Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with lease

Does this nullify my DC apartment lease?

BobbyVan — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:04:13 -0800

Is my lease null and void? (DC lease question) Background: I'm in a dispute with my landlord. Long story short: I got a new job in a new city, he will only let me out of the lease by penalizing me 2 months rent IN ADDITION to any lost rent he suffers (he's punitive & malicious). In the meantime, I'm trying to protect myself by lining up new tenants for him on my own (will provide rental applications to him shortly).

Now to the question: In the District of Columbia, it is my understanding that landlords need to file for a Basic Business License with the city. I am almost certain that my landlord (a condo owner/investor who has only one rental property) has not done this.

Nor has my landlord, apparently, registered his unit as exempt from rent control. See page two of this document.

My problem is that on my lease, I initialed a statement saying that the landlord had advised me that the unit was not subject to rent control. That's true, but the statement goes on to say that the approved rent control exemption certificate has been attached to the lease.

So is the lease agreement illegal because the landlord hasn't filed these important papers with the city?

What I want to avoid is a huge judgment against me (this guy is malicious, and would rather have me suffer than have nice new tenants).

Should I sign a new year-long lease even though I know I'll be leaving early?

josh.ev9 — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:42:01 -0800

Should I sign a new year-long lease even though I know I'll be leaving early, or try to get my landlord to agree to a shorter term? This is probably a relatively straightforward question, but I want to know if I'm asking anything out of the ordinary.

My lease ends at the end of this month, but my girlfriend and I are pretty sure we'll be leaving Chicago by the end of this year. We love our apartment, and don't want to have to move somewhere else only for a few months. Is it a reasonable request to ask our landlord if we could sign a lease that would end in a few months, rather than a full year?

Our landlord owns the condo we're living in, so it's not like we have to deal with a big association or anything. But what should we expect in this situation? Could the rent go way up based on this request?

Another possibility: perhaps we could request to go month-to-month? I'm a little averse to this because the landlord could end the contract at any time.

Any advice is helpful. Thanks

Don't sh*t where you eat?

adamk — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:32:06 -0800

RoommateConflictFilter: I'm a guy in my mid-20s living in a bachelor pad with two other similarly-aged guys. The two roommates have had a huge falling out (over a girl, naturally) on month two of a twelve-month lease, and after days of constantly talking about it, it seems like the only solution is for one of them to move out. The only thing that we've agreed on is that I'm not going anywhere. So now what? We're all on the lease, and I want to make sure that nobody gets burnt any worse than has already happened. A bad attempt at keeping a long story short... I apologize, because I normally grumble at these kinds of posts :)

I've been friends with "Mike" for five years (college buddy), and we've lived together off-and-on in the past with no problems. Most recently we had spent a year each living with other people from our group of friends, but were both extremely excited to start living together again.

Mike met "Dan" a few months ago and they got along well enough where Mike suggested that we all move in together. He is a reasonable guy, but I don't know him that well, and would probably never have lived with him if it wasn't for Mike vouching for him. We found an amazing house that we can reasonably afford with three people, but certainly can't afford with two.

Awhile after we moved in, Mike started dating Dan's friend "Jen". Before this Dan and Jen were extremely close, with her coming over multiple times a week to hang out, eat dinner, etc. Their friendship that was describable as platonic but had enough flirting where an outsider (like myself) couldn't know for sure.

Dan seemed cool with Mike and Jen's new relationship, but was constantly asking to tag along or be included when they hang out because they were "his two best friends". They played along for awhile, but eventually got uncomfortable and said something along the lines of "hey buddy, we've got our own thing going on, you can't expect to hang out with us ALL of the time". This makes Dan sulk for awhile, but it seemed to blow over.

Until a few days ago, when the shit finally hit the fan. A generic domestic argument over a party mess resulted in a fight in which it was made clear that Mike and Jen no longer wanted to deal with Dan's influence in their relationship. Extremely harsh words were exchanged, Jen got hysterical and things almost got violent between the guys.

