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@constantorbit@hachyderm.ioThis may be a Boston (MA USA) specific rental question, but: my lease renews in Oct and my landlord asked if I'm staying another year & yes I am, BUT it's very likely I will move before the lease is fully up (e.g. next summer)
I'm undecided if I should say anything and see if she would go for a mo-to-mo. I'm inclined NOT to, I doubt she will have any trouble finding a new tenant if I leave early (I would give her multiple month's notice). Anything I'm not thinking of here?
@constantorbit Ask for a 9 month lease.
@Heidiknits Well, the wrinkle is I'm not 100% sure I'm going, nor exactly when. But I think she's be flexible. And honestly, me leaving earlier would help her a little bit, maybe, because it would shift the lease onto the more typical schedule around here. Hmm.
Let me go look more closely at what my current lease says about early termination.
@constantorbit Yeah, that's probably the best place to start. When I was renting many years ago our landlord refused month to month or a 6 month lease but was happy to sign an 9 month lease. We left a month early but still paid.
@constantorbit I'm with @Heidiknits . There's no reason a lease need be a year long. It can be any length you set as long as you and your landlord are in agreement.
And on the plus side, doing a 9-month lease would put a stake in the ground for me having a schedule as to when I move! 
It'll be an exciting move but a bit anxiety-provoking too...
@constantorbit @Heidiknits You can reduce the anxiety by planning ahead. If she agrees, you'll have a whole 9 months to prepare.
And probably easier to extend a 9-month by a month if I need to, instead of being possibly on the hook for more months.
The one variable I'm thinking of is that Boston area rental market is SO tight, that's why I don't worry too much about being on the hook. But yeah I'm probably better off... hmm...
on the other hand... 
there's also no external schedule that says when I NEED to move, other then me just wanting to do it sooner than later (but not sooner than the summer)
I could stay here until October. 3 months won't make a huge difference. I think. Hmm.
Woohoo. Sat down and did some planning, asked my landlord for a 10-month lease and she said yes! W00t!
(which means I have now also put a stake in the ground as to when I'm moving back to California! 
)
@constantorbit @Heidiknits @somcak It's ten months away. You can always change your mind. 
Changing my mind ain't gonna happen.
Or at least, I think the chances of that are very very very very... very small.
(and in a funny coincidence, yesterday one of my best friends here on the east coast--who I thought was *completely* rooted in Massachusetts--said she also thinks she wants to move to California soon. And same area!)
@constantorbit @LilPecan @Heidiknits that's awesome!
We just signed a 2 year lease for no rent increase as I have a 4 year contract here for work.
@constantorbit read your current lease to see if you'd still be on the hook for the rent if you leave early. This hit us last year in Connecticut, when we had to buy out our lease to leave early. We left 4 months early so that was a huge cost. Our lease here in Ohio has the same clause.
@somcak Yes, I'm going to do that today.
@constantorbit
I’d think month to month would probably end up costing you even more than a 1 year lease you can’t cut short. If necessary you might also be able to sublet for the summer after your move. But another thing to consider is the academic calendar, which drives a lot of the rental market around here. Your landlord might actually prefer a lease that comes open in August or September.
@mcmullin Yup -- that would make me nervous. And I just asked my landlord if she would do a 10-month and she said yes! Woohoo!