false Advertisement?

[Gail in Georgia]

"What happens if I don’t pay? He can just send it to collection without suing me? What are the consequences?"

Likely your landlord starts the eviction process against you for failure to pay rent. And wins such since he has a signed lease with you. And the eviction stays on your credit record for up to 7 years.

In some cases a tenant can legally "break" a lease if an issue with a rental property makes it uninhabitable due to safety or health concerns. Unfortunately, not have docking privileges doesn't fall into this category.

Gail

 

[LdiJ]

So what would be my best option to get out of the lease as fast as possible. I just moved here from overseas and I’m not looking to get into a costly long lasting legal dispute. Is there any way to end this quickly?

A small claims court suit is neither expensive nor long lasting. Google "small claims court" for your state and read up on the process. Its really quite simple. Yes, unfortunately he can send you to collections without suing you first.

 

[gorgc123]

I thought small claims are to recover financial losses. I just want the lease terminated. Is that possible as well?

 

[gorgc123]

Do you think if I take him to small claims for the return of the security deposit + termination of the lease is something I could be successful with?

 

[quincy]

Do you think if I take him to small claims for the return of the security deposit + termination of the lease is something I could be successful with?

Before considering suing, speak to the landlord about the lease and your reason for signing it in the first place (i.e., promised dock privileges).

Ask for your deposit back.

If what you paid was not a security deposit but, rather, an application fee (to cover administrative costs like background checks), you are generally not entitled to a refund.

 

[gorgc123]

I did pay the Security deposit 1.5x monthly rent as stated in the lease.
But as stated before I’m just trying to get out of the lease and even offered to pay a termination fee.

I tried to talk to him with no success. It seems he thinks I’m coming from overseas and am easy to scam. So he wants me to keep paying rent.

 

[Zigner]

Is your agent willing to testify on your behalf in court?

 

[gorgc123]

Yes my agent is willing to testify on my behalf

 

[quincy]

You can tell your landlord that you will be canceling your lease because the rental was not as promised, and you can demand a return of your security deposit.

You can sue over return of deposit if he does not meet your demand, using what evidence you have to support good reason for cancellation. Your landlord can in response file a countersuit to enforce the terms of the written and signed contract.

Or, you can demand a refund and your landlord can sue you first, to enforce the terms of the written contract. You can countersue.

A lawsuit seems to be in your future either way. How a court will decide the matter is a question mark - but the signed written contract is powerful evidence in your landlord's favor.

Good luck.

 

[LdiJ]

You can tell your landlord that you will be canceling your lease because the rental was not as promised, and you can demand a return of your security deposit.

You can sue over return of deposit if he does not meet your demand, using what evidence you have to support good reason for cancellation. Your landlord can in response file a countersuit to enforce the terms of the written and signed contract.

Or, you can demand a refund and your landlord can sue you first, to enforce the terms of the written contract. You can countersue.

A lawsuit seems to be in your future either way. How a court will decide the matter is a question mark - but the signed written contract is powerful evidence in your landlord's favor.

Good luck.

He does have an eyewitness to the landlord verbally stating that there were docking rights.

 

[quincy]

He does have an eyewitness to the landlord verbally stating that there were docking rights.

Right. That could help. In fact, that might be the only thing he has that will help. A commercial advertisement would have been good but an MLS listing is not guaranteed for accuracy (but cannot be written to purposely deceive).

 

[FarmerJ]

small claims courts are not costly and would be one way to get a judgment for the return of your deposit fees if a court agreed with you, you would not need a attorney to go with you to small claims court. I would suggest printing extra copies of the ad you relied on when you were looking at the place and send to the LL a certified letter with a copy of the ad and tell the LL you want a full refund of the money you paid or you wont have a problem using it and bringing your agent with you to court to testify as to what you were told and let the court decide if you were misled and should get a full refund as well as court cost.

 

[quincy]

small claims courts are not costly and would be one way to get a judgment for the return of your deposit fees if a court agreed with you, you would not need a attorney to go with you to small claims court. I would suggest printing extra copies of the ad you relied on when you were looking at the place and send to the LL a certified letter with a copy of the ad and tell the LL you want a full refund of the money you paid or you wont have a problem using it and bringing your agent with you to court to testify as to what you were told and let the court decide if you were misled and should get a full refund as well as court cost.

He apparently relied on an MLS listing but I agree with the rest.

The problem with a lawsuit is that the landlord is likely to countersue. And the landlord might have a better case.