7 Smart Tips for Renting a Home

Pay your rent

Also don’t assume you can use your security deposit to pay the rent as you get ready to move out. That would leave the landlord with no fund to pay for repairs, and most leases prohibit this.

Know your lease terms

Finally, look carefully at any lease provisions allowing you or the landlord to end the deal early. Typically, the tenant has the right to stay until the lease expires even if the property is sold. Many leases allow the tenant to leave early, with notice of a month or two, for a new job or transfer a minimum distance from the property, such as 50 miles. Some leases permit subletting, most don’t.

If you break the lease, the landlord will keep your security deposit and may well sue you for the remaining months’ rent. This could also mar your credit history and hurt your credit score.

But the landlord may agree to terminate the lease early if it doesn’t cause a financial loss. You could offer, for example, to pay through the end of November but get out a couple of weeks earlier, giving the landlord time to spruce the place up so a new tenant can move in Dec. 1.

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