Days later and nothing has improved. Both parties are sure that they did nothing wrong, and won't budge. The only thing that they've agreed on is that someone needs to move out. Coincidentally, Dan is leaving tomorrow for a 10-day vacation, and we're going to figure out what needs to happen for when he gets back.

So, now what? I don't think anyone is being evil or unreasonable in all of this. I see where everyone is coming from, it's just one of those unfortunate situations. I don't mind the girl or the relationship and would really prefer to live with my friend, but it seems a bit rough to kick out the guy who claims that he tried to do a good thing and lost two friends over it. Then again, I don't know him that well, and he really seems to be in denial over everything.

What's the best way to decide on who needs to leave if nobody volunteers? What precautions do we need to take as we attempt to find a new roommate? If the landlords would go for it we may be willing to remove the person who leaves from the lease (a big if). Plus, due to how difficult it is to have these problems while the current three of us on the lease, I'm not sure I'd want to put a random Craigslist stranger on the lease in place of the person who leaves.

Any advice/anecdotes would be appreciated.

Is the carpet-cleaning clause in this lease shady?

Cogito — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:11:35 -0800

I'm about to sign a lease with a peculiar clause about carpet cleaning. I have had a lot of leases before and I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like this. I'm wondering if it's just a standard thing I haven't seen before, or if it's unusual or even unlawful. The term goes like this:

"Carpets must be PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED by a Landlord approved cleaner at the end of the lease term. All belongings/furniture must be removed prior to the cleaning. Carpets may not be cleaned with rental cleaning equipment or any unauthorized cleaning firms.
CHARGES: $50.00 service charge plus carpet cleaning expense. Hard surfaced floors must be swept, then cleaned with proper cleaners.
CHARGES: $35.00 per hour."

Those last two lines are referring to what will be deducted from the security deposit if the term isn't satisfied by the tenant.

Is this just a case of the management company pushing costs onto the tenant? I'm used to having the management company do a professional cleaning between tenants rather than making the outgoing tenant responsible. I seem to remember when I was living in Michigan I read something about it being illegal for a landlord to require a tenant to pay for cleaning services, but this is in Iowa, so it may be different. Here's the response I got from the management company when I asked about it:

"Yes, we do require that you have the carpets professionally cleaned at the time you move out. We also require tenants to clean the carpets at least once each year that they reside with us. This is standard practice in this area with all the property management companies that I have come into contact with.

"Most tenants who have lived with us for an extended amount of time usually have their carpets done once a year, on or around the date that their lease would normally expire. We do require a copy of the invoice from the cleaning company as proof that the carpets were cleaned, otherwise, we would charge the tenant a service fee for setting up the service plus the tenant would be charged the actual cost of the carpet cleaning.

"I am surprised that this is the first time you have come across this; this is not uncommon in this area."

Anyone got a room for rent in Fullerton, CA? How 'bout advice on said subject?

malapropist — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:36:18 -0800

I live with my parents, and I'm searching for a place to live for the first time. Somewhere near Cal State Fullerton. A question about credit checks, and how to improve my search. Last week, I posted an ad on Craigslist in an attempt to assemble three other people to find a 2 bedroom with. Unfortunately, it seems like some kind of catch-22; the roomies want you to have an apartment already, and the landlord wants you to have the roomies already. I've found a couple of people who were down to move in, one for as long as 72 consecutive hours. Unfortunately, they keep finding their own rooms to rent. Does this approach (the "find people to find an apartment" technique) often work?

I found a place that meets most of my criteria, though as the search wears on I'm finding my criteria less and less important. The landlord will be telling me today whether we passed the credit check, but big whoop because the other two roommates who submitted applications/credit check money have moved on. The landlord was firm on getting all of us to submit our applications together, no incremental submissions as I gathered roomies. So now I'm wondering just what it is that the landlord receives. Does he get a credit report, or just a number? Is it for all of us with no distinction between us, or is it three reports, one for each of us? If mine is okay (which it should be) but the other two were not as good, what's the likelihood of him allowing me to try it again with different roommies? If that were the case, would it be reasonable to have to pay for another credit check for myself? Would he even tell me if I asked whether it was my credit personally that was the problem? If it helps, this is a little four-plex with a single owner, not a large development or prop mgmt company.

