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Questions & Answers
 

Question by Kodiak: Is there a way to break an apartment lease?
My brother has an apartment with a lease until July. He just became un-employed and is drawing unemployment. He wants to know if there is any way to get released from the lease given his current situation. He is not military nor does he work for the government where there are exceptions made for breaking leases under certain circumstances.

Best answer:

Answer by steveko777
loss of income is not an acceptable excuse for breaking a lease—but as a Landlord I would rather let the tenant go and re-rent then get stuck for months of rent and have to evict someone. Talk to your lease holder about your situation—hopefully they will be logical and let you go rather then tell you that you are stuck.

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Question by Big Philly: If you were to live in any city you could live in rent free, where would you go?
If you were to live in any city you could live in rent free, where would you go?

and why? I’m debating on where I should live.

I’m a city boy that does like the nightlife and business.

Best answer:

Answer by LittleBird8
Los Angeles or New York City would be good for you. I imagine Hong Kong would work too.

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Question by celticastarr*: where do i find texas property or real estate forms?
ive been to the Texas real estate commission website and i cant find what i am looking for-change of property ownership forms (from one person to another) or basic real estate forms where can i find these?

Best answer:

Answer by Tigg
County Office of Deeds and Records

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Question by joefishal: During a lease renewal can a landlord make you pay more money on a deposit you have already made?
I have just signed a renewal lease that raises my rent by 3%.
My landlord also wants that extra 3% tacked onto the deposit, which I had paid several years ago after moving in. Do you have to also up the price on your deposit? It sounds fishy to me.

Best answer:

Answer by alwright
if its not in the contract it doesnt apply

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Question by ?•?•xXx•?— BOMB ? SHELL?•xXx•?•?: Would you allow an illegal to drive your car to and from work and allow his family to live with you rent free?
Would you allow an illegal to drive your car to and from work and allow his 10 family members to live with you rent free for one year ?

Best answer:

Answer by FRAGINAL-NOYPI
If I am really rich, I will be generous enough to help anybody.

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Question by Ashley D: Lease agreement renewal still valid with new roommate?
I have a lease agreement with our apartment complex in Kansas with two other girls. Our lease is up Sept 11, 09 and we were just offered a lease renewal.

One of my roommates is planning on moving out later this week and is putting in her 60 day notice with the complex.

My question is this: If she is getting off the lease and we choose to renew it, with a new third roommate, is the lease offer they gave us still valid? Or can they make the decision to put our rent back to market value price?

Best answer:

Answer by knowitall
If all 3 were on the lease, the new one must sign in place of the one leaving. Discuss it with management before too close to re-new date.

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Question by steve42086: Need to break lease/ nothing in my lease concerning breaking it, any opinions?
I’ve recently signed a 1yr lease for my apt, but must now leave for personal reasons. My lease states nothing about what would happen if I must break my lease early. What should I do? Is there a loophole to break my lease without facing charges?

Best answer:

Answer by Ms. E
Hi,

Technically, you can break a lease even if the lease says you can’t. What the landlord then has to do is what is called “mitigate” damages. What this means is that the landlord has to make a reasonable effort to rent the apartment to someone else as quickly as is reasonable.

What happens then is that you will be charged for any rent in between when you moved out and the landlord got it rented again. The landlord can’t just sit around and not try to rent it again.

The bad thing is that you won’t likely be able to use the landlord as a good reference because you broke your lease. But, from what I’ve learned in law school (I’m just a law student, but am also a property manager of a 26 unit apartment building in California), you can still break your lease even though you said you’d be there a year, for instance. The landlord then has to make a reasonable effort to get it re-rented, but can then take the lost rent out of your security deposit.

But, of course, don’t expect a good reference.

Best of luck to you!

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Question by Pamela S: In MO can you be charged a break lease fee if go into a nursing home & can’t fulfill your apt lease?
My mother’s doctor recently discharged her from 22 days in the hospital to a nursing home. Now the apartment complex wants to charge her a break lease fee because she has to give up her apartment before the end of her lease.

Best answer:

Answer by Fort Sill Army Wife
Yes they can, sorry to say it but they are in business and do not care about the reason you are breaking a lease

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Question by Sher T: My aunt is in a nursing home, my mom (her sister) moved into her house. Can my mother live there rent free?
I hold Power of Attorney for my aunt. My siblings are certain that my mom can live there rent free or I could just have her pay 1 penny. I heard that it has to continue to provide some revenue for my aunt. At least at fair market value. Who is right? thank you for any help you can provide.

