offer to get out of lease? - Landlord Forum thread

offer to get out of lease? by Emma (Florida) on June 29, 2012 @19:31

I have a tenant who will not take possession of the home on July 1, but signed a 12 month contract a couple of months ago and put down an SD. I turned away 3 people after she signed the lease. Tenant changed her mind and let us know at the end of May. I and my agent (a necessity in this rural area, finder fee only) began advertising again as soon as we became aware of this. The tenant was to come from a long distance away to here, but has now moved to a different part of Florida.

When tenant wanted out of lease, she "offered" to let ME out of the lease (hahaha) and said I could keep the SD. I disagreed with this request and said I will find another renter ASAP, but she is legally responsible for the lease term until I can find another renter. All communication had been by email and phone. At one point, the tenant wrote an email agreeing to pay the rent until I have a new renter and stated she was releasing her claim on the property and will not be moving in on July 1- that was about 2 weeks ago.

Since the last week of May, the agent has been listing the ad on her website, on another very popular RE website for in this area, and on Craigslist. I also have an ad on Craigslist (which is where I got this tenant), and on Ebay Classifieds, which also goes to a few other places. I also have a large sign on the lawn and have taken flyers to local a hospital (they keep a folder for new personnel who need to find rentals here). I renew my ad on CL once a week and on Ebay it just stays the same for 2 months, so it's posted only one time but good until 07/30/12.

Now tenant is emailing the agent and I like crazy saying how we have to prove where we are advertising and she's forwarding everything to her lawyer, etc. She says she is checking the papers online everyday here and doesn't see enough evidence of our advertising, so she thinks this voids the deal. She's telling me the person I should be suing is the agent for not doing her job. (I haven't said I was suing anyone so far).

I see Tenant will be pain to deal with, so what if I make an offer to her to release her from the lease? How many months rent could I ask for and get reasonably? Has anyone had experience with this issue? I have read in other posts in the past that say the judge in court would probably not make the tenant pay more than 2 or 3 months at best, even if they signed a 12 month lease/rental agreement. Is this true? Should I just ask her for 3 months rent and be done with it?

There are a lot of rentals in this area and I have no idea when I may get one. Any strategies you could share will be appreciated. I have never had to sue anyone before and would like to avoid the hassle, since she isn't even here.

I am not currently using LPA docs but will in the future (and Holding Fee instead of SD in a case like this).
Thanks for all your advice- I need it!

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Re: offer to get out of lease? by Katiekate (New York) on June 29, 2012 @20:26	[ Reply ]

In most places, if you bring this to a judge he will give the landlord 2 months rent for breach of the lease agreement. Ask for the 2 months.

Re: offer to get out of lease?

Re: offer to get out of lease? by Jake on June 29, 2012 @21:03	[ Reply ]

Take the deposit and move on. Live and learn. The problem is that you took a deposit and not a nonrefundable holding fee. When you book so far in advance you can almost always count on the tenant backing out. So you have to get the nonrefundable holding fee which you will convert into a deposit on move in and you have to collect the first and last months rent. If people want a landlord to hold a place their have to pay up in advance.

Re: offer to get out of lease?

additional question by Emma (Florida) on June 30, 2012 @07:33	[ Reply ]

Do I pose this offer now or wait until I see no payment of July with in the first 3 days and do I send a settlement of SD? Thank you.

Re: additional question

Re: offer to get out of lease? by K (FL) on July 1, 2012 @13:26	[ Reply ]

In Florida, you are not obligated to find a new tenant at all. She's on the hook until the end of the lease.

Re: offer to get out of lease?