Top Law Schools

hey everyone,

I'm still in 7 waitlists that i'm riding out, 3 of which i'd move to in a second and will probably ride through to the bitter end. i'm having to look for apartments at the school that i'll attend if nothing else comes through. I can't afford a single bedroom. so if i get a 2 bedroom with a roommate and then have to bounce after the lease starts in august, i feel like i'd be screwing over that roommate. not sure how to handle this situation. any advice?? stories people have heard?

You would be screwing over your roommate more than you seem to be able to comprehend.

peeker82 wrote:hey everyone,

I'm still in 7 waitlists that i'm riding out, 3 of which i'd move to in a second and will probably ride through to the bitter end. i'm having to look for apartments at the school that i'll attend if nothing else comes through. I can't afford a single bedroom. so if i get a 2 bedroom with a roommate and then have to bounce after the lease starts in august, i feel like i'd be screwing over that roommate. not sure how to handle this situation. any advice?? stories people have heard?

Are you willing to eat the lease term in rent if you breach as well as screw over the other dude who is probably joint and severally liable for it?

d-cannon wrote:You would be screwing over your roommate more than you seem to be able to comprehend.

no, i definitely understand this. i'm just trying to figure out what people in my situation have done in the past. given that i can't afford a 1-bedroom and i have to get a roommate, what do people in this situation do if their number one choice calls after the least starts??

Pay another month or two of rent while you, or the roommate, finds a replacement.

Not to sound like a jerk, but you shouldn't care about screwing over another person in an apartment lease to go to the school that is right for you (considering the enormous cost and 1-time nature of law school).

PKSebben wrote:

peeker82 wrote:hey everyone,

I'm still in 7 waitlists that i'm riding out, 3 of which i'd move to in a second and will probably ride through to the bitter end. i'm having to look for apartments at the school that i'll attend if nothing else comes through. I can't afford a single bedroom. so if i get a 2 bedroom with a roommate and then have to bounce after the lease starts in august, i feel like i'd be screwing over that roommate. not sure how to handle this situation. any advice?? stories people have heard?

Are you willing to eat the lease term in rent if you breach as well as screw over the other dude who is probably joint and severally liable for it?

well, i'd be losing the security deposit, not the lease term. the security deposit can be up to around $1000 depending on where i live. when i'm $200k in the whole, another $1000 is not very much.

Great Satchmo wrote:Pay another month or two of rent while you, or the roommate, finds a replacement.

Not to sound like a jerk, but you shouldn't care about screwing over another person in an apartment lease to go to the school that is right for you (considering the enormous cost and 1-time nature of law school).

that's kinda what i was thinking. there must be people out there that have gone through this exact same situation tho.

peeker82 wrote:

PKSebben wrote:

peeker82 wrote:hey everyone,

I'm still in 7 waitlists that i'm riding out, 3 of which i'd move to in a second and will probably ride through to the bitter end. i'm having to look for apartments at the school that i'll attend if nothing else comes through. I can't afford a single bedroom. so if i get a 2 bedroom with a roommate and then have to bounce after the lease starts in august, i feel like i'd be screwing over that roommate. not sure how to handle this situation. any advice?? stories people have heard?

Are you willing to eat the lease term in rent if you breach as well as screw over the other dude who is probably joint and severally liable for it?

well, i'd be losing the security deposit, not the lease term. the security deposit can be up to around $1000 depending on where i live. when i'm $200k in the whole, another $1000 is not very much.

I don't understand this. When you sign a lease you are usually on the hook for the entirety of the lease term until dude can find another roommate. Are there different provisions in the leases you are looking at?

peeker82 wrote:

Great Satchmo wrote:Pay another month or two of rent while you, or the roommate, finds a replacement.

Not to sound like a jerk, but you shouldn't care about screwing over another person in an apartment lease to go to the school that is right for you (considering the enormous cost and 1-time nature of law school).

that's kinda what i was thinking. there must be people out there that have gone through this exact same situation tho.

Many people have done it.

Recoup whatever money you can, and expend the least possible while filling your previous space, and find yourself a new place.

Simple as that. If you get off a WL, housing is the least of your concerns.

he more than likely wouldn't be liable for the entirety of the lease, most probably just his portion of first/last/deposit.

PKSebben wrote:

peeker82 wrote:

PKSebben wrote:

peeker82 wrote:hey everyone,

I'm still in 7 waitlists that i'm riding out, 3 of which i'd move to in a second and will probably ride through to the bitter end. i'm having to look for apartments at the school that i'll attend if nothing else comes through. I can't afford a single bedroom. so if i get a 2 bedroom with a roommate and then have to bounce after the lease starts in august, i feel like i'd be screwing over that roommate. not sure how to handle this situation. any advice?? stories people have heard?

Are you willing to eat the lease term in rent if you breach as well as screw over the other dude who is probably joint and severally liable for it?

well, i'd be losing the security deposit, not the lease term. the security deposit can be up to around $1000 depending on where i live. when i'm $200k in the whole, another $1000 is not very much.