Best answer:

Answer by duje
Ask a lawyer / solicitor to be sure.

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Question by i-NV-no1: how to live rent free. for example being a land lord?
im just curious if your a landlord or manager of an apt building do you get to live for free? what are your responsibities and also how do you become a landlord or manager?

Best answer:

Answer by Mrs HarleyBrat
“caretakers” will generally take care of cleaning halls and sidewalks – general building clean up and get either reduced rent or free rent
“Managers” are the on site person you see if you rent and you need somethnig fixed or pay your rent – they generally get free rent
depends on whether or not you want an outside job (which you could do in conjunction with a caretaker position) or you want to be home all the time (like a manager)
Every company operates differantly so you’d have to call a few places to see what they have set up for compensation
good luck

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Question by wellaem: lease agreement?
is there a site from which I can print legal documents, such as a lease agreement?

Best answer:

Answer by sm_ie2
http://www.ilrg.com/forms/lease.html
it has all 50 states listed

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Question by Thomas: If I break a lease, Do I get instant bad credit or do they have to take me to court first?
I am looking to break my lease, and was wondering if they have to take me to court for the broken lease before I get bad credit for the action. How long does it take to post on my credit report from the time I break the lease. I live in Texas if that makes a difference.

Best answer:

Answer by dawgphish76
I broke a lease before…I’m not sure how it affected my credit score, but I couldnt lease another appartment untill I had verification that I paid off the remainder of what I owed…(the verification was faxed to the appartment I was trying to lease)

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Question by Kalema: Son is 24 years old and lives at home with me,should I allow him to live rent free?
I am a singleworking mother and I put my son through college. He graduated two years ago and has not found a job. He has been on a few interviews,but not consistantly. I give him information,but he has not looked into anything. He hangs out at the clubs with friends all weekend,and will do chores only if I pay him. I do not want to see him on the street,but I take care of him, and three younger siblings all on my paycheck. Any advice would be apppreciated.

Best answer:

Answer by AL is legendary
you should tell him to move out he has a college degree he’ll make it you can’t just provide him your house to live at, and no offense but any man should be glad to do work for his mother that lets him live there without paying a dime. he will be fine

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Question by lynnepeterpan: lease renewal?
my nephew is renting an apartment his lease is up on august 16th the leasing agent gave them a new lease in may to sign
he told them that he might not be staying he is planning on moving to fla. they said he had to sign the lease now because the rent might be going up well he told them in june that he was not staying and now they are holding him to the new lease.
do you think he still owes the 3 month they are trying to charge him for leaving in august when his intial lease is up

Best answer:

Answer by Adlpated
This is hard to answer without seeing the original lease. Many common leases have a clause that a tenant needs to provide notice of intent not to renew. It’s not good enough to say that you “may” move, and not sign the lease.

If there is no clause in the lease, and nothing that says he needs to give a certain notice of intent to move (even if it’s at the end of the lease) then he should be clear to move without penalty.

I think someone needs to carefully read the entire lease.

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Question by The Man_agement: Where can I find real estate forms for any state?
I’m a real estate investor with properties in a couple states, and I’m looking for a site with free or cheap landlord and real estate forms for all states. Anyone have a good site?

Best answer:

Answer by Doctor Deth
Office supply store like Staples may have generic forms – I think most realtors now use specialized software, so each sales agreement is somewhat customized – and printed on Laser printer – carbonless forms might not be used much anymore – just google real estate forms and see what you get

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Question by Bill: Can my child live rent free in a 2nd home that I own without tax consequences?
This is a home in VA. The house was bought for the purpose of providing her with a place to live. What are the consequences with the IRS? Is this considered to be a gift?

Best answer:

Answer by knowitall
Not unless you deed the house to her. Have it appraised, then give her ,000 worth each year until in full. There will be no taxes on this ( there still will be Real Estate taxes, of course).

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Question by Lets get this straight: Break lease on apartment to rent a home instead?
My husband and I have found a big home in the neighborhood across the street from where our son goes to school. We would like to break our lease b/c it isn’t up until next June 2010. What are the rules and regulations on breaking a lease as far as paying it back? Is it a lump sum that we fork over or can we work something out that we can pay in payments?

