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I rent with a roommate. My roommate is the one who is the 'main' person in the apartment and I moved in when his previous roommate moved out. It is 'his' apartment and I pay rent to him and he pays the landlord the whole rent. The landlord knows that my roommate has a roommate - I met him once.
My roommate lost his job and is only working part time now. He won't have his share of the rent for September 1.
He wants to send in MY half of the rent and send his half to the landlord later. I'm afraid that if I do this, and he doesn't pay his half in a reasonable period of time, we will both be evicted and I'll get screwed out of my money. Also, if he does come up with his half of the September rent by the middle of September then he probably won't have the October rent by October 1st...
Also, I don't want to move! If I had to, I could cover the whole rent but I wouldn't want to have my roommate owing ME the money. Then I'd be really concerned about getting screwed out of my money. If I paid the whole rent, I'd rather he just move out and I have the whole place to myself.
I'm hoping that if some hard decisions need to be made that I can get in contact with the landlord directly. Hopefully, with his help, maybe we can get my roommate to move out 'semi-willingly'. Also, since the original lease my roommate held is long-expired, I'm sure he can selectively throw one of us out but not the other if that's what he wants...
Can you afford the apartment on your own? Get in touch with the landlord and see if you can work something out. If not, maybe the landlord will take your share of the rent (give it to the landlord yourself) and at least give you time to find another place to live.
I can cover the rent. If I do pay the full rent, I want the place to myself - I don't want to be 'lending' the rent to my roommate. Also, if I have the place to myself, I would have the option of getting a different roommate that can pay the rent!
Even if the lease has expired, your roomie is a legal tenant and will either need to 1) agree to terminate the lease or 2) be evicted. If you pay the full rent, the roomie can't be evicted. This is really between the landlord and the roomie. The landlord probably isn't going to be OK with even partial rent. At least you're not on the lease and liable for the rest of the lease.
You should let the landlord know you'd be willing to assume the lease if the roomie is gone. He/she will be glad to have a renter lined up.
I'm with you on lending money: don't. Even if you get a promissory note, you may have to go to court to collect it. What would the roomie do if you weren't in the picture? Default? Take a credit card loan? Call a family member?
You got lots of great advice! I would also agree that the landlord does not want 1/2 the rent. I mean, is he/she renting 1/2 the apartment? If your roommate does not have money, then he/she can get a loan from his/her bank. His lack of cash should not be a barrier to paying rent.
Your roommate will probably qualify for a personal loan of 5K or less from his local bank or credit union. He may even be able to get the money quickly enough to pay the rent in September (including any applicable late fees). He can probably pay back the loan over 5 years.
The interest rate may be 10-12 percent now for a personal loan, but I think that beats being homeless.
Since the lease is expired, your roommate can move out with 30 days notice since he is apparently on a month to month basis. Contact the landlord yourself and ask to rent the apartment with a new lease for yourself. That is, if your room mate leaves of his own accord. Otherwise, he will have to be evicted by the LL.
Tell the LL what the circumstances are and see what you and the LL can work out. It's best to be upfront with the LL and be his friend since you want to keep the apartment.
I don't think getting a loan is a good idea when one is unemployed???
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