Renters/Landlords

[Thrif-t]

My DS19 is at college, off campus apartment. He lives with a friend in a 2 bedroom apartment. His lease is up end of June. Last year I got roped into co-signing for him even though I was strongly against it. I'd be ok with it if he had his own lease, but no it's him, his friend, me and the other mom. I've given him plenty of notice and said in this environment I will not be a co-signer with that other family. So if you can't get the lease on your own you are out.

Well the building mgr called me because she hasn't heard from my son if he's going to re-sign, said supposed to know by May 1st if leaving. I went through my speel that I didn't want to co-sign in this environment because I didn't want to be responsible if the roommate and his family couldn't pay their share of the rent. The mgr was no help, basically said I had to or move out, they don't do separate leases. I told her I'd talk to my son.

Got the number out for the management company headquarters and talked to someone there. She couldn't really help either, but said she'd pass my message to the regional mgr who would get back to me.

Now I'm fine co-signing for just my son on a lease. I want them to do 2 separate leases for each boy, not all of us on the same one equally responsible for all the rent. You'd think they'd rather have their bldg's full than risk them being empty. As is, we don't even know how or if they will have in person classes in the fall, in which case he can stay home. We are only 30 min from the school so it's no big deal for him to commute.

He has a full time job with our city for the summer but it won't start till after the stay home order ends, which in OHIO is May 29th. Plus he does landscaping on the side, under the table, and makes enough to pay his rent for the year. But his W2 from the city won't be enough income to probably get the lease on his own, hence me having to co-sign. But I'm going to stick to my guns on this, he'll either have to come home or find a place he can get on his own.

I guess I just had to vent about the mgmt company not making any concessions with the leases; just made me grumpy. I hate to think of my son and all his crap coming back in the house, ahhh, talk about clutter!! Sometimes when I put my thoughts in writing, they have a tendency to work out. I'm hoping that will hold true in this case too!!

[kork13]

That's the tough part about renting with large, corporate landlords vs. individual owners who can apply reason & logic & good sense. I feel for you.

Perhaps look around & see if you can find a single room that he could rent from a family? That's how my brother lives all through college.

[disneysteve]

I absolutely wouldn't co-sign on anything that involved another party besides my kid. That's just trouble waiting to happen.

Clearly this situation is unique because of COVID. It makes no sense to sign a lease for a place that you might not need if in-person classes don't resume. Would they consider renting month to month for a couple of months until you at least have the answer to that question?

Beyond that, I'd second kork's suggestion to find a place for him to rent on his own so there isn't another party involved in the transaction. Or another place they could live together but with more favorable leasing terms.

[Thrif-t]

Yep, I know, I'm sticking to my guns. My son understands, he will be disappointed but he knows there are too many unknowns. Plus with him being a business major and not knowing the job environment he will be graduating into it's more important that we keep his debt to a minimum!

It's been really good for him to have been out on his own. He really grew up a lot this year. I'm not sure he would've made those strides in maturity as fast, had he still been at home. So it was good while it lasted. And he likes being out, so it'll make him work harder to either make more $$ or find a place he can get on his own. He's not interested in living alone, he can come back here for that. He likes being with his friends.

[riverwed070707]

I'm kind of conflicted on this one. How did your son find the roommate? Did he find him on his own or was it "assigned" by the property management company from applications they received? If the kids are applying together, I can kind of see where they are coming from (although I do believe it is age discrimination to require a co-signer for an adult with proven rental history, which he obviously has if he's been there a year already).Renting to college kids is risky - lots of damages and lots of unrecovered money from broken leases, plus if someone leaves, you're highly unlikely to fill it until the next school year. I also understand your hesitation in that if your son's roommate didn't return to school, you'd be on the hook for the full amount of the rent. Would you be more comfortable if you weren't required to cosign but your son still signed with this other individual? I guess what I'm getting at is that if you would help your son out until he could find another roommate anyway, I'm not sure how you signing with him is any different. Sort of the risk of college housing if the lease isn't set up as a rent by room situation.

