Business History Books » Business Plans » Wedding Disaster: Landlord from Hell
Wedding Disaster: Landlord from Hell
Question:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >Hi Glennia, > I hope to goodness you kept that note he wrote you. I don’t know >whether it’ll be of much help, but you can see if this can be used as part >of a good-faith contract. Also present information about your wedding date >and how this arrangement was known full and well by all parties involved. >If nothing else, this should give you a wee bit of leeway. > My present suggestion is that you actively seek new accommodations >and fast. Check with all your friends and relations to see what can be done >about getting you a place to stay for a month. I’m a firm believer that >we’re only six degrees removed from someone with a solution. Someone _has_ >to know someone else who can rent out a place for a month. Oh yes, see about >renting a storage unit from U-Haul or comparable facility, too. If your >temporary accommodations don’t afford you much room, you can still have most >nonessentials packed up, in storage, and move-ready for October. > Best of luck in having it out with the Landlord!!
I would also think seriously about contacting an attorney!!! Annie & Brian The Larkins (est. September 2, 1995) "’Tisn’t life that matters! "Tis the courage you bring to it." — Hugh Walpole
Response:
According to what we were told was written in the note, the landlord did not agree to any date, but specifically stated that occupancy was based on 30 days at a time. The landlord gave notice that he wants the property in 30 days. It’s not his concern if it’s inconvenient for the tenant. The landlord has the right to his property.
Response:
>Here’s one for the annals of wedding disasters: Our landlord just gave us >a 30 day notice to move out of our house. The move out date is one day >before our wedding!!
<snips about agreements between landlord and tenants> >Last Thursday, we got a voice message and a handwritten notice from him >saying he was sorry, but the family he wanted to rent to was just served a >notice to move from their house on Sept. 1, so we had to be out by August >31. They had previously agreed to Oct. 1 when it was shown to them.
You have to ask yourself, _why_ do these people (the new tenants) have to vacate their premises sooner than expected? Does the landlord really want them that badly that he can’t find tenants who will move in on the Original date? So sorry to hear of your dilema! I had my runaround with landlords too, not fun at all! Perhaps you can move into your new place earlier? or another place? I hope you get to have your honeymoon (if not when you wanted it, at least sometime!) Good Luck, Valorie (& Rob) 8/31/96 http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/1299/wedding.html
Response:
>Here’s one for the annals of wedding disasters: Our landlord just gave us >a 30 day notice to move out of our house. The move out date is one day >before our wedding!! >My fiancee is on a temporary assignment at my company. He was scheduled >to go back to Hewlett Packard in May, but his assignment was extended >through the end of September. Our lease expired at the end of May. We >notified the landlord’s agent in writing that we wanted to stay through >the end of Sept. Instead of giving us a written lease extension, he >wrote a note back saying that we would go to a month-to-month lease. It >was our understanding that Sept. 30 was okay with him, since he knew about >our wedding plans.
The key is "month to month." That means either party can end the deal with 30 days written notice. If you take a deep breath, I’m sure you realise that, legally, the fact that you’re getting married on 9/1 means absolutely nothing. Hindsight would dictate that you made the big mistake when you agreed to the month to month deal. Or, HE made the mistake when he let you have it. He is probably thinking he should have put you out in May when he found out you were not willing to sign another year lease–would have been a lot less trouble. But the law doesn’t deal in hindsight, right? He let YOU change the deal when he agreed to let you go month to month. Now HE wants to change the deal and you’re pitching a fit. What’s good for the goose . . . As you well know, people’s circumstances change, and a month to month lease leaves the deal open to re-negotiation every 30 days. The landlord has no legal obligation to you other than to give you that 30 days notice. As a lawyer, you know that the law has no obligation to be "nice." I think that the rules for eviction DO favor the tenant in the event of non-payment during the term of the lease. But in your case, the lease is not broken, it is terminated. In your case the landlord holds most of the cards. I believe, since he gave you valid notice that you have no more agreement as of 9/1, that he can lay claim to any of your property left in HIS house after 9/1. That’s a standard clause in most rental agreements. Having practiced landlord/tenant law, you know that it’s all about money. In real estate, "nice" people go broke. When you told your landlord that you were moving, you virtually obligated him to find someone else. Your "promises" to help him find a tenant and/or to pay for the month(s) the house was vacant are not binding under a month to month lease. He really has no option, but to go with the "sure thing." IE: the family that is willing to sign a long term lease. It may be *nice* of him to turn away a prospective tenant so you don’t have to move the day before your wedding, but from a business standpoint, it’s also foolish. I’m no lawyer, but I came up on the short end of a similar situation a few years ago. Had to do some fancy dancing to find a place for my stuff in time. Everyone I talked to then said I was better off to just take my medicine and get out. The "correct" thing to do would have been to renew your lease. Then give 30 days notice and move out at your convenience. It would have cost you some–but probably less than your present situation will cost, and you’d have been insured a place to live > We >explained (AGAIN) that we were getting married on Sept. 1, and not moving >to California until Oct. 1, so there was no way we could move.
