You’ve packed up, you’ve got a new place to move into and you’re getting ready to clean out the old place. But if you want to get the security or rental deposit back from your landlord, you may have to do more than simply dusting and vacuuming.

The security deposit sum you pay prior to moving in is not only a collateral to hold the rental, but an amount of money that the landlord can use to fix any damage that you, as a tenant, may have done after you move out. Generally, a tenant is not responsible for “normal wear and tear.” However, if you set a frying pan on a laminate counter-top, for example, you will most likely be responsible for the repair.

Outside of any major damages and with a little bit of hard work, you should be able to get your rental deposit returned.

Document the Damages

Although this is a little late in the game when you’re packing up, one of the first things you should do when moving into a rental is to itemize and document anything damaged: a dent in the fridge, a hole in the wall, a chip in the mirror. Take photos and write everything down. Have your landlord present to review these items. Then, send a copy to the landlord, (and keep one for yourself), so there is documentation of the issues present at the time you moved in. Take photos when you move out as well, for comparison. One suggested tip is to include a current newspaper in one of the photos to prove the date or take photos with a camera that provides a time stamp.

Look Over the Lease

What is expected of you upon moving out? Do you have to find someone to clean the carpets or patch holes or is that something your landlord will cover? Read through the lease and take note of the requirements contingent upon getting your deposit back.

Walk-Through

Want to know exactly what needs to be done before you move out? Have your landlord walk through the rental with you and tell you exactly what needs to be done to get your full deposit back.

Bring in the Professionals

This is not your 5-minute or even 20-minute clean. Dust, vacuum, scrub and scour your rental. Unsure if you can clean the place up to your landlord’s standards? Hire a cleaning or repair company to do the work for you. Make sure to keep receipts from any professional work to give to your landlord when you move out.

Deposit and Receipt

When you turn in your keys, ask for a receipt of the deposit. The damage deposit can only be used to pay for repairs and landlords must document what was repaired if the deposit is not returned in full. According to NOLO Law for All, most states require property managers to return the deposit within 14 to 30 days. If you believe that the returned sum is not accurate or the landlord did not correctly document repairs, you may have cause to sue the landlord in small claims court.

Agents find gold in property tax appeals

3 ways this service can help boost reputation, referrals

 

Dealing with the property-taxing authorities can be daunting. In fact, it’s so daunting many owners simply cave in and pay the increased property taxes. If you want to create great buzz about your business and help your clients as well, helping them with an appeal on their taxes is one of the best ways to do this.

We received our property tax bill in January and it showed an increased assessment on our home of 4.3 percent. Because we’re in the most expensive school district in the state, this translated into almost $2,300 more in taxes than the comparable sales suggested our evaluation should be.

Our formal hearing was a real eye-opener on how the taxing authorities work, as well as what you can do as a customer service-savvy agent to help your clients.

The guidelines from our local appraisal district said that the district would use the median sales prices. I had our Realtor pull the comparable sales and there were four excellent comparable sales with the same lot size, similar age, as well as within 10 percent of the square footage on our house. The guidelines also said that the sales date should be as close to Jan. 1, 2011, as possible.

I also came armed with information showing that prices in Austin had declined 7 to 10 percent overall. My comparable sales information supported this as well.

The last two times we appealed, we went through the informal hearing process and had our assessed valuation reduced. The appraisal district made its decision based upon the closed sales. Because we were out of town, we had to attend the formal hearing.

What was odd about the whole hearing process was that the district officials did look at the comparable sales, but they had another set of data called “comp equity.” I simply wasn’t prepared to deal with this second set of data that was based upon the values the appraisal district had determined for each property that did not sell.

After the hearing, I dug deeper into the comp equity numbers and saw a number of additional comparables, and the process for “equalizing the prices” appeared questionable to me. It seemed that most of the recent sales were for new construction, which could skew the valuation if you live in an older home.

Furthermore, the builder had just completed a number of much smaller homes on smaller lots. The challenge with using those comparables is that the smaller size can translate into a higher price per square foot than for larger homes.

We were successful in keeping our assessment at a level comparable to last year, but the people hearing the case refused to lower the assessment beyond that point.

The opportunity

One of the best ways to create a positive buzz in your market area about your real estate services is to help people obtain a reduction in their property taxes. There are three ways you can do this.

1. Provide the homeowner with the comparable sales data, as well as the forms necessary to schedule a hearing
The best time to do this is when your taxing authority sends out the property tax assessments each year.

2. Attend the property tax hearing with your client or on his/her behalf
If you are going to represent your client, you may run the risk of coming back with a higher assessment. This can be a serious problem. It’s important that you attend two or three hearings so that you understand the process before representing someone else.

3. Partner with a professional
What was apparent when I was waiting for our hearing: if you’re not familiar with the appraisal board process, working a professional who does this on a regular basis could serve you well. In most cases, the people engaging in this work take a percentage of the savings they obtain for the homeowner.

