Brief Rent Vent

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-17-2006
Brief Rent Vent
7
Wed, 02-21-2007 - 7:52pm

Hi all,

This isn't directly related to OLD, but sort of.

I just need to do a little venting - maybe someone will be able to relate. My two roommates and I live in an apartment togther. Recently, we decided it'd be more feasible to rent a house as there's more space for about the same price. We also decided we want a dog (and almost adopted one this weekend) but then we found out that the dog has to be under 25lbs (ours is 35lbs) and the fee to have one in our apartment is too high. We want this dog so bad! I know if I had one I'd be more motivated to go out walking and do things. Plus, I'm single and would love a canine companion, if not yet a man!

When I called the landlord today, she told me that if we break our lease, we'll have to play $99.00 PLUS the next TWO months worth of rent. Ugh! That on top of paying rent for a new house. Breaking a lease is breaking a lease, but gadzooks! At least I'd be getting $600.00 back for the deposit I had to put down for having my cat here.

Just debating on what to do and am annoyed. This place is crappy anyways, slow to fix stuff, and the management is rude. :( Any input or suggestions? Thank you for letting me vent, I feel better already. :)

Pink

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-17-2002
Wed, 02-21-2007 - 8:56pm
How much longer is your lease? Unfortunately, it sounds like it's really expensive to move out right now. And don't count on getting all your deposit back either. I gave a deposit for my cats at my last place and my landlord kept the amount it cost to clean the carpets - yours has the right to do the same or more - that's what pet deposits are for. But really, unless you can prove that the place is unlive-able, there's not a lot you can do to get out of it except be patient and wait for the lease to be over and then get a house.

131.gif image by y_baros th5K.gif image by jade_simo

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-17-2006
Wed, 02-21-2007 - 9:01pm

Thanks for your reply.

The lease is through July... which is cruddy because we're teachers and that's when the school year starts up again. Plus it's the hottest month of the year here in AZ!

Our carpets were nasty when we moved in. We clean thourougly weekly and both of our cats are declawed and given baths so they won't do any damage.

Ah! We just want out! :P

Pink

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-17-2002
Wed, 02-21-2007 - 9:24pm

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Honestly, it doesn't matter! My carpets were nasty too - needed to be replaced when I moved in the place and the landlord knew it. And he knew it needed to be replaced when I moved out! And it should have been at his expense because the carpet was about 7-8 years old at least by then. But still, he took the cleaning cost out. It's landlord prerogative!

Well, check your lease to see if it states flat out that you have to pay all that money to break your lease. See if you can get any kind of legal advice or have a friend who knows something about leases read it over and see if there are any loopholes. I broke my lease when I bought my house but my landlord was really cool because I found someone to move in right away so he didn't charge me anything extra other than the cleaning costs.

131.gif image by y_baros th5K.gif image by jade_simo

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-28-2006
Wed, 02-21-2007 - 9:40pm

Good venting... but try and look at it from the landlord's point of view. If someone isn't living in the apartment, then the landlord is losing money. Believe it or not, she doesn't own the place to lose money! :)

And from the landlord's point of view, she's probably saying to herself "those crazy girls- why sign a lease that runs through July and then later change their minds?!?!" I think you're lucky to get out with only having to pay two months if your lease runs several more than that!

Some states do have a deal where the landlord can only charge you rent until/unless they rent the place out again. You might check and see what your state or city's laws are. And while they might be rude there, and slow to fix stuff, they are also getting stiffed by people who quit paying and then have to be evicted (which costs money), they're dealing with some people who complain about anything/everything...

But as far as the house and dog goes- good idea. About the only suggestion I have is be SURE you and your roomies know, ahead of time, who gets the dog if you all wind up moving out or something. And I'd put it in writing if I were you- there's something more serious about putting your name onto it. It could be really positive, too- "we are getting a dog to jointly love and share and enjoy" in addition to "pinkdaisy gets the dog if she moves out or anyone else moves out".

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-17-2006
Wed, 02-21-2007 - 10:36pm

The roommates and the dog is not an issue at all, we all want one and know it would be mine, as I'd buy it. We've lived together for 2 years and have never had an issue with anything. I'm so fortunate. :)

Another reason why we want a dog is our fitness center has been broken since OCTOBER. The advertising states that its "state of the art." In October, the landlord said it would be fixed in two weeks. It's now February! Walking around alone isn't safe lately as there have been abductions, so having a dog would allow us to exercise since the fitness center is caca. :)

It also took them 2 weeks to fix our dishwasher and washing machine, both which broke in the same week! First they told us we were getting new ones of each, then they told us they lost our slip, then they admitted they'd never told the crew to come fix it. One week later, they finally came and checked it out. Gah!

The reason why we didn't get a house right away is because we didn't want to buy a house site unseen. We figured getting an apartment sight unseen would be a little "more safe". Apparently not. :P

Thanks for all your great points - I appreciate them!

Pink

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2004
Thu, 02-22-2007 - 7:07pm

Pink, I'm with Vexer. The only time I broke a lease and was ok with it (even got some money back) was when I moved out of North Carolina and found another doctor to rent the place immediately. It was pretty easy for me since I lived close to the hospital. If you can do that, you might be able to get out of it. However, it would be hard to sell someone on a place that you think is crappy. Put on your marketing hat and spin it up!

Are you guys buying a house together? I would avoid that if I were you. It can get complicated pretty fast, especially if you have to buy partners out. See if you can get an 80/20 mortgage in your name and then have the other two pay you rent. That will help you pay off the 20, but remember, you will be responsible for the cost of repairs.

Good luck!

Chick

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-17-2006
Fri, 02-23-2007 - 12:57am

Thank again for your replies.

Unfortunately, we're not allowed to sublease these appartments. And we're not looking to buy a house, just to rent one.

This situation is totally not the worst thing in the world, but I am frustrated. I've been single for over 2 years and this OLD stuff isn't working. I have the extra time and I just want to get that dog but she weighs too much.

And even if she didn't, I'd have to pay $600 to have her here. (And hopefully get most of it back later, who knows.)

Blah!

Hopefully July comes fast.

Pink