[Scallywag]

College students are a risky lot to rent to, as a rule. I can understand why the company would require a cosigner. Also, if the roommates signed individual leases as opposed to a joint lease then the rent is usually higher as the LL cannot go after your son if the roommate(s) break(s) the lease early or damages property. But more importantly, if individual leaaes are signed then your son - usually - cannot pick the roommate(s) but will have to live with any found / assigned by the LL. I would be very uncomfortable with my kid living wirh perfect stranger(s) for obvious reasons. So if he can afford it or dowa not want to live with strangers while you domt want to cosign with unknown persons then your son may have to live on his own. If he cannot then he may prefer to live with friends on a joint lease at a property thay does not require a cosigner or will accept upfront rent payment for several months in cash - one of my relatives who had no credit due to his odd ball ways of ONLY using cash - no card, not even debit at the time - did this. But paying rent for several months upfront to avoid a cosigner may not be easy for most people (including me) or even advisable.

if your son is unsure about going back or unsure if his roommate would then I wouldn't renew this lease. I think he may be able to find other accommodations in town if he goes back or at minimim find housing on campus. In fact there may be abundance of inventory as many students may not return - I've heard that there's been a reduction in enrollment for the Summer & Fall semesters at local colleges, although that may change if the economy opens up again and improves. But, in your shoes, I wouldn't be renewing just yet, unless he is sure he's going back there and can afford to live alone at that same apartment (if roommate bails). JMO.

[Thrif-t]

My son lives with a high school friend. They can pick their own roommates at this apartment complex. It's not a school owned or sponsored complex, it just happens to be on campus, because campus is in a downtown urban setting.

The regional manager just called me back, they do not do individual leases unless he's in a 1 bedroom. So they are not budging. I just texted my son to call me when he has a chance. I'll let him know I'm not co-signing and he'll have to put in his notice that he is moving out. Because the other boy needs a co-signer, my son HAS to have one too, whether he needs or not. Whatever, we are out! I understand the risks the apartment complex is taking but that's not my problem. Now they can deal with empty units and having to lower rent to attract tenants.

Thanks for letting me vent here, I'm sad, but know it all is probably for the best.

[cypher1]

My son lives with a high school friend. They can pick their own roommates at this apartment complex. It's not a school owned or sponsored complex, it just happens to be on campus, because campus is in a downtown urban setting.

The regional manager just called me back, they do not do individual leases unless he's in a 1 bedroom. So they are not budging. I just texted my son to call me when he has a chance. I'll let him know I'm not co-signing and he'll have to put in his notice that he is moving out. Because the other boy needs a co-signer, my son HAS to have one too, whether he needs or not. Whatever, we are out! I understand the risks the apartment complex is taking but that's not my problem. Now they can deal with empty units and having to lower rent to attract tenants.

Thanks for letting me vent here, I'm sad, but know it all is probably for the best.

Screw co-signing in that situation (or most others). Moving his stuff back with clutter may be a headache and stressful, but being financially responsible for another person's lease and having no control over, no thanks.

That situation just reminds me of my ex complaining about her finances, and then finding out her mom or other family members would convince and guilt her into financially assisting by co-signing.

[Scallywag]

Screw co-signing in that situation (or most others). Moving his stuff back with clutter may be a headache and stressful, but being financially responsible for another person's lease and having no control over, no thanks.

That situation just reminds me of my ex complaining about her finances, and then finding out her mom or other family members would convince and guilt her into financially assisting by co-signing.

She could only cosign for so many loans or leases before her own credit is trashed & hence no longer a viable cosigner.

I would never cosign on a loan unless it was something I could afford to pay it off in full in case the senior ever defaulted on the obligation. I wouldn't even cosign for my daughter and I am teaching her not to do the same either. Only people with terrible credit or NO credit need a cosigner and that need alone is a huge red flag.

Years ago, someone I know cosigned on her then boyfriend's student loans. The relationship ended a long time ago but she is still paying off those loans!

[disneysteve]

I wouldn't even cosign for my daughter and I am teaching her not to do the same either. Only people with terrible credit or NO credit need a cosigner and that need alone is a huge red flag.

