turquoise72
New Member
In July 2004 I renewed a lease with an apartment complex in Charleston, SC. I was the primary person on the lease, my mother was listed as a co-leasee. The apartment complex is owned bya company in VA. There was a clause in the lease that indicated if your job was 50 miles away you could break your lease without obligation, it also included the standard military clause. In August 2004 I moved to NC for a job and to go to school. My mother was still in the apartment. In November 2004 I contacted the apartment complex in Charleston to inform them that I had moved to work and go to school, and as such wanted to cancel the lease. They told me no problem, just have my mother come in and sign a form. My mom went in the office and the person had her sign the form and for reason she stated "can't afford to pay", and that was that, atleast that's what we thought. A month later we received a bill for rent for the remainder of the lease, over $8k. I called the office in Charleston and was told to get a notarized letter from my employer indicating when I began working with them. I sent the notarized letter, which stated that I had been transferred to the Raleigh office in October 2004. This was supposed to settle everything. But apparently, the company in VA that owned the complex refused to let it go. After several phone calls they finally told me that the "cannot afford to pay" listed on the form meant they were not going to release me from the lease. What rights do I have? Since from the beginning I made it clear that I had moved to an entirely different state for work and school, and that was allowed in my lease. Unfortunately, I no longer have a copy of my lease, but I do have a copy of the notarized letter to the leasing office. They have passed the account to a collection attorney, and the balance is reduced to $6k, I am assuming because they rented the apartment.
Please help. Thank you for any advice in advance.
Please help. Thank you for any advice in advance.
