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Lease Renewal: How to Renew and Negotiate Better Terms
When your lease term is coming to an end, you face a decision that will shape your living situation for the next year or more. A lease renewal...
Latest Articles — Page 61
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Month-to-Month Lease Agreements: Pros, Cons, and Costs
A month to month lease agreement is a rental contract that renews automatically at the end of each rental period, usually every 30 days. It gives both landlords...
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Triple Net (NNN) Lease: How It Works and Who Pays What
A triple net lease, often written as NNN, is one of the most common structures in commercial real estate. It shifts most of the property operating costs from...
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Lease Agreement Red Flags: 15 Clauses to Check Before Signing
Most people read a lease agreement the way they read software terms of service: they scroll, they skim, they sign. That habit can be expensive. Leases are drafted...
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Personal Guarantee in a Commercial Lease: Risks Explained
You formed an LLC or corporation to protect your personal assets. Then your landlord slides a commercial lease across the table, and buried in the back is a...
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Tenant Improvement Allowance: How TI Works in Commercial Leases
When you lease commercial space, the raw square footage is only the beginning. An empty shell needs walls, flooring, lighting, and plumbing before your business can open its...
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Estoppel Certificate: What It Is and Why It Matters
Imagine you are buying a commercial building. The seller tells you the tenants pay a combined $25,000 a month and that all leases run for five more years....
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How to Negotiate a Commercial Lease: 12 Practical Tips
Signing a commercial lease is one of the biggest financial decisions a business owner will make. The rent, the term, and the fine print will shape your costs...
Archives
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Landlord Won’t Return Your Deposit? Next Steps
You cleaned the apartment, returned the keys, and left a forwarding address. Weeks have passed, and your security deposit has not come back. No check, no itemized statement,...
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Security Deposit Demand Letter: How to Write One
Your move out date has passed, the state's return deadline has come and gone, and your security deposit is still sitting in your landlord's bank account. Before you...
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How to File a Security Deposit Lawsuit in Court
Moving out should end your relationship with your landlord on clean terms. You leave the apartment in good shape, hand over the keys, and expect your security deposit...
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Unconditional Quit Notice: When You Must Leave
Most eviction notices give you a way out: pay what you owe, or fix the problem, and you can stay. An unconditional quit notice is different. It tells...
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Small Claims Court: How Tenants Can Sue Landlords
When your landlord refuses to return your security deposit, ignores urgent repair requests, or breaks the terms of your lease, you may feel like you have no real...
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After Eviction: How to Find Housing Again
An eviction judgment feels like the end of the road, but it is really a detour. Thousands of people find stable housing every year after an eviction. It...
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Eviction Settlement: Negotiating With Your Landlord
An eviction lawsuit does not have to end with a judge's ruling. In fact, a large share of eviction cases settle before trial, with the tenant and landlord...
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Fighting an Eviction: Evidence You Need to Win
Most eviction cases are won or lost on evidence. The judge was not there when the rent was paid, the notice was taped to the door, or the...
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Tenant Screening After Eviction: What to Know
After an eviction, the rental application process can feel like a closed door. You find a place you can afford, you fill out the paperwork, and then the...
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Itemized Deduction Lists: What Landlords Must Provide
When you move out of a rental, your landlord cannot simply keep part of your security deposit and call it a day. In most states, the law requires...
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Mold in Your Rental: Landlord Responsibilities
You spot dark patches spreading across the bathroom ceiling, and the musty smell is getting worse. Mold in a rental is more than an eyesore. It can trigger...
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Can Your Landlord Require Renters Insurance?
Many renters are surprised the first time a lease application or renewal letter includes a requirement to carry renters insurance. It feels like an extra cost imposed on...