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Could anybody provide an itemized list of the usual move-out charges for rental apartments in the RTP/Cary/Morrisville/Raleigh area ?
If you had a bad experience moving out, could you please tell us about the items you had to pay the most for ?
Examples: Carpet, wall paint, door knobs, faucet repairs and kitchen appliances.
When I moved out of my rental apartment in N. Raleigh I wasn't charged anything. In fact I got my $200 deposit refunded via mail about 2 weeks after moving out.
Check your lease for required cleaning. If not done or if there's damage, there will be a charge.
Some pet fees are refundable, some partially, some not refundable. See your lease.
Under NC law, you get a refund or a letter explaining charges within 30 days of vacating.
A tip. Ask for the right to be present at the post-move inspection. If not possible, use a video camera starting with a picture of the current day's newspaper showing the date. Video every room and the inside of the stove & fridge.
Excellent suggestion ! I really like it so much, I am gonna video my entire apartment with a digi cam before turning in the keys.
Quote:
Originally Posted by saturnfan
Check your lease for required cleaning. If not done or if there's damage, there will be a charge.
Some pet fees are refundable, some partially, some not refundable. See your lease.
Under NC law, you get a refund or a letter explaining charges within 30 days of vacating.
A tip. Ask for the right to be present at the post-move inspection. If not possible, use a video camera starting with a picture of the current day's newspaper showing the date. Video every room and the inside of the stove & fridge.
This is a really tough question to answer as charges vary greatly. Most communities have a list, but it's not an exhaustive list. Basically, you will be charged to repair/replace/clean anything that you are responsible for. So say for instance you put a hole in your door. Not only will you pay for the cost of a new door, but you'll also pay for the labor as well. Communities do allow you normal wear and tear, but for the most part, you should return the unit to them in the same condition it was given to you. That means it should be thoroughly cleaned, carpets cleaned, nail holes filled, etc. Most communities will paint, so you may not have to touch up paint, but that depends on the community.
As a landlord, the most frequent thing we charged for was carpet. Your carpet should be free of stains of color as well as pet waste. If any of those things are detected, your carpet may have to be replaced. Pet waste is the biggest problem. What people don't realize is every time a dog urinates on the carpet, it seeps into the backing of the carpet, the padding, and the subfloor. So you can "clean" the stain and think it's all gone, but really, the problem is still there hidden underneath and the only way to get rid of it is to replace it all. There are companies that do pet waste inspections, so typically when a management company knows a person has had a pet, they'll have the company go in and do an independent inspection. They have a special tool that determines if a stain was a pet stain, and if they feel it was, they'll rip up the carpet to look underneath. If the carpet has any signs of waste, it will be replaced at the renter's expense. For carpet replacement for any reason, the renter would only be responsible for the amount of life left in the carpet. Each carpet has a lifespan, typically 5-7 years. So depending how old the carpet is depends how much you would pay.
Another thing you may be charged for is a final water bill. Sometimes there is a last bill that comes out after you move out. This depends on the community.
As a pp mentioned, you'll get a list of all charges (if any) within 30 days of your move out date. Definitely be present at the inspection, but keep in mind that further inspections may be necessary (i.e. carpet inspection). You can request to be present at all of them, but they do not have to work around your schedule.
I hope that all helps. Feel free to ask any specific questions!
Did you have a move-in inspection? Many places will do this and give you a copy of the inspection sheet which documents the condition of the apartment when you moved in. This is a good reference for when you go to move out. For example, I lived in an apartment that had a door jamb that had been chewed by a previous tenant's pet, and I made sure to mark that on the move-in inspection to prevent from being charged for it after I moved out.
The rule I have lived by over my 8 or so years of rental experience is to leave the apartment in BETTER condition than I received it, discounting normal wear and tear (i.e. no painting, just spackling nail holes, spot cleaning carpet, clean oven, etc.). How? Well, in my experience, I have always had to thoroughly clean my apartments myself upon moving in because they have NEVER been up to my standard of cleanliness upon move-in. I don't want to be living in someone else's filth [img]http://******************/vomit-smiley-7502.gif[/img]. So when I move out, I try to leave the space as clean as I would have liked to had received it to begin with. The leasing agent at the last complex I lived in said he'd never seen a unit left that clean before . I've never been billed for cleaning or damages anywhere that I have rented.
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I really like it so much, I am gonna video my entire apartment with a digi cam before turning in the keys.
. I've never been billed for cleaning or damages anywhere that I have rented.