Best answer:

Answer by HeatM1ser
The rules for ending the lease early will be stated in the lease itself. If there are no rules listed, then you can safely break the lease. If the landlord tries to sue you, he has a contractual agreement which does not define the terms of breaking your lease.

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Question by jason p: Is there any country or region where there is no rent or mortgage for a home? I want to live rent free?
I am doing research and want to live in a rent free society if possible. I am 23, a hard worker and have 2 incomes but want to live stress free in my life. Looking to move to a place where there is no requirement for rent.

Best answer:

Answer by jlf
“There ain’t no free lunch.”

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Question by creative: Where can I find good real estate forms?
I am a real estate investor and I have been paying a lot of money for a friend of mine to close for me. It is still cheaper than paying an agent. I need to know how I acn do my own closings now. Where can I find the forms for free and info on how to close and in what order to do so. A lawyer gave them a cd with the forms on it. I can’t find those things anywhere. I will gladly give 10 points to the person who gives me the best free legitimate resource that’s useful and informative. Thank-you.

Best answer:

Answer by KingFella
You’re an investor and you don’t know this?

Well I sell real estate, and have investments of my own. You can obtain forms from online. Depending on what state you’re in, you will need the following:

Offer & Acceptance Agreement
Lead Based Paint Disc (for a sale) Contingency (purchase)
Common Ownership Interest Properties Addenda (if HOA)
Financing Addendum
Property Disclosure (for a sale)
Disclosure Guide

You really need to get an agent! Find someone that will charge you a discounted commission. For example, I would charge minimum 4%, 2% on each side. If you are buying you don’t pay anyone; only when you sale.

Don’t be cheap get an agent, your investments are too important to risk with faulty contractual work, it could cost you thousands.

If in Nevada, drop me a line, I’ll give you a break.

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Question by Krys: Is there a legal way a person can break lease at an apartment complex with a roommate?
my sister has a roommate who has begun to threaten her and throw parties all the time. She has told my sister that she cant use certain rooms in the apartment even though she pays half of the rent. Is there a way my sister can break lease with the roommate by paying her half to break lease?

Best answer:

Answer by Jennifer
I signed a 6 month lease with a girl that I worked with and we moved in together. 3 months later she turned psycho and I wanted out. We fought for about a month and in the end I had to agree to pay for a month’s rent beyond my move out date and let her keep the deposit – that I had paid fully myself. It was more than worth it to get out of there as she was running up the phone bill and not paying and it was in my name.
Have your sister talk to the room mate and see what the room mate wants to do – maybe she wants your sister to move out or she wants to move out herself.

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Question by bobby_jorgensen32: I may need to break my lease but there is no information on my lease?
I may need to break my lease, in month 6/12, due to a possible job across the state. I looked through my lease contract and there is nothing on breaking a lease or pre-termination. It just says that there is a 0 subletting fee. Does this mean that legally there should be no penalty for breaking lease because I did not agree to anything on it in writing?

Best answer:

Answer by Shawn
It depends on what kind of “apartment” you are renting. If it’s just a room in someone’s house or something similar, then they may let you go free and clear. However, if you’re renting from a basic landlord in an apartment complex, then there’s likely a stiff penalty implied in your lease agreement.

Look through it again. In almost every lease out there, especially in your first year of renting, there is no “fee”, but you are responsible for paying rent until the end of the lease term. Most landlords will let you out without penalty IF you find someone to take over payments immediately. If they have to find a replacement tenant they’ll usually keep you on the hook until they can rent the place out again. If you can’t afford to pay for 2 places at once, then try to find someone to take the place over for you. If your current place is in high demand, you may only end up paying for 1, maybe 2 months until it gets filled again. Sorry, but a lease is a binding contract for the term. There’s a pretty hefty penalty for breaking it.

If you still don’t quite know, just sit down with your landlord and have them explain it to you. Who knows, they could be sympathetic and let you go free and clear.

What do you think? Answer below!

Question by CzaLeo: Lease Agreement?
I have a lease agreement until August of this year and well i lost my job and will be moving up north and will need to break the lease agreement can I just have him keep the deposit and leave out of my lease early??? Can someone help me I live in FLORIDA if it helps any.

