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Just moved in as roommate, but may not get a renewal. Panic!

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Just moved in as roommate, but may not get a renewal. Panic!

Postby claremontave » Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:12 pm

When I moved into this 3-bedroom apartment on July 1, I was told the lease was up for renewal beginning September 1, giving me some time to think about whether I'd be interested in taking it over or subletting. The place is a quick walk from my office, which is not only convenient but important to my quality of life (I work lots of nights and weekends and have a dog to get home to). So I was open to taking over the lease after a couple months of living here, but D (current leaseholder) made a boo-boo. The lease is up this month, not next. So we're under pressure to make a decision.

D has been living here for two years. She was on the lease, with another tenant who has since moved out (I took that room), and that tenant's guarantor. The third roommate, R, has lived here for one year as a roommate (not on the lease) with the other two girls. D would like to move out soon with her boyfriend, so she asked if R and I were interested in taking over the lease, and having R sublet from us for awhile. We decided to apply, although a little reluctantly - it was too quick a decision, and R is not sure how much longer she wants to live in the city. But she wasn't ready to move yet, and I just moved in two weeks ago!

A good time to list the income requirements: The rent on the apartment is $2500 (down from $2600). Required income is 40x the rent ($100K) and 6x the rent in the bank ($15K). The pros of our financial profile: I've been at my job for three years, R has lived here already for one year (though off the lease), and R has $30K in the bank from an inheritence - a full year of rent. Our cons: R and I are creative/non-profit types, and our combined income is in the $90s; my credit history is fair (I am paying down debt, but had only one late payment in the last few years); and R has been at her job less than one year (10 months; she submitted a letter of employment). We were rejected, even with R having all that money in the bank. So we looked into guarantors.

Gurantor requirements: Income of 80x the rent ($200K) and 12x the rent in the bank ($30K). I immediately call my parents, who can probably come close to those requirements, with R's folks making up the difference. Well, my parents said no - they did not want to be responsible for two peoples' rent besides my own. R's parents are retired with modest income. This was my first indication that we were probably screwed.

D felt bad for us and offered to renew the lease with us, but was told she'd have to present her current finances. We're glad she has put her hat back in the ring, but she has been working on her master's degree for about a year and has had no income until recently. She looked into her own candidates for guarantors and has come up empty, and her family lives out of the country. I could only think of one other friend to ask, who also said no.

So. We know the company wants us out so they can charge more rent (although they did lower the rent for the next lease, which is kind of confusing). We know they aren't required to offer us a renewal. But do we have any leverage to stay in the apartment? Like the fact that one of us has a year's worth of rent in the bank, and one of us has lived here for two years with no issues? Or that the apartment has been continually occupied for some time, and would need extensive renovation before renting it? We just feel like there must be something we don't know that could help us secure the renewal and save us from having to move. Especially me - I just got here!

Ideas, anyone?
claremontave
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:04 pm
Location: UWS, New York, NY

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