No scratch that. I have met dumber.
Mrs. Spring is either the most naive person alive or she has one heck of a superiority complex.
Wednesday she told Carolsue she mailed her rent payment last week. She then called me and told me her husband mailed it. Note to tenants playing this game: keep your story straight.
But, let's back up. Mrs. Spring actually called me on Wednesday to tell me she was breaking her lease. She found a lovely mobile home in the country and they would be out October 1. A month before her lease expired. And, just to soften the blow, she volunteered that she was planning on paying September's rent as well.
I said, "Let's see if we can work something out...." and was cut off twice before I could complete my sentence. Each time Mrs. Spring said, they had already found a place and weren't changing their mind.
I was ok with that. But the rest of my sentence was "... about refunding your security deposit." I never got there.
Because Mrs. Spring's lease was up in November, and she was hell-bent on leaving in October, I was willing to refund her deposits if she would leave the place clean and let me show it the last two weeks of the month. That's all. I just didn't want to start the cleaning/showing process in October--closer to Christmas.
What I did tell Mrs. Spring was to kindly put her notice into an e-mail. I figured I would hit her up later about the security deposit refund. Mrs. Spring did put her thoughts into words. And that's when we ran into trouble.
Mrs. Spring wrote me that she wanted to use her security deposit for her September's rent so that they could "pay our first month's rent to our (new) landlord."
In case you missed that: they want to NOT PAY ME, so they can stay current with their new landlord.
The first several drafts of my e-mail back to her were beyond unkind, with Marty Sunshine sweetly suggesting I sleep on them and edit the attitude out of them in the morning. I finally settled with this:
We have a contract, which expires November 14. If you choose to break it, you are not entitled to the security deposit. It is not "available" for you to "use" as a rent payment. It is to ensure the landlord has recourse if a property is damaged or a tenant fails to honor their contractual obligations. It is not your personal savings account. Nor is it refundable if you choose to break the lease.
Your behavior has once again crossed the line. I will not allow you to abuse my good nature. You are in violation of your lease. I suggest you move out this weekend. Otherwise, I will begin eviction procedures on Monday. Please understand, I am currently garnishing three former tenants who chose tax my good nature and take advantage of my kindness.
I haven't heard back. Carolsue is on alert. Mrs. Spring will be getting her walking papers Monday.
1 comment:
"Mrs. Spring wrote me that she wanted to use her security deposit for her September's rent"
*headdesk*
*headdesk*
*headdesk*
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