How do I find someone to take over my apartment lease? (Austin: sublet, apartment complex)

[d1scretion]

My wife and I have about 7 months left on our lease, but we recently purchased a home. We are now trying to re let our apartment, as is allowed in our lease, but aren't sure where to advertise it.

We've advertised on Craigslist and a few Facebook groups, but most of the responses seem to be from people looking for a sub-let, not a re-let, as they are unable to get a traditional lease.
Does anyone know of a good place to advertise a re-let?

[vlan1]

I would suggest calling one of the many apartment locator services around town. They are free for users but typically make commission from the Leasing agencies I believe. If you are willing to pay their commission they will funnel tenants your way and I'm sure if you make the commission nice enough they will do so aggressively.

[Aquitaine]

Craigslist is usually a good place but 7 months will be tough. It's too long for a sublet but most folks will want a year - and even if they can re-up with your landlord, there's no guarantee what will happen to their rent (or if your landlord will OK them).

[creepy]

Some apartment contracts have a way to cancel the lease but you must pay for 2 months rent(a penalty). If you cannot re-let it-this might be an option rather than paying out for the next 7 months.

[gator24765]

Talk to your apartment complex and let them know the situation. Sometimes they will arrange for a new resident that is looking for an apartment to take over you lease. Thats what we did.

[10scoachrick]

And careful about that start date...too early and something might go wrong with your closing. Give yourself some wiggle room.

[CptnRn]

Read your lease carefully for any penalties or minimum payments, cancellation policies, that you must make to get out of your lease. If there are none, Texas State Law requires that the landlord try to mitigate the damages you might be responsible for under the lease, by trying to find a new tenant as soon as possible. In this hot rental market there would be little excuse for them not being able to find a suitable tenant in a short period of time.

See Security Deposits and tips: http://www.housing-rights.org/brochures.html

[d1scretion]

Thanks for your responses!

I talked to one of the apartment staff before my original posting; they did say that if they found someone who might be interested, they'd let them know, but the guy I talked to didn't seem to hopeful. We've since had someone who's interested call them to ask about the apartment and they were told it wasn't available, so I'm going to have to talk to a few more of the staff to make sure they know we're to re-let.

Thank you for the suggestion about contacting the apartment locator services - that sounds like a great idea, so we will definitely follow up on that.

Unfortunately, for an early termination our complex has a 2 months rent penalty and requires 60 days notice, so in effect we'd be paying 4 months of rent, which they require up front. I'd rather risk having to pay an extra 3 months over the long haul with the chance that we might get someone to rent it. From what I've heard of Austin's market, I think we should be able to get someone as long we can find a way to reach out to people, as our rent is significantly less than the current rate for these apartments and even more so compared to short-term pricing.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by d1scretion

Thanks for your responses!

I talked to one of the apartment staff before my original posting; they did say that if they found someone who might be interested, they'd let them know, but the guy I talked to didn't seem to hopeful. We've since had someone who's interested call them to ask about the apartment and they were told it wasn't available, so I'm going to have to talk to a few more of the staff to make sure they know we're to re-let.

Thank you for the suggestion about contacting the apartment locator services - that sounds like a great idea, so we will definitely follow up on that.

Unfortunately, for an early termination our complex has a 2 months rent penalty and requires 60 days notice, so in effect we'd be paying 4 months of rent, which they require up front. I'd rather risk having to pay an extra 3 months over the long haul with the chance that we might get someone to rent it. From what I've heard of Austin's market, I think we should be able to get someone as long we can find a way to reach out to people, as our rent is significantly less than the current rate for these apartments and even more so compared to short-term pricing.

Be sure to document that:

We've since had someone who's interested call them to ask about the apartment and they were told it wasn't available, so I'm going to have to talk to a few more of the staff to make sure they know we're to re-let.

It could be evidence in you favor that the landlord was not trying to mitigate the damages you could be subject to.

[carlsbadd]

How much? Location? I may do it.