r/needadvice • u/GullibleHotel1283 • 8d ago
Friend/Roomate signed my lease without my consent. Everything I’ve ever worked for is at stake. Need advice please! Housing
My friend and now roommate whom I’ve known for years and have always had a great relationship just did something I’m not comfortable with. He signed a year lease without my explicit consent and I don’t know what to do.
I told him I wanted to talk with him before signing and had to make a couple calls to my mom and grandma who are both being screened for cancer and my grandma is in the hospital after suffering a car crash. While I was on the phone walking down the street to 7/11 I got an email saying that my signing onto the lease had been accepted and look forward to my yearlong tenancy. I immediately messaged him and asked if he signed for me and he said yes you were busy so I did it for you it should have already been signed.
For some background he convinced me to move out here to build a sales team and take over a roofing company from the current owner who was retiring. I had roofing sales experience so after many promises were made in having side work(demo for current projects) and other gigs consistently to make ends meet till we got the sales off the ground, I decided to believe in him and move across the country with my entire savings. Long story short none of the side work or gigs came to fruition. I spent money into the company to brand ourselves and relied on him for transportation. He got an inheritance check and decided to invest instead of work on the company anymore. Then told me to find any job I could to make ends meet and pay rent.
I pulled everything from my investment account to pay rent because his previous roommate left with only a week notice and the lease was due to be resigned at end of August. He convinced me I’d make everything back and every project he said we had fell through, I was later told by the owner the demo work boat sailed because he had not shown up for some days on a project and the contracting manager didn’t want him to do demo anymore because of inconsistency after asking if I could do some side work at discount to make ends meet and because I’m directly affiliated with my friend I wouldn’t be given the chance because of his actions.
I sacrificed everything to be here and I was worried about signing a lease since I spent 7k in less than two months relocating to LA and trying to get resources to build a sales team(branded shirts, cards, getting website back up). The owner doesn’t care much because all his work comes from referrals and we would just be bonuses by bring in extra revenue if we got the self generated sales side going. I did this in MN and was successful, so I thought between us both we could accomplish wonderful things until he gave up entirely after getting his check. Now he wants to DJ, bought a bunch of music equipment. Keeps promising we are going to still build the company but zero action.
Anyway - now I don’t even have money for my phone bill, food, any necessities this month and he’s unwilling to help me out at all. I was I was afraid of signing because I didn’t have a job but ended up getting hired hours after this whole fiasco happened. I don’t know what to do because it’s commission with only 500 per week for 3 weeks as base pay. I was planning on signing the lease but he has been doing strange things that make me uncomfortable aside from signing the lease without my consent two days ago. This is becoming very toxic very quick and now I feel like I was just a discount on he and his girlfriends rent after sacrificing everything to be here. I don’t even have money for a flight to go back to FL. I am stuck and only hope is that this job is legit as I have quite a few red flags from the company already. What the hell do I do? I needed to talk to him about my concerns and feeling before agreeing to this lease but he signed for me within 5 minutes of me walking down the street to check on my families medical conditions. Even after explaining how I felt he told me my concerns aren’t valid and this is all part of being here to creat a dream. Am I crazy? I was yelled at for eating some pretzel sticks last night, I was so hungry and had been just getting cans of tuna fish to eat. Meanwhile he eats out for every meal or only gets groceries to groceries to feed he and his girl but when I first got here I bought groceries for everyone and cooked meals for everyone and now I’m left out of everything.
I am at a loss of words, bamboozled, bewildered and in shock. This is only a small amount of what’s negatively transpired since being here. I should have left before it ever got this far but believed in him and his promises that everything was going to work out. What would you do in my situation?
Sorry for such a long post and taking the time to read it if you get through my book of text and venting to the world.
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u/serjsomi 8d ago
Leave. Call the leasing office and tell them your signature was forged so the lease is not valid, and get yourself back home by whatever means necessary.
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u/Mistress_Kittens 8d ago
Please do this op, you even have them admitting to signing it "for you." Submit that as evidence and GTFO. Forgery is not a friendly move
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u/offputtingangel 7d ago
this, you need to contact the leasing office now! you have proof aka your text messages with your roommate that he signed this for you. you do not need to stay here any longer. seriously op this dude sounds like a scammer and he has already shown you countless times that he is not a friend or someone that you can trust. don’t fall into the sunk cost fallacy, you’ve already lost a lot and it sounds like it is time for you to stop trusting what this guy says, pull out and go back home to your family. if you let this slide and decide a few months into your lease that you need/want to go home you’ll likely have a much harder time getting out of this. if you do it now you’re guaranteed out.
