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Northeastmom
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 04:43 pm |
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| Son was offered an apartment rental for next year. Told us that he is signing his lease this week (they basically gave him 2 days to sign or he loses the apartment). He and roommates have agreed to sign the lease! Of course, he called for $$ since he needs to put down a deposit, and wants to make sure that we are covering that. Fortunately, he has the money to cover the deposit that he will be giving them in the meantime. Rental price is very reasonable, and this should not cost me more that R&B. I am relieved. He'll have his own bedroom and bathroom.
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Chedva
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 05:12 pm |
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That's wonderful - isn't independence exciting?
But a couple of caveats - make sure that all roommates actually sign the lease. You don't want one to have to chase the others or have the others move out and get stuck.
In that vein, is it joint and several rent? In other words, is the rent a single number which they can split any way they want? If so, they must realize that if one of them breaks the lease and moves out, the remaining tenants are still liable for the same amount of money. Of course, they can then sue the guy who left to get the money (much easier if he also signed the lease), but it can get messy.
He should also make sure that he knows exactly what the tenants are responsible for. Do they have to mow the lawn? Shovel the walk? Fix things? Sometimes landlords who rent to students can find very creative ways to increase their revenue while decreasing their responsibilities.
Do you have to cosign, or are you only lending him the deposit? And can you tell I'm a lawyer? 
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patsmom
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 05:12 pm |
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I don't mean to throw a bucket of cold water on your son's excitement over getting his first apartment, but there are some other things to think about before signing a lease. Be very clear about what his liability is in case roommates don't pay the rent or utilities when due.
Something that's common in Gainesville for UF students is individual leases for multi-bedroom apartments. If 3 guys want to get together and rent a 3-bedroom apt., they each can sign their own lease and are only responsible to the landlord for their portion of the rent. I wish my own son had leased one of these apartments instead of signing a conventional lease with his 2 roommates. We found this out the hard way.
One roommate took a semester-long internship in another city last spring, then spent the summer in Europe. He subleased his apartment to a total stranger. Aside from the worries about who would now have access to the apt. when he was away in class or gone for the weekend, my son also had to contend with the new guy eventually getting behind in the rent and utilities. The second roommate also ran into money problems during this time and couldn't come up with what he owed until his financial aid was renewed in the fall. That left it up to my son to write the rent check or risk eviction, with the other 2 roommates saying that they'd pay him back as soon as they could. At one point, my son was owed about $1100 and his own checking account had run nearly dry from covering the rent for the other two.
One of the clauses in the lease that we didn't think too much of until later was that the rent HAD to be paid by check -- one check only -- in order for the landlord not to ever have to accept partial rent. My son couldn't just pay his portion of the rent and let the other guys twist in the wind. Be sure to read the lease carefully and try to understand the ramifications of any such clauses.
This has been a good lesson for my son in how the world works, but it could have been a very expensive one if he hadn't been eventually repaid (the sublessor still owes him $350 but has promised to pay  ). He would have bounced checks and the exorbitant fees that go with them and his credit would be trashed with an eviction. He'll be much more careful in the future when signing leases, and will look for the apartments that offer individual leases, even though they typically cost a little more. It's worth it for the peace of mind.
(edit) - crossposted with Chedva!
Last edited on Tue Oct 9th, 2007 05:15 pm by patsmom
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 05:49 pm |
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| This is why I posted. I am not doing the happy dance, other than to say I am relieved that he has a roof over his head. If I had my way, son would be in a dorm for 4 years. At his school after sophomore year, almost everyone moves off campus other than RAs. The pressure was on. I will call son with these questions. I know that we don't have to sign anything. He is signing the lease (so the commitment is there for him, which means us, regardless). I feel good about his roommates bc they have been friends since week one at school. He knows his roommates well. 1 should graduate when my son graduates, one might graduate one semester early but understands about being on the hook for semester 2 (there are no half year leases) so will stay on and work in the area and just have fun for 4 months (current plans but I doubt that will really happen), and one will graduate a full year earlier. They plan to replace that roommate with a new one the following (senior) year. The leases are individual, but I will call son and clarify. It is not as though he can shop and negotiate for the most favorable lease. He feels lucky to get this apartment. He says, for example, if there are 4 roommates in a rented apartment, and one graduates, the other roommates will bring in another younger student. The other 3 graduate, and then whoever is left brings in other students. He claims that it is difficult to get a completely empty apartment and bring in the people you would like to room with. He claims that apartments get passed down for years and years (esp. with fraternities/sororities). He claims that people apply in September to get an apartment for the following year, and at one complex students camp out overnight (first come, first serve). As far as lawn maintenance, etc. I don't worry. This is a very large complex of buildings, and not a duplex type of arrangement. Last edited on Tue Oct 9th, 2007 06:01 pm by Northeastmom
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patsmom
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 07:48 pm |
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I know that we don't have to sign anything. He is signing the lease (so the commitment is there for him, which means us, regardless).
