Don't Sign That Lease YetWritten by dan the roommate man
You're being transferred to a new city in another state for a position that you start in exactly two weeks. You fly to your new hometown to select an apartment. You have exactly two days to make a decision and sign a lease, so when, after much searching, you find a vacancy in a relatively decent property, you're anxious to sign when lease is placed in front of you. Resist urge. As mentioned in previously in our report "Avoiding Tenants' Tribulations," wearing rose-colored glasses can easily fool you into believing that your best interests as a tenant will be protected. Your desire to find a home and wind up what can be an exhaustive search process can push you into signing on dotted line before you've read and understand all of fine print of your lease.What's purpose of a lease, aside from your agreement to pay your rent each month and maintain your apartment in good condition? For starters, responsibilities of your landlord are clearly outlined in this contract, so it's obviously in your best interests to read lease carefully. If you're ignorant of lease terms, you could find yourself blindsided several months later when your landlord holds you responsible for damage or other breach of lease, and subsequently asks you to move out. What if your employment situation changes five months into your 12-month lease, and you've got to move before your lease expires? Your lease will outline your financial obligations should you need to back out for any reason. Some leasing offices and landlords will place a lengthy, "standard" document in front of you and downplay its terms -- not necessarily to dupe you, but rather in an attempt to save you time and allow him or her to move on to other prospective tenants waiting in leasing office. Don't feel pressured; instead, move off to side, allow leasing agent/landlord to accommodate other visitors to office, and continue reading lease until you understand all of its terms. You may have signed many leases in past, leading you to believe that they're all same. They're not. Once you sign lease, you're usually locked into its terms. You'll want to find out before signing what consequences will be if you change your mind before moving day (will you get your full deposit back?). Many consumers don't realize that under law, they're entitled to request changes to lease before signing it. In fact, consumers may request any modification they please, so don't be afraid to propose any changes to its terms. If landlord agrees to your terms, make sure that he or she makes those changes on lease itself (in ink, not pencil) and writes date and his or her initials beside them. And don't leave leasing office without a copy of modified lease. Verbal promises will never hold up in event that you have a disagreement over lease terms with your landlord in future, or if only your landlord had a copy of modified lease (or if changes were made only in erasable pencil).
| | Avoiding Post-Move Pitfalls: What to Tackle FirstWritten by dan the roommate man
Your spouse arrives home one day with news that he or she has been offered a job transfer. The opportunity is too good to pass up, and within a short period, you're headed across country to begin a new life in a new city. You barely have time to select a new home, let alone consider where you're going to enroll your child in preschool. Which school would be best for your child? Which one is closest to your new home? You figure you'll explore your options after you move into your new home.Unfortunately, plumbing problems greet you when you arrive in your "new" residence, and you're tied up for a couple of days. When you finally make some phone calls, locate preschool and head there for registration, you're asked to produce your child's medical records. In which box were those packed? By time you head home, find records and return to school, what are your chances of landing your child in preschool of your choice? Moving into a new residence is one of most exciting events in anyone's life, particularly if you're a first-time homebuyer. The amount of preparations required to successfully pull off a move is exhausting. When you're moving, you're so busy during period leading up to move that you're likely to give no thought to what needs to be done just as soon as boxes hit floor in your new home. Unpacking just might be least of your priorities - and yet, it's what we tackle first because we want life to resume some sense of normalcy. If you've got school-aged children, enroll your children in their new schools before you even move, if you can help it. Registration can be a stressful event, and it will take a load off your mind as well as your children's to know that arrangements have been made for school year. If you're planning on enrolling your children in school after you arrive in your new home, pack their medical records in a safe, accessible place so you won't have to search your entire home top to bottom to locate them. Another thing you should do well before you move is to fill out a change of address form. Otherwise, you're going to have some unhappy creditors slapping you with late charges; when, in fact, your bills either failed to make it to your new home, or buyers of your old home decided to forward them to you three weeks after they arrived. Your local post office makes it extremely easy to change your address. You'll want to fill out a change of address card approximately one month in advance of your move, in order to allow time for transition to take place. If you wait until last minute, you'll experience a "lag time" for receipt of your mail.
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