"Under Wisconsin law, renters are responsible for fulfilling the terms of their lease -- even after death."

So the body has to sit in the apartment until the lease expires?

Oh god, that's horrible.

Note that he's willing to live in another of their properties, just not THAT one. They really should have taken him up on that; this sort of dickhood is a good way to lose the entire student customer base.

Now that the situation has gotten publicity the management company will probably HAVE to let him move.
FOLLOW UP in 5 4 3 2.......

Well you have to see their side of it. You wouldn't want people murdering their SOs just to get out of a lease. Blood stains are hell to remove from a carpet.

abb3w: They really should have taken him up on that; this sort of dickhood is a good way to lose the entire student customer base.

Actually, I think my sister is moving into that building in August... although I'm pretty sure she signed her lease before the murder occurred.

My mother was worried about it briefly, then she realized that it's probably the safest block in town right now.

quickdraw: Well you have to see their side of it. You wouldn't want people murdering their SOs just to get out of a lease. Blood stains are hell to remove from a carpet.

There is a point there. Or murdering people in general, not just their SOs. That could become a desperate point.

"Listen, I can't give you your deposit back until your girlfriend's restless soul is out of the apartment. It's supposed to be empty and broom-clean."

Wait, wait, wait...so he killed her?

FTFA: Russ Endres, owner of Wisconsin Management, declined to say if Jordan Gonnering would be forced to fulfill the final 16 months of his lease. Gonnering found his 21-year-old fiancee, Brittany Zimmerman, murdered on April 2nd and Madison police are still looking for her killer.

Endres says he wants to talk to Gonnering about the situation.

But UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam says her office is authorized to represent the student and they've been unsuccessful in convincing Wisconsin Management to allow Gonnering to break the lease.

She says Gonnering said he's willing to live in another one of the company's properties until his lease runs out in August 2009. Just not the one where his fiancee was murdered.

This sounds more like the two just need to sit down and have a chat. Nice misleading headline, subby. ;)

That sucks. Poor guy's already going through enough.

Ms.Maus: This sounds more like the two just need to sit down and have a chat. Nice misleading headline, subby. ;)

But if you bold the OTHER stuff...

But UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam says her office is authorized to represent the student and they've been unsuccessful in convincing Wisconsin Management to allow Gonnering to break the lease.

Under Wisconsin law, renters are responsible for fulfilling the terms of their lease -- even after death. Endres says his company must treat its thousands of renters fairly and equally.

It's not conclusive, but there is reason to think the landlord may be holding him to it.

Who signs a 2 year lease?

Default on the lease.

Wait to be sued, then counter sue.

WIN BIG.

Sounds like the landlord has a bright future working with Wal-Mart.

Id live there. Once the blood was cleaned out. At a slight discount. AS long as it wasnt likely to happen again.

Under Wisconsin law, renters are responsible for fulfilling the terms of their lease -- even after death.

doesn't the smell detract from neighboring renters during the center?

CheekyMunky:
It's not conclusive, but there is reason to think the landlord may be holding him to it.

The parts that stuck out at me the most was that the owner wants to speak to the fiance and that the fiance is willing to live in another unit.

It looks like the Dean of Students office is making things harder than it needs to be.

Unknown_Poltroon: Id live there. Once the blood was cleaned out. At a slight discount. AS long as it wasnt likely to happen again.

Well, statistically speaking, the chances of someone getting murdered in that apartment again are very very low.

/I know statistics don't work that way.

kmt11

Who signs a 2 year lease?

Brooklynites who want to avoid gentrification catching up with rent cost, or students perhaps? Move-in fees and whatnot is expensive and a hassle.

Jeff Dahmer
Ed Gein

Wisconsin is a farked up state, man.

Why hasn't he or the family filed suit against the apartment complex for lack of safety features?

lajimi: Now that the situation has gotten publicity the management company will probably HAVE to let him move.
FOLLOW UP in 5 4 3 2.......

Publicity. The only remaining power of the people. At least until Jan 2009.

Damn shame what they did to that dog...


/not obscure

ultraholland: This is the place I was telling you about. It's real farked up. Got just one window facing a brick wall. Used to rent it to a blind man... damn shame what they did to that dog.

fark you

Ms.Maus:
This sounds more like the two just need to sit down and have a chat. Nice misleading headline, subby. ;)

I live two blocks away from this so I am getting a kick out of these replies... But really, the management is treating these people horribly. The rest of the tenants are considering a rent strike.

This happened to a friend of mine in Denver. He owned a townhome that he was renting out to this young woman. One night My friend was watching TV and saw his townhome on the news. It turns the young woman's got all roid rage on her and went after her with a knife. He was taken down by sniper fire from across the way. He had to reaplce the carpet, the dishwasher, and stove (bullet holes). He also had to seal the floors and destroy the carpet (it was considered a bio hazard). He got lucky though, the boyfriend didn't die until he was out of the townhome so he didn't have to declare that someone was killed there.

