Tips To Pay The Rent

1. Do not wait for the landlord to visit you. Go to the landlord the day you discover the rent will be late, and explain your situation. 2. Pay whatever you have. Do not wait until you have the entire rent amount. Paying what you collect shows good faith that you want to stay. You do not want to give the impression that you are not paying the rent because you are saving money to move out. 3. If you are more than one month in rent arrears, it's time to take that giant water cooler full of coins, and take them to Coinstar. You can always fill it up again after you get back on your feet. Go to www.coinstar.com and find out how much money is in your coin jar.

Why You Should Purchase Renters Insurance

This is a society that believes in filing lawsuits. Most of the time, when things go wrong to a person or organization in this country, it is many times resolved by suing somebody. The person or the company with the deepest pockets will sometimes end up paying. But, that doesn’t prevent a person from suing you, and letting the insurance companies fight it out amongst themselves.   This is why a tenant should get Renters Insurance. It protects you and your personal assets from being sued directly. Renters Insurance pays for your personal belongings in the event you have a fire or theft loss, or other similar damages to your home or appliances, such as your refrigerator, or a computer. It protects you from any lawsuit filed against you in or around your apartment.   The landlord does carry liability insurance, but that is for his property. It does not cover any other belongings but those that belong to him. Even if it comes out that the fault was that of the landlord, a tenant should always carry his or her own liability insurance.   Sometimes the homeowner’s insurance company will go after the tenant if the company believes the tenant is at fault. An example would be if you started a fire in your apartment from improper disposal of a lit cigarette. Renters Insurance can protect you from being sued by your landlord if you do anything that severely damages the property.   Renters Insurance can also protect you from your own family, visitors and friends. Yes, it does happen. Perhaps your friend fell in the bathroom and broke his ankle. He could sue you for the accident. If nothing was physically wrong in the bathroom, but you left some water on the floor, you may be held personally liable.   The premium amount depends on how much coverage you want for your belongings. It is amazingly cheap, and pretty much standard everywhere. Go through your apartment, and make a list of everything you have of value – furniture, appliances, toys, clothes, furs, computer, beds, etc. Put a value next to each item, and add it up. That will tell you how much insurance you will need to buy.   If you have any receipts of your purchases, save them in case you are asked to produce evidence of a purchase. If you do not have receipts, make sure you take good pictures. Also, put down when you made the purchase. This is important, because companies will try to depreciate the value of your items depending on when you made the purchases.   You should buy renters insurance if:   You own a computer You have roommates You live with someone (unmarried) You keep a bicycle in the public hallway   Ask your landlord where you can get renters insurance. Contact any insurance company, and ask for rates based on your list of valuables. Go to the yellow pages, which has a list of insurance companies near to you. Do it before you suffer a loss.

Tenant Tips

Before looking for an apartment, check your credit report. See if everything is correct, and for any suspicious unpaid charges. If the landlord checks your credit and has a problem, you will already have your copy. Address any issues on your report that might cause your rental application to be rejected. The three credit report bureaus are www.Equifax.com, www.Transunion.com, and www.Experior.com. You can get a copy of your credit report for free every year at www.annualcreditreport.com. Your prior rental history could be included as part of your credit report. If you left your former landlord owing rent or for damages, the amount you owe could be on your credit report. Clear up the amount owed to the former landlord or management company, and this part of the report should change for the better. Your credit report could also include any evictions you have experienced. Know what your credit history says before facing the embarrassment of hearing about it during your rental application process.     2.  Get Renters Insurance. See the article in this section for information.

