Wh431

Hi all,

Any ideas how/where to look for a short term (6 months) rental agreement or a Sublease?

Some context:
I am in process of moving to Chicago and looking to buy a house in summer. However I don’t know how long will it take to find a suitable property, so don’t wanna tie myself in a standard 1 year rental lease.

For some reason I thought that it would be possible to break a 1 year lease by giving due notice but surprisingly not. I ve been told that if i break a 1 year lease, i will be liable for the rent for the remaining period. So bit in a catch 22 situation.

Will be thankful for any help.

tom169

Check out air bnb

Glasgow Girl

Lots of apartment complexes will do month to month leases. It will be a little more expensive than a standard 6 month lease. You should not have to take a 12 month lease on board.

If you are looking to rent a house from a private landlord, ask if they will be willing to do a month to month lease for a higher fee. If demand is high they are unlikely to agree, but if they have an empty property in the winter and demand is not high then they will likely be willing to get it rented now if you can make a commitment to be out before schools restart at the end of summer. Most families want be be in their new place by the start of school year and so demand is high then. It is a win/win, you get a shorter lease and they avoid an empty property.

Also, unless Illinois has some unusual laws, if you break a 12 month lease the landlord has an obligation to try and rerent the property and can only charge you for the time it remains vacant.

Glasgow Girl

One other thing. With the moratorium on evictions due to Covid, you may find landlords willing to buy into a shorter lease than normal especially if you can pay several months rent in advance. Right now they cannot evict for non payment of rent but they can if the lease has ended. A shorter lease with rent upfront hugely reduces their exposure to a bad tenant. I would use this as a negotiating tool for a short or month to month lease. I think the moratorium ends early February in Illinois (every state has its own rules) but I would be shocked if it is not extended for some time to come into the future.

S Folinsky

I can’t speak to Illinois law in particular, but a general rule of contract law is a duty to mitigate damages. In other words, a landlord cannot expect to leave the property vacant and continue to collect the rent. The practical effect of this can vary.

scrubbedexpat099

VRBO

There are many many others.

tht

What many seem to do is to them sublet the property when they move out instead of breaking their lease. That said some leases prohibit that as well, I do, but in the real world In would work with my tenants if needed.

If your experience is anything like mine when I moved to NYC, your first issue may be getting any lease without credit history.

As some context the area you are looking in may dictate a lot. I was looking in a college grad heavy area.. so I was able to get a 3 month lease in March but paying 4 k no intangible rent upfront including the deposit.

My rental in the city is also in a similar market so I got it aligned with the busy rental season by doing a 15 month lease the first year, and I have done all the rentals in 1 or multiple year terms since to keep it aligned.

petitefrancaise

If I'd had a penny for every time I've heard this from people moving to austin!

Look for an apartment complex that does 6 month leases. Most of them do. Prices will be higher than standard 12 month leases though. Then if you need to, you can then go month-month but be warned that this could be expensive.

Apart from the obvious advice of not really knowing the area before you are buying please be aware that the US home market is very, very hot right now and you might actually find it difficult to buy a home.
Here in Austin, inventory is at an all time low, houses are getting 20-50 offers and they are all over the asking price. A neighbor got $50k more and had 20+ offers in less than a day.

scrubbedexpat099

AirBNB has been mentioned

From what I have seen people often list without a premium. Advantage is no security deposit, no background checks and month to month. Probably because you are dealing with a non professional renter.

Wh431

Yeah, true. Also in Chicago there isnt much inventory on the housing market and the prices seem high.

Unlike UK, there is more of a risk of falling in negative equity in the US. So I am gonna carefully watch the US (Chicago) housing market over coming summer...before buying a property.

Wh431

I think in my situation (ve 2 little ones), renting a property on a 6 months lease and then extending it as needed, will be a better and cheaper option.
This way my kids can join the local schools with a bit more more certainity.

penguinsix

I think the term of art here is "corporate apartment". This is what many companies call short-term leases and facilities that you can rent on a month-to-month or part year arrangement.

scrubbedexpat099

Cheaper I would not be so sure, however I would certainly investigate all options.

Not sure it would make any difference re schools, admittedly I do not know anyone who did that, do know people who got a PO Box.

tht

If it is anything like our town they want significant documentation to prove you live in the right area to attend the school. As Annie er that’s easier... I know renters do it as well with their leaker etc... not sure how a Air BnB booking print out would go.... I have lived in”corporate apartments” the upside is no bills, everything down to cable TV and the cleaners is included... you get more space and having a kitchen means you don’t have to to eat out every day... the downside is it was about the same nightly cost as a hotel.. not an issue if the firm is paying... most won’t do sub days because then in some states they are taxed like a hotel room.

scrubbedexpat099

I have no personal experience, just know there are people living month to month who have children and somehow they send their children to school.