Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chaz47]

So I moved in to this crummy one-room apartment because it was close to my last job which required split-shifts. The problem is all the housing close to the school is crummy and this one was walking distance and slightly less crummy. The school I was working for split the key-money with me 70/30. I worked for them as long as I could but the splits they required weren't really splits, it was more like 14 hour days of one class then a 2 hour break then another class, then an hour break... etc., it wasn't a split-shift it was a swiss-cheese shift.

Anyway, the crummy apartment includes a 2 year lease. The previous school signed the paperwork and now that I now longer work for them they rightfully want their money out of the room, as do I. However, after contacting several realtors it seems the room is too expensive to sell and therefore no one wants it.

Is there any way to break this lease? The last realtor said that the key money should be half what they are asking and the rent should be about $100 less as well.

Also, the landlady here's a real winner, I've had one of my Korean friends try to explain the situation to her and she pretty much said eff you until you get someone to take over the lease. This is the same place that gouged me to the tune of $500 for gas in January. I really think the landlady is in cahoots with the LPG company.

I've been in Korea for a few years and never encountered anything like this. A piece of advice to anybody else on here putting any money into a housing deposit. Take a good look at the neighborhood. Some places here are just old people in old houses waiting to sell their property to a developer before they die, that's what this neighborhood is like.

[highstreet]

You can break the lease early (which just means you will allow someone to move in ASAP, but you will have to pay fees), but you won't get the deposit back until someone else moves in.

[chaz47]

[nick70100]

Unfortunately your options may be limited. If you signed a two-year lease you must pay rent for the entire two years or find someone else to take it over.

How much key money did you put down? How many months are left on the lease? Who signed their name on the lease, you? or the school?

Also, how long has it been on the market with no takers? You may need to just give it more time, but if it really is impossible to get anyone to move in then your options are.....

1. Just suck it up and live there until the lease is up and at the same time learn a valuable lesson for the future.

2. Simply stop paying rent. The landlord will keep your key money. This makes sense if the key money deposit is relatively small, there is a long time left on the lease, and the rent is high.

3. Continuing paying rent until the end of the lease and get your deposit back. This makes sense if there is only a few months left on the lease and your deposit is big.

4. Final option... work out some sort of deal with the landlord to get the rent lower in hopes of attracting a new tennant. For example, let him keep part of the key money in exchange for lowering the rent by 100,000 a month or whatever. Of course the landlord doesn't have to agree to anything like this but it may be worth a shot if you are desperate.