My husband and I moved into our first condo 3 months ago and signed a 2 year lease. This past week, the property manager called and told us the owner has been stationed in Ukraine and is being transferred back to the US and he and his family want to move back in. The transfer of landlord clause was not checked on our lease, so they told us we don’t have to move, but the owner really really wants us out so he can move himself and his family in on June 1st. They’ve offered to pay for a moving company, security deposit and first months rent at a new place, and said they’ll waive rent for the next two months.
At first I thought this was generous of him, but now looking more into it, this seems like a pretty bad deal. The market has exploded since we moved in, and now to get something comparable, we’d have to pay an extra $500-$1,000+ per month. We feel bad for him since he’s apparently been in Ukraine while everything has been going on there, but we kind of feel like if he wants us out, we should get a lump sum of money to cover the difference in rent somewhere else for the next 21 months, plus more considering it’s a pain in the ass to search for a new place and move, when we thought we’d have stability for 2 years.
What would be a fair offer? Are we crazy for thinking we should be compensated more for the difference in rent and the inconvenience?
Extra info:
• We’re in the Northern Virginia area. We pay $2,015/month. The condo is 1600sqft 2B 3BA +a loft. Cathedral ceilings, stainless appliances, all upgraded countertops, bathrooms, etc. locked in at same rent for the whole 2 years
• We’ve had no drama with the owner or property management company. There’s no other reason they’d want us out - never been late on rent, we don’t throw parties, we’re clean, etc.
• When we signed the lease, we were told the owner lived out of state (no mention of military or this ever being his primary residence).
• The property manager seemed unsure of the owner’s situation when he called us. He’s not sure if he’s in the military or why he was “stationed” in Ukraine…he had very little info, except that the owner is very motivated to get us out so he can move in.
Submitted March 27, 2022 at 10:03PM by DeliriousWings https://ift.tt/KZAwO13
