Grasping at apartment straws

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Hey folks, my boyfriend and I have been unable to find a place to buy in a timely fashion. We need to find a place to rent for a while, starting 9/1, while we look for a place to buy. We really don't want to be stuck in a lease for a whole year. Problem is, finding sublets starting at that time and lasting for a few months is difficult, and finding places that will allow tenancy at will without the tenant having been on at least one year's lease there already is very difficult. No one needs to tell me how unlikely it is that we will find this. I am getting that impression already. However, I thought I'd throw this out there, just to see if we get lucky.

We need:

* 2 bedrooms
* unfurnished if a sublet (we need room for OUR stuff)
* close to public transportation (doesn't have to be in the Davis area though)
* available on a month-to-month basis or for maybe a six month commitment
*1500 or under

I've put in my name with one rental agency (Maven) to notify me if they get any tenancy at will places available, and suspect my boyfriend has had to go the same route with Apartment Rental Experts today, more than likely. I keep scouring Craigslist, and have found a total of one apartment sublet that might actually meet our needs, almost.

Anyone know anything that could be helpful to us?

Comments

[cnoocy]

If you know you'll be moving again soon, putting some of your stuff in storage (or at least thinking of it as an option) may expand your choices.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we know it's an option, but most of the places that are furnished and would therefore require us to store stuff are only summer sublets.

[justjess.livejournal.com]

I doubt this will be very helpful, but the only friend I have who has a month-to-month (tenancy-at-will?) lease lives in Medford. I've never been able to find ones in the areas I've looked/lived in (Cambridge, Somerville, Winthrop, Allston/Brighton) when I've been looking for apartments (over the summer).

Good luck!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Thanks. T-friendly parts of Medford are definitely on our radar. I am currently a tenant at will in my apartment now, but being able to live there with my boyfriend would require kicking out my roommate, who's been there a good deal longer than I have, so that would really NOT be cool or possible.

[annalauwa.livejournal.com]

try Red Line Real Estate-- he's on Elm Street and is very thorough and helpful. I have no idea if he has any month to month lease information, but it'd be yet another place to look!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot! I didn't find too many rental agent recommendations in the tagged entries here, so it's good to get another one.

[sundaisy-summer.livejournal.com]

I do think most people use craigslist, but maybe see if any of the local universities have listing forums. While summer is more plentiful for sublets, I imagine a fair amount of students and faculty go away in the Fall too, on sabbaticals and whatnot.

Good luck!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Not a bad point. I work at MIT. I should find out if there's a mailing list or something for that.

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

I believe the mailing list you want is reuse-housing.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

ROCK ON. Thank you.

[laryu.livejournal.com]

You might want to just stop in to the MIT Off-Campus Housing Office: E19-429, (617) 253-1493. I seem to recall they have a book of listings for the MIT community. I don't know if they've migrated that to Web.

[mistresshellena.livejournal.com]

I was going to suggest university housing sites as property owners know that there are often professors/scholars coming in for just one term.

Also check sabbaticalhomes.com

That's where I listed my place. I would also second alot of people's comments that you might need to put your stuff in storage for a short term rental, but I could be wrong.

Realtors I spoke to said they tend not to handle short term rentals because renters don't want to have to pay a full month's fee on such a short time frame.

But stay optimistic since this is a university town and people are constantly coming and going.

The other option would be a longer lease with a solid subletting clause in it that would get you out early if you find a place before your lease runs out.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the link, I'll definitely check that out!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Great, thanks! Too bad I'm no longer in my office's old space. They were right upstairs from us.

[nomacmac.livejournal.com]

We usually make a deal with our tenants that they can move out before their lease expires, without any penalties, IF they find suitable renters to take their place. This has happened several times, and it has worked out fine for everyone. Maybe you could suggest a similar arrangment to some of the landlords looking for a year lease. Good luck with your search!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It's something I'm considering, but I'm also afraid that if we DIDN'T find someone right away, we'd be stuck continuing to pay rent after mortgage payments started, and we'd be utterly and completely broke. :S

[davelew.livejournal.com]

If you break your lease and move out early, I think the landlord is legally obligated to try to find a replacement, and can only charge you rent until the replacement starts paying rent. If you find someone to take your place, I don't think the landlord can legelly turn them away and keep charging you rent.

Of course, it wouldn't be nice to do this, but you should at least be aware of your rights as a renter; a one year lease doesn't always force you to stay a full year.

link to pamphlet on tenant rights

[davelew.livejournal.com]

http://www.masslegalhelp.org/uploads/Fn/PH/FnPHTh7a5fJKJ421gRjolQ/12.Moving-Out-FINAL.pdf

pages 183 and 184

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Actually, I don't think there's anything that says a landlord has no right to turn away a prospective tenant, unless it's for reasons like race, etc. that are protected in law. He COULD keep charging rent for the length of the lease.

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

Well, I suppose the landlord could turn away a suitable tenant. But then you're off the hook. If a tenant breaks a lease, landlords have a duty to try to mitigate their damages by making an effort to find another suitable tenant.

Here are the citations from Mass Legal help:
For various statements of the landlord's requirement to mitigate damages, see Edmands v. Rust & Richardson Drug Co., 191 Mass. 123, 128, 77 N.E. 713, 714 (1906). The Massachusetts Supreme Court found that the "[landlord] owed to the [tenant] the duty to use reasonable diligence and to make the loss or damage to the [tenant] as light as [the landlord] reasonably could." Woodbury v. Sparrell Print, 198 Mass. 1, 8, 84 N.E. 441, 444 (1908). See also Loitherstein v. International Business Mach. Corp., 11 Mass. App. Ct. 91, 95 and n. 3, 413 N.E.2d 1146, 1149 and n. 3 (1980), rev. denied 441 N.E.2d 1042 (1981); Cantor v. Van Noorden Co., 4 Mass. App. Ct. 819, 349 N.E.2d 375 (1976). But see Fifty Assocs. v. Berger Dry Goods Co. Inc., 275 Mass. 509, 514, 176 N.E. 643, 645 (1931). Note that the Boston Housing Court has at least twice found a clear obligation to mitigate. Bridges v. Palmer, Boston Housing
Court, 07326 (May 24, 1979); Grumman v. Barres, Boston Housing Court, 06334 (March 1, 1979). See also Gagne v. Kreinest, Hampden Housing Court, 91SC1569 (December 6, 1991), where the judge found that a landlord who did not advertise a vacant unit in the newspaper had not mitigated her damages.

That said, I'm sure a landlord could reasonably turn away a prospective tenant who had bad credit, past evictions...etc.

[t4e-ds.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it's common, but my lease had a clause that said I would be released from the lease if upon payment of one extra month of rent. Something else to check with the rental agent.

I think most landlords wouldn't mind someone taking over your lease as long as their credit checks out ok etc. Actually, I was surprised by how easy it was to find someone to take over my lease. I was a couple of blocks away from the square and a single craiglist ad received 10 responses and the place was taken in a couple of hours.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Wow. I'm thinking it might not be easy at an odd time of year (i.e., not in the summer), but I could be wrong.

[yourauntpeggy.livejournal.com]

you might be able to find something in the tufts housing.

http://ase.tufts.edu/och/Listing_form.htm

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

Funny but when I've advertised for short term rentals as a landlord, I've always had difficulty finding people and usually have to charge less than I would for a year lease, when you'd think the people who'd be estatic to find something rare that fits their needs. This market seems to be very illiquid on both sides, so I usually avoid it unless I truly have to.