Am I getting screwed/What are my next steps?

[Embraza]

How could you move into an old hospital, anyway? All I'd be able to think about was how many people died in my kitchen.

My thoughts exactly!  When we were first looking in JC our realtor tried to steer us towards these condos and aside from the fact that it was absolutely not what we were interested, I couldn't get rid of that thought!

[missa]

The only thing I love about the Beacon is that it looks like an outbuilding of Miskatonic University.  I dig that, big time.

sigh. 

he said miskatonic.

[justiceiro]

Dude, think of how many people have died in my Kitchen!  And that was never a hospital.


Enjoy the BBQ!

[bdlaw]

OK, to steer this back on topic, with stylistic apologies to WhiteKong:

How to tell if you're being screwed:

Do you feel tingly "there"?

[NON]

Regarding my last post, we would never have gotten into this (considerably more interesting) discussion if we were required to stay "on topic."

Amen.

Hallelujah Hollaback.

Robin.

[AmbushBug]

Regarding my last post, we would never have gotten into this (considerably more interesting) discussion if we were required to stay "on topic."

[NON]

Meanwhile, where's the webdouche to delete all these posts that don't have anything to do with the subject of this thread?

you raaaang?

 

when we stopped by the Beacon sales office in the fall of 2005, they had their response all ready for the "how many people died..." question. The response? "But think of how many people were born there!" To which i happily replied "well since it looks like you're not going to be renovating the Margaret Hague building for quite some time, the probable answer to that question is ZERO."

They're totally not prepared to deal with the native JC folk. Maybe since then they've changed strategies!

[AmbushBug]

Meanwhile, where's the webdouche to delete all these posts that don't have anything to do with the subject of this thread?

[AmbushBug]

I always saw it as the underground city from Metropolis. . . . though Arkham and Miskatonic aren't far off. Maybe someone should call Christopher Nolan.

[justiceiro]

The only thing I love about the Beacon is that it looks like an outbuilding of Miskatonic University.  I dig that, big time.

[bdlaw]

The Beacon looks like Arkham Asylum. 

[AmbushBug]

Light rail? Surely you jest, oh great head of Thulsa Doom.

...Although I would like to see one of the new units in the "Beacon." How could you move into an old hospital, anyway? All I'd be able to think about was how many people died in my kitchen. And since we're talking about the Jersey City Medical Center, that's not limited to patients. I wonder how long it took the contractors to clear out all the dead squatters. [shivver]

[justiceiro]

AmbushBug and Non, how unfortunate for you that you are not one of God's elect, chosen to enter the Kingdom, for if you were, his divine favor would reflect upon your worldly situation and you would be among the rightous who live in Van Vorst Park, that Queen of all neighborhoods.


That being said, have you and the Fang considered my "rock the block" strategy for stealth gentrifying Lafayette Park?  It's only 500m from the light rail.

[NON]

Thanks, both of you, for the suggestions, but I think I'm pretty entrenched in Harsimus. I need to be close to the PATH (yes, I'm spoiled, but I love that it only takes me 20 minutes to get to work), and I can't afford Paulus Hook ... plus I'm finally settled into the neighborhood, I don't want to start all over.

Then, of course, there are all the things I just don't want to give up about the neighborhood (I can hear NON's eyes rolling out of their very sockets) -- La Conguita, Grace Church VV's Sunday booksale, getting to sneer at Grove Pointe, hell, even Fatburger (okey, well, especially Fatburger), Madame Claude . . . Hell, the real reason Fang and I are so annoyed with this lease issue is that we pretty much want to stay where we are. Maybe our new landlord won't kick us out and tear our house down to the bricks....


..... but I doubt it.

you misunderstand me entirely. i am all for loving one's own neighborhood, and begrudge nobody their attachments or affections for where they live (yes, even you Newporters). they'll have to drag me out of my part of town in a box, as they have many generations of my family before me. but i have nothing but respect for those who feel the same way about where they live.

