It is incredibly important to find out how your complex handles security issues. Find out from an apartment representative whether or not they have any type of security guards on site. Ask if they re-key apartments once old tenants move out. Maybe you'd feel more comfortable in an apartment close to police department. A good friend of mine lives about a block away from Arlington police department, and I feel so much safer when I leave there at night. On weekends, there's usually a cop car that cruises around to make sure everything's fine. It helps you sleep a little easier. Unfortunately, not every complex can all cram around police department. This is why you must research area to determine how safe it is.

Remember: just because an apartment looks "clean" doesn't mean that it is. Find out about neighborhood crime statistics. APB News provides a general idea of neighborhood safety in U.S. on their web site. You just enter in zip code you’re wondering about and hit return and you’ll find out level of safety on a scale of one to ten.

Once you've discussed both maintenance and security issues with representatives of potential apartments, you should be able to make a confident decision on which place you will decide to call home.

A proper written notice should include a list of problems, a reasonable date for completion (about thirty days) and it should be signed by you, landlord and dated. Make sure both you and your landlord have copies with original signatures, and you might want to get them notarized. Visit Neighborhood Link for a good example of a proper repair request letter.

Most landlords will make requested repairs, and you won't have to worry about anything after that. However, there's a chance that your landlord will continually put off repairs or simply refuse to make them. This is when you must move to step two.

Neighborhood link states that "If landlord fails to correct condition within a reasonable time, (usually about thirty days) then tenant may terminate rental agreement." In order to do this, you are required to provide landlord with a written notification of your residency termination. (This is sort of like putting in your two weeks notice at a job you plan to quit.) For a sample of a termination letter, click here.

The South Dakota Office of Attorney General provides one final remedy in event that a landlord fails to make repairs. According to their laws on tenant rights & responsibilities, tenant can "make repairs on his or her own, in which case tenant may deduct expense for repairs from rent." This might involve going to small claims court, but if you have a copy of signed and dated repair request, getting reimbursed shouldn't be too much of a problem.

*To find out about landlord-tenant laws in your state, visit Tenant.net and select your state in pop up menu on top right hand side.