Signing A Lease While Waitlisted Forum

[PatsFan01]

I feel like this should be a fairly common question but I haven't seen it on this forum.

Should I go ahead and get an apartment/house now at the school I am planning on attending even though I am on the WL at my top choice? What if I sign a lease at the school I am accepted into and then I get accepted off the WL from my top choice a couple weeks before classes start?

Any information would be quite helpful. Thank you.

[UVA2B]

You can sign a lease and just break the lease/pay the early termination penalty if your top choice lets you in off the WL. Just make sure to read the lease carefully for what the penalty for early termination is, or ask their management how they would handle this sort of situation if you signed. Most places will be like 1-2 months worth of rent (obviously this is hugely dependent on the housing market we're talking about).

You don't want to be worrying about finding a place to live and moving in right before classes kick off.

[joefresh]

If you sign a lease you're obligated to pay the rent unless you can find someone to take over the lease for the remainder of the term. I did what you did and was almost on the hook paying 1,100 a month for a room I would be 1,000 miles away from.

Don't sign a lease until you're sure you're going to stay there. It's pretty difficult to find someone to take over a lease and in a lot of cases you'll need to pay a month/two before the person is willing to take it over anyways. This can add up.

Wait to hear back from everywhere then find a place to live.

[joefresh]

You can sign a lease and just break the lease/pay the early termination penalty if your top choice lets you in off the WL. Just make sure to read the lease carefully for what the penalty for early termination is, or ask their management how they would handle this sort of situation if you signed. Most places will be like 1-2 months worth of rent (obviously this is hugely dependent on the housing market we're talking about).

You don't want to be worrying about finding a place to live and moving in right before classes kick off.

oopsy. I still stand behind my advice.