Your Lease

Read your lease before you move in! Do not be in such a hurry to get the apartment, that you neglect to review your rights. Some landlords add clauses that you may not want to agree to, and you may want to negotiate a change. Take the time to read it, which could take from ten minutes to an hour. It depends on the kind of lease the owner wants you to sign. Always schedule your move-in by letting the owner or manager know that you want time to go over your lease. After you sign your lease, you are expected to live up to the rules and regulations outlined in it. For example, if you want to get a dog or cat, see if the lease allows it. If it doesn't, and the landlord agrees that you can get a pet at a later date, add that clause immediately to the lease before signing it. Put every lease change or permission in writing. Verbal agreements will not hold up in court. If you and the landlord agree you can do something not covered on the lease, you should write a letter of confirmation to the landlord  if he or she forgets to give you a letter. Before you make any changes to the apartment, review your lease to see if you are allowed, for example, to repaint the apartment a different color. If the lease says you must get permission in writing, get it in writing before you paint! Save all correspondence from the landlord. If you write a letter, or send something to the landlord, make a copy of it first. Get a big yellow envelope to keep your lease and other paperwork in one place. You are responsible for keeping your apartment maintained and in good condition while you live in it. This means that if you cause any damage to the apartment, such as putting a hole in a wall or door, your landlord has the right to make you pay for the repair. This could happen after the annual apartment inspection, when he sees the damage, or taken from your security deposit after you move out.

What Kind of Roommate Do You Want?

A lot of thought needs to go into finding a roommate. Some people just go out and find a warm body to live with them who has rent money. What you need is someone you can trust in your apartment without you being there. Seek compatibility. If you like to talk, you don’t want a quiet roommate who only grunts every now and then to your conversation. If you are sociable, you don’t want a roommate who stays to herself in her room all the time. You need to find a person or people with whom you can get along. Your apartment is your sanctuary for at least the next year. You want to make sure you live in it as a happy person. Think about the kind of life you want to live in your apartment. What kind of life do you want your roommate to live with you? Do you like peace and quiet all the time? Are you a “clean fiend”? Do dirty dishes drive you crazy? Think about your personal life style. You need to make sure that your roommate(s) and you will be compatible together. Just because the person is a good co-worker, doesn’t necessarily mean he or she will make a good roommate. This also goes for dormitory roommates. Before you start the roommate search process, create and finish an "ideal roommate" profile. You can review your list of priorities in a roommate while you conduct your search.

The Security Deposit

Before you start to look for an apartment, have your security deposit money in your hands. Owners and Managers will ask for the entire amount before you move into the apartment. Do not expect to be able to make a payment plan for a security deposit. Open up a savings account specifically for your first and last month's rent and the security deposit money while you are looking, and put money into the account every pay period. This way, by the time you find the apartment of your choice, your money will be ready also. 3. When you receive your security deposit receipt of your payment, put it in a safe place, where you can find it when you leave the apartment. Also, the original inspection of the apartment should be kept with your security deposit receipt. 4. If you expect to get your security deposit returned, remember that one of the items that could cost you is the condition of the apartment when you move out. Make sure you remove all furniture and debris from the apartment. Sweep the floors. Your landlord has the right to deduct the cost of extra cleaning of the apartment, and for throwing away your discarded items from your security deposit.

Fire Prevention

1. Potpourri and Incense may smell nice; Candles look good when lit. Still, more fires are started, and lives lost because of these three sources of fire. 2. Keep your heated decorations high, where children can't get to them. Never keep your candles, potpourri, or incense lit when you are not at home. 3. Your landlord may be responsible for putting a new battery in your smoke detectors each year. Still, it would be the lost of your life or that of a loved one if a fire begins while you are asleep. Suing the landlord or management company would be poor company against avoiding the loss of a life. 4. Take $2 and buy a 9 volt smoke detector battery, and install it in your house. Bill the landlord if you must, by sending him/her the receipt for reimbursement. But, don't wait for him or her to take care of your family's welfare. 5. Never take the battery out of the smoke detector. No many how many times you set it off by burning your toast or food, if you turn it off, or take out the battery, you will have absolutely no protection against being warned about a fire in your home. 6. If you must buy an extension cord, don't get the cheapest one they have in the store. Buy the one most appropriate for what you need. Even better, buy a surge protector, which will provide you with more protection in case of an electrical loss or surge of power. The cheaper the extension cord, the most likely it could eventually be a cause of fire in your home.

You and Your Neighbors

Be considerate of your neighbors. Loud music after 11:00 pm is usually a disturbance. Music or noise heard outside of your closed apartment door is also considered excessive. Just because you pay rent does not mean you can do whatever you like in your apartment. It belongs to the property owner, and you are leasing your space for a specific amount of time, for a specific rent, and at the owner's discretion. If your lease does not say you can paint your apartment, you must get your owner or manager's permission to paint. Have it put in writing, to prevent any issue later on.