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Yep. And in Texas, apartments don't charge much of a deposit because they can bill residents moving out for everything and anything.

They typically charge 1-2 full months of rent as a deposit, which is not any less than anywhere else I have been?

In ATX, my rent went down from $16k/month to $9k/month but I think I paid maybe $750 as a deposit.

Perhaps:

1. Other locations that aren't ATX use traditional risk management

2. The laws in ATX are different than elsewhere

3. ATX apartments compete for residents by offering low deposits as a loss-leader