Just because you want to move out of an apartment next month doesn’t mean that all your payment is done and you can move out without doing anything.
You have various procedures that you need to do until the deadline before you move out. I am going to explain when you can smoothly move out of an apartment without wasting your money.
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The process of move-out
Notify your move-out date
If you decide to move out, you just look over a contract document, which has concluded between you and an apartment leaser and make sure when you should notify your move-out date and how you can move out.
Generally, you need to let a leaser know your move-out date at least one month before you move out. However, depending on the contract, move-out notification timing is different.
You also check the notification method about if you should notify with a paper or notify with just a phone in advance.
Don’t forget to notify your move-out to a real estate broker that mediated an apartment to you. It wants to decide a date to attend the last inspection with you before you move out.
When you move out
The followings are what you need to finish until you attend a move-out inspection
- Public utilities procedures
- Pay off news papers and landline
- Clean up rooms
- Submit move-out notification to a municipal office
- Submit transfer notification to a post office.
Attend move-out inspection
You need to check if there are scratches and dirt on the wall, floor and equipped furniture with a real estate broker. If you find some damages in your room, you need to compensate for the damages from deposit you have paid when you moved in.
Return a room key back
You need to return key and spare key ( if you received it) back to a real estate broker. If you don’t return back room keys, there is a case you are demanded to pay key replacement expense for the reason for crime prevention.
Pay off deposit
Some expenses are deducted from deposit followed by a lease contract and the rest of money will be transferred to your savings account.
How to save move-out expenses
What you need to pay attention to when moving out of an apartment is timing when you notify leaving an apartment.
If you report move-out notification too early and take too long to make a contract of new apartment and move in there, you end up bearing risk to pay double rent between an old apartment and new apartment.
Avoiding this double rent, as soon as you decide to move, you have to make sure until when you should report move-out notification.
Mostly, apartment move-out notification is reported one month before you move out. Depending on the apartment, it sets a 2-month rule for move-out notification.
Of course, you need to keep paying rent until you move out.
Rent settlement
You just make sure rent settlement method about if it is calculated on a daily rate basis or monthly rate basis.
For example, if you cancel lease contract on 15, June on a monthly rate basis, you need to pay one month rent perfectly from first, June to 31st, June.
If you cancel it on a daily rate basis, your rent will be generated from the first, June to 15th, June.
If your lease contract designates monthly rent calculation for rent settlement, you should move-out at the end of the month.
In addition, you have to conclude lease contract of new apartment from the day you report move-out notification till the day you move out of the apartment.
Moving to a new apartment too early also costs you double rent because your new apartment rent is generated from the day you conclude the lease contract.
After applying for an apartment, there is a move-in screening, which takes 1 to 2 weeks.
Basically, you conclude a lease contract of a new apartment right after the move-in screening. An apartment that has a relatively long period between application and conclusion will help you to avoid double rent payment.
Deposit deduction
Generally, the deposit needs to be returned back to a renter except for compensation for damages in a room. However, there is a case that a leaser tries to claim another charge in the name of compensation even without returning the deposit back.
If some expenses are deducted from the deposit, deposit deduction is just for room cleaning for restoration. “Restoration ” is restoring a room to original condition. Restoration extent is regulated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism.
When you attend move-out room inspection, a real estate broker sometimes decides compensation plan one-sidedly but you should make sure guidelines of restoration created by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism beforehand. You get to know the legal compensation plan for restoration.
If you distrust what a real estate broker decides, you don’t need to sign on the agreement. Even if you don’t sign on the agreement on the spot, it is possible to leave the apartment.
You just check if the suggested renovation plan has adequacy for legal restoration regulation and a real estate broker have permission from an apartment owner to do negotiating for compensation plan with a renter in advance.