4. GET YOUR SECURITY DEPOSIT BACK

Within a certain amount of time after you have left the apartment (as mandated by local law), your landlord must either send you your security deposit back or an itemized list of the deductions claimed plus the remainder of your deposit. If you get your full deposit back, then heave a heavy sigh of relief and move on with your harried life. If any/all of your security deposit is withheld, then you have two choices:

  1. Read the letter, admit that those are costs for which you are responsible, and forget about it.

  2. Dispute the deductions. To do this, read the letter and itemized list carefully to determine by when you need to respond. If you miss the deadline, then tough. If you have a problem with any of the deductions, write a letter disputing either the existence of the repair (with proof, such as a copy of your photographs or a copy of your original damage report from when you moved in) or the cost of the repair (with proof, such as a general estimate from another expert). You always have the right to get a "second opinion" estimate if you think the landlord is charging way too much for a repair.

If the landlord sends you nothing (no letter, no deposit, no nothing) after a set amount of time also determined by local law, he/she must forfeit any claim to your deposit. Unfortunately, this still might leave you with no choice but to sue for return of your deposit. To do so, you should first check to see if there is a tenants' association for your area or state; they can direct you best how to proceed, especially if you decide to file a claim in Small Claims Court. A letter detailing your willingness to go to court might be all that is necessary to create an incentive for a pesky landlord to disgorge your security deposit-especially because that, depending on the jurisdiction, some areas will offer a tenant twice or thrice the security deposit if a tenant wins the case, as well as reasonable attorney's fees.

So go get 'em! And we congratulate you on leaving your apartment (and Michael Bolton) behind you.