I don't understand this. When you sign a lease you are usually on the hook for the entirety of the lease term until dude can find another roommate. Are there different provisions in the leases you are looking at?

not in my experience. that's what the security deposit generally takes care of. i got out of a lease a few months ago in chicago and the landlord just took the security deposit (1 month's rent - plenty of time to find a new tenant). that being said, i'm not sure if apartment complexes deal with this situation the same way, especially if there's a roommate involved.

paz wrote:he more than likely wouldn't be liable for the entirety of the lease, most probably just his portion of first/last/deposit.

how do you figure, champ? With a lease you are liable for the entire lease term + cost of reasonable expenses to find another renter - mitigation (finding another roommate). In some places, you can get dinged with treble damages on breach of a lease, plus atty fees and costs.

I personally don't give a crap about dicking over the roommate on a moral level, but I also wouldn't want to get tagged with a 10k judgment, either.

PKSebben wrote:

paz wrote:he more than likely wouldn't be liable for the entirety of the lease, most probably just his portion of first/last/deposit.

how do you figure, champ? With a lease you are liable for the entire lease term + cost of reasonable expenses to find another renter - mitigation (finding another roommate). In some places, you can get dinged with treble damages on breach of a lease, plus atty fees and costs.

I personally don't give a crap about dicking over the roommate on a moral level, but I also wouldn't want to get tagged with a 10k judgment, either.

not true man, at least not in all cases. leases are broken all the time. i just went through it a couple months back, just not with a roommate, read my post right above yours.

Actual damages for breach of the rental agreement may include a claim for such rent as would have accrued until the expiration of the term thereof or until a tenancy pursuant to a new rental agreement commences, whichever first occurs; provided that nothing herein contained shall diminish the duty of the landlord to mitigate actual damages for breach of the rental agreement. In obtaining post-possession judgments for actual damages as defined herein, the landlord shall not be required to seek a judgment for accelerated rent through the end of the term of the tenancy.

For example, here is the damages for breach of lease in Virginia. This is standard stuff, d00ders.

peeker82 wrote:

PKSebben wrote:

paz wrote:he more than likely wouldn't be liable for the entirety of the lease, most probably just his portion of first/last/deposit.

how do you figure, champ? With a lease you are liable for the entire lease term + cost of reasonable expenses to find another renter - mitigation (finding another roommate). In some places, you can get dinged with treble damages on breach of a lease, plus atty fees and costs.

I personally don't give a crap about dicking over the roommate on a moral level, but I also wouldn't want to get tagged with a 10k judgment, either.

not true man, at least not in all cases. leases are broken all the time. i just went through it a couple months back, just not with a roommate, read my post right above yours.

The general rule is that in a breach of a lease you are liable for the entirety of the lease. Whether they pursue that against you is another question. Many times having to prove mitigation and whatnot is a pain in the ass and it's easier to to forfeit your deposits. But if you dick a roommate, he can sue you and has a lot of incentive to.

PKSebben wrote:The general rule is that in a breach of a lease you are liable for the entirety of the lease. Whether they pursue that against you is another question. Many times having to prove mitigation and whatnot is a pain in the ass and it's easier to to forfeit your deposits. But if you dick a roommate, he can sue you and has a lot of incentive to.

If you tell them the situation (i.e. getting of a WL at your dream school), apologize, and offer an active hand in finding a replacement roommate, while paying rent until you've filled your replacement....I don't know how many people would really come after you.

Anonymously call the apartment complex you might use and ask them point blank what would happen.

AFAIK, if you and a roommate both sign the lease, you are both on the hook for the total sum (12 months) of rent.

You mentioned that you can't afford a 1 bedroom alone... how would you feel if someone left you holding the bag for a 2 bedroom?

BTW, "finding" a new roommate gets increasingly harder as the first day of classes gets closer.

If you believe in any form of karma, bailing on a roommate is a bad idea.

*** I wonder what the bar association's character and fitness team would think about a wannabe lawyer breaching a contract (quite possibly destroying the credit rating of multiple people) after applying to LS?


BTW, your situation happened to me - last month. I thought I was going to UGA, so I signed a lease. 3 weeks later UNC pulls me off of the WL (in May!?!). I sucked it up and paid $14,000 to the landlord. Man, I could have had a lot of fun with that.

Great Satchmo wrote:

PKSebben wrote:The general rule is that in a breach of a lease you are liable for the entirety of the lease. Whether they pursue that against you is another question. Many times having to prove mitigation and whatnot is a pain in the ass and it's easier to to forfeit your deposits. But if you dick a roommate, he can sue you and has a lot of incentive to.

If you tell them the situation (i.e. getting of a WL at your dream school), apologize, and offer an active hand in finding a replacement roommate, while paying rent until you've filled your replacement....I don't know how many people would really come after you.

I agree.

....

d-cannon wrote:Anonymously call the apartment complex you might use and ask them point blank what would happen.

AFAIK, if you and a roommate both sign the lease, you are both on the hook for the total sum (12 months) of rent.

You mentioned that you can't afford a 1 bedroom alone... how would you feel if someone left you holding the bag for a 2 bedroom?

