3 Tips Before Moving Into An Apartment

In our mission of making people’s moves stress-free, we are sharing 3 tips to follow before moving into an apartment.

1. Read your lease agreement
2. Set up your utilities
3. File a change of address

 

1. Read your lease agreement

Take at least a day to go over your lease agreement. Don’t forget that it is a legally binding agreement that will bind you and your landlord for at least a year.

Go over the policies on visitors, pets, parking, and rent payments. Usually, that’s where the unexpected fees come from. Sometimes having a buddy to spend a night might cost you extra. Also, if you have a car, where are you going to park it without getting towed?

You should know when your rent is due, and if there is a grace period. Sometimes landlords provide tenants with a 3-5-day grace period before they can charge a late fee. That means if your rent was due on the 1st of the month, you might have time until the 3rd or the 5th depending on your lease agreement.

If there is a late fee, know how much you will have to pay. The common number for a late fee is 5% from your monthly rent payment.

 

2. Set up your utilities

Your lease agreement will specify which utilities are covered by your landlord and which ones are your responsibility. Usually, in most cities in the US, tenants connect the electricity, gas, internet, and cable. Remember that you can transfer your current contracts and plans manually by calling your providers.

Another option is to use My Utilities. It is an online service that allows you to compare utility quotes from 75,000 provides for free in one place. They already covered over 100 million houses, so they have been tested by other people. If it is your turn to shop for utility providers, why not use them?

 

3. File a change of address

You need to file a change of address if you want your mail to be forwarded to your new house. Otherwise, you risk losing important documents, such as bank statements, bills, policy updates, etc. that businesses send you.

There are several places where you need to manually update your address:

• Banks
• Credit Cards
• Online accounts & subscriptions
• Medical Offices

But by doing it through USPS gives you peace of mind that none of your mail will be lost. You can do it on the USPS website for only $1.05, and you will receive an email confirmation.

We hope the following will give you more information on USPS’s change of address service:

• Whether your move is temporary or permanent, you can use this service to update your address.
• If your move is temporary, you can use the service for 15 days to 1 year. After the first six months, you can extend it for another six months.
• Direct your mail to a new address with a few clicks and a charge of $ 1.05 on your credit card (to verify your identity).
• All pieces of your mail will be sent to the new address.
• You will get a welcome kit with coupons from our partners.

 

So, these were our 3 main tips you can follow before moving into an apartment. We hope these tips were informative and will give you peace of mind.