Moving in September

silva_unt

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Me and the bf are moving to another apt in sept and after reading the apartment ratings online for my specific complex, we are VERY worried! 3 current reviews mention high move out fees, above $900, $1200, $+ + !!
Any tips would be much appreciated. This is the first apt we've lived in and our first move out; not sure what to expect. If anyone know any TX tenant laws that would be helpful too.
Wish us luck for getting the new apt we want and for a not so pricy move-out


ps. we never complain, put in few maintenance requests, and always pay rent in person and on the 1st of every month... will this help us?
 

catlover19

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I have never heard of a move out fee. I am also moving to a new place in September and it doesn't cost me anything. Our lease is up in 2 days and we are paying rent for one more month (July) and August is already paid for from us paying first and last when we moved in.

The only thing I can think of is costs if you are breaking a lease or things in your apartment need to be fixed...?
 
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silva_unt

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yes, the reviews mention rediculous fees for carpet $900 alone for installing new carpet. Then again who know what she actually did to it and how big her apt was... All mention that the apt will find a way to charge an arm and a leg when moving out!! Glad to hear your not facing this (catlover19) Good luck with your move and new place
 
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silva_unt

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Here are some quotes from the reviews:

"when you move out you will get another bill for at least $400.00 for "cleaning" even if you already scrubbed and cleaned everything before moving out."

"There is a $50 electric charge when moving out, so that they can change it back to their provider. That is not my responsibility, it is the apartment's. I have never been an electricity transfer charge to move out of an apartment(I had Reliant Energy). Also, they want over $950 to replace/repair carpets. That is absurd!"

"Move out rate cost us over 1000$. They nickel and dime you for everything they can find, light bulbs, switching electric providers, blinds, carpets (that are stained upon move in), and normal wear & tear things. We had two other friends at this apartment complex. One was charged 1600$ upon move out and the other was charged 1200$- we have lived in apartments the last 5 years and the highest i have ever payed at move out as 300$. They make all of their money upon move out, and yes you can fight it but then it goes on your rental history"
 

catlover19

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Originally Posted by silva_unt

Here are some quotes from the reviews:

"when you move out you will get another bill for at least $400.00 for "cleaning" even if you already scrubbed and cleaned everything before moving out."

"There is a $50 electric charge when moving out, so that they can change it back to their provider. That is not my responsibility, it is the apartment's. I have never been an electricity transfer charge to move out of an apartment(I had Reliant Energy). Also, they want over $950 to replace/repair carpets. That is absurd!"

"Move out rate cost us over 1000$. They nickel and dime you for everything they can find, light bulbs, switching electric providers, blinds, carpets (that are stained upon move in), and normal wear & tear things. We had two other friends at this apartment complex. One was charged 1600$ upon move out and the other was charged 1200$- we have lived in apartments the last 5 years and the highest i have ever payed at move out as 300$. They make all of their money upon move out, and yes you can fight it but then it goes on your rental history"
Thats crazy. I couldn't imagine having to pay like $1600 to move out of an apartment. Thats like 2½ rent payments.

I hope your fees aren't that bad. Good luck...and good luck getting the apartment you want.
 

whisky'sdad

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Have you already signed the lease? If so, oh well, not much you can do. If not, continue looking.
 

mystik spiral

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I've never heard of a move out fee, either. Carpet cleaning and paint touch ups are the responsibility of the apartment owner and are pretty standard things to do when an apartment becomes available for rent - it's NOT something you should have to pay for. That's why you pay rent, for pete's sake.

I do know that most places will charge you an additional month's rent if you fail to give 30 days notice of when you are planning on moving out.

Now, many places do require a pet deposit if you have animals - did you pay that when you moved in? Also, when you rent a place you should be given a chance to list ANYTHING that was broken/damaged on the day you moved in. I have learned to go over rented places with a fine toothed comb and make note of ANYTHING that I feel I could be dinged for when I move out. If you have not damaged anything and have cleaned the apartment, not only should you NOT have to pay a "move-out" fee, you should get your full deposit back. Carpet cleaning, replacing lights bulbs, and "changing" electrical providers is NOT your responsibility, it's for the apartment management to figure out.

I hope they don't screw you over, as it's likely not worth taking them to small claims court or anything. But if they do, I'd advise you to contact the Better Business Bureau and any local consumer advocate you may have (here in CO we've got Tom Martino). Based on the comments you posted from other renters, it seems the word is out - which is a good thing when you're dealing with unfair business practices.

Good luck finding a new place, I hope everything goes well!!!
 

catkiki

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In California, it depends on how long you have been in the apartment and how old the carpet is if they can charge you for new carpets or not. I have never heard of a "move-out fee" That is what security deposits are for.

How big is your apartment complex and how long have you been there? If it is a large complex, 3 "bad" reviews are not all that bad. It may be that the tenant did a lot of damage to the place that the security deposit did not cover. I used to live in a complex (our roommate was the manager) where the tenant did not ever clean the kitchen floor (they didn't even wipe up spilled food) nor vacuumed the carpets. they did not get their deposit back and had to pay more.

