Problems, Problems, Problems

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-30-2004
Problems, Problems, Problems
12
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 11:24am

Here's a bit of a run down. We rent a 3 bdrm, 2 bthrm house in a pretty expensive city. We live approximately 30 minutes (one way) from my husband's work, and far enough away that I can't walk to anything if I need it (I'm used to walking to what I need, so this is a challenge).

Being in the military, we receive housing compensation for the rent, but it doesn't cover the 500.00 a month in other bills (not including food and gas, etc). The waiting list to get into base housing (which, we don't pay for, nor do we receive compensation for living there) is anywhere from 3-24 months long, and when you ask the people at the housing office, they claim they can't be more specific than that.

We moved into this house in a rush. I have cancer, so we were looking for some place, immediately to feel like home (we've been moved around so much by the military since Thanksgiving), and we didn't take into consideration all the things that come with actually being in a house. Yes, it was lack of planning and jumping the gun on our part. Yes, we need to accept responsibility for that, but I don't want to suffer anymore.

We've decided, that anyway you look at it, it's best to get out of this lease (though we've only been under it for about a month and a half). We haven't talked to the property management company yet, because we want to be prepared for them to flat out kick us out anyway and ruin our rental history. THAT is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. I don't want our rental history ruined because we need to 1. be on base or 2. be much nearer to base.

Can anyone tell me how to respectfully, without ruining my rental history or credit, get out of a housing lease (how's the best way to approach the property manager)? And does this make any sense?

For us, staying in this situation has us living on less than 500 every two weeks (not including food, gas (which is horrid), diapers, etc), and moving near to base would give us more than 700 to live on.

Any advice would be so welcome.

Sarah

PS-I have Radioiodine treatments coming up, so I couldn't even start to look for a job, but my husbands building is opening up a space, mid July, and there's already been talk of my taking the space. That would be phenomenal. Fingers crossed.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2003
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 11:41am

Can you list your whole household budget? I am a little confused with,

"has us living on less than 500 every two weeks (not including food, gas (which is horrid), diapers, etc), and moving near to base would give us more than 700 to live on"

Does that mean you have $500 after paying for food, gas & diapers. What needs to come out of this $500.00?

Shannon


Pregnancy%20ticker
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-30-2004
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 11:50am

Current situation (not move, live far from work) =
After setting money aside for rent and bills, each paycheck (every 2 weeks) we have about 475.00 to buy gas, groceries, diapers, house stuff.

Hopeful situation (move, live very close to work) =
After setting money aside for rent and bills, each paycheck (every 2 weeks) we would have about 720.00 to buy gas, groceries, diapers, house stuff.

Did that help?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-23-2005
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 11:59am

Sarah- I'm not sure what branch of the military your DH is in, mine is prior Army. I think your DH should consider asking for a hardship placement into base housing due to your medical condition. It's very, very important for the military to take care of their spouses, especially when they are sick. I'm not sure if you have children, and sometimes that does make a difference on how long you have to wait just b/c of space issues and DOD rules on the number of bedrooms you need. (they don't allow opposite genders to share a room, children over a certain age are supposed to have privacy, etc).

I would check into the possibility of your husband going through his chain of command and requesting a hardship placement into housing ASAP. All it takes is a letter from a commander and they will take you seriously. If your medical condition is causing a financial hardship (can't work, treatment costs, etc)- they SHOULD be accommodating you. You only have to ask. Your doctor can vouch for numerous reasons that you be moved to the top of the waiting list. From my experience, the waiting list is not at all set in stone. Basically, they can do what they want, when they want and justify it in any way. The day we visited housing to be put on "the list", we were #180 one minute and the next minute we had a key to a house. All it took was for DH to say he'd been overseas and separated from me for 22 months (yes, twenty-two LONG months) in a row and she moved us to the very top.

Please keep us posted. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts & prayers :).

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2003
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 12:01pm

"Current situation (not move, live far from work) =
After setting money aside for rent and bills, each paycheck (every 2 weeks) we have about 475.00 to buy gas, groceries, diapers, house stuff.

Hopeful situation (move, live very close to work) =
After setting money aside for rent and bills, each paycheck (every 2 weeks) we would have about 720.00 to buy gas, groceries, diapers, house stuff.

Did that help?"

Nope I would like to see a line item budget for where all your household money is going. I personally don't spend $450 a month on all the items you mentioned. So you should be able to spend $450 on all those items, and the other $450 on debt repayment.

You should not be spending $1440 a month on gas, diaper, groceries & household items. I don't see a problem with moving some where cheaper, but do it for the right reasons, such as getting out of debt. Not just so that you can waste money.

Shannon


Pregnancy%20ticker
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 12:59pm

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for joining us. It sounds like you are having a rough time of it! My heart goes out to you. I understand completely about making emotional decisions during difficult times, and I think you can stop beating yourself up about it. We're all here because we've made mistakes, and we're all here because we want to do better. That's what matters.