I didn't need to cosign for my daughter's student loans though I would have been willing to if necessary. She if very financially responsible and I would have fully trusted her to do the right thing. Plus she wasn't borrowing that much so that if something really did go wrong, it wouldn't have been a burden on us.

But yes, as a general rule, nobody should ever co-sign anything for anybody, especially somebody other than your immediate family - child, spouse, or parent.

[Thrif-t]

I got bamboozled into co-signing last year. I am firmly in the camp of never co-signing. I've never done it before. Never did for any student loans, didn't have to, the kids got just a small amount of Federal loans.

The other mom put down a deposit and would lose $400 if we didn't go through with the lease. I was mad. She never talked to me about my son moving out. Being a dumb kid he told his friend he would live with him without even discussing with us. Our son had the money for a years rent and expenses so he didn't really think he needed to involve us. It was the apartment complex that said after the fact that he HAD to have a cosigner, we didn't know it worked like that. I was of a mind to pay the other mom $200 but my DH really wanted our son to move out. We have learned from this experience!

My son has finals this week. I hate to upset him with this news until he's done on friday, but the current location requires 60 days notice of moving out, so he has to deal with it.

[Scallywag]

I got bamboozled into co-signing last year. I am firmly in the camp of never co-signing. I've never done it before. Never did for any student loans, didn't have to, the kids got just a small amount of Federal loans.

The other mom put down a deposit and would lose $400 if we didn't go through with the lease. I was mad. She never talked to me about my son moving out. Being a dumb kid he told his friend he would live with him without even discussing with us. Our son had the money for a years rent and expenses so he didn't really think he needed to involve us. It was the apartment complex that said after the fact that he HAD to have a cosigner, we didn't know it worked like that. I was of a mind to pay the other mom $200 but my DH really wanted our son to move out. We have learned from this experience!

My son has finals this week. I hate to upset him with this news until he's done on friday, but the current location requires 60 days notice of moving out, so he has to deal with it.

I've not heard of a place needing 2 months' notice before. If he had the money he could have offered to prepay a few months' worth of his portion of the rent to avoid a cosigner on the loan. I know it's hard to say no to your own kids but you're not responsible for the other mom putting down a deposit without talking to you first. That just sounds naive at best, entitled / stupid at worst on her part

I think you're a kind person to feel guilty over her losing the deposit if you didn't go through with it but that's REALLY not your problem if she did not bother to discuss this with you first. Also, there are many places where the LL would not require a cosigner if a larger deposit or prepayment or some rent was offered.

My daughter will be attending community college first, living at home, working part time, and building up her credit before moving out on her own to a 4 year college. I absolutely will not cosign for her because I just cannot afford it.

But I am thinking what I might do in your shoes and I feel that he should have talked to you first or looked for a place that did not demand a cosigner. Expecting you to take on an obligation that he did not first discuss with you would be grounds for a "deal with it yourself" response from you, the parent. It's harsh, I know, but I won't be disrespected / coerced like that by anyone, esp my kid.

[Scallywag]

But yes, as a general rule, nobody should ever co-sign anything for anybody, especially somebody other than your immediate family - child, spouse, or parent.

Not even for family, not even my kid, unless you can pay the obligation in full, if the relative bails. It ruins the relationship AND you're out of a nice chunk of cash WITH your credit trashed in the bargain. Don't do it. Thanksgiving or Christmas or whatever you observe would never be the same again after that and I'd prefer not to let that happen, esp as I am not close to my extended families or in-laws to begin with.

[~bs]

dont cosign. it's a bad idea.

the fact that he's on the lease is bad enough already. If he's cosigning a lease with a friend, and they bail on him, he (and you) is going to be obligated to pay the entire rent.

[rennigade]

I've not heard of a place needing 2 months' notice before.

This is really common. At least 30 days notice is almost always required. Our last place we rented, we had to give 45 days notice...only because they forgot to update our lease. The new lease agreement was 60 days. Lucky for us, the company sucked at what they did, so we could get out of it 15 days less.