The people waiting were not just representing homeowners; they were representing large commercial properties owned by major corporations. In most cases, it’s smart to defer to an expert — especially someone who has a proven track record.

Regardless of which strategy you select, being the agent who helps people obtain a property tax reduction creates positive buzz about you and your services. Just make sure that you are thoroughly prepared with the knowledge of the processes and then the data that best supports your client’s claim.

Bernice Ross, CEO of RealEstateCoach.com, is a national speaker, trainer and author of the National Association of Realtors’ No. 1 best-seller, “Real Estate Dough: Your Recipe for Real Estate Success.” Hear Bernice’s five-minute daily real estate show, just named “new and notable” by iTunes, at www.RealEstateCoachRadio.com. You can contact her at Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com or @BRoss on Twitter.

Here’s our weekly rundown of unusual police activity in the area:

Peeping Tom Allegedly Uses Phone to Look Up Woman’s Dress

A Southeast woman bending over to pick up a flower while shopping in a Putnam store got more than she bargained for on Tuesday. The woman told police who responded to the scene that she felt something brush up her leg as she bent over. When she looked around, she noticed a man, 30-year-old Paul Windebank of Danbury, Conn., with a cell phone in his hand, allegedly in the act of photographing her. The woman and the store staff retained Windebank until police arrived. Later that day, he was taken into custody at the Putnam County Correctional Facility. Records show Windebank was arrested and charged in 2005 with voyeurism in Connecticut, after a similar incident.

FedEx Truck is on a Roll, Literally

A FedEx truck left more than a special delivery on Rosehill Avenue in Tarrytown on July 2. The empty truck, which was stopped at the top of a hill, rolled and crashed into a rock wall in front of 26 Rosehill Avenue. The truck became stuck atop the wall and some large rocks, and was pulled off the wall by two crane rigs. The truck’s driver claimed he secured the vehicle before leaving to make a delivery, but that apparently didn’t stop the truck from rolling down the hill. No one was hurt and the driver was not issued any summonses.

Down and Out

Too many shots of Tequila or Rum? That may have been the case for two men in Mamaroneck this week, who couldn’t muster the fortitude to make it into their homes after having too much alcohol. On July 3, an intoxicated Mamaroneck Avenue resident was caught snoozing in his hallway. When police arrived, they relocated the man to a resting spot in his apartment. On July 4, a man, who was intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness, was found sprawled on the sidewalk on Travers Avenue. He was taken to Sound Shore Medical Center.

Counterfeit DVDs Lead to Marijuana Arrest

On July 4, police weren’t too thrilled with the way two White Plains men decided to display their entrepreneurial spirit. The men, a 19-year old and a 38-year old, were charged with third degree trademark counterfeiting and fraudulent accosting after trying to sell “Transformers” and “Unstoppable” DVDs without a license at the corner of Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street. The 38-year-old man told police that he was trying to sell the $5 DVDs so he could afford to take the bus to work. He and his cohort were arrested, but during the arrest police found what appeared to be two hand-rolled marijuana joints. Police added a charge of unlawful possession of marijuana. Both men were eventually released on $500 bail.

Two Women Steal $762 Worth of Energy Drinks

At 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, two women allegedly stole $762 worth of Five Hour Energy drinks from CVS on 24 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains. The women were captured on a surveillance camera stuffing 21 2-packs and 36 6-packs of Five Hour Energy and three 6-packs of Fuel Energy into their bags before exiting the store. Police have charged the women with petty larceny.

Febreeze Assault

Everyone knows Febreeze is a powerful deodorizer—but who knew it could also be a powerful assault weapon?

Two robbers took their craft to new lows of laziness by avoiding all physical contact and using a spray bottle to incapacitate victims. A 28-year-old Port Chester man said he was standing by a bench along Port Chester’s waterfront promenade around midnight on Saturday when two men walked up to him, sprayed his eyes “with some type of chemical,” and lifted his wallet and cell phone, police said. The man wasn’t seriously injured, but the robbers got away with the man’s wallet, cell phone and $40 in cash.

Fake Returns Net Nanuet Store Employee $394

An employee of Dots, a clothing store in Nanuet, practiced some creative accounting this week when she processed $394 worth of fake returns for store merchandise. Clarkstown police said 23-year-old Nyack resident Marissa Brooks processed $108, $176 and $110 worth of items over two days and pocketed the cash from the fake transactions. She has been charged with petty larceny and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 26.

Sleepwalker in Scarsdale?

A person called police on June 30 and said that a disoriented, shoeless, 25-year-old male was running through the sprinklers in front of an Ogden Road residence. Police arrived and took the man back to his Fox Meadow Road home. When police took the man home, the man’s father told them that his son occasionally sleepwalked. The man refused medical treatment at the scene and no further police assistance was needed.