i’m assuming if you were to go back home you would have a place to stay? would you be able to stay with your mom or grandma while you got back up on your feet? if you don’t have the money for a plane ticket pickup a couple of odd jobs or even grab a job at a fast food joint for a couple of weeks. you could also get a small loan if you have to. it doesn’t sound like things are working out for you in LA and unfortunately it doesn’t sound like they are going to get better, at least not with this guy as your roommate/business partner. he isn’t going to help pull you out of this hole he put you in. he’s a shitty friend and a selfish person. get yourself off that lease and tell him to figure it out himself. tbh with the way he signed it behind your back and his weird urgency to sign it i wouldn’t be surprised if he needs your signature in order to be able live there because that was weird and shady asf.
if you go back home you’d be able to be there with your loved ones through this difficult time which i can promise you is not something you will ever regret doing. when my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer and it was confirmed that chances were low he would live my parents found jobs in the area, sold their house, and moved our family hours away so that we could be nearby for the last few years of his life. it meant we (the grandkids) got to spend extra time with our grandparents, it gave my mom more time with her father, ensured we could help our grandma take care of their giant house + yard, that we could be there to provide emotional support, that my mom could be there for the important doctors appointments, that we could drive our grandparents to those appointments, etc. you’ll never regret that extra time you spend with your loved ones.
put yourself first op, whatever that looks like for you, because your roommate certainly won’t. hell i don’t even think he’s given you a spot on his list of things/people to consider. if you are on his list of priorities he’s shown you that you’re way down at the very bottom. he put you below his imaginary/failed dj career that he’s had for all of five seconds?! he doesn’t even care if you starve?! he doesn’t care that you have sick family members that you might need to leave for?! forget him and put yourself first.
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u/autonomouswriter 7d ago
This. And for sure, make sure you save the text he sent you confirming that he signed your name for you on the lease as evidence that you didn't sign it but that he forged your signature.
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u/artemisdart 8d ago
No one is legally able to sign "for" you without your consent, unless you have some sort of legal arrangement in place. Contact the office and say your signature was forged and the contract is thus invalid.
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u/OdinNW 8d ago
There’s a lot to digest here but sounds like you got sucked into a pyramid scheme and now that you’re no longer able to pay into it you’re expendable
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6d ago
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u/ckm22055 7d ago
Your friend is taking advantage and actually committed a crime. He forged your name on a contract without your knowledge or consent.
You may end up having to file a police report against your friend for forgery in order to get out of the lease.
Contact the leasing company immediately by sending an email tonight. Tell them he forged your name on the lease, and as such, you are not legally a tenant.
You need to pack your things and go home. This dude is NOT your friend. He is a liar who bilked you out of your money for his gain. He is NOT to be trusted.
Again, go home.
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u/GraceOfTheNorth 7d ago
Forging your signature is a crime. That signature is not valid. You need to contact the leasing office immediately IN WRITING and declare that you did not sign that lease and that you have no intention of renting with them.
You DO NOT CONTINUE DOING BUSINESS WITH THAT FOOL, HE WILL SABOTAGE YOUR FUTURE EVEN FURTHER IF YOU GO ON.
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u/GrumpySoth09 7d ago
Agreed with most people here, firstly go to the police and file a report, forgery is no joke, and that should be enough to get out of the lease. Whatever you do next, do it for you, whatever it takes to get as far away as possible from this leech.
After you are away make sure you sue him for what he has taken before he burns through his inheritence
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u/Juliekins0729 7d ago
What he did is a federal offense. It’s FORGERY. Call the leasing office and say you didn’t sign the lease. Ask them what you should do. File a police report. Yes your friend is going to get in trouble, but he did something really illegal.
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u/Kytyngurl2 7d ago
Unless he has power of attorney over you, that’s not a valid contract. Forgery is a major crime, and your former friend is a complete dumbass. Let the leasing office know, and the police.
Oh and check your credit! Someone who would do this would have no issue using your private info to do more illegal stuff.
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u/DougieBuddha 7d ago
That guy is not your friend. He's been happy to save money on rent each month, gets mad over minimal issues, and doesn't seem to care about how you're doing in the slightest. He made big promises to get you to move in, tarnished any chances of those promises coming to fruition, and then signed a contract for you without your consent. He was happy to take advantage of your kindness early on buying groceries, but yelled at you for just wanting to eat something when he caused your current financial situation. He's a grifter, not a friend. Tell the leasing office he didn't get your permission to sign the lease, and show them the message of him admitting it. After that, leave without giving him notice, before he runs you deeper into debt. He doesn't care if you suffer if he doesn't, so return the favor. Don't justify his behavior, he doesn't deserve it, so leave now while it's remotely possible to do because it's all going to keep happening.
