I'm in the market for a studio or one-bedroom place and having problems because I only want it for 5 months (my current situation is not working out at all). I've even offered to pay it all upfront...but they don't seem to care. So....

What happens if I sign a year lease and then move out in 5 months? What can they do? I plan on taking everything out of my bank account here and closing it...so if one day I just up and leave, what then?

What about if I don't pay a last month's rent (because I gave a security deposit of the same amount) and leave? Can the law follow me across the ocean?

Or, if instead of just up and leaving, if I tell the landlord, when the time comes that something has come up and I must return back to the US...is there any way for them to force me to pay the remainder of the lease?

I obviously would prefer not to go this route but was wondering if anyone knows if any sort of legal implications would come about by leaving on a lease. I've been told it takes about 3 months to evict someone anyway, and by that time, I'd already be back in the US with a new apartment and a job.

Thanks,
Ryan

hey Ryan.

looooong time no hear man.

sure, you found that apt. and then dropped off the board

sorry to hear that your apt. situation has gone to pot.

quote:

What happens if I sign a year lease and then move out in 5 months? What can they do?

not much more than keep your deposit but if i were the landlord i would go in and change the locks on your sorry ass the minute i found out you were gonna screw me and use the deposit as the last months rent. if you are illegal here, there is nothing you could do if the landlord decided to do that.

as for breaking a lease, i am not going to give you the green light to go ahead and do it.

also, have you stopped to think that what you are planning to do (taking and breaking the lease) is probably what has caused the current situation of landlords not wanting to rent to you short term in the first place. if you would break a legally-binding lease i can't imagine how you would act if you paid rent month to month

you would become part of the problem. sorry but i get ill when all people do is bitch about not being able to find a place to live and then they post a thread like this.

did you ever stop to think that perhaps the landlord was burned in the past by someone who already did what you want to do and hence is now asking for a years lease.

think about it.

quote:

What about if I don't pay a last month's rent (because I gave a security deposit of the same amount) and leave? Can the law follow me across the ocean?

make that 2 months deposit, it is the norm these days.

you also may be jumping the gun here as i am not sure you will get even a year lease without an "aval" (co-sign) and/or "nómina" (pay stub). it has gotten tougher since Dorene was here 6 years ago.

saludos,
jer...

p.d. Dorene, i gotta say that was a pretty loser thing to do as well

Spain is better off without you.

Jer,

I can say that I was in an almost kinda the same situation, but mine turned out differently. Before I left, the landlord was scared shitless that I wasn't going to pay him. I assured him that I was and when he received his money in the end, he was totally shocked. he thought that I was going to run off with and never get his money.

What I am trying to say is that in life KARMA does play a role and people who are foreigners and break leases can mess it up for other people who want to do the right thing. The AVAL or NOMINA that jer spoke of is rampant in Madrid now adn can rarely be avoided unless you are the friend of a friend if a friend. Get my point.

Ryan, do what you feel you have to do, but in the end, it's your decision to make. Don't look for anyone to tell you the RIGHT thing to do in a situation such as this. You have to live with the consequences. No one else.

Saludos,

Shawn

hey Shawn.

you did the right thing.

Dorene did the wrong thing and Ryan is thinking about doing the wrong thing.

that is all there is too it.

too many people in this world only think if themselves.

saludos,
jer...

Hey,

Sorry about "dropping off the board." Actually, that same week I got my current piso I started class too. I'm surprisingly busy even though we never seem to have anything to do.

I want to clarify this before (after, at this point) the judgments start flying: I was given the idea of breaking lease by Spaniards. My friends in class told me it's done all the time and that it's not a big deal, especially since I'm a foreigner. Yes, they are ALL Spanish, and yes, they are young...but they're also good people, which is why I brought up the question on this board.

Now that I see that it is not a kosher deed, I will avoid it. I am however, still stuck looking for a place to live. Why on earth would someone turn away 5-6 months rent up-front, CASH??? Just wondering.

And, I don't know Dorene from Eve but I'm still going to stick up for her. For one, she doesn't say that she planned on breaking lease ahead of time, just that after two months, she couldn't afford it anymore. For another, no one has any right to judge her (or anyone else) for that matter. Particularly to the point of saying, "Spain is better off without you." Sorry Jer, but I disagree with you there. That's too harsh in my book.