Also, if anyone has general advice about finding a place to live, at the beginning of the school year, near Cal State Fullerton or Fullerton JC (which is where I'm attending this fall) in general, please. I'm getting desperate here. What's a good alternative to Craigslist? Roommates.com seems a bit stale.

BTW, I found myfirstapartment.com here on AskMe, and it was a big help. Thanks guys!

Rent undeveloped land?

SampleSize — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:01:51 -0800

I plan on spending the next few years living in different places for several months to a year at a time. One thought I've had is to get a small trailer RV or something like this, and rent land to park it on for however long I'm sticking around. Is this possible? I've googled a bit, but I'm not coming up with much. Any suggestions for how I would find people with land that would be into renting it?

Just to clarify, I'm not looking for very short-term rentals, and I'm not looking for RV parks/campsites. The idea would be to be able to stay on nice, undeveloped land for reasonably cheap.

Thoughts?

Is this agreement legally binding?

OolooKitty — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:30:01 -0800

I am about to lease a horse, with a 6-month option to buy. I am leasing him through a trainer who is acting as a go-between to another trainer who is representing the owner. Does this seem convoluted to anybody else...? My trainer, who's not involved in the deal, is afraid that the lease might not be legal because we're going through so many layers to get to the owner. I feel that if the owner and I both sign the lease, this shouldn't be a problem. Am I wrong?

Another potential problem is that the trainer wants to list the horse's current asking price in the lease. If the lease says, for instance "asking price of $5,000", does that mean I'm bound to that price if I decide to buy? What if my trainer and I decide that the horse is only worth, say, $3000? Would it be better if the language said "asking price not to exceed $5,000" so that I would have some leeway?

I do not have a sharp legal mind. Any advice is appreciated.

Avoiding eviction after minor dog incident?

Hollow — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:33:38 -0800

ApartmentFilter: My friend's dog got our of her NYC apartment today, and a neighbor overreacted. Now the neighbor is trying to get her evicted from the building (her lease goes all the way til February). Should she be worried? Can she fight back? My friend has two formerly abused dogs that she adopted to save them from being put down. Today one of them managed to work all three of her locks and get out into the hall. A neighbor's kid was out in the hall, and the dog bounded up to the kid happily, playfully, excitedly, as dogs are wont to do. The neighbor kid freaked, and the neighbor came out. By the time my friend got out there, her dog had peed the neighbor's floor, which my friend knows that he only does after being hit. The argument got heated, and the neighbor called the police. When the cops arrived they were very nice and did not press any charges, telling my friend to just be more careful. Nonetheless, the angry neighbor is pressuring the building manager to cancel my friend's 12 month lease and kick her out.

My friend's building allows dogs, and her dogs would never hurt a fly. Still, her neighbor is claiming the dog attacked the kid, and between the dog getting loose and peeing the floor, she is worried that management might find cause for canceling her lease.

Any advice for her?

How do I evict for unpaid rent?

lost_cause — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:45:54 -0800

EvictionFilter: How do I evict a tenant for unpaid rent in Tennessee? As of June 5, for 2008, the tenant owes $5550 in rent (6 mos X $925/mo), and he's paid $2425. Mostly partial payments, one small overpayment in April, and no payments in March or June. I know you're not a lawyer and not my lawyer, but first, I'm looking for legal *information*. In Hamilton County, TN, do I give 14-days notice (TN 66-7-109) or 30 (TN 66-28-505)? Also, there is currently no formal rental agreement -- I assume it's assumed to be a month-to-month arrangement. I know, that's stupid, but to further complicate things, it's a house my Mom owns, and she's asked me to handle it. Can I handle this without the expense of an attorney?