As for getting out of your lease, the best thing to do first is going to be to take a close look at your rental agreement. Most rental agreements spell out what happens if you break the lease. One or more of the following three things are usually spelled out: You may lose your security deposit; you may owe a lease-break fee; or you may owe for the remainder of the time you would have been in the home. If the last one applies, usually they are required by law to return to you any rent that they eventually recoup by renting the home to someone else. Usually, as early in the lease as you are, a fee will apply rather than having to pay the rest of the rent, and you'll probably lose your security deposit. But combined, it may be prohibitively expensive, canceling out any benefit you may gain from moving. But it's worth looking.

We've lived in places with really lenient lease-break agreements and some with harsher agreements (one place said we would lose our security deposit, but because I was a teacher at the time that we took the lease, there was no security deposit--so basically it didn't cost us anything to break the lease; another place we lost our security deposit but paid no extra money; and a third place we lost our security deposit plus had to pay out the rest of our lease; sheesh--I didn't realize we'd broken leases so often! LOL).

Once you've checked your rental agreement for the terms, you'll have some idea what you'll be facing. But remember, even if the terms are harsh, you may still have some leeway, especially if you're renting from an individual (as opposed to from a corporation). I recommend talking to the owners. Tell them your situation, mention that you have cancer and really need a peaceful living situation, explain that it was a mistake, and so on. With any luck, and especially if you live in a market where vacancy rates are low, they may take pity on you and make it easy on you.

And just a note: breaking a lease without the consent of the owner may cause more problems than just a cruddy rental history. You can be legally liable for whatever penalties are spelled out in your rental agreement, and the agency and/or owner may pursue you for damages. You can end up owing back rents, additional fees, and lawyer costs if they take you to court.

I do wish you the best of luck. Difficult medical situations can really cause a lot of stress and strain on the budget. A line-item budget posting would help us give you specific advice on possibly cutting back somewhat to help make your budget work whether you remain in the house or not. Don't be embarrassed! Most of us have posted our budgets here at least once (I've done it many times over the years), so we're not going to make fun of you! LOL

Keep coming back. We're glad to have you.

Many blessings,

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 1:14pm

I agree that $475 every 2 weeks should cover diapers and groceries and gasoline.

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 1:48pm

Hello,


The other posters are asking about your expenses and how much you pay for different things. Without seeing those numbers, it's hard to tell whether your overall situation would improve by breaking the lease.


For example, here is our line-item budget for the next two paychecks: (these are real numbers)


6/9 Paychecks


Income:
$900
$1400
------
$2300


Expenses


Mortgage: $405 (we pay our mortgage bi-weekly)
Tuition: $375
Car Loan: $245
Food: $200
CC Payment: $180
Electric, Sewage, Garbage: $134
Doc Bill: $100
Gas: $75
Cell: $56
DSL: $18
Water: $20
Entertainment: $15
Savings: $124 (pays for auto ins & taxes)
Debt Snowball: $363
-----------
Total: $2300


6/23 Paychecks


Income:
$900
$1400
------
$2300


Expenses


Mortgage: $405
Tuition: $375
CC Payment: $190
CC Payment: $100
Homeowner's Assocation Fee: $155
Investment: $50
Ivillage: $5
Pet Expenses: $16
Entertainment:

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-10-2003
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 4:00pm


Well, it sounds like you are dealing with a mixed bag of stuff. Cancer, moving, military life, kids, and debt. I would encourage you to examine your priorites and figure out what is important to you. Once you know what is important it is easier to figure out what you need to do. While having debt sucks, I suspect getting well is more important right now that overall debt reduction.

I would encourage you to ASK, just nicely and politely what would happen if you break the lease by explaining that you are ill, and it is difficult for you to be so far away from the base where your husband works. Never hurts to ask. ( I would prepare first by reviewing the rental contract and see what it spells out)

Secondly, I would talk to base housing. I think that is a very good idea, and I think that they can probably help. I know I would feel more comfortable in your situation if I knew I had a place to go. (ie: Get bas housing, then break lease) Again, never hurt to ask.

Decide if you gain what you need by moving, I know that there have been times in my life that I have NEEDED the convienence of having services nearby. I swear that we ate one of the grocery store chickens and prepackaged salad every Tuesday night for two years when I was going to school and working with two babies. I couldn't have made it through that time without that convienence. I suspect that facing cancer treatment with young kids is just as overwhelming as that was, maybe even more so....

Maybe there are other ways to get the supports you need??

Last but not least, I would encourage you to stick your budget up on the board, I swear these ladies are wizards at helping with that stuff.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2006
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 4:54pm

Sorry Shannon,

Just had to jump in here for minute. I know we are all supposed to be encouraging each other to save money, ie. the purpose of the board, but it sounds like this person has an awful lot going on in her life right now and may not be feeling up to watching every cent like a hawk. No offense, but the tone of your email was a little harsh.

Chloe

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2003
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 5:13pm

Chloe,
I am sorry you felt my post was harsh. It may have straigt forward, but not meant to be harsh.

SHannon

Shannon


Pregnancy%20ticker

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