BTW, "finding" a new roommate gets increasingly harder as the first day of classes gets closer.

If you believe in any form of karma, bailing on a roommate is a bad idea.

*** I wonder what the bar association's character and fitness team would think about a wannabe lawyer breaching a contract (quite possibly destroying the credit rating of multiple people) after applying to LS?


BTW, your situation happened to me - last month. I thought I was going to UGA, so I signed a lease. 3 weeks later UNC pulls me off of the WL (in May!?!). I sucked it up and paid $14,000 to the landlord. Man, I could have had a lot of fun with that.

Are you serious? How hard did they have to push/litigate to get that from you?

If you're 100% serious, then why didn't you continue to rent the room and (a) either sublet it if it would have been allowed, (b) find a roommate to take over your place on the lease, or (c) just continue to rent the room but leave it vacant so that you at least get interest on the $14k (and decreasing with each month)?

Something is missing...but whatever. Honestly, whatever, I'd make it happen one way or another.

Great Satchmo wrote:

d-cannon wrote:Anonymously call the apartment complex you might use and ask them point blank what would happen.

AFAIK, if you and a roommate both sign the lease, you are both on the hook for the total sum (12 months) of rent.

You mentioned that you can't afford a 1 bedroom alone... how would you feel if someone left you holding the bag for a 2 bedroom?

BTW, "finding" a new roommate gets increasingly harder as the first day of classes gets closer.

If you believe in any form of karma, bailing on a roommate is a bad idea.

*** I wonder what the bar association's character and fitness team would think about a wannabe lawyer breaching a contract (quite possibly destroying the credit rating of multiple people) after applying to LS?


BTW, your situation happened to me - last month. I thought I was going to UGA, so I signed a lease. 3 weeks later UNC pulls me off of the WL (in May!?!). I sucked it up and paid $14,000 to the landlord. Man, I could have had a lot of fun with that.

Are you serious? How hard did they have to push/litigate to get that from you?

If you're 100% serious, then why didn't you continue to rent the room and (a) either sublet it if it would have been allowed, (b) find a roommate to take over your place on the lease, or (c) just continue to rent the room but leave it vacant so that you at least get interest on the $14k (and decreasing with each month)?

Something is missing...but whatever. Honestly, whatever, I'd make it happen one way or another.

+1 You wasted a huge amount of cash for no reason.

d-cannon wrote:Anonymously call the apartment complex you might use and ask them point blank what would happen.

good idea

d-cannon wrote:You mentioned that you can't afford a 1 bedroom alone... how would you feel if someone left you holding the bag for a 2 bedroom?

this is what i'm trying to avoid and find out what people in my situation do

d-cannon wrote:*** I wonder what the bar association's character and fitness team would think about a wannabe lawyer breaching a contract (quite possibly destroying the credit rating of multiple people) after applying to LS?

this is done all the time, so long as you and the landlord come to an agreement, no harm, no foul. i just did this 3 months ago. no one's credit is ruined. with a roommate situation, the issue is just finding a roommate that late in the game, but as long as someone takes over that lease, again, no harm, no foul.

d-cannon wrote:BTW, your situation happened to me - last month. I thought I was going to UGA, so I signed a lease. 3 weeks later UNC pulls me off of the WL (in May!?!). I sucked it up and paid $14,000 to the landlord. Man, I could have had a lot of fun with that.

are you serious??? you just cashed out $14k? just like that?? why didnt you look for someone to take over your lease? people do that all the time!

Sauer Grapes wrote:

PKSebben wrote:

paz wrote:he more than likely wouldn't be liable for the entirety of the lease, most probably just his portion of first/last/deposit.

how do you figure, champ? With a lease you are liable for the entire lease term + cost of reasonable expenses to find another renter - mitigation (finding another roommate). In some places, you can get dinged with treble damages on breach of a lease, plus atty fees and costs.

I personally don't give a crap about dicking over the roommate on a moral level, but I also wouldn't want to get tagged with a 10k judgment, either.

In general, the lessor also has a duty to mitigate. Do you not think the court would find that the apartment complex failed to mitigate if they didn't find another renter for the entire lease agreement?

This is a classic example of an efficient breach. As long as he pays whatever liquidated damages are in the agreement (assuming they are reasonable, not a penalty, not against the law in the state, etc.), I don't think he should be worried.

He should be willing to pay the roommate's expenses from breaking the lease as well, but he may or may not be bound to do so if the roommate pursued the matter in court. Paying would be the right thing to do though.

Right -- I noted the mitigation part above. But renting one-half of an apartment is going to be more difficult and in some college towns it's ridiculously tough to rent out near or after the semester start date. I'd pay the rent as it comes due and assist in finding a roommate. Most residential leases don't have liquidated damages clauses because actual damages are easy to ascertain. It's the cost of the lease.

+1 You wasted a huge amount of cash for no reason.

Yah. I got a novation on a lease a couple years ago because the noise in the place was ridiculous. I just told them they could either accept a check for 3 months rent and be out in three days or they could look forward to proving that they took reasonable efforts to re-rent the place in court.

....