On top of the mechanics, how do I tactfully do it? They seem like decent people; they just can't or won't pay the rent. Things went well for the first two years, but they were down about $1500 last year, and now they're down $3125 in 2008. The husband changed jobs in late 2007, and that was the excuse then, and now the excuse is that the wife worked for some Ponzi scheme operator , and she was never paid in full. Times are tough for these folks, and I feel bad for them, but they're also making things tough on my Mom. The reality is that they need something they can afford, and I have to push them there. Plus, I'd be nice if they didn't leave the place trashed, and even though it's a pipe-dream, maybe feel obligated to make good on some past rent.

Any advise is most appreciated.

Do I have to pay my roommate's debt?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:06:38 -0800

I'm in a financial pickle due to a bad choice of roommates two years ago. What are my options? Two years ago, I moved in with a girl during my divorce. I was put on the lease as an "addendum" and while I lived in her apartment, I paid 100% of the bills. About a week after I moved out (before her lease was up), she skipped out on the lease. Stupidly, when I turned in my key, remote and parking pass, I asked for a copy of the lease with my name stricken from it and was told that it wasn't necessary... the office woman assured me that I didn't need it and they would strike the addendum from the lease. I walked out not realizing that this girl was planning on moving out, but she did... and left owing almost three thousand dollars. How, I don't know, because I paid EVERYTHING when I stayed there.

For the past year and a half, I have been receiving notices from the creditor who purchased the debt. I spoke with someone recently and tried to explain my situation... unfortunately, the divorce coupled with an IRS audit has cost me over $30,000 and I am more or less penniless. The last thing I can afford now is to pay for someone stupid and irresponsible's mistake.

Unfortunately, the credit company has had no luck getting this girl to pay. She apparently has no bank account, no assets to seize, and refuses to work out a payment plan for the debt. I consulted a lawyer and was told that at some point, the credit company has the right to put a lien on my home to recover the debt. Apparently, this can be done without going to court and without notifying me... and will be horrible for my credit. What options do I have? I cannot pay the debt. I have sold everything of value I own, down to my shoes and clothing. Every penny I have goes to my house payment. It's all I have left. I have accrued almost five thousand dollars in credit card debt just buying groceries and so forth so I cannot put this debt on a credit card... it's maxed out.

Can I negotiate some kind of "settlement payment" with the credit company without a lawyer? I have already tried going directly to the apartment complex people, who told me I was "in collusion" because we left during the same 30-day period. They will not give me a copy of the lease, or the addendum. I cannot afford a lawyer. I have been told I can try going to the Texas Tenants Union, since I'm in Texas, but they probably won't be able to do much.

Has anyone else been in this situation? If so, how did you handle it? I'm worried that before I know it, they will put the lien on my home, and then I won't be able to sell it if I have to. Things are very touch-and-go financially for me, so I would prefer to avoid the lien.

Another person told me that my best option would be to settle the debt directly with the credit company and then take the former roommate to small claims court; how can I do that if I have to charge my groceries as it is? Wouldn't I have to pay a lawyer for that, too?

If anyone would like to respond off-site with ideas or suggestions, please email roommatetrauma@gmail.com. As stated, I am in Texas, if that helps.

Should I move out since there is no water?

PinkButterfly — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 09:03:51 -0800

Should I move out since there is no water? Sigh. I'll make this quick.

Subletting a room in a large house in Berkeley for the summer. Top floor has 5 bedrooms, bottom has two apartment units. The landlord lives in one of the rooms on the top floor, as do I and two other people. The two apartments have families in them, including a woman with a disabled daughter.

I just moved in last Wed. (May 28) from SoCal after corresponding with the landlord via email and phone for a few weeks. A Cal student needed someone to sublet the room before she moved in in the fall for school. Spoke with her too, but I couldn't come up and visit before moving in.

On Tuesday, the water was shut off by the city because they said there was an outstanding $1300 water bill. They have not turned it back on yet because...

