Renting with eye to buy.

I am a landlord, breaking a lease is subject to forfeiture of security deposit and balance of rent for the entire term of the lease due. I would not rent to someone who was looking to buy within a year.

Posted by: guest at May 23, 2008 2:10 PM

2:20 I think they want to sign a new lease and then break the lease when it is convenient for them

Posted by: guest at May 23, 2008 2:25 PM

You don't want to break the lease!

Posted by: guest at May 23, 2008 5:05 PM

You have to take your chances as to whether your landlord is an a-hole (like the first poster) or not. It is worth it to buy, though it can involve a negotiation and some hassle. Worse case is you lose the rest of the year's rent - though that may not be the worst case in Brooklyn.

When I bought, I let my landlords know I'd be moving out (if I passed the coop board) when I was in contract. (I had to - I needed them to sign a letter about my having paid my rent on time for my mortgage - back in the days when they underwrote mortgages with some attention.) I'd been there for over four years, so they were happy to rent to a new tenant for more rent, as they hadn't wanted to raise it a lot each year and risk losing a good tenant, so my increases were moderate - actually, they were ecstatic when they found out from a broker they could raise the rent by 50% (it was a brownstone and not rent stablized.) I would have found someone to take over my lease, as the tenants previous to me did (found me) when they broke their lease after only a few months, but my landlords preferred to put it out with a broker, given the huge rent increase they could get by doing so. So they had no problem with me paying only for the time I was there, and returning my security deposit - actually, I applied it to the last month I was there, as I always do - and they were fine with that, as reasonable landlords are (mine have always been fine with that.)

Check your lease and see if you have the right to sublet. Also ask an attorney - you may have it even if your lease doesn't say so, especially if you are rent stabilized.

You would get your best advice by talking to an attorney. If I remember correctly, the landlord has a duty to mitigate his own damages by finding another tenant and not holding you to the full year's rent once he re-rents the place. At least in Brooklyn - I seem to remember the rule was different in Manhattan (they are different legal departments in the court system). I'm not up to date on the current state of the law, so ask an attorney who practices in this area and knows. Or call Metropolitan Tenants Council and see if someone there can tell you. Or another sources of free advice to tenants that would definitely be more accurate than this board. (If you are buying, you'll have an attorney, who should know. But it sounds like you want to know before that in order to decide on your lease.) You can also get a real cheap 1/2 hour consultation ($35 last time I checked)with an attorney who specializes in that area of law if you call the Association of the Bar of the City of New York's attorney referrral service - look up their website for the number - ask for one who knows Brooklyn landlord/tenant law - that should be sufficient time to answer your question, and if you don't have an attorney already for your purchase, you can test-drive one this way and see if you like them. (I have used this service, and referred others to it, with very good results.) The fee goes to the bar association.

Definitely sign a new lease. Buying often takes way longer than you think it will. It is hard to find what you want. If it is nice, you'll have to compete. I know you said you want a condo, but if it is a coop you find, you may lose the competition, even if are willing to pay the most, as the seller may think someone's else's financials will pass the board better. And if you are getting a mortgage, there may be delays in this weird credit environment.

Resist the temptation to tell you landlord you may be leaving in the next year and trying to go month to month. You won't be protected to stay there if it takes awhile to buy (they can then end your tenancy any time as well as you can.)

You are definitely better to buy a condo than a coop, but be wary of these new developments - there are often delays (especially now with the credit crunch) in finishing them.

Good luck - you'll manage. It is everybody's issue when they first buy. And when you look to buy again, you'll realize how simple it actually was when you bought when you were a renter - once you get into trying to time the sale of your place with the purchase of the next one - now that gets truly complicated.

Posted by: guest at May 27, 2008 10:59 AM