Move to Nova Day 3 (Arlington, Woodbridge: insurance, credit check, transfer)

[bmwguydc]

Originally Posted by car54

He edited his original post, in which he stated that he downloaded a blank lease....he even said "it's not exactly a real lease anyhow". When they rejected it, he went home and "fixed" it. (see my other post for the quote of his original statement)

Nowhere did he indicate any involvement on the part of the lessor.

That is falsifying a document any way you slice it.

Blank legal forms are perfectly fine to use, provided they meet the requirements of the jurisdiction, so downloading a blank lease is a non-issue.

"Not a real lease," likely means that the owner is not charging rent or treating his friend like a tenant, but the lease is necessary to establish residency. Whether or not the friend chooses to enforce any lease is their own business, and the lease itself is still valid for DMV purposes, just as anyone can choose whether or not to enforce a lease on their own property. The lease spells out terms, and provides legal recourse should the conditions not be met, but it's up to the landlord as to whether or not the terms are enforced, including payment of rent, use of the property, etc., provided said uses are legal.

It's a normal assumption that the landlord would sign the lease, since it's very easy to email a document, fax it, etc. for a signature -- the person need not be there, and it's perfectly legal. Let's give people the benefit of the doubt before accusing them of falsifying documents.

[car54]

Originally Posted by bmwguydc

Blank legal forms are perfectly fine to use, provided they meet the requirements of the jurisdiction, so downloading a blank lease is a non-issue.

"Not a real lease," likely means that the owner is not charging rent or treating his friend like a tenant, but the lease is necessary to establish residency. Whether or not the friend chooses to enforce any lease is their own business, and the lease itself is still valid for DMV purposes, just as anyone can choose whether or not to enforce a lease on their own property. The lease spells out terms, and provides legal recourse should the conditions not be met, but it's up to the landlord as to whether or not the terms are enforced, including payment of rent, use of the property, etc., provided said uses are legal.

It's a normal assumption that the landlord would sign the lease, since it's very easy to email a document, fax it, etc. for a signature -- the person need not be there, and it's perfectly legal. Let's give people the benefit of the doubt before accusing them of falsifying documents.

I'm not accusing anybody of anything....but a reasonable person reading OP's story might get the impression that OP "manufactured" the lease. I was merely questioning the wisdom of putting that on the internet.

Oh, and thanks for the primer on lease law....but after 30+ years of owning and leasing residential and commercial properties, I'm quite familiar with what a lease is.

Hey OP, belatedly...welcome to the area! Other posters mentioned the Sunset Grille in Annandale....that's my spot! If you see a gold '65 FL Electra-Glide (last year of the panhead, first year of electric start!) parked out front, pull on in, I'll buy ya a beer!

[sportsterjohn]

Ok, I think we may be over reacting a bit to things. Prior to my moving here, I have seen dozens of threads covering almost any topic imaginable. My point of doing the day by day threads was to provide a real time / first hand experience of someone moving to this area which touches on a variety of things that most if not all newcomers will experience. As far as the whole lease thing goes... In order to get a Va license you must show proof of residency. There are a few things which you can present however a lease is the only thing that most of us wll be able to provide until we have been here for at least a few weeks. Although I am staying with a friend, it is a long term arrangement. Not just using his addy to just get a dl. Since I am renting directly from a friend and not a normal property management company, we had to download a doc from a legal site. The main reason it was rejected and 'fixed' was because origionally we set it up as month to month. I only posted that to let others who move here and plan on renting a room from someone that a month to month lease could be rejected by the dmv. Even though we did the lease ourselves, it is just as legal and valid as any other. And like with any other lease, the property owner can choose to or not to enforce the terms. A few people expressed opinions that should turn this into a blog or not post the day by day stuff. I promise that you will not see "My move to Nova day 246" Once I get through most of stuff that most newcomers go though, I will be done.

[Guamanians]

Originally Posted by sportsterjohn

Ok, I think we may be over reacting a bit to things. Prior to my moving here, I have seen dozens of threads covering almost any topic imaginable. My point of doing the day by day threads was to provide a real time / first hand experience of someone moving to this area which touches on a variety of things that most if not all newcomers will experience. As far as the whole lease thing goes... In order to get a Va license you must show proof of residency. There are a few things which you can present however a lease is the only thing that most of us wll be able to provide until we have been here for at least a few weeks. Although I am staying with a friend, it is a long term arrangement. Not just using his addy to just get a dl. Since I am renting directly from a friend and not a normal property management company, we had to download a doc from a legal site. The main reason it was rejected and 'fixed' was because origionally we set it up as month to month. I only posted that to let others who move here and plan on renting a room from someone that a month to month lease could be rejected by the dmv. Even though we did the lease ourselves, it is just as legal and valid as any other. And like with any other lease, the property owner can choose to or not to enforce the terms. A few people expressed opinions that should turn this into a blog or not post the day by day stuff. I promise that you will not see "My move to Nova day 246" Once I get through most of stuff that most newcomers go though, I will be done.

FYI: Note in the bylaws that you can not post on the same subject more than 245 times... so don't push your luck :-)

[treebw]

Sportsterjohn, I am enjoying your posts. I wish that I could have read posts like yours when I first moved here.

[ajzjmsmom]

Sportsterjohn, I too am enjoying your posts. Gives those who maybe moving here some ideas of things that can go wrong in trying to become "legal" in VA. It gives them an opportunity to fix things that possibly need to be fixed, thereby making their dealings with the gov't facilites not quite as hectic. If someone gets upset because you are posting a day by day accounting then they don't have to read your posts.

bmwguydc, hope my last sentence doesn't have to be cut, just wanted to thank the OP for providing this service.

[normie]

Originally Posted by sportsterjohn

My point of doing the day by day threads was to provide a real time / first hand experience of someone moving to this area which touches on a variety of things that most if not all newcomers will experience.

I think it's a great idea! Very interesting, and very useful to other newcomers. It might be even better, though, if you continue the same thread from day to day, instead of starting new ones.

[nwc07]

FYI--DMV Select offices do not issue drivers licenses...

[Caladium]

I've enjoyed reading these threads so far. Keep it up, and welcome to Nova.

[Flamingo13]

I enjoy reading your experiences also - maybe a good idea though to just keep one thread and update it.