I just renewed my current apartment lease in April. A unit opened up in the same building as some family I have that lives down the street where the lease would start in July. The rent in the new place would be $450 less per month for a similarly sized apartment, but is not as nice.
There are two units in the other apartment and my family rents the one downstairs.
A few considerations.
1. We just renewed our lease on our current apartment. We could potentially sublet out the current apartment or just break the lease. I've read our lease and there is no breakage clause. We would be responsible until someone else moved into the apartment.
2. We do not plan to stay in the area we are living long term as I was moved for work and do not like our current location so the extra few months would save us some cash, but put us in a position where we would be locked in to staying longer.
3. The landlord may see the lease breakage as an opportunity to raise rents on the next tenant - he has made some comments to me in the past that rents have been rising in the neighborhood and he has had good demand for his units (they rent quickly). Could potentially be a favorable position.
4. Our current landlord is very professional and has been very easy to work with - as someone who has had bad landlords before I definitely appreciate that he treats his properties like a business.
5. There are some advantages to moving in down the street. e.g. we could combine high speed internet costs and share some other costs.
6. The landlord at the less expensive apartment has expressed interest in selling the building, but that seems to have quieted down. Our family has complained about the new landlord a few times, since he lives out of state so there would be some risk with moving.
My wife and I don't really want to have to move again in a few months, but this seems as though it makes financial sense, but would be a pain. Neither of us is chomping at the bit to deal with breaking a lease, moving our stuff etc.
Any thoughts on what you would do?