The day before (Monday) the landlord left for vacation in Europe for two weeks, said he would be unreachable by phone but would check his email frequently. Well...it's 5 days later and he has yet to respond to a single email from anyone who lives here! We called his cell phone only to hear it ringing from his bedroom.

He left the name of a property manager, but when we called her she said she was only standing in as a favor to him and really couldn't do anything. She tried to reach the landlord's business partner, but hasn't been able to. The landlord said he won't be back until June 14.

Can I/should I move out? I tried to get him to sign a lease before I moved in, but he said he wanted to handle it once I got here. My housemates on the top floor moved in early-to mid-May and said he hadn't signed a lease with them either. When I got here on last Wednesday, he was away on business (he said). I didn't meet him until Sunday morning and then he left on Monday.

I sent him a full month's deposit and paid for half of May, even though I was only here from the 28th. I don't want to lose my deposit and don't want him to sue me for the remaining 2.5 months we agreed I was subletting (via email, not official lease).

It's Saturday so it'll be hard to find official help today.

What do you think I should do? Can I move out ? Where can I look for more information?

(I looked up similar questions but they were in other states.)

Should I rent an apartment with electric baseboard heat?

washburn — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:00:48 -0800

Should I rent an apartment with electric baseboard heat? Looks like I'll be staying in this college town one more year (hopefully not more than that) but I need to find a new apartment. I've finally spotted an inexpensive apartment in the desirable area of town, but it's the top floor of an older house, and it's listed as coming with electric baseboard heat.

I'll be touring the place tomorrow, and may soon be faced with a decision of whether to rent; however I'm pretty worried about the cost of heat in winter, here in the midwest, where power prices have jumped quite a bit.

Right now, I don't know what the heating cost of the place was last year; perhaps I'll be able to find that out. But I wonder what people's opinion of this sort of heating are, and whether it should be deal-breaker.

Also, I'm wondering whether there are any cost-saving requests I ought to make of the property management company before signing the lease. For example, I was thinking of asking to see the attic, and then asking them to insulate it some more (perhaps simply pumping some insulating materials over the floorboards, if the attic has a floor). Perhaps I should also request a "smart" thermostat of some kind? This is a fairly cheap rental unit, from a fairly cheap rental company, so I doubt I could get new windows, etc.; however I'd be interested in any relatively "quick and easy" requests I could make of the rental company that might reduce the heating bills in this new place come winter.

Many thanks.

Tablets, the lease of these

gensubuser — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:27:58 -0800

How might I lease a tablet PC, and will it change my life? I've been envious of my friends' tablets for quite some time now, but don't quite need to throw out my laptop yet (bought spring 2006) and upgraded my PC this fall as per my alternating cycle.

I've been putting off a lot of real work/understanding for a while, and think a tablet might be a useful tool in completing it (science grad student. lots of equations. Basically, I need to finally master my lab's genre.). When I normally work through something like this I use printer paper and fill out inch high stacks of scratch-work, refining derivations, often re-copying them to condense them. I think quickly creating a connecting web of hand-written notes might help me tackle this project, and if money spent would mean I accomplish this, it's worth it.

On the other hand, maybe I'm just using this as a reason for procrastination, maybe an actual tablet in my hands will be more cause for distraction than assistance.

So, I was thinking of leasing a tablet. Last time I looked into it, I wanted either a Toshiba Lifebook or Lenovo tablet--though, rationally, anything that gets the job done works. Since I'm not a company, can I still lease these (or "try" them for a month or two?) With the option to buy? What is a typical percentage of price I might expect to pay? Are there any problems or catches with this plan?

Have you been here, or has a tablet PC fulfilled your needs?

