Washed Out

Mitch and Tonya are buying a home. I know this because I am their agent. The home they are buying came with a ready-made tenant--which is pretty cool because I don't really want to put the time and effort into helping them find a tenant for a home 45 minutes away from me. But for these folks, I would.

Cassie, the ready-made-tenant, has been living in this home for five years. She has a six-year-old son. The home was originally purchased by Cassie's sister, allowing Cassie a place to live. Now that Cassie's sister is dumping the house, it was Mitch and Tonya's for the taking. 

When my clients first put an offer in on the home, we were told by the selling agent the washer, dryer and refrigerator belonged to the tenant and were not part of the deal. No problem.  My clients would either get their own or let any future tenant put them in.

Last week, three weeks before closing I sent Cassie the lease. Mitch and Tonya had made a special trip to Arizona in July to see the home, meet Cassie, find her utterly charming and then offer her a reduced (less than market) rent. Their thinking was if Cassie wanted to stay, she was taking fantastic care of the home, it would be tons easier to take $100 a month less than have her move out, have a vacant home and go through the process of finding a new tenant.

After I sent Cassie the lease, she in turn sent me an e-mail. The selling agent was wrong. The appliances weren't hers. Would Mitch and Tonya be willing to buy them from the owner (her sister) for some outrageous amount of money?

No. No they wouldn't.

Cassie tried another approach: she said she would be willing to buy them from her sister, but because money would now be tight, she wanted to know if she could get a lower rent amount to compensate for not having appliances. And oh! By the way, she wants to stay for years and years. And she has the lease all signed and ready to go. She'll send it in once she hears from me about the appliances. Just let her know what Mitch and Tonya decide. Ok?

The outrageous amount of money aside, Mitch and Tonya know nothing about the condition of these particular appliances. They have no desire to take on this liability. And besides, nobody is certain that Cassie doesn't really own the washer, dryer and refrigerator already and is trying to make a few extra dollars by saying they aren't hers. Not that I am suggesting Cassie is a thief, but the first month's rent and security deposits happen to equal exactly the amount Cassie says her "sister" wants for the appliances.

Here I am, trying to negotiate this. The other agent wants nothing to do with Cassie and the rental end (she didn't even know how to write up a purchase contract for a home with an existing tenant in place). So, I am handling the lease. And the ensuing drama. And Cassie. And my clients who read Cassie's note as a veiled threat.And, with a few years of landlord experience under my belt, that is exactly how I took it too.

I looked at the situation like this: the way it stood, there was going to be bad blood on one side of the other. Either Cassie was going to feel like she had been wronged because she was out the appliance money. Or if Mitch and Tonya gave in they were not going to be so willing to do additional favors down the road for Cassie. After talking to Mich and Tonya at some length, they did the only sane thing. They withdrew the lease.

Cassie, realizing she would be homeless in two weeks and she was not going to find anything as nice as where she lived now for the amount of money she would be paying, came rushing back. You know, she probably could work something out with her sister. Golly gosh! She certainly didn't mean her e-mail to sound like a threat. And she would be happy to sign the lease today. Wow! Cassie certainly hoped Mitch and Tonya didn't think she was the type of person who would threaten to hold a lease over their heads to get a washer, dryer and refrigerator. That is not what she was saying. Uh-huh. Never.

I now have the lease. I will be getting the rent and security deposit next week. The house closes at the end of the month. If all goes well, everyone will be happy. But I suspect Cassie wont be granted any favors any time soon.