Posted by T2B - FL on April 15, 2002 at 05:43:18:
Thanks for the response, Bill!
How would you suggest limiting your liability then? Using a 1 year lease term with some type of automatic renewals each year for 6 years? Or is there another, better way?
Thanks!
Tom
Lease Option Liability - Help me Bill!!! - Posted by T2B - FL
Posted by T2B - FL on April 13, 2002 at 08:44:57:
Bill,
I have a question about lease option liability. It involves the investors liability on doing a lease option. If I were to find a motivated seller and lease option their property for 6 years and then walk away in 5 without buying the house, what recourse do they have. I will, of course, be using your forms from your lease option course.
I have done searches in the archives and the only answer I saw was that it would be illegal to walk away without fulfilling the entire term of the lease part of the contract. This doesn’t seem right to me. I know many will say there is a moral/ethical dilema with walking away and leaving the seller his house back but I don’t see a legal dilema. It seems to me that if you walk away from the lease, you will lose any money you may have put up for option consideration and that’s it. You don’t have to continue paying rent for the entire 6 year term and the seller can’t ask you to pay the last years rent.
What do you think?
Thanks for your time!
Tom
Re: Lease Option Liability - Help me Bill!!! - Posted by William Bronchick
Posted by William Bronchick on April 14, 2002 at 20:14:18:
It is not “illegal” (you won’t go to jail) for walking out on a lease obligation. However, if the landlord/seller cannot re-rent the place, you would be liable for the balance of the lease payments.