As for your legal situation, despite the statute of frauds governing in most real property contexts, NJ by statute mandates that all periodic residential leases convert to month-to-month leases upon expiration of the original lease term, unless agreed otherwise. I don't think you've really got legal recourse on some sort of implied or oral contract theory based on your telephone conversation with your landlord, but i'm not certain of that.

i'm also not sure of the particulars regarding month-to-month leases when property ownership changes. In theory, your original landlord who is selling can't simply evict you one month because they feel like it. They have to either present new lease terms you don't agree with or raise your rent, which depending on the number of units in your building, they may be limited in what percentage. The same may hold true for new owners as well.

Again, i'm familiar with some landlord-tenant law from my own experiences, but this area is undiscovered country for me, so you might want to actually check in with an attorney if you really love your place enough.

[AmbushBug]

Thanks, both of you, for the suggestions, but I think I'm pretty entrenched in Harsimus. I need to be close to the PATH (yes, I'm spoiled, but I love that it only takes me 20 minutes to get to work), and I can't afford Paulus Hook ... plus I'm finally settled into the neighborhood, I don't want to start all over.

Then, of course, there are all the things I just don't want to give up about the neighborhood (I can hear NON's eyes rolling out of their very sockets) -- La Conguita, Grace Church VV's Sunday booksale, getting to sneer at Grove Pointe, hell, even Fatburger (okey, well, especially Fatburger), Madame Claude . . . Hell, the real reason Fang and I are so annoyed with this lease issue is that we pretty much want to stay where we are. Maybe our new landlord won't kick us out and tear our house down to the bricks....


..... but I doubt it.

[Woodsy]

If you're amenable to the Westside, my neighbor has a nice second floor apartment for rent.

[AmbushBug]

Duplex in Paulus Hook? The name's Ambush Bug, not Ambush McDuck!

[SamS]

  There's a legal doctrine called the Statutes of Frauds which dictates that all real estate dealings must be memorialized in writing.  A potential detrimental reliance claim isn't going to succeed in this instance.  But in reality  it sounds to me, like you have plenty of time to find a new apartment and move.  While the realtor mentioned to you that there's a "serious offer", he didn't say, there's been an acceptance, where they are in the attorney review process, whether an inspection has been scheduled or conducted and when the closing date is.  So it sounds to me like you probably have  at least 3 months. So instead of thinking about spending your time, energy and money in litigation, just go find a new place.  If you need some more time after closing to find a place or move into one you have already secured, I doubt either the current owner nor the new owner are going to sue to evict you, if you're already actually ready to move.

But I would just start looking for a new place soon. In fact I may know of a duplex in Paulus Hook for you and the Fang.  

[Pinky]

Bug, I have the answers for you but why to long for my drive-by replies. You can pm me your # and I will do the phone thing..

[CeeDub]

i am not an attorney - even on tv - but i believe
A - your lease went to month-by-month at expiration
B - you could be considered an undisclosed tenant and may have some protection when the prop sell
C - the law grants you 1 or 2 full months' notice to quit - so don't sign for any packages/FedEx letters after the 15th of any month!!!

Here is the renter's legal guidehttp://www.lsnjlaw.org/english/placeilive/irentmyhome/index.cfm
for more info. (thx NON)

Good luck!

[AmbushBug]

Okey, so I rent an apartment in Harsimus Cove. My building has been on the market for a little under a year now, and I was told by my landlords when it first went up for sale that, if they should sell it, my lease will stay ironclad and protect me from the new owners kicking me and the Fang out on our butts. I agree that this sounds fine. A year goes by, people look at the place, but it's in a bit of a state of disrepair, so nothing much happens.

Then our lease expires. I call my landlords the obligatory three months before it expires, and they tell us that they want to keep us on as tenants, and will send a new lease as soon as they can. Three months go by. Then another two. After repeated calls to my landlord (where they claim that they have sent it and it must have gotten lost in the mail) and more calls (where they say that they will send another copy as soon as they can) I still haven't gotten my new lease.

Then I speak to their realtor (I actually have more contact with the guy than my landlords do) and I learn that there's a serious offer for the building. I think that they're purposely not sending me the lease, so that way they can kick us out when they sell the place.

I don't mind moving, but if I was going to, I'd like to have known in advance. You guys all know it takes three months to find a place around here.

My question is, I had an oral agreement that they would send the lease over four months ago. They never sent it, and don't seem to intend to. Do I have any legal recourse? Is there some kind of advocacy group I can take this to? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Bug.

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