Cool down period after signing an apartment lease in Louisiana? We just got married in New Zealand and?

returned to Shreveport,LA as my Husband is based here with the U.S.A.F. We went to sign our lease to the apartment he had found us on his return from Iraq. We signed it, walked over, opened the door and it was awful! He then admitted he hadnt had time to be shown through it b4 coming down to NZ to get married and bring me back here. We went away depressed and returned to the office 3 hours later and told them we are not moving in. They said too late you signed the lease...that will be 2 months rent to get out of it...over $1000! Can they do this? Is there no cool down period of 24 hrs after you sign or anything??? I find this morally wrong and quite disgusting. $1000 + ....just to look at their apartment. We have not moved in and are staying with friends. Is this how this counrty treats their soldiers??? Absolutely disgraceful. We are trying to pay off our wedding and have just found out we are pregnant! YAY! Yes we work fast! lol! I guess that happens after a year apart!

Thank you Michael...we are members of pre-paid legal and will be calling them in the morning....to the first person who answered...yes we should have looked first and as I stated I thought he HAD...I was in NZ organising our wedding and he'd just got back from a year in Iraq with mortars dropping in on him every day...so a little bit of a stressfull time....perhaps hence the slip up -cheers for you 2 cents worth though. so helpful.

Im sorry to hear about your situation.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you did sign a lease, which is a legal document. Any agreement that is signed consititutes an agreement by both parties that they fully understand what they are getting into. In this case, I imagine the property management company assumed your husband had toured the apartment before signing the lease.

You may want to try finding someone to sublease rather than pay the $1,000 to terminate your lease. Hope this helps!!

Good Luck!!

I find it hard to believe anyone would sign before seeing the place.
I think you should just swallow this one as a learning experience.
D'oh!

And that "3 day cooling off period" raises it's ugly head once again. Unless that lease specifically gives you a 3 day period to cancel, you are stuck with the terms of the lease. Most contracts do not have such a clause.

If someone comes to your home selling something, you have 3 days to cancel. But that is pretty much the ONLY time you have that option once you sign a legal contract.

Frankly, I am offended that you bring up your husband's military status to extract sympathy. He didn't bother to look at the place, but even worse YOU didn't bother to look at it BEFORE you signed that lease.

Your only legal way out of that lease is if your husband gets order transferring him to another base.

Typically you have 3 days in most contracts to back out regardless of what they say. You need to seek an Attorney on this and also put it in writing and have it notarized if necessary to prove you gave them notice within the 3 day period you were backing out of the lease within the 3 day window. If these people are bottom feeders you may just need to have an Attorney call them and tell them like it is. Also contact your States attorneys office about the place.