6 Money Tips for Renters
August 4, 2011
More and more Americans are renting a place to live. There are now 38 million U.S. households renting rather than owning a home. Both new and experienced renters often learn how small oversights can lead to very expensive mistakes. I like helping people learn about money mistakes before they make them.
The following practical money help is taken from my new slightly sarcastic, yet comprehensive personal finance guide, “Goodbye Money – 1,000 Ways to Waste It, or Not”. Please note the style I used to make it different from other boring finance books. These are ways to waste your money (or not).
For Tenants
Before Moving In
1. Give a deposit to someone before verifying if they’re the owner or agent of the place you’re looking to rent. Yes, I know you’ve been using Craigslist for years, but you just handed $4,000 to someone you just met a few minutes ago.
2. Quickly scan the lease and sign it even if you don’t agree with all of the terms or don’t understand all of the conditions. Don’t postpone signing the lease even if you have questions that the landlord or agent couldn’t answer. Why waste time calling an expert or researching the information online when you can sign your life away quickly? Why challenge or question some of the terms of the lease? Is it because you can’t find anywhere else to live? Being polite or executing a lease agreement too quickly can cost you a lot of aggravation and money later.
It’s much better to get clarification from an expert before you sign. It won’t be easy to renegotiate the terms after you sign on the line. If you eventually end up in court, pleading ignorance is not a defense, although the judge may find it amusing. What do you mean you had no idea what you were signing? Did someone put a gun to your head?
Learn about money mistakes before you make them!
3. Sign a lease or give a deposit and then change your mind. Good luck trying to get all or part of your money back. You’ve entered into an agreement and then the landlord took the place off the market so that you could have it. If you back out of the deal, he may not have enough time to find a qualified tenant before the beginning of the month. But don’t worry, it’s not like he has to pay his mortgage or other bills on time. The bank and utility companies will be nice and let him wait to pay until he finds another tenant.
4. Be cheap or lazy and don’t buy renter’s insurance. You don’t care about the possibility of replacing your furniture, electronics, clothing, jewelry and other household items. The premium usually averages about $20 a month, but you’d rather wait for something bad to happen so you can lose hundreds or thousands of dollars.
5. Rent an apartment that you think might not be a legal apartment and later sue the landlord for all the rent money you’ve paid. You’re not entitled to live somewhere for free. You could also be forced to move out with very little notice if a local agency decides that the apartment must be vacated until it complies with local occupancy codes and laws.
6. Don’t bother inspecting the unit with the landlord or agent before moving in. While you’re at it, don’t write down the condition of the floors, walls, and appliances and don’t take any pictures.
Remember, these tips and over 1,000 more can be found in my new comprehensive financial literacy guide, “Goodbye Money – 1,000 Ways to Waste It, or Not”. It’s now also available for Kindle and Nook readers on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