Help me deal with this horrid landlord

pinksoftsoap — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:34:36 -0800

Please help! My landlord management company refuses to let me terminate my lease early. What can I do? I need to move from a studio to a 1BR due to a severe lack of space which is affecting my mental well-being. I have lived here for 2.5 years and my landlord will NOT let me out of my lease early unless I move into another one of his apartments. (He owns many buildings in the neighborhood.) I have offered every option I can think of - from finding a tenant to take over the lease to not moving until they have secured someone for the apartment. They do not seem willing to budge at all. The property manager has told me NOT to post any public ad on craigslist or anywhere and that they themselves will find a tenant; only then will they consider letting me out (and probably only if I rent another apt from them). I doubt that they will even look. Is it just me or does this not seem reasonable at all? Is this even legal? They said that if I leave they will sue me for the rest of the rent until my lease ends. Can they do that if I find them a more than suitable replacement tenant so that they do not incur ANY damages? At this point, I do not even care if I lose my security deposit. Why would a landlord want to keep a tenant who wants to leave so badly? What can I do?

Lease question: I don't want no uncompensated burnination!

allen8219 — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:33:32 -0800

I am moving to a new apartment in Washington DC, and in reading over the lease there are a couple things I am not so sure about... Can you please take a look at the clauses and tell me if they seem reasonable? This (12) is the clause that has me a bit worried. To me it looks as though if my upstairs neighbors start a fire, and the building is smoke damaged and uninhabitable (but not a total teardown), then I have to keep paying rent while the landlord goes about getting the place renovated. That seems highly unfair, and admittedly a bit unlikely.

Would it be unreasonable to request a change to this clause? Any suggestions of a way to reword it that would be palatable to both sides?

Thank you very much, and I know you're not my lawyer (or even a lawyer at all)!

*****************
DESTRUCTION
12. If the premises are rendered totally unfit for occupancy or fire, act of God, or rioters or public enemies, or accident, the term of this lease shall immediately cease upon the payment of rent apportioned to the day of such happening. If, however, the premises are only partially destroyed or damaged and Landlord decides to repair the same, such repairs shall be made by Landlord without unreasonable delay, and this lease shall remain in force and effect without any abatement in rent.
*****************

The landlord wants to give our money back

limeswirltart — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:18:28 -0800

My management company is giving back everyone's security deposits. Tomorrow. Should we accept? A notice was posted in my (Chicago) apartment building from the management company stating that they are phasing out security deposits, and instead are charging new tenants a non-refundable $295 administrative fee. As we are existing tenants, we won't be paying this fee, but we will be getting our deposits back.

For a half hour this Saturday, someone from the office will be sitting in the basement laundry room (shudder) to hand us a check with our deposit and interest "upon your signing a receipt/release."

Now, I get that management is probably buying security deposit insurance so they don't have to manage interest-bearing accounts anymore.

But what I find odd is the very short notice (the memo was posted yesterday) and the fact that we aren't seeing any paperwork ahead of time. I mean, why the urgency?

Has anyone else gotten their security deposit back in the middle of a lease? Any reason we should refuse and ask them to hang onto it?

My landlord is a slime bucket and I need to break my lease. What kind of repercussions might I face?

Sloop John B — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:28:31 -0800

My landlord is a slime bucket and I need to break my lease. What kind of repercussions might I face? Over the last year and a half, I've had some problems with my landlord. Leaky roofs, heat and hot water that randomly stop working, mice, roaches, and, most recently, bedbugs. Although it turned out that we didn't have a full-on infestation, the landlord has refused to have the whole building inspected, and I don't trust him to stay on top of the problem. In short, I want to break my lease and leave the apartment. I have a feeling that he'll let me out of the lease, but his security deposit policy is a bit whacked out. His policy is to release the security deposit a full 30 days after you move out. Plus, in order to break my lease, he may try to get me to sign something that would allow him to take my deposit. Basically, he's a slimy, slimy man, and I don't trust him to actually give me my deposit back. What I want to do is move the hell out and tell him to keep my security deposit in lieu of last month's rent. If I do this, what can he do to me? Can he mess up my credit? Can he sue me? Would he sue me? Do I have any recourse, other than spending lots of money on a lawyer?

Thanks for the help.

