Renting Arizona RES
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Deposits and Fees
When looking for an apartment, you will notice that apartments will charge certain deposits (refundable) and fees (non-refundable). Typically these fees are as follow;
1 - Security deposit - This is a deposit that apartments charge to help protect themselves against certain items such as breaking the lease early, damage to the apartment etc. Should you leave the property in good condition and fullfill the lease and give proper notice, the security deposit should be returned to you within 14 days. This fee is usually anywhere from $150 to equal to one month's rent. The amount charged varies due to the credit wothiness of the tenant. Tenants with great credit, rental history and income sometimes may have the security deposit waived. For international students, some apartments will now charge a full one month's security deposit. The reasoning behind this policy is should an international student leave the apartment early or with damages to the apartment, the apartment would have no recourse in collecting for these items once the student leaves the country.
2 - Administration fee (can also be called a processing or preparation fee). This fee is used by the apartments to help off set certain cost such as time and paperwork used to prepare the lease (administration fee) or the cost involved in getting the apartment prepared for the new tenant (preparation fee). This fee is usually anywhere from $100 to $250).
3 - Application fee - All apartments charge an application fee. This fee is usually anywhere from $25 to $50 per person. The application fee includes the cost of running a credit report, verifying rental history, verify job / income and checking any criminal history. As most international students do not have a social security number, these students will usually need to provide the apartment community with a copy of their I-20 and visa.
