My landlord in NYC has offered me $20,000 to give up my right to renew my lease.?

wazwondring

I would say that the letter is no gaurantee at all; it is nothing but an offer. If he is serious and you convey an accept the offer, he should pay you the money before the time comes up to renew your lease and have you sign another contract that spells out the details of the agreement. If you simply don't renew your lease and then expect him to pay you anything without a separate written contract, you can expect him to laugh at you.

You should seek the advice of a lawyer in your area.

mr_crankypants

For gods sake spend 400 dollars on a lawyer to find out!

MOM KNOWS EVERYTHING

This is a pretty big deal....you should see an attorney to be sure. Yes, you could sue afterwards if he didn't follow up, but it's always better to PREVENT trouble than CORRECT it later.

Fire_God_69

No, get a contract stating exact facts, payouts and dates.

You know he's only do that so he can either sell it or get out of rent control. I would ask for $50K.

Proud to be an AMERICAN

It's enough to sue on, if he renegs.

surfer grl

Talk to a lawyer, he will be able to answer you a bit better than we can.

Jon

consult a lawyer regarding the offer. its better to be safe than sorry

James

You need to have an attorney review the letter. This is a big deal -- it's worth the expense.

In general, I worry about the different phrasings in your question. Is the $20000 for giving up your right to renew the lease, or is it instead for vacated the apartment immediately? Or both?

$20000 is a lot of money, so I'd like to know more about the landlord's motivation for making this offer.

A contract can be bilateral or unilateral. Bilateral means two parties are exchanging promises -- his promising money, your promising not to renew the lease. That's what would most likely govern here.

Bottom line: every word in that letter matters, and you shouldn't base a big decision like this on anything less than an attorney's opinion.

duoak

If I were you, I would hire a lawyer to handle the transaction. Until the money is sitting in your lawyer's escrow account, you should not give up the apartment. The letter is probably a valid contract, but that does not mean that you're going to get the money right away. If the landlord renegs (and this could happen), you would probably win in court but that could take a while and involve some legal fees. Best thing to do is pay a lawyer a few hundred dollars now and save yourself the aggravation. Until you actually have the money, don't do anything.

Some Girl

It's in writting. Talk to him and talk to a lawyer. Sounds like a good deal. Maybe he wants to sell the apartments or something. You could use that money towards a house or better apartment. But def talk to a lawyer and him about it to be 100% sure.

joe

DO you know his hand writing? Or signiture? my guest is as good as what you know.Do you have any witness, on hand,if not handled properly someone could get the the end of the blade,do not let that person be you.

THE UNKNOWN

Probably.

tearsofthemoon00

I would get the money before.

Rita

yes but have a lawyer with you just in case u need to sue your landlord.

betterlife_travel

I would talk to a lawyer before making any decisions. But the letter at least sounds like you could get him back if he decides not to pay you.

Chris J

I would get an actual contract from him. The letter may be enough, but a contract would solidify it.

SKG R

Pl get the cash first & then move to a better place.
Good Luck.

El Pistolero Negra

Refuse and ask for more money. Then take his second offer only after consulting a lawyer and having the landlord pay for a contract.

Crystal

bring it to a laywer to be on the safe side.
but yeah i think that would be good enough! and like some one else said.. enough so that u could sue if he renigs his offer.

karrupf2006

If you are not sure you can trust the guy, you should verify that the money he has promised exists and is assessable by you. A common way to do this is to have the money placed into escrow. It probably would not hurt to talk to an attorney. For a few hundred dollars you could protect yourself, and not have to worry about any of the hassles.

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