Anyway, I'm checking the papers/websites several times a day, but if anyone knows of anything through friends, I would love to hear about it!

Thanks,
Ryan

Yep, we were one of the lucky couples to benefit from the thoughtful behavior of foreigners who skipped out on their leases. We had to pay 12 months cash upfront, and we were told this on the day of the move when the landlord's wife found out we were foreigners. She had indeed been burned by people like Dorene.

Ryan.

Dorene wrote...

quote:

I signed a year-long lease for a cute place, which was really out of my budget, so I left after 2 months.

sounds like she suspected if not knew very well she was not going to stick out the full year,

saludos,
jer...

hey rbell, i've still got a bedroom open in my house for three months... it posted in the classified section. take a look...

quote:

Why on earth would someone turn away 5-6 months rent up-front, CASH??? Just wondering.

I can't answer this question, but I have heard it many times before. People offering 6 months of rent and landlords saying NO because they feel that 6 months doesn't mean that a person is going to stay. Landlords are looking for one year, PERIOD! and if you will stay for more than one year, the better.

Ryan, once again, make sure to do what's best for you. No judgment here.

Shawn

the whole aval thing is not just because foreigners have just walked out on their leases. tentant/landlord law is strongly in favor of the tenant. if the tenant stops paying for whatever reason (or no reason at all), the landlord can't even make a motion to get the tenant out until a year has passed. after that, it is in the courts which can take up to five years. i know several spanish landlords in this situation. and who is doing the non-paying...not foreigners...other spaniards.

as for the deposit, i have never heard of anyone ever getting it back. there always seems to be some sort of damage that must be repaired (nail holes, some chipped paint) and they keep the deposit to cover that.

anyway, the point is, it is a screwyou-screwme situation all the way around. there is not a thing your landlord can do if you break the lease. nothing. and honestly, if he/she is asking a decent rent and it is in the center, he/she will be able to re-rent it w/in a month.

to reduce the karma aspect of it, let them know at least a month earlier that you have to return to the US. offer to find a replacement. and let them keep the one month deposit.

i also have no problem with what eve did, like i said, the landlords are by no means saints in this transaction, neither are the tenants. it is all a balance. another friend of mine just left an apartment (when the lease expired). let the landlord know three months ahead. found new tenants on her own so that the landlord did not need to place an ad. helped with repainting when she left, and when she requested her two month deposit...ups...uh...suddenly the landlord is not returning calls.

quote:

as for the deposit, i have never heard of anyone ever getting it back.

there is a first for everything.

i have had 2 places of my own before the one i live in now with ena and i have always gotten my deposit back.

maybe i should change my board title under my name from "the man" to "do the right thing!"

saludos,
jer...

hey, just goes to show you that jer has good karma. or is that casa-ma.

Ryan--
Have you tried contacting some of the places that are listed in Loquo or Segunda mano as "vacation rentals" by the week. If you offer to pay six months up front, I'll bet you could negotiate a very reduced price from some of them (I've seen some places that rent for by the month for what it would normally cost to rent two weeks). Especially since you'll be renting during a slow tourism period. Just a thought...

P.S. I would be a bit nervous about the premeditated cut-and-run thing... The landlord has keys and could really mess with you if they wanted to... Your best bet would be to get a place where you could afford to give up the month's deposit.

[QUOTE]anyway, the point is, it is a screwyou-screwme situation all the way around. QUOTE]

Candela,

So are you trying to justify that since it's a dog eat dog world that people shouldn't care or have any morals or ethics? Please correct me if I am wrong. If someone does something that I perceive as wrong to me, I have a choice as to how I respond. Yes, when I was fired by ges, I could've sued them and got my papers, but I chose not to. The anger, bitterness and wrongdoing has to stop with someone and it has to stop somewhere.

Ryan, once again, it's your call and you have to live with the outcome. No one else has to.

Shawn

i agree with Shawn, people have to start doing the right thing in order to stop the vicious circle.

saludos,
jer...