I want a backyard

Bageena — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:58:16 -0800

How can I break my apartment lease legally here in the state of Arizona? My wife and I have realized two months into a year long lease that our apartment isn't ideal for our lifestyle. Basically, we have two dogs, we're getting two more, and we're only supposed to have one. So what are some legal ways we can break our lease in Arizona? Any input or ideas would be great! Thank you!

Do I have to pay all of my last month's rent?

pmdboi — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:46:31 -0800

ApartmentFilter: I am currently leasing an apartment month-to-month (continuation of a twelve-month lease which ended in August 2007) and I told my landlord today that I intend to move out around May 18 of this year. He informed me that I would have to pay for the whole month of May instead of prorating the rent because "that's the way rent's done." Is this true? The relevant paragraph in my lease agreement is the following:

1. Rent The tenant must make the rent payment for each month on the 1st day of that month at the landlord's address as set forth above. The landlord need not notify the tenant of tenant's duty to pay the rent, and the rent must be paid in full and no deductions will be allowed from the rent. The first month's rent must be paid at the time of the signing of this Lease by the tenant. If the landlord permits the tenant to pay the rent in installments, said permission is for the tenant's convenience only and if the tenant does not pay said installments when they are due, the landlord may notify the tenant that the tenant may no longer pay the rent in installments.

Is my landlord referring to the part in italics? Do I have any rights here which can be exercised without spending the ~$200 I would end up saving as a result? The apartment is in Troy, NY. NYS RPL §232b is pretty clear about my right to move out then, but says nothing about prorating the rent.

Advise a SF renter?

aladfar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:20:28 -0800

Advise a San Francisco renter? I've about 6 weeks left on my current lease, and just had a new roommate move in. Rather than tack him on to the remaining time, my landlord would like to scrap the previous lease and have us sign on for a year. I've a feeling my roommate would prefer that as well. I, however, don't wish to be committed that long. So, I'm thinking I'll push for a 6 month lease - the same term as my last agreement. But I suspect I'll want to move sooner than that, perhaps as early as 3 or 4 months. I've come to realize that I'd much prefer my own place, and should be able to swing it financially.

I think the best strategy would be to tack the new roomie onto the current lease and then go month to month when it expires (I believe tenants have that right here in SF). But I suspect that will generate more than a little ill will.

Any advice on how to handle the situation would be much appreciated!

How do I best navigate through a bad landlord/tenant situation?

SeizeTheDay — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:07:32 -0800

Complicated, messy NYC roommate/landlord question: 4 roommates share a 3 bedroom converted into 4 (with permission). One roommate signed a lease for a new building without getting permission from current building to transfer name on lease to new roommate. Said old roommate now refuses to pay six months of rent (remainder of lease). Much, much more inside. So three out of 4 roommates want to get out of current lease by assigning the lease to new people. This was never a problem in the building before, but now building has new ownership, and they’re making this difficult/impossible.

Two roommates are unemployed and need to get out. One of two refuses to pay remaining 6 months of lease (even though he lied about his income and signed a new one year lease in NJ). Third roommate that wants to leave has signed a one year lease (in another building) starting in May.

Leasing agent for landlord will not give us a straight answer about assigning lease to other candidates. We gave management 3 very viable replacement candidates, including all application material. This morning one of the candidates was explicitly rejected by management because it was for the converted room (despite giving us (the current tenants) no notice of this). They refuse to comment on the other two applications.

I am one of the three that wants to move out. I am willing to pay my 6 months remainder of the lease to avoid credit problems, court appearances, etc. but (as I said earlier) one roommate refuses to pay the next 6 months and other two roommates refuse to cover the deadbeat’s share (and eventually sue deadbeat). Important note: landlord refuses to accept partial payments of rent, so if deadbeat doesn’t pay and we don’t cover his share, leasing agent won’t cash our checks.

Leasing agency refuses to break the lease. Deadbeat refuses to pay. And the third roommate that wants to leave (who signed elsewhere) is starting to think that he should refuse to pay as well and let them sue us all.