Best answer:

Answer by katbailey99
There is usually a stipulation in your lease about this. Generally they will request an additional months rent. Sometimes more depending on the amount notice you give. I would speak with your landlord as soon as possible.

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My daughter was in rented accomodation and paid her rent monthly by cheque to the landlord. He didn’t cash one cheque and she has now moved to another property. He has found the uncashed cheque and is expecting her to issue another one as the first is out of date. Can he legally do this?

How old do you have to be in order to rent a hotel room? I’m sixteen… and no, I’m not trying to rent a hotel room to have sex with my boyfriend, or anything like that. I just really want to travel to another part of the world, though another part of the US would be fine too, and was wondering if I would be able to legally stay anywhere without my parents. I have a credit card.

I currently own a home in Northern CA, but for job purposes have to rent in Southern CA. Is any of my rental payments deductible?

We just started renting a house that we got to raise our three grandchildren in, and we’d like to make it permenant. We want to give them a secure future and want this house for them. Unfortunately we, do not have good credit, yet our landlord seems open to this. However, we are ignorant about it. Can someone educate us on Rent-to-Own a home? Thank You for any help you can give us. JoyBird

For example if you were earning £1000/$1000/€1000 then how much of that should be spent on rent on your house or apartment? 20%? 50%? 80%? More? Less?

I’m going to rent out my primary (and only) house for few years, as I’m moving for work to a different state.
How do i deduct the mortgage interest paid and property tax? Do I deduct it from my income tax, as usual? Do I subtract it from the rent income to reduce (or almost eliminate) taxes on the rental income? or maybe both?!

Thanks.

I am apartment hunting & found a place I really like. However, the rent is about $200 more than what I like to pay for an apartment. How would I go about negotiating with the landlord to lower the rent?

In Los Angeles, how much would it cost to rent a small (about 1000 sq ft) space in a mall, to start a restaurant? Like if a cafe in a mall went outta business, how much would it cost to rent their old space? In decent condition?

Please dont lecture about the economy or how most restaurants fail!

Basically the house I rent is being foreclosed on and will be sold at auction on August 11. Is there an amount of time that the new owners are legally required to allow me to move out after the house has been purchased? I literally just found out and am in no way prepared. I live in California.
Oh, my lease is month-to-month, by the way.

Hi, this question refers to rental agreements in Paris, France.

I know a little about what’s asked by French estate agents when renting a property in France and I’m aware that as a general rule they ask the tenant to prove that they earn over 3 times the amount of the rental price. What I’d like to know is “would it be possible for me to combine my salary with that of my girlfriend in order to rent a better place than what is available to me at 1/3 of my salary?”

I want to know if the decision to rent a place to someone is governed by law in this respect or whether the “3 times more than the monthly rent” rule is just a guideline that can be adapted in accordance with the combined financial situation of the prospective tennants.

Any help would be much appreciated – bear in mind that this question is directed mainly at either French people or people with experience living there as an ex pat.
That’s a useless answer. I posted this question elsewhere on Yahoo! answers and have received 13 very informative answers so far which have given me a great deal of hope and motivation in my search for a French rental agreement that is adaptable to my needs. I think you are underestimating the WORLD part of WWW and for that alone I won’t be giving you the best answer – your answer is a waste of space and shows a distinct lack of intelligence, not to mention a dire command of the English language.

I am thinking about moving to Virginia. How long after bankruptcy discharge do you need to wait to rent an apartment? Does anybody know someone who places property for rent in Hampton Roads area of Virginia?

How can I rent out rooms to tenants if it’s a commercial property for business already set up for living?

If you own a company and the company pays home office rent, does the company have to 1099 the owner? In other words, I assume the office rent is rent exp to the company and the monies rec’d by the owner is rental income. How is the rental home rent income classified on the personal tax return.

If a Couple and a Single are moving into a 3 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom House, how should the Rent / Rooms be split?
Is it reasonable for the couple to pay 2/3 of the Rent and take 2/3 Bedrooms? If the couple gets 1 Bedroom, and the Single gets 1 Bedroom, should the Rent be split in Half?
Any help would be appreciated.

I am a college student and I have been paying rent, all on time, and I have not developed any credit. My name is not on any utility bills for the apartment. Is there any way I can build credit paying my apartment rent?