Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Voyeur]

I paid 5 million Key money and have 3 months left on my lease.

However, if I want to leave before then, what are the usual options?

Am I on the hook for the whole rent and can't get the key money back until the end of the lease? Isn't there a penalty that is less than that?

[i]

This is all 2nd hand, but I thought I was locked in my contract to the day. But I was told the landlord doesn't care about the day. Just if the place has a new tenant. But my case is weeks, not months. If there's someone to take over, they should be ok. But to just leave them in the wind, then there would probably be problems.
Just posted since there are no responses. I am sure someone who really knows 1st hand will come along.

[Voyeur]

Yeah if the landlord gets a new tenant with key money he won't care.

I'm just wondering if there is a way to leave early and get the key money with a penalty like say a month's rent.

[pkang0202]

If you can find someone to take over your contract, no worries.

If you can't find anyone, then the landlord will just subtract the rent you owe from your Key Money. Even then, you may not even get THAT back until someone has rented the room.

So, pretty much the only way to get out of a lease early is to get someone to take over yours.

[Voyeur]

But there is no motivation for them to advertise for a new tenant until the end of the contract.

And they won't give the key money back until they get a new 1 year tenant with key money.

It just seems like I'm stuck.

[Voyeur]

rom other boards it seems like I am stuck until *I" find a new tenant. Anyone done this in the past? Any ideas how I go about that as an English speaker? Any tips? I can get my school to perhaps talk in Korean to the land lord or a real estate agent.

[conbon78]

My husband broke his contract about 8 months early (was on a 2 year one) so he could move in with me. He just called the landlord and explained, she said no problem and had the place rented out in less than a month. Not sure if that's how it always works, but I laughed at how easy it was for him. And his place was crap - so I was surprised anyone would live there.

[CentralCali]

Here's a concept: Read your lease to see what the terms are.

[victorology]

The contract you signed will probably state that...

If you break your contract early, you are still responsible for rent until a new tenant moves in. In addition to this, you will be responsible for the real estate agent fee (usually a few hundred thousand won depending on rent and deposit) the landlord pays to sign the new tenant.

With that said, you should have a talk with your landlord. A lot of times, they will be lenient. A lot of times, they won't. It depends on the person.

[Voyeur]

Thanks for the info. guys.

I'm curious as to how the apartment gets rented out early. Who advertises? The Landolord? You? Where? Who pays?

[Ruthdes]

The people I know who have broken contracts have to pay their rent until a new tenant is found. If the landlord uses an agent to find the new tenant, you have to pay the LL's portion of the agent fee (when an apt is rented out, both the tenant and LL pay a commission to the agent). As a previous poster mentioned, the LL has no real incentive to find a tenant while you're paying rent, so you're better off trying to find one yourself. Why not advertise on the buy and sell forum on this site? Also, Craig's List has a section for rentals. These would be the two main places. If you have a Korean friend who can help you could get them to write an ad for Korean websites to increase your chance of success.

[Goon-Yang]

Go through a realestate agent and they can find someone for you for a fee. The wife and I got out of 2 'contracts' that way. Owner is making $$ he is happy. Not making money=penalty fee.