Three Things to Know Before You Break Your Lease
Unfortunately,
life does not always work out as planned. If it did, I would already be
semi-retired, sitting on the porch overlooking Lake Travis,
proofreading this post that my assistant had just finished writing up
for me. In the housing world, sometimes we make plans to live in a
particular place for a particular amount of time and something comes up
that forces to make a change...and we have to break our lease. This is not a decision to be taken lightly. Here are three things to know before you make that decision.
- In short, your lease is a legally binding contract,
promising that you will regularly pay rent to live in a certain place
for a certain amount of time. There are legal and financial
ramifications for breaking this contract. Within your lease agreement,
you will find the specific details and consequences that occur when you
make this decision. You are breaking your word that you would fulfill
the terms of you agreement and you should take that very seriously.*
- Breaking your lease will likely have a negative impact on your credit score and your credit report.
Unless you pay up front for all the financial penalties for breaking
your lease, that information will go on your credit report. As you well
know, all delinquent and negative items on your credit report have a
direct impact on the financial terms you are able to get or your ability
to get approved for future credit applications. This information will
be visible to anyone who will run your credit the next time you apply
for credit of any sort.
- Breaking your lease will also negatively affect your ability to be approved for a lease in the future.
As part of your application process, along with your credit report,
property management will check your rental history, and will likely find
documentation on your previous broken lease. Unfortunately for someone
in this situation, many properties will not approve an application for
someone who has a previous broken lease, regardless of the
circumstances. In fact, some property management companies look more
favorably on an eviction on your record than an a broken lease. Some
property management companies will approve an applicant with a broken
lease on his or her record with a few possible stipulations. Those
stipulations include, but are not limited to, and larger deposit or
proof of positive rental history since the broken lease.
A
broken lease is not something to be taken lightly. You should be
careful before you sign a lease and understand that your lease is a legally binding contract.
Be very cautious before you break a lease and understand the possible
ramifications of doing so. That being said, a broken lease is not the
“end of the world.” You do have options of places, albeit limited, to
live if you do break a lease. If you have questions about breaking a
lease or have had a broken lease in the past and need house help, please
contact me and I would be happy to help however I can.
*I am not a lawyer and cannot offer you legal advice so please consult a lawyer for advice on your particular situation.
Kyle Pfaffe, REALTOR®
I Always Have Time for Your Referrals!
