Should I offer incentives when transferring my lease?

If you're in a dire need to get your apartment lease transferred to someone ASAP, then you should start thinking of the incentives to offer to your future replacement tenant.

What can I really offer other than a cleaned apartment?

Well, first of, a cleaned apartment is not an incentive - it's the minimum state that the apartment should be in when it's getting transferred to someone else.

There is a lot of competition out there online and many folks are trying to lease out their apartment in the same price range as you.  So, how do you really stand out from this crowd? How do you make your apartment look like it's a better deal?  It's all about how much you're willing to lose in order to win!

Let's assume that you're currently paying $1300 for your rent every month and you have 7 months left on your lease.  You also have a security deposit of $500 assigned in your name at the leasing office.  However, you're really looking to get out of apartment lease in 2 weeks time, because you're moving out of town for your new job.  What are you going to do?

As it has been mentioned above, you need to lose some before you win some..and that applies to offering some cash incentives for the potential tenant interested in your apartment lease.  I almost guarantee that if you offer some discounted rate on your monthly rent and transfer half of your security deposit over to someone who's willing to take over your apartment lease...then, you can certainly win yourself a true replacement tenant instantly.

Will I get out of my apartment lease without penalty?

Cash incentives are almost always lucrative.  If you offer the cash incentives above to a replacement tenant, then a tenant will most likely sign on to your lease and you'll be able to get out of apartment lease without penalty to your landlord.