One other thing, is maybe those that complained either broke the lease or did not give proper notice. Without proper notice, the landlord can charge a month's rent even though you are out of the apartment. And if you break the lease, they can charge the rent (per Judge Judy) until they are able to rent the place to another person. I am just saying that you are only hearing the disgruntled former tenants side of the story. I would sit down and talk to your landlord when you give your notice.

Check out this site where it lists what the tenant is and is not responsible for when moving out. It has some great ideas!

http://ohmyapt.apartmentratings.com/...oving_out.html
 

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Originally Posted by catlover19

Thats crazy. I couldn't imagine having to pay like $1600 to move out of an apartment. Thats like 2½ rent payments.
That's totally ridiculous! We rented for quite a while before we built our home and we only had some trouble one time. Not our fault....honest; the landlord was a total idiot. He said we didn't pay four months rent; thank goodness, I had every single cancelled check for the 2 years we lived there. Turns out, he had had several houses rented out and was going to lose all of them due to back tax issues, so he needed some bucks big-time.

He also tried to blame us for a broken window in the garage, but we had taken pictures with a camera that had the date on the pictures and gave everything to the realtor when we moved in. The house was spotless when we left, but he tried to charge us a professional cleaning fee. Again, we had pictures to prove that we left the house in better shape than it was when we first moved in. It got ugly, but we were vindicated.

I hope you don't have to pay all that money! Cripes, that's highway robbery!
 
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silva_unt

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Thank you all for all your input. We have found an apt we like however my current apt requires a 2month notice and most apts only hold vacant apts for 1 month if that, so... my 2month notice has to be given by July 30th for a sept.30 moveout. I guess it wouldn't hurt to go chat with the new apt and figure out thier holding and prices. I did pay for a pet deposit, all $300, half of which is refundable, hah! Doubt i'll be getting that back!

We did fill out that form of all the things wrong when we moved in, there were alot! But our bad for not making a copy... lets hope they still have that on file. Mangmt has changed 2x since we've been here, so these aren't even the same people who moved us in.

Catkiki, thank you for that link. just the thing i was searching for last night when we were freaking out, lol!
Our complex isn't very big and only goes up 2floors. We've been here 3yrs and just never left to avoid the hassle of moving and to avoid another pet deposit. But we've fianlly had enough... those 3 reviews were based on 2010and about moveout fees, believe me there are plenty more!! The majority of complaints and the reason why we are leaving is the rediculous electricity here. Old apt = old appliances and poor insulation. OUr cheapest elect bill for our little one bedroom was $116. You wont believe what we had to pay for the coldest months!!

oh, and yes, i do hope that those complainers had other reasons not stated to why they were charged so much. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
 

larussa

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The only time you have to pay when you leave an apt. is if you break the contract. If you sign a lease for say two years and you want to leave before that, then you would be breaking the contract and have to pay for that. Otherwise I never heard of paying a fee for a move out. That's just highway robbery.
 
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silva_unt

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Thank you

Going to use some vacation time during the move: 1. to unpack at the new place and 2. to make the current apt SUPER clean!!
 

lauren_miller

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I have never payed to move out before. Most of the time I've just gotten part of my deposit back for little minor things. Fresh paint and carpet cleaning should be the responsibility of the property owner, although the last apartment we moved out of we bought a steam cleaner and did the carpets before we left. We had a horrible experience at our last place and we didn't want to leave any stone unturned.
 
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silva_unt

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Wonder if i can rent a steam cleaner... thats a thought. For sure want this place spotless before we leave! btw, lauren_miller, love the sig!!
 

3catsn1dog

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When BF and I moved out of our old apt we had the option of giving them the 80 bucks out of our security deposit for carpet cleaning or doing it ourselves thru their company (for verification that it was done) that was no big deal we even got out of our lease agreement one month early. I cleaned that place from top to bottom and went thru with the landlord for the final inspection and got all of our deposit back minus the cleaning fee. I couldnt imagine having the pay $1600 for a move out fee thats crazy....Could you just talk to management about you wanting to move out and find out their expectation ahead of time to see what they want or what they require upon moving out. I would rather replaced all the light bulbs and steam clean the carpets myself rather than leave it up to chance that you miss something they look for.
 

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I would clean the place thoroughly. Then I would take pictures of everything - every corner, and every little scratch they could nail you on.

Check the tenant laws in your state. I believe in CA, carpet has an expected life of only 7 years, so if they are saying you ruined the carpet, they should have proof. They can't charge you for normal wear and tear.

I don't know what you paid in cleaning deposit, but if you feel that they are charging you excessively, you can always take them to small claims court. But you should have some evidence and/or witnesses to back up your story.

Yes, you should have kept a copy of the form you filled out when you moved in. But in your next rental, make sure you keep a copy. Also take pictures of every room and every imperfection before you move in. And keep those until after you clear the post move inspection.
 
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silva_unt

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Thanks!
Yes i will do things right for our next place. When i put my notice i plan to request a copy of our initial walkthrough and ask if they a have a move out check list. Read online some apts have this. I also believe that there was a special when we moved in and we did not have to pay a deposit; however, there is the refundable $150 from the pet deposit.
 
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