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Home Responsibilities
The responsibilities you gain by having your
own apartment or house aren't always easy to keep up. Here's a few
things to keep in mind to prepare you for what lies ahead.
Security
Deposit
The costs of getting your
own home can add up quickly. When you first move into a place, it's
common for landlords to ask you to pay a security deposit of a few
hundred dollars. This deposit is kept until you move out of the
apartment and it guarantees the landlord that you won't do a lot
of damage to the property during your tenancy. You are entitled
to get it all back if you leave the apartment in as good a condition
as when you first moved into it. However, if you damage the carpet
or put a dent in a wall, the landlord will pay to repair it out
of your security deposit and you will only be returned the difference.
First
and last month rent deposits
You may also be asked to pay both your first month's rent and your
last month's rent before you move into your new home. The first
month's rent covers you to live there as soon as you move in. The
last month's rent is a guarantee to the landlord that when you give
notice you are moving out, you can't skip out on paying your rent
that last month. The advantage to you is when you give your notice
to leave the apartment, the money you would have spent toward rent
can be spent toward deposits at your new home.
The
lease
Whenever you rent a house or apartment, you will be asked to sign
a lease. This is the official written agreement between you and
the landlord that you agree to basically live there, pay your rent
on time and won't cause any trouble. Always keep a copy of the lease
for your own records. The lease will indicate things like what day
you need to pay your rent by each month, how many days in advance
you have to tell your landlord you are moving out, any late-night
noise policies, the hours you are allowed to use any laundry facilities
and under what circumstances your landlord can evict you from the
unit.
Maintenance
Once
you move in, you also need to consider costs for groceries, your
utilities (phone, heat and electricity), cable TV hook-up, laundry,
parking, and even simple repairs
such as broken light bulbs and plugged up drains.
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