House-hunting while renting

Re: House-hunting while renting

• Bubblegum5586 member

  

  July 2014

  I had a similar situation except our leasing company would ONLY do yearly contracts, so each year we had to resign for another whole year! Making it challenging when we wanted to purchase (I even called and asked about a month to month after our first year and the women snarkily said "We are way to large of a corporation to be dealing with that"

  
  

  So knowing our lease was up Aug 30, we started house hunting in March. Well we found the house we loved May 10th and put an offer on it asap (as there was already another offer on the table).

  
  

  I waited until the home inspection until we decided to tell our leasing company that we were breaking the lease. So we were still responsible for the rent until Aug 30 unless they could fill it with a new tenant before then. About 2 weeks from then they started showing the apartment.

  
  

  Right before the first showing we found out that the appraisal came back low and the bank wouldn't finance it! We had to submit a new offer at the appraised price, and after a week (the seller wanted to challenge the appraisal but it came back the same) he accepted the new price (thank god because we had two showing in that time... but no paperwork was signed. So we weren't 100% sure what would happen!).

  
  

  We closed on the house June 26th and moved in June 28th. They have relet it to a new tenant starting July 11th so we are responsible for rent until the 10th. They also charged us an admin fee (50% rent) for the administrative work to relet it early. The 10 days rent and the admin fee is less then our security deposit... so I'm hoping we call it even and I don't pay another cent giving us a month of no rent/no mortgage (as you pay your mortgage in the rear)

  
  

  So it is scary/tough to time it with a yearly lease... at least you know you have the option of month to month in March, while we would have had to resign for ANOTHER YEAR in Sept! I say start looking and start saving! The more you can save ahead of time the easier it will make it in case you need extra funds! And the more houses you look at the easier it will be to know when you find "the one"! Hopefully your landlord will be willing to work with you on the situation, so be open and honest where you are at in the process (as much as you don't want to loose money on rent when you are not there, she doesn't want to loose rent with no tenant! 60 notice is a lot, but if you can start showing the apartment asap you may be able to get it filled in 30 days! A win/win for you both!

  
  

  Good luck!

  

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• LabLove86 member

  

  July 2014

  Thanks for the info - so maybe I'll give notice after inspection and hope that nothing happens between then and closing?? 

  
  

  
  

  Also - I would love to talk to my landlord directly but we are in a complex so I don't' want to give them any hints/ideas that we are leaving. They have not done anything as of yet to lead us to believe they would be jerks - but I have been burned by complexes in the past and just want to be on the cautious side. 

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• OtterJ member

  

  July 2014 edited July 2014

  We're in a very similar situation.  House hunting took longer than expected (we already had one deal fall through), so we've been paying month to month for a while.  We like the option of month to month, but rent jumped up about $250 a month when we switched, so we are still anxious to move out! 
  
  I was originally planning on giving our 30 days move-out notice on July 1st, so that we would close as scheduled around the 20th, have about a week to move out, and be gone before August.  However, already having one deal fall through has made me very, very nervous that it could happen again. 
  
  We haven't given move out notice yet, and it turns out that it was probably a very good thing.  Closing will be delayed, and we're not sure by how long.  I checked with our apartment complex, and if we move out in mid-August, then we'll only have to pay for part of the month.  I know that the decision will cost us several hundred dollars, but with so much uncertainty, it just makes me feel less stressed to not have to guess when we will actually be moving, and hope for the best.
  
  We can't predict the future, and little problems keep springing up that create delays that we have no control over (insurance approval delayed because the windstorm certificate for the roof was never filed, etc.)
  
  So in short, we're giving them our 30 day notice the day that we close. 
  
  Since you have to give longer notice than we do, if you wait until after your inspection, you will have a much longer buffer period than we do to protect against closing delays. 
  
  I know you're hesitant to let them know you're leaving (although, I wouldn't be....they want you to pay rent for as long as you can....), but I would consider asking them how binding your move out notice is.  If you give them your notice, and the house deal falls through, will they allow you to continue your apartment contract/month to month, or do you have a different back up plan?  That is a big deciding factor on whether or not you should risk giving your notice before closing.
  

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• MrsS728 member

  

  July 2014

  When my husband and I decided that we wanted to start looking for a house we went to a month-to-month lease on our apartment. There was a "house clause" that we could sign requiring us to pay $25 more a month and give 60 days notice. We started looking in March, found our house in May and closed in August. (We couldn't close until August 1st per the contract with the seller) It actually worked out perfect. We were squatters for the first weekend in August to move out and get the apartment cleaned to get our security back. Just be upfront and honest with the landlord. Good Luck! 

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• CItyLimit member

  

  July 2014

  Try and work it out so you are closing in the early middle of the month. I was supposed to close on the 15th which would have given me 15 days from closing to get everything moved and cleaned for inspection. You are going to want that extra time to deal with unforseen circumstances as I am right now. I now wont close until the 22nd but I have until the 31st technically (Inspection set for the 28th). So I still am getting a lot of use of my last months and I had some wiggle room in case I wasnt closing on time (I dont think I have ever seen anyone close on time haha). From the time my offer was accepted I had 30 days estimated to closing. I waited until the last day of last month to put in my notice, which gave me 45+ days total to pack up, close and move and have extra time just in case things were delayed (as they were).
  

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• Sisugal member

  

  August 2014

  Lindsey -
  Solicitation is ot permitted on these boards.  Please delete.
  

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• GeorgiaRiah member

  

  August 2014

  You won't pay your first house payment until a month to a month and half from closing.  That gives a little room to avoid double payments.  I would wait until all contingencies drop off and hopefully you only end up overlapping half a month at most.

  
  

  I have a 60 day close and I put in my notice after I went under contract.  Closing got delayed and I almost ended up homeless for a couple of days.  I would have been much happier having 2 places for 30 days.  

  
  

  Thanks!

  Mariah

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• Fingerscrossed14 member

  

  October 2014

  We will be giving notice 60 days before are lease it up. We plan on moving whether we find the house or not.

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