This article is part of our 52 week journey through Bill’s latest book, The Graduate’s Guide to Life and Money. Each week, a full excerpt from his book will be presented from beginning to end. To get your copy of his book, visit www.TheGraduatesGuide.com .
Knowing Your Rights as a Tenant
Once you think you have found the ideal apartment, start looking very carefully at the lease contract. How long are you locking yourself in? Some contracts are six months, others are for one year, and some are for 18 months or even two years. You also want to find out how long of a notice you have to give before you leave. In some cases you have to notify your landlord two months before the end of the lease if you want to renew your lease or not. They usually reserve the right to show your apartment to new prospective renters during the final thirty days of your lease. If you don’t know what will happen 12 months from now, you may want to find out if you can rent month to month. Some contracts allow this after you have been in the apartment for one full year, but you still need to give them enough notice (such as 30 or 60 days) before you do finally move out.
What happens if you get transferred or lose your job? What if your dream home becomes available just six months into your 12-month lease? You should find out what the penalties are for breaking your lease. Some contracts try to obligate you for the entire annual rental amount. Most will stipulate that...
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