AR Tenant Rights, landlord problems (Fayetteville: apartments, foreclosure, rental)

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Why would you advise someone to ruin their reputation by just walking away from an obligation? The kid agreed to a one year lease, he is expected to horor his agreement.

Of course if there were other circumstances preventing him from fulfilling his lease that would be a little differnent but you are asking him to be dishonest, not to mention the possibility of something like showing up on his credit rating..

Nita

Exactly! If this was truly a serious situation with extreme circumstances, I wouldn't be so outraged. But this is simply someone who regrets leasing a small studio apartment before finding out his brother wants to move in with him. Hardly a tragedy or emergency.

Aside from the moral implications, you're spot on, Nita. His credit rating! Why trash it for a one year lease, for goodness sakes? Dishonest and just plain foolish.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Kimballette

Exactly! If this was truly a serious situation with extreme circumstances, I wouldn't be so outraged. But this is simply someone who regrets leasing a small studio apartment before finding out his brother wants to move in with him. Hardly a tragedy or emergency.

Aside from the moral implications, you're spot on, Nita. His credit rating! Why trash it for a one year lease, for goodness sakes? Dishonest and just plain foolish.

I certainly don't want to sound like a goody two shoes (I am far from it) I am not saying I have never told a white lie, of course I have, both to protect someone's feeling and yes, to save my ass, but I would never recommend someone walk away from an obligation nor would I deliberately cheat someone. I can't see how the OP can say his landlord is a Scroog, he is simply asking the young man to fulfill his commitment and too many today think rules are made for others, but not them.

Nita

[aerotive]

Pfft, the OP sounds like some kid who got himself into a crappy living situation. Walking away will have little to no effect on him medium-to-long term. Oh no, some 20 year old is going to have a besmirched rental record...I'd rather have that and be able to live decently somewhere else.

You two sound very bourgeois and middle-aged, and the actions you recommend are more appropriate for you and me. I am not convinced they are for someone in the OP's situation. Credit rating? Reputation? Frickin moral compass? He's breaking a lease not burning the building down and then walking across the street to rape/kidnap/murder. Get over yourselves.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by nmnita

too many today think rules are made for others, but not them.

Nita

Yeah, that's what sets my hair on fire.

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by aerotive

Pfft, the OP sounds like some kid who got himself into a crappy living situation. Walking away will have little to no effect on him medium-to-long term. Oh no, some 20 year old is going to have a besmirched rental record...I'd rather have that and be able to live decently somewhere else.

You two sound very bourgeois and middle-aged, and the actions you recommend are more appropriate for you and me. I am not convinced they are for someone in the OP's situation. Credit rating? Reputation? Frickin moral compass? He's breaking a lease not burning the building down and then walking across the street to rape/kidnap/murder. Get over yourselves.

Aerotive- You're actually way off on this- it can and likely would have a significant effect medium-to-long term. A "besmirched rental record" as you put if is often (almost always if the landlord is a company or a litigious type) reported to credit agencies, and will blacklist the tenant from almost any reputable apartment/condo/loft he might want to rent for years to come, since the vast majority of renters, and especially the ones with nice places, check your credit. It will also impact the traditional things like getting a credit card, loans for several years to come, etc. Plus, the poster said he is working, so if it did go to court, they can certainly force him to pay. So, he'd end up with a bad credit history, inability to live anywhere very nice for years to come, and he'd end up not only owing the original amount of the lease, but also court and legal fees on top of that. Your advise is reckless, plain and simple, and I'm hardly bourgeois or middle aged.

OP- do not break your lease without making some sort of arrangement with the landlord. It does sound like your landlord may be a bit of a jerk (note for the future- always meet your landlord when you are looking at a place, and if they seem like an ass, steer clear and go look for another place. I've passed on a few places I thought were great because the landlord seemed like a jerk), but you signed the lease so he's within his rights to charge you the remainder of the rent. You can almost always work out a sublet arrangement or replacement tenant arrangement with a landlord, but if they refuse you may be stuck there for the rest of your lease. It might be better for your brother to get a shorter term lease on another studio/one bedroom elsewhere in town until your lease is up and you can find a place together. Unfortunately the landlord tenant laws in Arkansas are very old (most states without old large cities have very inadequate renter protections, in my opinion) and offer no real provisions for a situation like this (Arkansas Landlord Tenant Law). Your best bet is to try to sublet the studio and move, outside of that I would see if there's someone you can talk to about ways out without getting drug to court (I think the UofA has a legal clinic that may be able to provide some free advice), but you're probably going to have to honor the lease, one way or another.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by aerotive

Pfft, the OP sounds like some kid who got himself into a crappy living situation. Walking away will have little to no effect on him medium-to-long term. Oh no, some 20 year old is going to have a besmirched rental record...I'd rather have that and be able to live decently somewhere else.

