Anyone else here forced to retire and scared to death?

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by FI by 2024 A military clause is commonly spelled out in the lease in areas where military renters are common. Sometimes you get a landlord who hasn't heard of the military clause but in that case I've never had a problem getting them to add an addendum to the lease. I think everybody understands that active duty military don't get too much choice in their location. A typical military lease says if the member is ordered to a new location more than 50 miles away, they can break the lease with 30 days notice. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act also affords some protection if there is no military clause in the lease. But OP isn't military, so he'd be concerned with whether the lease said anything about losing a job involuntarily. I've signed 5 leases in the last 14 years and I don't think any of them had a job loss clause.

Thanks. I didn't know that not all standard lease forms have a military clause and that's too bad. IIRC the leases that my ex and I signed way back when, had a brief but important phrase in the military clause that was added to appease litigious civilians, saying that if they lost their job with no choice in the matter, and had to move, they were covered too just like the military. (This phrase was easy to overlook IIRC.) But probably that has changed since this was back when dirt was young.

[Toocold]

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People ask why I don't just get a part time or temp job to get me some money. I have tried EVERYTHING but no one wants me, likely because of my odd personality, being old and having white hair and being 300 pounds.

Forced, Out of curiosity, would you hire someone like you if you were in the position of hiring?

[Texas Proud]

OK.... decided to take a look at lease of my son...

There are NO exceptions to break the lease except for 'by law'... they even say no school withdrawal, loss of job, marriage, divorce, health issues or even death!!!


I do see a military exception with some stipulations.... for change of station, deployment or being drafted... it is probably following the law, so is probably the same in all leases...

[nash031]

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Originally Posted by Hermit Op will pay $20k for his apartment for 8 mos. He has stated that $800/mo in the Richmond area would suit his needs. If it is worth the extra $13,600 to keep his good credit and to honor his commitments, I not only don't see anything wrong with that but applaud his moral character. I also see nothing wrong with talking to a lawyer to find out what the law says his legal options might be. Either way, I don't think the $13,600 is going to put him in the financial peril that a lot of folks here are suggesting. As well as finding appropriate housing in a close but more affordable area, the Op has made an appointment with a lawyer. I think he is on a good course that will serve him well.

He stayed there while out of work once. The longer he stays now, he more inertia he has to overcome when this lease runs out. By his own admission, he said he was too lazy to leave before. If he starts thinking, "Well, I am OK so far, I will go another year" then it becomes a big issue. He needs to leave now while he has impetus to do so, IMO.

[ivinsfan]

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Originally Posted by EastWest Gal Seriously? Two software professionals? Average software engineer salary in Silicon Valley is $134K per indeed.com. I guess you are assuming a married couple, both of them high up in a major software company, not a startup which may go belly up. $1M+ for a 1300 square foot house is typical there. What if one of them loses their job? Paying off a home in 5-10 years in this low interest rate environment also makes no sense, if one is a high earner and needs the tax deduction. It's better to pay off slowly and invest your extra income. A 30 year mortgage on $800000 is about $3500/mo, a 15 year mortgage is probably over $5500/mo. One is better off investing the difference, LBYM, then RE and going to a lower COL area. What happens when there is another market downturn and real estate values drop, at the same time one or both become unemployed? Ouch. The OPs reality is that he is beginning to panic over his choices this past year. People make mistakes. It's disturbing that some of us on this forum are being very critical of someone who is taking a good hard look at his reality and trying to deal with it. He also seems to be getting bad advice. Break his lease? Then where will he live? Who would rent to someone who broke his lease? Apartment owners can and do check backgrounds and credit information nowadays. It seems weird that people here are expecting this guy to make a move 6 days after his first post. Give the man a break. You've probably scared him away by now. He's still better off than many people I know. Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

I think you are a little off the mark here, most of the Buck-up critical posts seem to deal with the fact that the OP is seemingly blaming everyone and everything for his problems and implies he is helpless to help himself and a victim of circumstance. This isn't a site of members that sit by and don't take the bull by the horns. Nothing wrong with a call to action.

[pb4uski]

I sort of agree with EastWest Gal that there has been a lot of piling on... it takes time to make an appointment to see a lawyer on the lease, prudently investigate apartments in a different area, etc. though I will concede that we have not yet heard anything on the progress of the OP in the actions he committed to take in his post earlier in this thread (quoted below) but it has only been two business days and I think he said that he did have an appointment to talk with a lawyer.

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Originally Posted by Forced to Retire OK, someone asked me to stopping complaining and make some changes to my attitude and DO SOMETHING about my situation. So here is my plan for today: Go to every temp agency in the area and push hard for temp work to tide me over until I can move. Do more research into how I can use my $300K in my Fidelity Account to pay for my expenses so it won't run out before I die. Talk to a legal aide attorney about how I can break my lease without destroying my credit so I could not rent in the future. Look into selling some of my stuff to get a cash infusion. Look into cancelling my $800 a month COBRA health insurance and going on Obama Care with federal subsidy. Drive down to suburban Richmond VA and check it out. I can live there and be within 100 miles of my friends and family in the DC area but live in a cheaper more low keyed town. I see nice apartments advertised there for under $800 a month. I will talk to them about how I can rent without a job but with assets. (Maybe pay a year ahead in rent?)

