Spring Break
LEASE VS. SUBLEASE: Which should you choose?
JUSTIN CREWS, SHANESSA FAKOUR
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Athens Living
LEASE:
After students move out of their parents' home and experience dorm life for a few years, the next move is to sign a lease.
A leasing contract is a legally binding document committing the signer to monthly payments for the complete term of the lease. It stipulates penalties for making late payments and breaking the agreement before it expires, in addition to the apartment's rules and regulations.
The added responsibilities of living off campus also come with additional costs. The leasing contract is an important document to closely read through and thoroughly understand, since it protects the leaser and the leasee.
Here are a few especially important items to look for in a leasing contact:
· The accepted types of rent payments - does the complex accept credit cards, checks or money orders?
· The community's pet policies. There can be steep fines for disobeying these.
· The rules and regulations for breaking a leasing contract. This will include the cost of breaking a lease before it expires.
· The ability to sublease - some contracts state that subleasing is prohibited.
- Shanessa Fakour
SUBLEASE:
There is one thing, no matter what, you can't get around when living off-campus: a lease. But what happens when you won't be living in Athens during the summer? Or you graduate in December instead of May?
That's when subleasing comes into play.
Subleasing is when a lease holder gives up his or her lease to someone else with the permission of the original lease holder, usually an apartment complex.
Subleasing can be handy in towns such as Athens when cheap, quality apartments may be difficult to find. Oftentimes, lease holders will leave their apartments as-is, and lease that way. Many students use subleasing as a way to find a place to stay temporarily.
But, before a lease holder can just go sign off on a sublease, he or she must first check their original contract to make sure the practice is allowed. Legal issues can be avoided by first making sure proper paperwork is in order.
When it comes to actually putting together a sublease, there are a couple things to consider.
First, students should make sure they state general requirements from the start, so that later on, there can be no confusion about previously agreed upon situations.
Things such as pets and gender can be deciding factors for potential sub-leasers. A lease holder may not want tenants who have previously owned pets, and that should be stated upfront. Also, if he or she has roommates, it is often best to state which gender the tenant is looking for.
On the issue of roommates, a lease holder may not be the only one who is living at the establishment, and so it would be beneficial to ask the roommate about restrictions such as the number of people allowed to live there, smoking habits and noise requirements.
This will avoid hard feelings between the roommate and the lease holder.
All in all, subleasing can be a useful method of trading out living arrangements when a lease holder needs to leave for an extended period of time, such as a summer abroad.
The most important thing to remember is the person who the apartment is subleased to is the person who will be living there. The lease holder must be sure he or she chooses someone who has a trusted payment record and will keep the apartment in a livable condition.
- Justin Crews
After students move out of their parents' home and experience dorm life for a few years, the next move is to sign a lease.
A leasing contract is a legally binding document committing the signer to monthly payments for the complete term of the lease. It stipulates penalties for making late payments and breaking the agreement before it expires, in addition to the apartment's rules and regulations.
The added responsibilities of living off campus also come with additional costs. The leasing contract is an important document to closely read through and thoroughly understand, since it protects the leaser and the leasee.
Here are a few especially important items to look for in a leasing contact:
· The accepted types of rent payments - does the complex accept credit cards, checks or money orders?
· The community's pet policies. There can be steep fines for disobeying these.
· The rules and regulations for breaking a leasing contract. This will include the cost of breaking a lease before it expires.
· The ability to sublease - some contracts state that subleasing is prohibited.
- Shanessa Fakour
SUBLEASE:
There is one thing, no matter what, you can't get around when living off-campus: a lease. But what happens when you won't be living in Athens during the summer? Or you graduate in December instead of May?
That's when subleasing comes into play.
Subleasing is when a lease holder gives up his or her lease to someone else with the permission of the original lease holder, usually an apartment complex.
Subleasing can be handy in towns such as Athens when cheap, quality apartments may be difficult to find. Oftentimes, lease holders will leave their apartments as-is, and lease that way. Many students use subleasing as a way to find a place to stay temporarily.
But, before a lease holder can just go sign off on a sublease, he or she must first check their original contract to make sure the practice is allowed. Legal issues can be avoided by first making sure proper paperwork is in order.
When it comes to actually putting together a sublease, there are a couple things to consider.
First, students should make sure they state general requirements from the start, so that later on, there can be no confusion about previously agreed upon situations.
Things such as pets and gender can be deciding factors for potential sub-leasers. A lease holder may not want tenants who have previously owned pets, and that should be stated upfront. Also, if he or she has roommates, it is often best to state which gender the tenant is looking for.
On the issue of roommates, a lease holder may not be the only one who is living at the establishment, and so it would be beneficial to ask the roommate about restrictions such as the number of people allowed to live there, smoking habits and noise requirements.
This will avoid hard feelings between the roommate and the lease holder.
All in all, subleasing can be a useful method of trading out living arrangements when a lease holder needs to leave for an extended period of time, such as a summer abroad.
The most important thing to remember is the person who the apartment is subleased to is the person who will be living there. The lease holder must be sure he or she chooses someone who has a trusted payment record and will keep the apartment in a livable condition.
- Justin Crews