I don’t want to be sued. I want to pay my 6 months and get the hell out of this situation. Ideally, I want management to take the applicants we gave them to replace us, but if that’s not going to happen, I need to know what my best option is. Should I: 1) Refuse to pay and let them sue, knowing full well they’d sue anyway because deadbeat won’t pay. 2) Pay my rent and pray that they cash my check and understand the situation (I’m going to camp out in the office on Monday until they at least hear my case). 3) Promise the landlord a check for the full amount of my share if they leave me alone. 4) Something else?

What happens if they sue me? Will I be on the hook for the entire unpaid amount (which may be up to $30000, assuming no one pays ever from now until lease end)? Can I use old checks to prove I only paid x dollars/month and the judge will only require me to owe x? I really have no clue here.

I’m in NYC. I have contacted legal aid and lawyers. I will be speaking with a lawyer that specializes in this on Monday. But I don’t want to pay $300/hour given how ignorant I am of this situation, because that consultation would end up costing me hundreds alone. So before I go to the lawyer, I’d like some anecdotal and street advice about my options. Sorry for the length. ANY help at all is unbelievably appreciated right now. Thanks.

Is lease trading a good idea?

ducksauce — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:50:22 -0800

Have you ever taken over someone's car lease? It seems like a great way to save money while leasing (no down payment), but what are the pitfalls? I know that I want to avoid cars that have low mileage limits or have already used too much of the allotted mileage, and I know that I should have the car inspected to make sure that there's no damage I could be liable for, but are there any other drawbacks? Do you just go to the dealer or the bank with the person who has the lease, sign a few papers, and drive away with your new car?

I do not know the people whose leases I am considering taking over. I've just been searching various lease trading websites.

car lease, income, and credit score

dannon205 — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:42:33 -0800

How much is a high income factoredd into a car lease loan decision? I want to lease a new Honda Accord. My credit isn't that great due to some missed payments back in law school and about $80K in student loan debt. Other than that I only have $4K in a car debt, but no credit card debt. My score is about 630. I make $100K/yr w/ a discretionary bonus. I'd be willing to put the 20% down (which the down payment is capped at), plus the 1st months payment and security deposit.

Does anyone know well enough how car lease companies decide whether to loan money for a lease? I understand that generally you need a pretty high credit score, but how much do they factor in income?

What are the legal consequences of breaking a lease in DC?

decoherence — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:53:50 -0800

What are the consequences of breaking an apartment lease in Washington, DC? And is it a dumb idea to enter into a year lease agreement knowing you'll probably have to back out in 6 months? I'm looking for a new apartment in Washington, DC. However, there's a good chance I'll have to leave in the fall, and while I'd prefer a short-term lease, not many people are willing to offer one. I'm tempted to sign a year-long lease anyway, with the plan that I could either find someone to take it over in the event that I leave, or break if necessary. So I have two questions:

1). How difficult would it be to find someone to take over a lease in the early fall in DC? Is this a busy time of year for renting? Would it be any easier/tougher if the landlord were a management company vs. a private individual?

2). What are the relevant laws pertaining to breaking leases in DC? Would I be stuck for the remainder of the rent until someone takes the place, or is the amount capped? (I've heard one month's rent + security deposit, but I'm not sure if this was for all of DC or just the building I was looking at).

More generally, is this a prudent idea, or should I really be looking for a place that would go with a shorter lease?

Roommate filter: help me find a roommate

Cogito — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:31:16 -0800

What are some good roommate matching services? I need to find a roommate to move in in August because my landlord wants me to re-sign now and my current roommate is leaving. I've heard good things about roommates.com, but it only allows you to advertise rooms available in the next 120 days. This is an annoying situation, but seems to by typical for living in a college town. Roommate Nation looks kinda sketchy, but I could be wrong.

If it makes any difference, I live in Iowa City; I'm a late 20s male professional and I'm looking for someone similar. It doesn't matter if they're male or female. A student would be OK, but not ideal.