10. Don’t pay your final utility bills.
The landlord can just deduct that from the deposit anyway. Plus late charges. Plus administrative fees. Plus … better pay that final bill!