Ohio: Landlord to sign Verification of Rent - Landlord Forum thread 351359

Ohio: Landlord to sign Verification of Rent by mhr on March 27, 2017 @08:23

Before I as landlord fill out Verification of Rent, for my now tenants (whom are breaking the lease by approximate 5 months) to buy a house, figured once I signed the above Verification of Rent, would be releasing tenants of their obligation to be liable for breaking the lease. I was right, "I just printed off Borrower's Signature Authorization, (only one tenant signed, but two are on the lease. The letter states needing past and present mortgage and landlord references. Also it states that "It is understood that a copy of the form will also serve as authorization. The information the Lender obtains is only to be used in the processing of my application for a mortgage loan. The above sounds like me,as landlord, are releasing tenants of being held responsible for breaking the lease. What are your opinions please.

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Re: Ohio: Landlord to sign Verification of Rent by Anonymous on March 27, 2017 @08:55	[ Reply ]

No, a third party cannot give or get authorization to break your lease between you and your tenant. It's just authorization for verification of the rental amount and payment history. Only the courts can break or set aside your lease. Do you not have an early termination clause in your lease? If you have no early termination clause, then you fall under the law of mitigating damages from the tenant breaking the lease.

Re: Ohio: Landlord to sign Verification of Rent by Garry on March 27, 2017 @09:04	[ Reply ]

If you as the LL, feel signing ANY documents in this situation are not in your best interests, then simply don't sign them. There is no law that I know of, anywhere in the country, that says you have to sign them, or even send them back. You have every right to put down on their docs, any "decent" comments you want to. Those docs that you allude to, are standard forms sent to thousands of LLs every day. Many of them never get sent back to the lenders. Most of the time, not receiving docs, does not stop the lender from giving the T a loan. As I said in my earlier post to you, if a T buys a home, you will not stop them from moving out. You can only total up costs against the T after they are out, and take them to court. Remember, at this point, they have not broken your lease yet. That "breakage" is still down the road yet. Assuming they pay April's rent, then there is only 4 months left before the end of the lease. Heck, it's even possible that the lender will require your T to pay off the rest of the lease, before they will make the loan. Just as that lender is asking you for info and a signature, YOU can also write a nicely worded letter back to that lender, letting them know the T has a lease obligation to you until XXXX. There is nothing wrong in trying to protect YOUR interests any way possible. And by the way, this same situation happened to me about 25 years ago. I took the former T to court and won. Judges don't like a T skipping out on their legal obligations to a LL, just to "better" themselves in life by buying a home.

Re: Ohio: Landlord to sign Verification of Rent by Anonymous on March 27, 2017 @10:09	[ Reply ]

There is no harm in filling out and providing the requested information. This is a business and there is no room for personal fears or feelings to enter into the mixture. Think about the issues clearly; The tenants are moving if the loan goes thru... The lease will be broken if it does... You will be required to mitigate damages upon breaking the lease... If the loan fails and you did not provide the requested documents, your tenants will certainly find fault with you. Do you wish to endure a bad tenant relationship during the remaining months? Smart landlords will be proactive and secure the tenants help in mitigating damages so that the rental can be turned over quickly. Failing to provide the verification form would certainly work against any cooperation from the tenants. You never know, the mortgage people, realtors, etc. might have someone who would be a great renter to recommend, which would not happen if you did not provide the documentation. Overall, the tenants may be moving and breaking the lease in doing so. It's those landlords who are professional and treat it as a business issue, that will be the ones who have a smooth turn over. Those landlords who fail or refuse to cooperate are the ones who find it difficult in dealing with problems if things do not work out. Step up and do the right thing. Get the cooperation of your tenants to make sure things go smoothly or follow the poor advice and deal with bitter tenants for the next five months if things go south.

Re: Ohio: Landlord to sign Verification of Rent