Can You Get Out Of Your Lease In Orange County, CA

Can You Get Out Of Your Lease? 

Once someone gets the buy-a-home-bug, they are so excited! They want to get it done now...find the right place NOW, move NOW. That's normal. But often there are obstacles that still must be overcome to make that "NOW" happen. One of these speed bumps is a lease.

So the questions comes up...."Can I get out of my lease?"

The long and short of it in Orange County, California is "yes"! But it's not necessarily as easy as just giving notice. If you have a lease that is not considered month-to-month, then it's time to talk with your landlord. Sometimes they are understanding about the situation...in our market our rental inventory is so low they might even welcome the ability to re-rent for a higher rent than you were paying.

But if this is not the case, there are still ways to get out of a lease. 

First it's important to have a landing place. Just because we want to buy NOW, we still have to find the right place. That could take an afternoon or a couple months. If you are asking your landlord to let you out of the lease, be prepared now to work on his timetable. If they are able to re-rent right away, you might need to find temporary housing while you continue to look for a home.

If they are not willing to work with you, you are still not stuck, but there are potential financial consequences. 

In Orange County, California, when you break a lease (ie, you leave) the landlord is not simply entitled to all of your deposit or the balance of the lease. They must try to mitigate their damages. This means make a reasonable attempt to re-lease. You could be liable for not only the cost of ads, but vacancy time, extra cleaning costs and even additional rent if they rent for less than you were paying. 

These are things to discuss with a licensed attorney.

Typically when I have a client who wishes to break their lease I will speak to their landlord and offer to list the property for rent in our MLS for no charge. I will help them by putting a lockbox on the home and handle paperwork and credit check. Whatever I can do to help make it easy for both parties.

The key is to work with your landlord and cooperate. 

So if you are interested in breaking your lease. Have a conversation with your landlord or management company. Explain your goals and start a dialog about how this might work for both parties.