Inconvenient does NOT equal impossible, you know that. I live in a college town. Leases here typically renew August 1. Leases are also frequently broken when students graduate and move away. It is rare for a landlord to get anything more than the deposit and last month’s rent even though the property may frequently remain vacant for 3 – 4 months until the start of the next term. Even though the lease OBLIGATES the renter for payments for the entire year, the financial reality of collecting from a tenant who has flown the coop makes it impractical. It won’t be a popular viewpoint in this group, I suppose, but in the final analysis, it sounds to me like you shot yourself in the foot when you tried to save losing your deposit plus last months rent by going month to month, instead of paying the piper and breaking your lease in October. Although you may deny it, my guess is that, were the situation reversed and YOU were faced with the possibility of being stuck with an empty property you could not fill for a month or more, you’d do exactly the same thing. –Al If I can help it, I’ll never rent again.
Response:
> Here’s one for the annals of wedding disasters: Our landlord just gave us > a 30 day notice to move out of our house. The move out date is one day > before our wedding!! > My fiancee is on a temporary assignment at my company. He was scheduled > to go back to Hewlett Packard in May, but his assignment was extended > through the end of September. Our lease expired at the end of May. We > notified the landlord’s agent in writing that we wanted to stay through > the end of Sept. Instead of giving us a written lease extension, he > wrote a note back saying that we would go to a month-to-month lease.
Hi Glennia, I hope to goodness you kept that note he wrote you. I don’t know whether it’ll be of much help, but you can see if this can be used as part of a good-faith contract. Also present information about your wedding date and how this arrangement was known full and well by all parties involved. If nothing else, this should give you a wee bit of leeway. My present suggestion is that you actively seek new accommodations and fast. Check with all your friends and relations to see what can be done about getting you a place to stay for a month. I’m a firm believer that we’re only six degrees removed from someone with a solution. Someone _has_ to know someone else who can rent out a place for a month. Oh yes, see about renting a storage unit from U-Haul or comparable facility, too. If your temporary accommodations don’t afford you much room, you can still have most nonessentials packed up, in storage, and move-ready for October. Best of luck in having it out with the Landlord!! -Jay ( ( .–="There’s always time for a good cup of coffee."=–. _______ )) )) | Jay D. Dyson – Administrator, Alt.Wedding Home Page | >====<–. C|~~|C|~~| |—–= http://www.point-2-point.com/altwedding =—–| | = |-’
Response:
Here’s one for the annals of wedding disasters: Our landlord just gave us a 30 day notice to move out of our house. The move out date is one day before our wedding!! My fiancee is on a temporary assignment at my company. He was scheduled to go back to Hewlett Packard in May, but his assignment was extended through the end of September. Our lease expired at the end of May. We notified the landlord’s agent in writing that we wanted to stay through the end of Sept. Instead of giving us a written lease extension, he wrote a note back saying that we would go to a month-to-month lease. It was our understanding that Sept. 30 was okay with him, since he knew about our wedding plans. Last month the agent, Phil Deming, called us to say that he wanted to show the place to rent on Sept. 1, because it would be easier to rent the place before school starts (it’s in a really good school district). We explained (AGAIN) that we were getting married on Sept. 1, and not moving to California until Oct. 1, so there was no way we could move. He later said the landlord agreed to let us stay, if we would let them start advertising and showing the place now for an Oct. 1 move-in. We agreed. Last Thursday, we got a voice message and a handwritten notice from him saying he was sorry, but the family he wanted to rent to was just served a notice to move from their house on Sept. 1, so we had to be out by August 31. They had previously agreed to Oct. 1 when it was shown to them. I was just livid. We’re planning to have family members stay with us (it’s a large house) and a backyard barbecue for our rehearsal dinner. Now, if we have to move in the middle of all this planning, we’ll have to put people in hotels, change our rehearsal dinner plans, and try to pack up the week before the wedding, which is a logistical nightmare. We’ve even had to cancel our honeymoon trip to the Carribean because of this schmuck. We’re moving from Texas to California in October, so we’ll have to find a place to move for ONE MONTH or live in a hotel (who can afford that?). I am so upset! I’m calling a lawyer on Monday to see if there is anything we can do. I used to practice Landlord/Tenant law in NY, and know that people can holdover for quite a while before an actual eviction can take place, but this does not seem like a good solution, because if we lose, we might have to pay attorney’s fees, spend the next month in court, etc. people who are supposed to move in to see if they would be willing to move in a week or two after the first. If anyone is moving to or within Austin, TX, please do not use Deming Realty. This man does not know how to keep his word, and his only justification is that he "doesn’t want the landlord’s cashflow interrupted." We told him that we don’t either, and would make every effort to help them find a suitable tenant. We both work for large corporations that are constantly relocating people in and out. We even offered to pay rent after we leave if he can’t find a tenant for a month or two, but he declined. Sorry for the vent, but I just don’t know what to do. Even though I’m a lawyer, I just can’t do another thing right now, so the prospects of going to court are not appealing. This, on top of the wedding, the move to California (away from my family and friends) and finding a new job…What’s next? I hope I’m not pregnant!!! =:0 Any have any ideas short of a serious bodily harm? Thanks, Glennia (and Frank) (hopefully) 9/1/96