Houghton Rentals

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2014/09/04) */
Contact Email: ***@gmail.com
When *** and her husband were ready to renew their lease, beginning of May 2013, she verbally mentioned that they were interested in going month to monthI clearly stated that we were not
interested as this would leave us with an empty property in the middle of the winter and it was not an ideal time to try to rent the placeI emailed her and stated our realtor suggested we could be getting more rent for the place and that a vacancy in the middle of winter was not advantageous for usI explained that if they needed to break the lease early, she would be responsible for any unpaid rent until a new lease was signedI told her that if we successfully rented it for more, after it sat empty, that she would be responsible for the balance of lost rental income only, based upon the end of the lease dateI also offered to have a face to face discussion with her and her husband about any options they might haveShe did not respond to this and went ahead and signed a new lease for months which stated, "They also acknowledge that defaulting on this Rental Agreement could result in a judgment being filed against them and a lien being filed against their current and future assets and/or earnings." Regarding the security deposit, per the lease, "The security deposit is to guarantee the return of the premises to the Landlord in the same or better condition as when accepted by the tenant, reasonable wear expected, and to satisfy any obligations of the Tenant unfulfilled at the termination of this Lease Agreement, as specified hereinIf any provision of this Lease Agreement is violated, the Security Deposit is forfeited." The lease also stated, "Tenant agrees to cooperate with Owner/Agent in showing property to prospective tenant, prior to termination of occupancy." All these provisions are standard and nothing *** and her husband did were considered to be above and beyond the perimeters of the lease or decent behavior
On Friday, November 8th, *** emailed that they would soon be deciding whether to relocate for her husband's employmentI sent no response because it did not require one until it was decided and she stated that she would "touch base with me after their trip and they make their decision." So, I waited
On November, *** again emailed that they had "decided to make the move," and a request for a recommendation/reference letter for their realtor and no exact move-out dateWith Thanksgiving right on our heals, we started to make a plan for showing and re-renting the property and I wrote a letter of recommendation for themBecause *** was having family for Thanksgiving we chose not to list it right awayBecause of the December holidays, we informed *** and husband that we would be listing the property at the first of the yearI also requested a firm move-out dateAgain, *** was not explicit regarding the move-out date and it was left up in the air
At this point, December 3, *** requested to use the security deposit towards December rentThis is prohibited by the leaseI let *** know that it was not possible and the entire December rent needed to be paid, late by this dateStill, there was no firm move-out dateI made some suggestions for listing and showing the property that would accommodate them and their schedules and preferences*** was not happy but mailed a check on December for the rent and stated in an email, "We will be out of town until Wednesday and I will contact you then with further details on showing the property, etc."
I listed the property on Zillow, hoping to avoid extra realtor fees, and I was able to show it maybe half a dozen timesIt was always clean and presentable and easy to work out the showing appointments with ***I did not receive a firm move-out date until two-thirds into JanuaryThat makes it difficult to sign a lease with a new tenantI was forced to tell them it "might" be ready by February 1stAs a result, the place did not rent
At the end of January, *** gave me a final move out date of January At her scheduled final walk-through, Friday, January 31st at 8pm, the property and keys were not ready to be turned over to the landlordShe had not finished cleaning nor completely moved out and planned to stay there that nightWe made arrangements with her to leave some furniture that her husband would collect in a few weeks after making an appointment to meet us there to let him enter the premisesApparently, *** kept a copy of the key and he let himself in without honoring the arrangement to collect their furniture
On February 1, I hired a realtor to show the propertyIt finally rented on March This of course incurred a fee, which I might have avoided in the spring once the lease was up and *** had vacatedI did not expect *** to pay this fee but it would have been easier to rent in June than in January/February
I hired Stanley Steamer to shampoo carpets and steam clean the wood floorsI paid this expense as well
The carpet on the stairs and landing had been destroyed by her catsI was able to shop around and find the same carpeting for replacement and avoid having to recarpet the entire propertyI got estimates from two local places and took the least expensive after negotiating $This took ten days to work out
I had to hire a cleaning lady to thoroughly clean the place after they left and before the realtor could show it, $for hours of cleaningThe appliances were not cleaned and the master bathroom tub was filthyThey did not honor the lease which stated, "return of the premises to the Landlord in the same or better condition as when accepted by the tenant, reasonable wear expected..." The entire property had been newly renovated when they took possession of the property in May The place was pristine at that time
The property sat empty the month of February and the first week of MarchAccording to the lease, the total rent for that period was $
We allowed them to move in with two cats and then, after the fact, they announced they had a new puppyOf course we were concerned, but we assumed they would be responsible and would considerateThey wereMy own children often went over to take care of their cats when *** was out of town
They were late with the rent on occasion and we were understandingThey never took advantage of our patience and we felt it was a good relationship
We were sorry to see *** and her husband leaveGenerally, they were very good tenants
In the end, the lease was signed but not honoredThe security deposit was forfeited because the lease was violatedHonestly, if we had successfully rented the property immediately, I still would have expected *** to pay for the replacement carpeting and cleaningAs it stands, *** still owes $for unpaid rent, carpet, and cleaning after violating the leaseI emailed her and clearly explained the chargesWe have no interest in seeking these damages or demanding paymentWe only wanted to part as friends
I understood that her husband stayed longer in Illinois continuing to workIn essence, they could have stayed longer and honored the lease which they chose to sign, but they did what was convenient for them, not necessarily what they were obligated to do and what they had agreed to doThey could have stayed until the place was rentedI understand their concerns and their disappointmentI have no hard feelings or resentment about the financial losses we felt because of their choicesThey did what they wanted to doWe worked with them and tried to accommodate them with feelings of friendshipI realize *** was pregnant and that poses issues of its ownMy sister was dying of cancer and passed away at the beginning of MayMy daughter was in the hospital for a few days in February and is still undergoing intensive medical treatmentsWe also have issues that complicate lifeI only hope that *** can accept that we don't always get what we wantSometimes, we get what we need