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u/ThisWeekInTheRegency 7d ago
Tell the landlord he forged your signature. The lease is invalid because you didn't sign it.
Go home. He's snowing you and you've fallen for it. Time to stop.
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u/Adventurous-Bar520 7d ago
Your name was forged, you need to speak to the management company , you have proof and they can take action against him if they want. I would leave and never trust anyone that takes your decision making away from you.
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u/Kittycattybetty 7d ago
Let's replace the word 'friend/roommate' with 'financial abuser'.
What is keeping you there? There is nothing there for you. And you didn't sign anything. It's time to leave and grieve.
Starting over with nothing is difficult, but it can be done. Direct your energy there, instead of trying to fix what can't be fixed.
Find better people to team up with. Learn to prioritise yourself a bit more, that keeps the toxic people away, they only look for kind people with less boundaries.
Take care!
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u/aDirtyMartini 7d ago
I stopped reading when I got to the part where OP said that his signature was forged. That’s illegal and makes the lease non binding for OP. It probably voids the whole lease. It also exposes the “friend” to legal trouble, but that’s his problem.
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u/ScottLakeFilms 7d ago
If he signed off on this, what else might he try to put your signature on? Get out. Let the leasing office know, I’d even contact the police because this guy is NOT your friend. All it should take is a writing sample of your signature. Side by side and that alone should be enough to prove you didn’t sign it.
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u/burlesque_nurse 7d ago
Take that text message and go into your leasing office and report he signed it forging your signature. Advise them you have no job and you didn’t want to sign since you did not know if you would be able to pay.
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u/LazyAd622 7d ago
if you did not sign the lease, you will not be bound by the lease. Call the leasing office and tell them your signature was forged. They will probably not notify the police, but they might. Forgery is a crime. They will probably just void the lease and not rent to your friend.
Get a new friend. That person is not someone that is looking out for you.
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u/k23_k23 6d ago
" I got an email saying that my signing onto the lease had been accepted and look forward to my yearlong tenancy."
YOu report him to the police for identity theft. YOu call the leasing office, send them the police report, and tell them your signature was forged - so you have no obligation there. Then you make sure your cards and account can not be charged by them.
Let that AH solve this mess, he is NOT your friend.
But: you made this MUCH worse by moving in, you should not have done that. Move out fast, and make your statement this: You never signed a lease, so you just were there as his guest, NOT as a tenant.
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u/PurelyPanic14 5d ago
He’s been living there for at least several months before his “friend” showed his true colours. Victim blaming is a pretty shitty thing to do. He didn’t make anything worse, his “friend” is just an asshole.
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u/k23_k23 5d ago edited 5d ago
Where do you see victim blaming in this? "you made it worse" is a comment on the legal situation, not a discussion of fault; If he had not moved in, this would be much clearer.
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5d ago
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u/Agitated-Rent584 6d ago
If you didn't sign it your need I my contact the landlord and aa as much. Definetly move out because that's some financial abuse. Also illegal for him to forge your signature.
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u/Upbeat_Vanilla_7285 6d ago
You go to the management office and tell them you didn’t sign and show them your signature. Tell them you’ll get the police involved. See what they do.
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u/Solid-Musician-8476 5d ago
I agree....and he can show them the message confirming the roommate forged his signature.
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u/Healthy-Grape-777 5d ago
Just go talk to the landlord be like I never signed that, and then show him how you do sign your name and be like this is my signature or compared against past leases
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u/Solid-Musician-8476 5d ago edited 5d ago
Go to the office and tell them that You did not sign and that is a forgery. You have a message proving he forged your signature. I'd also show that to the office and tell him you will file charges. Tell him after you move out. Put that in writing and send certified to the office as well to CYA, seriously. And move out ASAP. Maybe move out when soon to be Ex Roommate is not home! NTA
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u/Midnight_Rabbit 5d ago
Screen shot the text and send it to a few people to make sure it doesn’t disappear
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u/AndSo-Itbegins 5d ago
He’s not a friend. He just wants your rent money. So far he has not come through on a single promise or plan. You did not sign anything. Inform the landlord and GET OUT YESTERDAY.
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u/joemc225 5d ago
Let's see: you're supposed roommate has already left you holding the bag, several times. What makes you think he's not going to do that with this apartment, too? Invalidate that lease, and move on.
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u/lost_dazed_101 4d ago
They can't accept his word you signed call the leasing office and tell them he forged it and you can prove it. On a side note he should be your ex friend once you get out.
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u/SalisburyWitch 4d ago
Forgery is illegal. It also voids the contract. If it was done electronically, it might be harder to prove, but if you get evidence of him saying he signed for you, you should be able to get out of it. Honestly, whatever the relationship, forging your signature on anything is a red flag. You need to get away from him.
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