End of Lease--Month to Month tenancy question

[slavrinc]

Okay, so..
We are closing on a house on 9/30.
Our yearly lease for our apartment ends on 9/30.
The yearly lease requires a 60 day notice to vacate the property.
I called the management company for over a month and a half because I wanted to know if they would be able to prorate a week after the 30th so that we would be able to move all of our things into the new home and clean our apartment as necessary.
The lease manager NEVER called me back, and I finally had to ask to be put on hold for a good 30 minutes before I could speak to the property manager.
Because I waited to speak to them about the prorate issue before I sent them a 60 day notice, that time has passed and I am required to move onto a month to month lease which is $150.00 more than our rent. ($300.00 more than our mortgage)
I know this may have been stupid on my part for expecting the leasing manager to call me back in a timely manner after I left her NUMEROUS messages.
but, Our lease states that if we fail to vacate at the end of the lease, WITH a required 60 day notice, then if they accept rent we will be deemed a month-to-month tenant. This also states that we can terminate the month-to-month lease as of the last day of any calendar month by giving one month's written notice. So, I figured that if we paid them rent, we could just give 1 months notice to vacate the property (which is still 1 months worth of rent we wouldn't have had to pay had the lease manager called in a timely manner)
Today, I called the rental office to find out the exact amount we would have to pay for October. They said that we would have to come down and sign a month to month lease(which we weren't informed of) to be deemed month-to-month residents. FINE. Except the small detail that we would have to give a 60 day notice to vacate the property when we decide to leave.
I really don't know what to do, I know I obviously made mistakes by not providing them a 60 day notice when I was waiting for their call, but now we are stuck in a situation we absolutely cannot afford because if we do sign the new month to month lease, we need to pay for October and November. November is when we start making mortgage payments too!
I mean I know I may sound like a shady resident, but this place is horrible! There were things when we moved in that needed to be fixed, and the maintenance crew didn't even come to fix until July and we moved in August of '07. Not to mention there have been times when the Maintenance people came and didn't even knock.. Our water was shut off today even though it's suppost to be included in the rent payment.. and I have an infant son.. I need water to wash and prepare his bottles! I am just so fed up with their shoddy performance of management and although I'm trying to get out of here as soon as possible, I'm also trying to do it by the book as well.

Is there anything we can do that anyone would suggest??


(Pennsylvania)

 

[ecmst12]

If your current lease SPECIFICALLY states that after the term expires, it converts to MTM AND that only 30 days notice will be required thereafter, then you DO NOT need to sign a new lease or agree to different terms. Send your written notice via certified mail today, pay rent for october and move as planned. If they try to come after you for November's rent, send them a copy of the page from your lease which states only 30 days notice is needed. Keep your original in a safe place in case they sue you.

If the lease does NOT specifically state that only 30 days notice will be needed after the first year, you are screwed.

 

[slavrinc]

It says that after the term, if the accept rental payments, then I am deemed a holdover tenant.

I am not concerned that they won't accept my rental payments because they are extremely greedy..(I know this from past experiences and talking to other people)

and it does state in my lease that I can terminate the holdover tenancy as of the last day of any calender month by written notice on or before the first day of the month. (30 days approx.)

Am I still within my rights if I call and tell them that I will be signing a month-to-month lease so that they deposit my rental payment on the off chance that they don't accept the payment?

 

[ecmst12]

If you sign a document requiring 60 days notice, then you will have to pay for November. So don't sign.

 

[MIRAKALES]

Another option is to expedite the closing schedule to an earlier date to allow move-in a few days before lease termination.
Otherwise, if all schedules go according to plan then September 30, 2008 should be tenants’ busy day for closing and moving. Some lease agreements require move-out during business hours and others do not specify a time. If the lease agreement allows, move-out after the closing is finalized on the same date of lease expiration. This may be pushing time all in one day, but a professional moving company can move an entire apartment within a few hours. This way tenant will only be obligated for cleaning fees and damages which are deductible from security deposit.

 

[ecmst12]

OP is going to be responsible for October rent no matter what due to failure to give notice 60 days before 10/1. So there's no reason to move out early, they can move out the first week in October, take some extra time to get moved and clean the apartment up, and not have to worry.