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Young woman looks doubtful as she ponders her future living situation.
The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.
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My niece was told she has to sign a contract to keep living at home—am I overreacting for thinking it’s too harsh?
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Woman presented with a contract to sign.
The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.
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Here's the contract, let's discuss
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Page 1: We see that this is harshly worded, although perhaps no more harshly than most legally binding documents. It's more so the specificity that gives it that parental overtone that feels heavy-handed. It's a contract written up by someone who knows their child/stepchild very well, and wants to do everything possible to keep her in line.
First off, $200 a month rent is ridiculously cheap, so that's great for her. A cell phone fee of $100 is probably reasonable, although she could probably find a cheaper plan on her own for a fraction of the cost.
The caveat of both needing employment and continually applying for jobs is odd. Shouldn't it be one or the other? In general, contracts don't specify how you'll make your rent money in this way, so that's a bit micromanagey. If she wants to laze around while a boyfriend pays her rent or something, would that get her booted out of house and home?
Lots of roommates sign contracts regarding cleaning, so I suppose that's not too unusual. If anything, a $5 “maid fee” sounds like a very low price to pay for other people doing your chores for the day, which could majorly backfire on the stepdad and mom. That means if this girl doesn't want to do any cleaning whatsoever, this contract states that it'll cost her just $5 a day. Currently, a coffee costs like $6 or $8, just to put that in perspective for us all. I mean, would you do all those chores for a measly $5? I think this kid has found a loophole that her parental figures aren't going to appreciate one bit.
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The second page is where things really get overbearing, and this is the real reason why the niece should find other housing, if possible.
There's just no way she'll be able to comply with the rules under #6. The way it's worded leaves far too much leeway for her parents to decide that any friend they've had enough of is suddenly causing her to break the contract.
Unless she plans to only hang out at other people's homes, she'll probably find herself ousted from the home ASAP. The way this is all worded gives the parents ample room to say, “This friend of yours isn't being respectful toward us. Pack your bags!” It seems like the niece would have little in the way of recourse for that. She could be breaking her contract just by allowing a random friend to come over, and I think most of us want our housing situation to be a little more stable than that.
What would you do in this situation? Would you be okay with signing over your social life to your parents, putting your trust in a document they dictated, and deciding that you want to live cheaply under their roof? Or would you push back, pay way more to live on your own, and retain your freedoms?
It's not an easy choice, and I hope this person reports back with the results after they've had a talk with their niece. No matter what she decides to do, she should have a good long think about it before putting her signature on any document.
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Young woman questioning her living circumstances.
The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.
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