7 things to do to get your security deposit back

No matter how many apartments you’ve changed, you have surely noticed how landlords always search for reasons to not return your security deposit. There are certain ways to ensure that your security deposit makes its way back to you! Moving out of an apartment can be stressful enough on its own, the last thing you need is to not get your security deposit back. As a company with the best storage units NYC, we’ve prepared 7 things to do to get your security deposit back! Let’s look at these tips.

1. Review your lease

Some time before your lease expires, look at the agreement you’ve made. It’s important to understand what you’ve signed and see what it says about getting your security deposit back. There are bound to be some rules or requirements that need to be met so that you can get your deposit back. For example, maybe all the electronics need to be completely functional and the microwave is broken. The easiest thing to do here is to hire someone to do a little fix-up at an affordable price so you can still get your deposit. Long term storage NYC is always there to help you out if you’re moving out and downsizing. Storage has become much more available and cost-effective lately. Be sure to consider this option.

Some other things you need to pay attention to are:

• What your obligations to the property are
• What does the landlord consider a normal amount of damage on the property – Maybe your landlord considers even the normal amount of damage that simply happens due to repeated use of certain items a big problem. So, you need to check this either with them or within the agreement.
• How many days in advance you need to say you’re leaving – Maybe your landlord expects you to announce you will leave their property 6 months in advance. That’s a high number, but it’s not unheard of. If you don’t do things their way, you can end up without your security deposit.

Often it can happen that you remember the lease says there’s a 30-days notice before moving out. But, upon inspection, the number might differ. So, it’s really important to read through the lease and not leave anything up to chance.

2. Repair any damage

Landlords love deducting money for damages around the home. What we’d recommend is getting some feedback from your landlord. Look around the apartment you’re renting and decide together what needs to be repaired. Now you can spend the rest of the days in your apartment fixing what needs to be fixed. It does sound a bit tedious, but to ensure you get your whole security deposit back, be sure to put in the work.

If there are some bigger more complicated repairs that need to be taken care of, leave those to the professionals. You can find pretty affordable professionals to help fix some of the items on the property. So, instead of your landlord deducting $250 for some repairs, you can find someone to do it for $50.

3. Do a deep cleaning

The best way to make sure your landlord stays happy is to do a complete deep cleaning before leaving the property. You may need some time and some chemicals. But, the look of a completely pristine apartment will leave your landlord speechless. They might even overlook some other problems due to the beauty and cleanliness of the property. You can hire pick up and storage NYC to help remove your items and bring them to your storage unit while you do some cleaning.

You can even clean up the walls if they’ve become a bit greyish. This will really impress your landlord and they won’t ask for any compensation.

4. Ask your landlord for a walk-through

A month or so before you move out, ask your landlord to inspect if everything’s been taken care of. They can then point out whatever else needs to be fixed or replaced. This way you’ll have more than enough time to really take care of everything and get your security deposit back in full.

Also, you can focus on the things your landlord would like to be taken care of. This will leave a good impression on them and they are less likely to ask for any deduction on your deposit. Fix up any holes in the walls and make the place look beautiful for the next tenant.

5. Don’t leave anything behind

When the time comes to leave the apartment, make sure you completely empty it. If you were to leave some items behind, your landlord might deduct from your security deposit the cost of getting rid of these items. Any furniture you don’t need – sell it, donate it, or place it in self storage Bronx. If you leave behind just a bit of items, you might just need to go back to get them. But, still, don’t risk the wrath of your landlord!

6. Final walkthrough

Ask your landlord to conduct one final walkthrough around the apartment. Once you’ve fixed everything you’ve been asked to fix, go one last time to check if everything is in complete order. Make sure that your landlord is completely satisfied, or you risk getting a deduction on your deposit.

Also, once your landlord confirms that everything is in order, be sure to ask them when you’ll be getting your entire deposit back.

7. Give your keys back

Finally, the last thing you need to do to get your security deposit back is to return all of the keys you’ve been given. This includes the gate keys, apartment complex keys, apartment keys, garage keys, etc. If you lose any of them, you will need to pay to get them remade.