You two sound very bourgeois and middle-aged, and the actions you recommend are more appropriate for you and me. I am not convinced they are for someone in the OP's situation. Credit rating? Reputation? Frickin moral compass? He's breaking a lease not burning the building down and then walking across the street to rape/kidnap/murder. Get over yourselves.

Let's put it this way, young or old, right is right and wrong is wrong. I have kids and grandkids (yep, I am older) that would never in a million years have thought of breaking a lease. When my oldest daughter was 17, not even an adult she was a freshman in college, had agreed (it is wasn't a written agreement) to share an apartment with another girl. It turned out to be a mistake, but never would she have gone back on her word. She stuck it out.

Of course this isn't rape or any serious crime, but it isn't using good sense nor is it fair to the landlord. Advising what you are advising him to do explains why some people do think they can do what they want. I happen to feel a person should live up to their responsibilites.

Nita

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by aerotive

You two sound very bourgeois and middle-aged, and the actions you recommend are more appropriate for you and me. I am not convinced they are for someone in the OP's situation. Credit rating? Reputation? Frickin moral compass? He's breaking a lease not burning the building down and then walking across the street to rape/kidnap/murder. Get over yourselves.

Right and wrong don't change based upon your age. Do you really think morals, values, and standards only apply to "bourgeois and middle-aged" people? Obviously this situation isn't a capital crime. However, that doesn't mean it's an honorable thing for anyone to do, regardless of age. There. I just got over myself.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by thewizard16

OP- do not break your lease without making some sort of arrangement with the landlord. It does sound like your landlord may be a bit of a jerk (note for the future- always meet your landlord when you are looking at a place, and if they seem like an ass, steer clear and go look for another place. I've passed on a few places I thought were great because the landlord seemed like a jerk), but you signed the lease so he's within his rights to charge you the remainder of the rent. You can almost always work out a sublet arrangement or replacement tenant arrangement with a landlord, but if they refuse you may be stuck there for the rest of your lease. It might be better for your brother to get a shorter term lease on another studio/one bedroom elsewhere in town until your lease is up and you can find a place together. Unfortunately the landlord tenant laws in Arkansas are very old (most states without old large cities have very inadequate renter protections, in my opinion) and offer no real provisions for a situation like this (Arkansas Landlord Tenant Law). Your best bet is to try to sublet the studio and move, outside of that I would see if there's someone you can talk to about ways out without getting drug to court (I think the UofA has a legal clinic that may be able to provide some free advice), but you're probably going to have to honor the lease, one way or another.

O/P, listen to the wiz. Wise words. And neither bourgeois nor middle-aged.

[aerotive]

OP, let me translate what these guys are saying:

"You filthy, lazy, dirty little poor. Your word is your bond, you don't want to break your word do you? No matter how bad your situation is, you must suffer through it. Perhaps you need some new bootstraps. You need good, delicious credit so you can be a good little consumer and buy buy buy buy needless things. You want a laughably overpriced condo someday don't you? Think not of the legions of rich people who have strategically defaulted; as a matter of fact, don't even look up that concept. Ignore all massively corrupt bankers, lenders, landlords, builders, title insurers, real estate agents, ratings agencies lawyers, etc that have committed fraud and thrown the country into a ditch. These people are your social betters, and only they are allowed to "think in a business way"."

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by aerotive

OP, let me translate what these guys are saying:

"You filthy, lazy, dirty little poor. Your word is your bond, you don't want to break your word do you? No matter how bad your situation is, you must suffer through it. Perhaps you need some new bootstraps. You need good, delicious credit so you can be a good little consumer and buy buy buy buy needless things. You want a laughably overpriced condo someday don't you? Think not of the legions of rich people who have strategically defaulted; as a matter of fact, don't even look up that concept. Ignore all massively corrupt bankers, lenders, landlords, builders, title insurers, real estate agents, ratings agencies lawyers, etc that have committed fraud and thrown the country into a ditch. These people are your social betters, and only they are allowed to "think in a business way"."

I'm also opposed to "strategic defaults." An agreement's an agreement. Honor is honor. This kid's situation isn't bad, it's simply inconvenient. This discussion isn't about poverty, bootstraps, rampant consumerism, corruption, socioeconomic status, or anything else - just one kid who doesn't want to honor a legal agreement.