lease purchase

I have a question I am in a lease purchase home but can not get a mortgage now due to the mortgage crisis. my lease states that I have to give 30days written notice which I have done that I can not obtain a mortgage and will vacate the property but they now are trying to demand I have to continue to pay etc, I understand I have to pay for the 30 more days but didn't think I had to after that time was paid for. Am I legally responsible for paying after the 30days?

Was your lease a term lease? Did it have a beginning and ending date? Normally the lease and the sales contract are considered seperately. You have notified them that you could no longer buy the property, effectively ending the sales contract. But has your lease ended? Please give your state- this has some bearing on what you will be responsible for.

State is PA and it had a date of june 30th 2008 for the purchase to be completed but they gave me til july to see if I could get the financing and I could not so I have them written notice which it states they needed 30days notice if I was terminating which I am and I know that I have to pay for that 30days but after that I assume I do not have to continue to pay since I have honored the 30 day written notice and have vacated the home.

Thank you for responding.

The sales paperwork had a purchase date of 6/30, but what were the dates on the lease itself? Begining and ENDING dates? If you have not reached the ending date on the lease, you still may not terminate with 30 days notice. PA law says the LL has NO duty to try and re-rent the unit. IF the lease has not ended yet, you are still on the hook for rent, whether or not you can buy the place or have given your 30 days notice. When did your lease begin, how long was it for, and when does it end?

It was for 16months starting 2/1/07 ending 6/30/08 so the lease date is over and I gave them 30days written notice as well. Am I still obligated to continue to pay after the 30days since the lease has expired? going to try and have a real estate lawyer take a look at the documents in case they try to do a holdover, etc.

Thank you again for repsonding

So you are now a month to month tenant. The only other thing you need to know is if your state is a term state or a day for day (literal day) state. Read the state statutes on notices to see when your notice must be given. Some states (term states) say your 30 day notice must coincide with the rent due date and end at the end of the rental month. If you give it at some other point in the month, it doesn't take effect until the next time rent is due. (If rent is due the first, and you give notice the 2nd, it doesn't take effect until the next month - leaving you owing for another 30 days of rent).

Other states, literal day states, start counting the 30 days from the day you give notice, no matter when in the month it happens. You could pay a prorated month for just the days until the end of the 30 days here.

Read the statutes and find out which your state falls under.