legal advice

[93dagsr]

i need some legal help, i'll let you guys know the story (short version)

me and my girl signed for an apartment last month while we were waiting off the lease to end on the one im at now. so i lost my job and have no way to pay, no leads on any jobs no one has called back. there's two ways we can close the lease:
1. cancel everything and pay up $1500 <i don't have that much money and neither does my girl
2. sign someone on to our lease and hope they don't do anything retarded, and not pay a cent!

we opted for #2. so i need help drafting up a contract and have come up with this so far:

We ________ lend all rights to the apartment #__ at _________________ to ____________. If you default on any payments at all there will be a one week notice to comply and pay the debt. If by the end of the week you do not pay the total amount due, we __________________________will take over the apartment once again and you will forfeit all rights to the apartment. You will have 1 week to move all your things out. If anything is left behind or not moved you will forfeit all rights to it by the end of the week. By the end of the lease if there is any property damage or anything that we didn?t see when we ___________________ moved in, you will be notified to fix/pay for those damages.

i based it off what the manager told me. if you guys know any lawyers or if you yourself could help us out let me know because i need to present this contract by today!

[Jay2TheRescue]

I'm not sure about Texas, but in Virginia it takes about 3 months to evict someone. I'd say it would take at least 30 days to evict (legally)

-Jay

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I thought (and I may be wrong) that if you sign a contract, you still have a certain amount of time to get out of it especially if you haven't moved in or changed anything.

this may be very time sensitive and may only apply to certain things but it is worth checking into.

also: I have found that if you do the second option and put your trust in someone else that it always tends to end bad.

[civic94]

can you borrow money from friends/relatives? if your really in need of a job, try the low class jobs to get by such as mcdonalds, etc where you get paid minimum wage. its not the best job in the world, but money is money. when you get job offers from the places where you want to work, then switch.

[thornburg]

GasSavers is probably not the best place to get legal advice...

I would be extremely careful about finding someone to take over the lease/rental agreement. If you do find someone, it might be better to talk to the owner/management company honestly: Tell them that you cannot afford to take the apartment because you lost your job, and you don't have the money to break the lease, but you have found someone else willing to take the place under the same terms. Negotiations like this can be difficult, and sometimes require talking to "higher-ups" if dealing with a company, but most companies are willing to negotiate with people who are in a tough spot.

[93dagsr]

we tried negotiating with the "big dogs" but they are all asses and don't want to budge! esp one said that with the money i was making why didn't i just save up for the whole years rent instead of spending it on stupid ****!? i know its not in my best interest to do it that way but right now it seems like the only option we have. thanks you guys for all your advice i really do appreciate it!

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by 93dagsr

we tried negotiating with the "big dogs" but they are all asses and don't want to budge! esp one said that with the money i was making why didn't i just save up for the whole years rent instead of spending it on stupid ****!? i know its not in my best interest to do it that way but right now it seems like the only option we have. thanks you guys for all your advice i really do appreciate it!

But you lost your job, you're not making any more. What's their logic? I would think they would rather have the contract borken than have someone move in that can no longer afford the rent.

[Ford Man]

Most owner also have a clause in the contract that doesn't allow sub leasing like you were speaking of. I would advise you to find an attorney that practices real estate law and question him about your legal rights. There may be something hidden in the contract that could free you from your obligation, but unless you understand all the laws you would probably never know it on your own. It is a law in most states that you give at lease 30 days notice before evicting anyone. I think it is part of the equal opportunity housing. This is to give them time to find somewhere else to live and get there belongings moved. They are not required to stay for that length of time, but you are required to give them the time.

[BBsGarage]

Speaking as a landlord, I would rather see you bail out now and not sub-lease which may or may not be legal.

If you are not in the apt. (which it sounds like you are not) you should be able to back out and get your security deposit back. you may have to go to court for it depending on your states laws.
what you do not want is a court judgment against you!!!!!!