Same thing happened to the Colorado State kicker that was stabbed outside his apartment. He wanted out of the complex, but they wouldn't do it.

Damn, that management company is colder than she is.

/One ticket, first class please

This is why you should read everything you sign.

GBmanNC: fark you


Yes, yes! Fark you too!

Endres says his company must treat its thousands of renters fairly and equally.

God forbid that anyone should be allowed to use descretion in a truly extreme case.

/By the time it hits Fark common sense will look good in retrospect

knock a candle over...you will get to move. so will your neighbors...

Did he get an "A" in all is college classes that semester?

Never sign a 2 year lease. You never know if your landlord is a farking dick or not.

If all fails, cause a fire "accident". If your apartment isn't habitable anymore, then the lease breaks.

Ms.Maus:
The parts that stuck out at me the most was that the owner wants to speak to the fiance and that the fiance is willing to live in another unit.

From my own experience, when a "Property Management Company" wants to "discuss" a dispute, they mean "we want to tell the tenant to suck our dicks, or we'll sue them fourteen ways from sunday".

There are some really ruthless hardasses working for corporate landlords out there. Their job is to play hardball with tenants and never give an inch even if they're clearly in the wrong (legally or morally). After all, most tenants don't have the resources for a protracted legal battle, or they wouldn't be renting, would they?

My lease in Virginia has an entire clause for death of a tenant.

Basically states that if a tenant dies, we have 30 days to announce to the landlord that we want to terminate the lease, and from there, we have up to 3 months to leave, and we are responsible for all fees until the property is turned back over to the landlord.

I'm surprised his lease doesn't have something similar, I wonder if he even has a clause for the death of a tenant.

DoBeDoBeDo: This is why you should read everything you sign.

-And how the hell would that be applicable to this situation!? 'Oh look Honey, if one of us is murdered the other will have to live with the ghastly memory of death echoing from the walls til the lease is up. Lets's look somewhere else.'

More about the murder here if anyone is interested.

http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/17294029.html

Same kind of story when I found my best friend dead (heart defect) 6 months ago. I could go to another building they owned but as for getting out of the contract- no dice.

/Oh those crazy legislators in Madison.
//Still tear up when I hear PF's "Wish You Were Here" damn it.

As a Madison resident, I can tell you that he probably didn't sign a two year lease. There's a huge housing rush starting in November. The lease cycles usually start on August 15 and I've had property managers telling me I should resign as early as October. Back in November, he and his fiance were probably happy with the arrangements and didn't want to move, so they likely added another year on the lease.

Stepqhen: This happened to a friend of mine in Denver. He owned a townhome that he was renting out to this young woman. One night My friend was watching TV and saw his townhome on the news. It turns the young woman's got all roid rage on her and went after her with a knife. He was taken down by sniper fire from across the way. He had to reaplce the carpet, the dishwasher, and stove (bullet holes). He also had to seal the floors and destroy the carpet (it was considered a bio hazard). He got lucky though, the boyfriend didn't die until he was out of the townhome so he didn't have to declare that someone was killed there.

That's one of the reasons I take these sort of stories with a grain of salt. Granted, the rental company should have insurance, and should be law-savy enough to tap-dance around all of it.

But having someone outright killed in an apt. really farks up a lot of stuff. I know if I was in the fiancee's shoes I'd want the same thing. But if I was the rental agent, I'd probably be trying to recoup some of the insane costs to 'fix' the place.

Especially since if the fiancee moves into a different apt. they have to go through all the 'new apt cleaning' rituals, as though he were a new client, and then they have 100% assurance that he will not renew his rental when his tour is over, so it's like they're spotting him 2-3 apts.

He needs to man up and break the lease. Take it to court, get a lawyer, talk to a judge. I'm sure all parties could setle amicably. But all the apt swap is going to do is fark the apt leaser.

God knows the fiancee doesn't want to be there.

Wouldn't there be goths and other freaks waiting in line to move in there?

Have some business sense, kid. Put up an offer on ebay.

Jesus...she kind of looks like my soon to be finance'. We live together now and our lease ends in 38 days...but jesus....

He could probably find a ... sitter, I forget what it's called. It's where you're the renter, but you have someone else take over for you for several months while you're away. They pay you, and the rental agreement is still between you and the property owner, while you pay the property owner. It is at a loss of money of course, as I don't believe it would be legal otherwise. Whatever.

HWF, W/D - can someone please explain to the txt-challenged what this stands for?

Nice one subby, I lol'd.

hard wood floor, washer dryer

Ms.Maus:
This sounds more like the two just need to sit down and have a chat. Nice misleading headline, subby. ;)

That might sound plausible without having any other information on the story. However, it's just not the case here. The fiance may also be stuck covering the costs of repainting and replacing the carpets, although he isn't even a suspect: Link