While moving into a new apartment is cheaper than moving into a house, it is still quite expensive. The charges incurred are numerous and include the rental application fee, the last month's rent in the old apartment, the first month's rent in the new apartment, renting the moving truck and the bills associated with cleaning the old apartment. When I add up all those expenses, it will cost me $1,520 to move into a new apartment, but by moving, I will save $75 a month and get the additional bedroom I need for an office.
Application Fees
The first fee I'm usually hit with when I start the process of moving to a new apartment is the application fee. Application fees can range from $25 to $100. The apartment I am currently looking at charges a non-refundable application fee of $35.
Deposit
All apartment complexes charge some type of deposit whether it's a cash deposit or deposit insurance. Deposit can range from $88 for deposit insurance to an entire month of rent. The new apartment I'm currently looking at charges $250 for the deposit. That's money I have to have saved before I move into the new apartment because it will be combined with my first month's rent on the day I pick up the keys.
Cleaning Old Apartment
Before I can turn in the keys to my old apartment, I have to thoroughly clean it from top to bottom. That means cleaning the walls, doors, moldings, windows, blinds, counters, cabinets, linoleum and carpets. In order to clean my apartment and make it look like it did when I moved in, I'll have to steam clean the carpets, bleach the kitchen and bathroom floors, replace the drip pans for the stove and replace or clean all the blinds in my apartment. My total cleaning bills will amount to $125. That's $55 to replace the blinds, $40 to rent a steam cleaner, $10 to replace the drip pans and about $20 worth of cleaning sprays.
Last Month's Rent
Before I can move out of my old apartment, I have to give them 30 days' notice and pay the rent for that last month. My rent is currently $550 a month. Some apartment complexes and my last complex before this one required that I pay my first and last month's rent up front. My current complex did not, so I have to pay the rent for my last month in current apartment whether I am here the entire time or not.
First Month's Rent
I will also have to pay the entirety of my first month's rent before I can pick up the keys to my new apartment. Some complexes give discounts on the first month's rent, but the one I am looking at does not. They want the entire $475 up front with zero discounts.
Moving Truck
I will also have to rent a 15 foot moving truck. The truck rental should cost me $50 for the day and another $50 in gas for a total truck rental cost of $100.
To move out of my current apartment and into my new larger and less expensive apartment, it will cost me $1,520, but I will be gaining more space and savings $75 a month on rent.
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