Congratulations! You are moving to a new apartment. Well whether you have done this a million times or this is your first apartment, we all know it is easy to lose out on that big deposit you put down up front.
Our San Antonio Movers have 15 ways to keep your deposit when you move in and out of your apartment.
1. Plan out where you are going to put everything before you have your San Antonio Movers move it in. You may even want to sketch a quick map to help direct the mover and jog your memory. It is easier to figure this out before all of the large items start showing up and things get crowded. Keep in mind where the outlets are and where the TVs can go.
2. Clean before you move your things in. Your apartment complex probably cleaned for you but it is a good idea to do a quick once over before moving your things in. This is also a good way to make your new apartment feel homier quicker. The smell of your own brand of cleaning products will trigger your subconscious to feel more at home there from day one.
3. Change out the toilet seats and put up shower curtains. After moving in the first day you will more than likely really want that hot shower (check the water temperature for that matter). It is the worst thing ever to have to dig and dig to find that shower curtain and end up taking your shower without one, getting water everywhere on your first night in the new home. You may also want to change out the toilet seats for hygienic reasons.
4. Put furniture pads down. Using a pad under couch legs, armoires, and heavy furniture will really save your carpet in the long run and is well worth the $5 that they cost at Walmart or other home store.
5. Take care of the fridge and cooler. Clean out and disinfect your fridge and cooler. Get ice trays if there isn’t an icemaker in your cooler. For you magnet fans, you’ll want to get your magnets up as quickly as possible, but take care to ensure you have no metal magnets that will scratch the surface of the fridge.
6. Get new basics for the fridge. Whether you had lived in your last apartment for years or just six months, the condiments and basics of your fridge aren’t worth the move. They may spoil on the way or even just be a waste of space for the movers. It is worth the extra $25 it may cost you at H.E.B. to replace them just to not have to bother with them.
7. Check for bugs! Okay, as much as you may not want to think about this, it is important. You may say to yourself that you don’t need to check because the apartment complex or condo you chose is expensive and exclusive so you don’t need to worry about it.
We wish that were true. Even some of the nicest apartments have bugs. The problem is that typically apartments spray for bugs only when the apartment is occupied and if your new apartment has been vacant for a few months it may be likely susceptible to infestation. If all of the apartments around you have been sprayed and your new apartment wasn’t because it was vacant, this causes the bugs to migrate to the area that isn’t sprayed.
One way around this is to request as soon as you put a deposit down on your apartment to have it sprayed monthly even before you move in. Some complexes actually do it weekly. It’s a good idea to ask and know the policy in advance.
8. Make sure that all of the windows open and have screens without holes. This is something that gets forgotten often by movers when they move in and could be overlooked until months after they move in. The problem is if you wait months to do this it may not get fixed. Apartment complexes usually only give you one week to get anything fixed that is messed up before you move in, after that they may assume you broke it and try to charge you for the repair.
What to do before you move OUT of your apartment;
9. Patch all holes from pictures and mirrors. You can easily use caulk to fill in the holes left from nails and screws for paintings. If you ask the apartment maintenance for a small sample of the original paint for the walls they will usually give you some. This will keep you from having to repaint the whole wall in every room or pay someone else to do it.
10. Put back anything that came standard in the apartment that you didn’t use, like the standard plastic curtain rods, shelving in the closet or shower curtains. When you replace standard features with upgrades that you purchased personally, the apartment expects that when you move out, their items will be where they were when you moved in. If not, you may get charged for them.
11. Clean the baseboards. Baseboards get very dirty and take away from the deposit if maintenance has to clean them for you. You can use a mild soap and water for this. No expensive cleaner is needed.
12. Shampoo carpets if necessary. This may cost you extra money if you have to rent a shampooer but it will be worth it if you have stained the carpet. Otherwise, you will be paying to have the carpet replaced out of your deposit.
13. Take everything including the trash out of the apartment. While you already have the movers lifting all of the heavy stuff don’t forget to have them do the trash run too.
14. Turn in all keys. Turn in all the keys you have, any extras, the mailbox key and any key or opener you may have for entrance gates.
15. Schedule a walk-through with apartment managers. The walk-through should be done before move out day to allow you to do any last minute fixes to save your deposit.