MOVING OUT OF AN APARTMENT OR RENTED SPACE? READ THIS FIRST!
What to do when moving out of an apartment in Texas:
Moving can be a stressful experience, and most apartments don’t make it any easier. Whether it’s security deposits, cleaning fees, or move out dates, tenants can be nickeled and dimed at every stage if they’re not careful.
Make sure to provide advance notice of move out, even if your lease is expiring! A simple email (or better, certified mail, which can be a small cost at great reward) will protect you when upholding your part of the law. Check your lease agreement at least a three months before moving out to learn more.
Include your forwarding address with your move out letter/email. There are many reasons for this, principal among them: if your security deposit is delayed or withheld, the apartment management is responsible only if you’ve provided them your forwarding address.
Skipping out on your last month of rent -- or demanding to use your security deposit to pay the fee -- will not only impact your credit, but also put you in violation of Texas law. Expenses at this time will be high, but do not try to cut corners and put yourself in a financial hole.
Do a thorough clean of your apartment, and then document it. While it’s obvious that you should leave your apartment spotless upon moving out, most tenants don’t expect their landlord to try to scam them out of their security deposits after the fact. It’s more common than you think.
Get the staff to do a walkthrough with you if possible. Get a copy of their report.
Find the damages report you filed when you moved in. Apartment companies can misplace these and leave you liable for the results.
Take your own pictures and videos. And when you move into your next living space, take photos of any existing damage, in addition to filling out the damages report.
Texas law gives landlords a 30 day window to provide either your security deposit, or a record of cleaning or damage costs. If this window closes, and you’ve provided your forwarding address, you are due a substantial reward and attorney’s fees.
Do not let an apartment charge you for repairs to what Texas law considers “normal wear and tear.” Many fraudulent damage reports include itemized deductions that fall under wear and tear, yet tenants accept the charges without dispute.
Have you done many of these things, but you’re still being treated unfairly? Call me for a complimentary one-on-one consultation!
WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND INCORRECT INFO ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT (VIA TEXAS LAW)
Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have a concrete right to an accurate and fairly reported credit score. Credit reporting companies are legally required to follow procedures to ensure what’s considered maximum possible accuracy, and if they allow fraudulent information to slip through their filters, they can face penalties and you can be rewarded. As we have seen in recent cases, credit reporting agencies have become very dysfunctional, and this has become more common than you would think.
North Texas, get a fair shake on your credit report. Here’s what to do:
Read through your credit report. Take note of inaccurate or outdated items.
If you believe there are one or more issues with your credit report, you may trigger a dispute, which forces an investigation both by the credit bureau and the creditor in question.
If the creditor has “reinserted” an old account, and the agency has allowed it unfairly, you could be awarded up to a $1,000 fee, in addition to attorney’s fees, and an improved credit score.
Reinsertion is a nationwide predatory practice that most consumers aren’t aware of, and many more don’t know how to dispute. The more that North Texas consumers are aware, the better.
Call me for a free consultation, or visit my Fort Worth office. And if your case involves a bankruptcy, keep reading below.
WHAT TO EXPECT ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT IF FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY (TEXAS)
If you file for bankruptcy, you are coming clean, and attempting to re-establish good faith in the process. There are many benefits to bankruptcy for certain cases, the biggest of which is the freedom from debt and a chance to build better credit. So don’t let a bad actor unwind that practice and damage your work.
Whether you declare bankruptcy chapter 7 or 13, if you fulfill the program’s requirements and gain a discharge, you have a legal right to what happens next. Expect the following:
Most credit card debt, personal loans, and medical bills will be discharged.
Creditors no longer have a right to try to collect discharged debts, nor do they have a right to continue reporting the debts.
The account should be wiped from your credit report, and no longer reported at all. This is legal and favorable to your journey to better credit.
Creditors in some cases are allowed to report the debt as a zeroed-out line item, but must state in doing so that the account has been discharged in bankruptcy.
Join the North Texas and Fort Worth consumers who have benefitted not only from bankruptcy, but also from double-checking their credit reports following said proceedings.
If you find something that doesn’t fit, give me a call and take advantage of a free consultation, or chat with me in person at my Fort Worth offices. Lawsuits in this space are entirely contingent on favorable circumstances, and I’ll only suggest that route if I think it will be successful.