[travelover]

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Originally Posted by pb4uski I sort of agree with EastWest Gal that there has been a lot of piling on...........

Yea, blood in the water brings out the worst in people.

[Corporateburnout]

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Originally Posted by travelover Yea, blood in the water brings out the worst in people.

+1

[ivinsfan]

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Originally Posted by pb4uski I sort of agree with EastWest Gal that there has been a lot of piling on... it takes time to make an appointment to see a lawyer on the lease, prudently investigate apartments in a different area, etc. though I will concede that we have not yet heard anything on the progress of the OP in the actions he committed to take in his post earlier in this thread (quoted below) but it has only been two business days and I think he said that he did have an appointment to talk with a lawyer.

Yes, well the OP has also started 4 threads at the same time. And I've noticed he throws out a topic and seems to just sit back and read for entertainment purposes. I'm not sure what he wants from this board. Piling on, I've seen worse. He put on a huge list of things he was going to do in one day and there hasn't been any update from him. I'm starting to think that some of the concerned posters here are more worried about his situation then he is.

[target2019]

OP may have found a gentler forum. Same end game, though, I believe.

[splitwdw]

Ivinsfan, It's a holiday weekend the OP could be away. Vacation? Apartment hunting? OP probably couldn't get much done with many offices/resources being closed. Maybe OP doesn't have Internet access?
From the things that the OP has said about him/herself (lazy, etc.) and others (Geez, read his/her first post, OP is shocked at this forum. We had all the breaks.), I don't see any point in giving him advice. Besides, he/she has been given the same information over and over. There are other threads on this forum where many of us have talked about family and friends that don't save and blame others. If this is a real person OP wasn't forced to retire, OP did it to him/herself.

[travelover]

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Originally Posted by ivinsfan .............. He put on a huge list of things he was going to do in one day and there hasn't been any update from him. ...........

That is how these forums work. We don't owe the OP anything and he doesn't owe us anything. We can give advice or not, he can take it or not.

[ivinsfan]

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Originally Posted by travelover That is how these forums work. We don't owe the OP anything and he doesn't owe us anything. We can give advice or not, he can take it or not.

I agree completely, just saying that I don't feel that the OP is being picked on, he has started a few threads and doesn't really seem bothered about our posts.
I think he's a pretty laid back guy.

[Gumby]

This thread has been valuable even if the OP never posts again. Someone in the future who needs to break a lease to reduce living expenses is likely to find it helpful to hear the accumulated wisdom and experience.

[gauss]

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Originally Posted by travelover Yea, blood in the water brings out the worst in people.

-1 (minus one)

When the majority of us are forced to repeat advice (cut biggest expenses now) after OP comes back with the responses that he has multiple times - (can't break a lease - clerk told me so) do you really think this is the "worst in people"?

We don't know if he is intentionally or unintentionally misunderstanding. Maybe he is on some type of prescription medication that is his clouding his thinking (had a coworker experiencing this of and on for years).

Either way, repeating the advice that the majority have recommended when he comes back with very peripheral alternatives (ie change my asset allocation because total stock/total bond portfolio is not sufficiently diversified) I think the message is not getting through.

I have experienced this sort of thing in my immediate family so I may be overly sensitized to this sort of thing.

-gauss

[Texas Proud]

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Originally Posted by gauss -1 (minus one) When the majority of us are forced to repeat advice (cut biggest expenses now) after OP comes back with the responses that he has multiple times - (can't break a lease - clerk told me so) do you really think this is the "worst in people"? We don't know if he is intentionally or unintentionally misunderstanding. Maybe he is on some type of prescription medication that is his clouding his thinking (had a coworker experiencing this of and on for years). Either way, repeating the advice that the majority have recommended when he comes back with very peripheral alternatives (ie change my asset allocation because total stock/total bond portfolio is not sufficiently diversified) I think the message is not getting through. I have experienced this sort of thing in my immediate family so I may be overly sensitized to this sort of thing. -gauss

Or it could just be that he has some moral issue with breaking the lease... he did mention about his credit score, so there is that... he did mention about getting another apt with a bad reference also...

I have also found that there are many people who just do not think like I do... and my thinking has changed drastically over the years... when I was young, I would never have thought about breaking a lease.... now that I am older and wiser, I would do it if I were in the OPs position....

Same thing about paying a mortgage... had a friend who moved out of a condo in the 80s and kept paying... finally sold for $20K less than the mtg... he was scared they would come after him... but there were so many that they did not go after anybody.... he could have saved himself some big money.... today he might not pay (well, except that now they have a LOT more money and $20K is nothing to them)....

[travelover]

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Originally Posted by gauss -1 (minus one) When the majority of us are forced to repeat advice ............ -gauss

Seriously? You were forced? I guess I have super powers because I can just click on the next thread when I want or even turn off the computer if it is bumming me out.

[daylatedollarshort]

Encouragement is usually a more effective way to help people than criticism:

Why Positive Encouragement Works Better than Criticism
https://www.fastcompany.com/3025080/...than-criticism

[braumeister]

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Originally Posted by Texas Proud I have also found that there are many people who just do not think like I do.

Surely you jest!

[Teacher Terry]

This forum has not been harsh at all. If you want to see harsh go to Mr. MM forum.