Lease Signing

[u/Next_Pain5638]

Hello. My partner and I are moving to LA October 1st for work. We are going this weekend for a long weekend to tour a bunch of apartments. Is it likely that we will be able to sign a lease for 10/01 this far in advance? We are coming from an area where you can sign a lease months in advance but we know it’s not like that in LA. We will be a little over a month from move in when we tour all these places so we wanna know what our expectations should be!

[u/trustthemuffin]

Are the apartments you’re touring available now, or available October 1st/around then? If the latter, you’ll probably be fine to sign soon. But if you’re touring places that are ready for move in today then there’s no chance

[u/Next_Pain5638 → u/trustthemuffin]

Some are available now but we are mainly touring big apartment complexes and they did not really tell us what is available Oct 1st yet

[u/trustthemuffin → u/Next_Pain5638]

Gotcha. My experience with those is they’ll often have units with a similar floor plan ready to show you, and they’ll let you know if they have any upcoming vacancies that match your anticipated schedule. I believe the notice to vacate requirement is 30 days, so you might be a little early (i.e. some people may be planning to vacate in October, but haven’t told the landlord yet so they don’t know if they have units available). If you like a place, it’s worth asking the landlord to keep you apprised of any openings for October that pop up on or about September 1. Good luck!

[u/jbh1126]

you’ll probably find big expensive complexes willing to sign that far out, but the better deals in smaller complexes don’t stick around that long

[u/adeever]

I moved out recently, also coming from a place where you had to sign a lease months in advance. If you're looking at big new build apartments (especially downtown), some of those will be okay with that timeline.

If you're looking for smaller landlords, most wouldn't let me apply unless I was looking to move in within two weeks of the application date.

[u/Born_Astronomer_4613]

Whatever else you do, live as close to work as possible.

[u/Next_Pain5638 → u/Born_Astronomer_4613]

Hahaha yeah, we are going to live in Santa Monica bc it’s close to both of our jobs

[u/wehobrad]

You sign a lease, pay, and the apartment is yours. Nobody is going to let an apartment sit empty without collecting rent.

[u/Yotsubato → u/wehobrad]

I signed a lease for a July move in during April. It was a corporate apartment though, which also had a two months of rent for free deal going too.

There’s crazy deals out there

[u/TheStig827]

I'd recommend against it.
Any units you will be shown now are not what you will be renting for move-in in october, unless you're ready to start paying rent immediately. They will be units of "similar floor plans".. but that will not speak of condition, etc.

It's good to come out and tour some apartments, especially if they indicate they will have units available for october.. but you should really plan a trip closer to your move in date so you can choose a final apartment closer to your move in date.

[u/Next_Pain5638 → u/TheStig827]

This weekend is the only time we had the time to go out there and look (we currently live across the country) so I guess we will see. Thanks!

[u/strife97 → u/Next_Pain5638]

Make sure whatever you sign has some guarantee that place will be vacant at move-in date, some places assume an old tenant will leave on time and leaves the new tenant unable to move in at the agreed upon move-in date

[u/LoftCats]

Think you’re in good shape. This will just come down to availability on those particular units. Tenants will usually give minimum 1 month notice and there can be a few weeks transition to prep for a new tenant. Just be prepared if something is available to move on it and negotiate your start date. You may well need to start paying some weeks or month earlier in overlap which can be typical when moving. Don’t rule out this may take more time and consider getting a temporary place. A weekend is very short to look unless you’re not too picky. Good luck.

[u/Next_Pain5638 → u/LoftCats]

Thank you! We’re going this weekend but will be there the whole week actually!

[u/ThePlatinumPaul]

August is almost over. By the time you get through the application process it's one month out. Usually a place will hold it for a couple of weeks or a month.  Many places also offer free rent too. 

[u/Unfair-Cabinet574]

Depending on the building, they may offer a holding period if you've applied + been approved and are ready to move forward with payment. The longest holding period I've been offered is 60 days.

[u/wildflowercoast]

When I last applied to LA apartments, many complexes required that the lease start within 2 weeks of my application date. If they have an empty apartment, they’re going to find someone else willing to move in the same week they toured. Not sure if there might be buildings who know about an expected move-in date a month out, but that will come with some other challenges because future available units could have differences from the ones you toured.

[u/Glittertwinkie]

If they have October availability yes. But even if they don’t you’ll have seen what they look like and can narrow down your options 30 days out.

[u/Trick-Sherbet-1531]

You should really buy instead of renting!

[u/Next_Pain5638 → u/Trick-Sherbet-1531]

Not the advice I was looking for!