The parents all had to cosign the lease in S's case, which guaranteed payment to the landlord but put us on the hook financially if any one of the kids had defaulted and a replacement roomie couldn't be found. At the time, we weren't worried because S knew the other 2 boys well. But stuff happens, and you never know.
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 09:26 pm |
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| patsmom, I am getting a quick education. My son just found out that we do need to sign the lease. They are mailing a copy to us. We don't have a choice. We either sign or he has no place to live. There are a sizable handful of apartment complexes. It is one of them, or he does not go to school there. I know that unless one of the roommates becomes very ill, they will all be there next year. It is senior year that will get tricky. During senior year, one will move out (but the lease is up then, so hopefully they will have a new roommate prior to signing the lease again), and one moves out midyear. The midyear situation concerns me a bit more, bc there are 8 payments left through August. I don't know how many students will be looking for an apartment midyear, if that student stops making payments. I really do think that this student will make payments bc of a good friendship, and knowing that there is a contract, but you never know. Last edited on Tue Oct 9th, 2007 09:29 pm by Northeastmom
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patsmom
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 09:56 pm |
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northeastmom,
You're right, it all boils down to trust. If he chooses his roommates carefully, that's about all you can do. You said that he has an individual least, though, so I'd think that means that he's safe as long as he pays his own rent.
We had to sign the lease for S, also, or it was no go. I'm sure the housing complexes in Gainesville have learned the hard way that if they don't get a cosigner guarantee, a lot of these kids would just walk away leaving damages and who knows what else. As a landlord myself, I can understand their side of it.
The other thing you want to think about is whether he will have a 12 month lease or a 9 month lease. Some complexes offer 9 month leases, but not all. If he gets an internship or study abroad opportunity or wants to come home for the summer, his rent is still going to be due with a 12 month lease. Make sure he can sublet his room, find out what restrictions there might be on that, and how easy or hard it would be to find someone who wanted to rent for just 3 months (is there summer school at your S's college)? Believe me, it's really painful to have to write that rent check when the kid isn't living in the apartment, especially if he's living someplace else for the summer that requires him to pay rent!
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 10:31 pm |
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| This is a 12 month lease. I know that I am stuck paying over two summers that he won't be using it (unless he needs to stay the last summer to graduate). I am looking at it this way- the actual dorm R &B for 10 mos., and the apartment + food budget for 12 mos. will be close in price. The apartment will cost $1000 more per year if he is going to eat. I need to look it at it this way, rather than getting bent out of shape paying for something that he is not using. I am not going to fool myself into thinking that he will find someone to sublease. He won't want them to touch his things anyway, and I would need to move him out and rent storage space, if he subleased. After paying $250 for summer storage, if someone rented for 2 months (he would need the apartment for May and August since school is in session a few days of both of those months), I would not be saving enough money to make it worth the hassle, and risking their damaging the place.
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Astrid (Moominmama)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10th, 2007 12:48 am |
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| You should also check to see when the landlord needs to be notified about either re-upping or ending the lease. At the complex my son is at, they require written notification 180 days before the end of the lease -- either to renew or vacate.
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Wed Oct 10th, 2007 01:38 am |
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| astrid, Thanks.
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mom61
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Posted: Sun Oct 14th, 2007 05:00 pm |
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My husband is in the property management field. He requires a co-signer from all college age tenants and most recently graduated ones. Also all roommates must pass the credit check. He also does not allow them to sublease. If someone moves out the new tenant must submit an application and is subject to a credit check. In most cases the problem with a parent co-signing is you are cosigning for the entire rent. Most landlords do not rent out indvidual rooms. This might be different in an apartment building that is all students. Seeing all that he has seen in over 25 years he has told his kids he will not co-sign a lease for them. (I do think if push came to shove he would).
One of his strongest suggestions is that even if you are paying the rent require your child to fund the security deposit. This in some cases seems to make a difference in how they view the upkeep of their apartment.
As a side note I have seen many an apartment or house that students have vacated. Please let your children know that mold grows very quickly in a bathroom that is never cleaned.
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Tue Oct 16th, 2007 01:12 pm |
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| We had no choice other than to cosign. We are not on the hook for roommates' rents, but only our son's rent. The rental is about $1000 (IMO) than if we were on the hook for the on campus housing for the year.
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