Breaking lease
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Breaking lease (by Pat [VA]) Aug 2, 2022 8:08 AM
       Breaking lease (by Ken [NY]) Aug 2, 2022 8:17 AM
       Breaking lease (by MC [PA]) Aug 2, 2022 8:51 AM
       Breaking lease (by Roy [AL]) Aug 2, 2022 9:00 AM
       Breaking lease (by S i d [MO]) Aug 2, 2022 9:27 AM
       Breaking lease (by Mike45 [NV]) Aug 2, 2022 4:22 PM
       Breaking lease (by Pat [VA]) Aug 2, 2022 4:52 PM
       Breaking lease (by WMH [NC]) Aug 2, 2022 4:59 PM
       Breaking lease (by Nellie [ME]) Aug 2, 2022 7:29 PM
       Breaking lease (by Moshe [CA]) Aug 2, 2022 9:23 PM
       Breaking lease (by Ray-N-Pa [PA]) Aug 4, 2022 7:49 PM


Breaking lease (by Pat [VA]) Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 8:08 AM
Message:

Thought we were going to get by with no turnovers this year. Lady gave notice yesterday, advising that she had bought a home and wanted to know if she could use deposit for last month rent? I told her no, and reminded her that we still had a legal and binding lease until the end of November. (I don't know why tenants always think it's binding on the landlord, can't rent it to someone that would pay more but they can dive out at the drop of a hat).

I also suggested that with her cooperation we'd begin advertising it immediately. I'm not really worried as I know I can get a judgment since she will be owning real property soon, however, my question is one more of:

Do I have to legally advertise it for what she is paying now? I say yes, DH says no.

It is $650.00 which is way under market but I signed an agreement with her until 11/30/22 for that. If she breaks it, am I free to ask what I want (singlewide near there rented for 1,000.00 recently on FB marketplace)?

I'm advertising on Craig's List now for 750.00 because I like our tenants to be able to stay. It is a 14 x 76 3/2 on small lot in a not so great neighborhood about 37 miles from Charlottesville.

P.S. The reason I am advertising on CL is I like the anonymity. But even though I didn't post an outside photo, she may recognize the inside photos, if she looks. --216.126.xx.xxx




Breaking lease (by Ken [NY]) Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 8:17 AM
Message:

She breaks the lease you can advertise it for as much as you want.The higher the rent the better quality applicants you will get,i would advertise for $1000 or even $1100, you have plenty of time,you can always drop the price later --74.77.xx.xx




Breaking lease (by MC [PA]) Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 8:51 AM
Message:

Post it for whatever you want. The sooner it is rented, the less she will have to pay-not sure about your break lease conditions. Usually on the hook for 2 months-get it rented in 1 month-you can refund the rest. If it Takes 2 months to rent(or whatever your break lease is) and she is on the hook for it. Especially buying a house-it might come into play. She could have even mitigated by telling you she was planning on buying/had a closing date-this didn't pop up yesterday. Get everything in writing. --73.230.xxx.xx




Breaking lease (by Roy [AL]) Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 9:00 AM
Message:

Pat,

What does your lease say about when a tenant breaks a lease early? It there an Early Lease Termination fee? You can advertise that place for anything you want to as long as it is a reasonable amount. $750.00 is reasonable. And based on your post here, I may start advertising on Craigslist again which I have not done in years. --71.207.xxx.x




Breaking lease (by S i d [MO]) Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 9:27 AM
Message:

I second Roy's advice about offering an Early Termination Fee. Offer a fee equal to 2 months rent for her to move out with no further obligation. She gives 30 days notice, pays the rent that month, then on the way out the door she hands you a certified cashiers check or money order for $1300.

Why do they think it's your job to let them walk whenever? Easy. Humans in general want what's best for them, not necessarily what's best for all parties concerned. Once that kicks in, we invent reasons and excuses why whatever deal I signed up for isn't binding any more.

"The LL never fixed anything." Sometime true, but irrelevant unless you followed the law in your state for withholding rent.

"The LL is richer than me." Sometime true, but always irrelevant. Almost every company the average shopper buy something from is richer than they in terms of inventory, real estate, cash on hand, etc.

"They won't come after me." Sometime true, but not for me!

Invent a "reason"... then act on it. Be sure to feign moral indignance when confronted.

--184.4.xx.xx




Breaking lease (by Mike45 [NV]) Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 4:22 PM
Message:

This is complicated.

You can advertise it for whatever you want to, and if you find a new tenant for Sept 1 (I am guessing that the Existing Tenant wants to be released from the lease as of August 31), there is no problem.

But if there is delay in getting the property rented, and if you go after the present tenant for the unpaid rent during the vacancy period, the fact that you have asked for "too much" would work against you as to the calculation of damages. Existing Tenant would claim that had you not demanded an increase in the rent, the place would have rented immediately, and that therefore the existing tenant in not responsible for rent. --76.4.xxx.xxx




Breaking lease (by Pat [VA]) Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 4:52 PM
Message:

Mike, my thoughts exactly. Hoping it will be a moot point. Still a lot of people looking, now is better than winter vacancy. Can always reduce for a tenant that fits my other criteria. --216.126.xx.xxx




Breaking lease (by WMH [NC]) Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 4:59 PM
Message:

You are not required to put anything aside to work on this, and you are not required to rent at the same rent if market has changed. You are required to mitigate damages as much as possible, but if you were in the middle of a flip for instance or heading out on a trip or what have you, you are NOT required to halt everything else in order to rent the place because of a broken lease. --50.82.xxx.xxx




Breaking lease (by Nellie [ME]) Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 7:29 PM
Message:

I would advertise close to current market rate. Maybe $50 less. Lease would have an early increase of $50 in six months.

Be sure that $1000 MH actually rented for that amount. Maybe it was a pie in the sky price. --76.179.xxx.xx




Breaking lease (by Moshe [CA]) Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 9:23 PM
Message:

I don't know anything about VA, but some other states (including CA) have re-cast the language of their law to make leases a matter of Contract Law rather than Real Property law.

CA, for example, now specifies that " LESSOR may recover the amounts set forth in ... the Civil Code, including the worth at the time of judgment or award of the amount by which the unpaid rent for the balance of the term, after the time of the award, exceeds the amount of such rental loss for the same period that LESSEE proves could be reasonably avoided. "

So CA does not require that the LL MUST mitigate his loss, but he loses advantage in court if he does not "reasonably avoid" his rental loss, but he has more freedom of movement in how he may choose to proceed, including how to set his asking price for a replacement tenant.

--47.139.xx.xxx




Breaking lease (by Ray-N-Pa [PA]) Posted on: Aug 4, 2022 7:49 PM
Message:

Hmmmm I can see where you might want to do a balancing act.

On one hand you have a tenant that is on the hook until you rent the place or November so it would be easy to want to raise the rent to market value.....but if it doesn't rent out right away - then they can file a complaint against you.

Maybe you can thread the nettle and get them to help you raise the rent and get it rented out. Let them know what the market rent will be, and if they can help you get the place rented out at the current market rent - that you can make it worth their wild. Personally, I would waive the ETF fee if they are able to allow me to earn more more money and get a new two year lease (I do two year leases).

So folks out there will say I am crazy, but I don't want the place back only to work on it because they are upset about an ETF fee. Instead if they do the showing and tell the applicant that I am hooking them up as a LL - that I am firm and fair. I see the value in having no vacancies and a very limited job. Others out there seem to like to work more than me though. --24.101.xxx.xxx





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